Classifieds

FOR SALE: One Lake House

Lightly used, near perfect condition

Well, that’s not entirely true. We have owned this home for two years, and we’ve lightly used it. We have shared many beautiful moments here, under this roof, which doesn’t leak, not one bit. It used to, back when the prior family owned the home, but it doesn’t now. We spent our first weekend in this house and we were appalled that someone could have lived here in the condition that it was in. The house didn’t even have air conditioning! Imagine spending weekends without air conditioning. We inquired of the last owner, whose family was represented by the eldest son of three, as to why or how they could have spent so much time here without air conditioning and with that slight drip drip drip that came through the porch ceiling during a heavy rain. He told us that when it was hot out they would open the windows and turn the fans on, and they’d go swimming in the morning and then they’d go swimming in the afternoon and when it was late they’d go swimming again. He said the heat didn’t bother them, because their swimming suits were almost always wet. Imagine the inconvenience of sitting in a porch in a damp swimming suit!

Sleeps eight

We did that once. The first weekend after we had the air conditioning installed we invited so many friends and family members to our new lake house. We didn’t yet have the roof leak fixed, so we hoped it wouldn’t rain and if it did rain, we hoped that no one would notice. Could you imagine the embarrassment if someone saw that drip drip drip from our porch ceiling! That weekend things started off well. We had so much fun cooking steaks that we bought at Whole Foods on the way up, and then we had so much more fun sitting in the porch telling stories. That’s not all together true, because we only stayed in the porch for a while until we decided that it was just too chilly to spend another minute out there. The next day it was cloudy, which ruined the day for everyone. We were going to take a boat ride, but the clouds were like mostly blocking all of the sun, and it didn’t even clear out until it was nearly dusk. That night, one dear friend of ours left early, because he had a brunch in the city that he had to attend. He told us later that the croque madame was the best he’s ever had, and he’s had them all over the world.

80 Feet Of Frontage

We bought the house because the Realtor said it was good to have this many feet. We didn’t really care how many feet it had, but the builder told us that it was good because when we decided to tear the house down (we didn’t) it will allow us to build a big house like the one we have on the cul-de-sac back home. We took a family picture on that lawn once, and the men wore khaki and blue and the women wore white. My aunt wore her white Tory Burch shoes and I can remember the look on her face when those heels sunk into the lakeside lawn. She was mortified, and we all laughed, though later I confided to her that it wasn’t a laughing matter. I helped her scrub them clean in the sink, which we replaced with stainless steel because the sink was porcelain, and the old owners hadn’t been careful with it so there was a chip out of the front side. One day, we thought about playing the game the kids call “bags”, so we went to the store to buy the game. We drove all around but couldn’t find a Dick’s Sporting Goods, so we didn’t buy the game. Can you imagine a town without a Dick’s Sporting Goods? My heavens, I feel like I can’t even turn around at home without seeing one!

Close to Restaurants

When we bought the house, we were told that the neighborhood had a summer cookout each July. We were told it was a big event. The first July, we went, and we wore our whites and our khakis, and I even brought a sampling of macaroons from the shop on the corner near our cul-de-sac home. We were excited and nervous for this event, and when we walked up it seemed as though everyone was having a great time. There were children laughing and playing. The adults were gathered around the food, and we set our macaroon’s down next to a bowl of potato salad. The smell of grilled meat was everywhere, but the plates were paper and the meat was actually brats. Back home, we have a neighborhood party where they boil lobsters, and here I was, sitting on a bench with sand on my shoes and a sausage looking hotdog that they called a brat. I ate some of it to be polite, but I thought more about the lobsters and the drawn butter and the way my back hurt front sitting on that wooden bench. There are restaurants in town, sure, and once we went to one and the waitress was slow and the food wasn’t great. Admittedly, when the chef at the cafe down the road from our suburban mansion hails from France, how could I expect to find this breaded and fried fish even palatable?

Immediate Occupancy

We had intended to use our prized lake house this summer, but alas, our daughter is at cheer camp all of July and our son is first in his class and he decided to spend the summer studying for his ninth grade entrance exams. They came to the lake with us often that first summer, but once my daughter stepped on a rock in the shallow water near the pier ladder, and she cried and she cried. Mommy, she said, why are there so many rocks? I told her that I didn’t know, but that it would be okay. We drove home that night so that I could take her to the Cheesecake Factory for her favorite dinner. I knew that would make her feel better, and after that she didn’t want to swim because who could blame her?

Price Available Upon Request

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About the Author

I'm David Curry. I write this blog to educate and entertain those who subscribe to the theory that Lake Geneva, Wisconsin is indeed the center of the real estate universe. When I started selling real estate 27 years ago I did so of a desire to one day dominate the activity in the Lake Geneva vacation home market. With over $800,000,000 in sales since January of 2010, that goal is within reach. If I can help you with your Lake Geneva real estate needs, please consider me at your service. Thanks for reading.

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