Growing up there were always two jars in my parents refrigerator. Daddy ate Blue Plate Mayonnaise and Mom ate Miracle Whip. From my experience of the two you come down on one side of fence or the other. I landed on Mom's side and so did my brother.
When I got married to Donald he ate Mayonnaise, but since there wasn't any in the refrigerator and he didn't do the shopping he crossed over from the dark side. He now happily makes his sandwiches with my jar of Miracle Whip.
So how in the world does this relate to lake homes?
When I am showing lake homes to couples there are two sides to the fence. The Mayonnaise (the men's side) is the lake, the lot, the garage, the dock, the boathouse. The Miracle Whip side (the lady's side) is the kitchen, the greatroom, the gas logs in the fireplace, the size of all the bedrooms. And if I had a dime for every time I've had a couple say... "If we could put this house on that lot, we'd buy it right now".
Usually someone has to compromisewhen buying a lake home where husbands and wives are looking for two different sides of the same coin. And while wives don't like the side I lean towards... to me it's simple. You can change the house, but you can't change the land. So even if it's not your ideal house, down the road you can remodel a room or two. But if your land only has 82 feet of shoreline you can't count on Georgia Power changing the rules and letting you build a double boathouse.
There are many factors that are important in buying a lake home that you need to prioritize before your search begins.
- View- other than trimming, cutting a few trees it isn't going to change
- water depth- it is what it is
- Shoreline- you need to know the rules and regulations for what Georgia Power will allow/will not allow for the number of feet (which by the way is measured straight pin to pin, not along the contour)
- Grandfathered- yes, this can be important. If you purchase a home with a "cook out" room above the boathouse- great for you, you can't build a new one. Or if you purchase a house with a double boathouse with 90 feet of shoreline- great for you, can't built that now, want an enclosed boathouse- nope- can't build those anymore either)
- Topography- don't want to be walking up and down a billy goat lot to get to the lake when you are in your 60's- well don't buy one when you are in your 50's.
- Number of bedrooms and baths- can the current house you are looking at be added on to?
- Restrictions & HOA- chances are they won't go away or become more lenient
- Kitchen- would a remodel or new counter tops and appliances make this kitchen work for your needs?
- Fireplace- Easy to add gas logs or even a free standing wood burning or gas logs fireplace.
- Landscaping- we have several good businesses to buy from or do it all for you
- Garage- you can always build one.
- Location- with 15,000 acres and 417 miles of shoreline it really depends on what your needs are.. will it be full time? weekends? retirement? what are the taxes (3 counties border our lake)?
As you can see there are a lot of things to consider when looking for a Lake Sinclair Home. As your buyers agent I bring a vast knowledge of the lake (it's been my home for over 40 years) So when I know what is 
important to you, I can help narrow your search and help you find the mayonnaise or the Miracle Whip that suits your families' needs best.
If a home has enough space to meet your family's needs you have to remember that many things inside a home... colors, flooring, fireplaces, porches, decks, garages. The site on the otherhand can not be changed too much. You can't buy a house on a cove and wake up one morning and find a main lake view. You can do some dirt moving and land scaping, but you can't really change the topography of the land.
So maybe you have to buy the mayonnaise and ease your husband over from the dark side one room at time until you have that dream Miracle Whip you've been wanting all along. Give me a call guys... I'll be happy to explain it to your wife. And just click below on the search the lake sinclair MLS link to see what is available right now. Lots of homes on the market and it's the perfect time to buy.
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