Lakefront Choices

We spent all of yesterday up around the Lake Livingston area, looking at more weekend homes with the realtor. Total of 15 houses yesterday....... added to at least 20 that we saw on Monday-- an amazing number of homes, all with something great to offer. My husband and I said the same thing yesterday--- we kept wanting to take one house and move the whole thing to a different waterfront part of the lake, or take a certain part of the lake and move it behind a certain house.

In any case, we saw enough yesterday to make up our minds about which section of the lake we'd like to be on.... and thankfully, Marie is such a great realtor that she again steered us away from problem houses or questionable areas. That woman was relentless in her energy..... in and out of houses quickly that we all didn't like, and so patient when we found a "keeper."

We now have three lakefront homes to choose from..... three very good, very new homes with gorgeous views, nice property, boathouses and docks, and (best of all) they're each in move-in condition. All we'd have to do is clean the bathrooms and kitchen, dust up a bit and vacuum, unpack our clothes and that's it.

The first "keeper" was a beautifully charming tri-level home on its own peninsula. The stairs between each of the levels were at an easy incline, less than seven steps between each level. New house, with lakefront property that isn't too big, so the lawn and small garden would be extra-easy to care for. The main level of the house has the kitchen, dining area, and living room.... everything looking out to the lakefront. The second level has two bedrooms, a huge bathroom, the laundry room, and plenty of closets and storage space. The third level has the master bedroom, which gives you a higher, beautiful view of the lake. The master bathroom (which is huge and has a jacuzi tub) is raised four steps up from the master bedroom....... makes you feel like you have such a private suite up there, because the two guest bedrooms are below you. That house is all brand new, with a great kitchen, wood floors, plus it has a small bathroom/shower on the lower level of the house, so you don't have to use the upstairs bathrooms when you come in from the lake. This house is loaded with charm and country lakehouse character.... lots of beautiful wood floors, high ceilings and being on that peninsula makes it feel very private.

The second has lakehouse style on a larger "open water" property, but it's next to a very big cove so all that water doesn't feel so intimidating. This house has a tri-level outside deck, one part which could very easily be either screened-in or made into a glass-enclosed sunroom. Also a new house, with big bathrooms, lots of closets, high ceilings, very large kitchen. Larger property, but easy to maintain with lots of shade trees. The bonus on this one is that the owner is selling it with all of the furniture and even the nearly-new boat that's in the boathouse. The open water of this house brings the price up a little bit, but it's not out of our range. Another bonus on this is that the water depth on this property is deep, so even if the lake is low, you have great water. The furniture is very lake-friendly... lots of wood and leather, and all in nearly-new condition.

The third home sits on two lots, which gives you even more property, and there's also a guest house, a gazebo, a wishing well...... lots of extras here, but it isn't furnished. Plenty of shade trees as well, and because the property is so big, you feel like you're on your own island. The house was extra-special because it has all tile floors (gorgeous) and a sunroom off the living room (also gorgeous and my favorite room here). The bedrooms and bathrooms in this house are all immaculate, as is the kitchen and everything else-- the owner's style is like ours, and this could be a house where all of our furniture would "fit in," if we ever chose to just live up at the lake and sell our house here. The waterfront there at that house is "open water" but it's on a shallow part of the lake. The water level is low there right now because they had to drain the lake during last year's hurricanes. (The only time they've ever had to do that to Lake Livingston.) The owner showed us photos of what the waterfront looked like before they drained it, and it's as pretty and as deep as the other two waterfronts. The town is estimating that the water levels will all be up to normal within four months, and could be sooner depending on the rainfall. We love this house most of all, but wish it were on deeper water.

Each house has a "but"....... the stairs on the first house, the cabin-decor of the second house, and the shallow water of the third house. The stairs can't be changed on the first house, the cabin decor can be made more country-like in the second house, and the shallow water can't be overcome on the third house. To get the weekend-feel of a house and spend the least money, the tri-level on the peninsula is the best choice, and we truly didn't mind the stairs because they house was so cottage-y. For the most open-water and the "best" waterfront, we need to choose the second house that's all furnished. If we want to choose a house that we could someday move to permanently, then the third house is the one.

We have seen enough homes now to make a choice, and yesterday's options have given us three good houses in three exceptional areas....... each are private, somewhat secluded but with neighbors within a reasonable distance, and all three homes have been loved and cared for. Being that my husband will be the one who will be using the water for boating and fishing, I'm leaving the final decision up to him. I will be the one enjoying the house and the views, sitting on the dock or the deck feeding the ducks and reading my books. I would be happy with any of these three houses, but being that our aim is to have good waterfront and good boating and fishing for my husband, I think it best that he make that final choice.

The realtor suggested we list the pros and the cons of each of the three houses, and see which one has the most pros. She also gently suggested that we do this quickly because good move-in-condition homes will be the first to go. Between Monday and yesterday, ten homes that she was going to show us had gone into contract.

After all the looking we did, it's finally getting down to a decision. Very exciting.... and finally, finally, I can now think of that mountain-top house in Comfort and put it aside. It was beautiful and romantic up on that mountain, but it was also a four-and-a-half-hour drive, as opposed to a one-and-a-half-hour drive. And I've come to my own decision that lake-front is better than mountain-top. This is all very exciting...... and we both know that we're very blessed to be able to even do this.