Lake Sinclair- different types of ownership

 Working with a recent buyer I realized that while most people familiar with Lake Sinclair have heard of "lease" lots they may not exactly know what they are or about the ability to financing them.  Even if a buyer is paying cash they should realize it also can affect resale value if the property can be conventionally financed or NOT.

* FULLY OWNED - (Also known as fee or fee simple) The property owner owns all of the land down to the lake.  You may often hear us refer to this as "down to the 340", with the 340 foot elevation being full elevation of Lake Sinclair.  Georgia Power maintains flood rights to the 350 elevation on this property and residents need a license agreement with Georgia Power for building or maintaining any seawalls or docks on the lake.  License agreements are free and simply give us the necessary control of issues as aesthetics and the environment.

* FULL LEASE - The property owner actually owns all of the improvements (house, dock, etc.) but none of the land.  Georgia Power owns the land and leases the land to the owner of the improvements.  The lease runs for 15 years and rates range from $900 to $1100. There is a lease  transfer fee associated with purchasing one of these lots.

* ACCESS LEASE -The property owners owns the land and improvements above Georgia Power Company which he may have access for use of the lake.  Access leases run for 15 years with a current rate of $100 per year.  On this lease the residential structure is completely above the 350 contour.

* RESIDENTIAL ACCESS - The property owner owns the land above the Georgia Power Company property, but the home site is partially or totally on the Georgia Power land.  Lease rates are the same as for a full lease, ranging from $900 to $1100 over a 15 year period.

Obviously fee simple lots at Lake Sinclair finance just like any fee simple property and loans are fairly available even for manufactured homes.  Lease access lots have fewer lenders, but still loans available.  On lease properties and residential access lease properties it's likely that today you will have to pay cash or if selling wait for a cash buyer.  It's one more thing to consider when you are looking at property on Lake Sinclair.  Recently when giving an offer to a listing agent of a lease property we discovered that agent was not even aware it had become difficult to obtain a loan on lease properties and nearly impossible to obtain a loan on lease properties with manufactured housing involved.  So buying or selling you might want to ask your agent what they know about lease properties and the ability to finance them... if they can't offer guidance on the subject, you might want to consider a new agent.

At Lane Realty we pride ourselves on knowing our market.  Our market includes lease properties and manufactured homes.  Those are things we keep up to day information about for buyers and sellers.