Lake Geneva Buyers

March 12, 2014 by David Curry

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<p>To be a motivated buyer is to be one of two things. It is either to be motivated through purpose, intent on finding a retreat here, along these shores or as close as can be, focused on finding the best fit out of a field of inventory that rarely offers up an exact match. This buyer will whittle away at their figurative round peg to make it best fit a market full of square holes. They’ll do this slowly, methodically, and over time they’ll find the best fit. Sometimes that fit will be perfect, and there will be much celebration, but usually the fit is imperfect and the typical emotion is first relief that the search may be over. The celebration comes the next summer, afloat on a boat that’s cruising slowly back toward your own pier. No one could argue that a pier is anything but perfection, with no whittling necessary. </p>
<p>The other buyer is motivated by time first, and by time last. Time is their alpha and their omega, and they’ll employ the largest of crude hammers to make that peg fit that hole. There is little nuance to this sort of search, instead it is motivated by haste, under the guise that a summer spent anywhere but at home is a better summer spent. While I cannot argue with that last statement, I can argue with that sort of buyer and the agents that encourage this frantic chase. There is nothing calming about a purchase decision that is rushed, and there is little pride to be found in overpaying for a home simply because your chosen agent told you that you must. This is a buyer that I don’t understand, and this is a buyer that I rarely, if ever, work for. </p>
<p>The market today is full of competition. There are buyers for many sorts of homes, but the true activity in this market is on the lakefront. There are listings that come to market and those new listings have an immediate and hurried rush of activity. This is the case with the new listing around $1.5MM in the Birches, and we can all expect that to sell very quickly. It is a cheap enough listing in a fair enough location, and it will be sold without difficulty. 100′ of frontage for $1.5MM is generally considered a slam dunk, and we are playing this game against very tall players. Other listings have come to market this year and sold immediately as well- the lakefront parcel in Fontana that closed for $2.85MM after lasting less than a week on the open market. But these new offerings that truly offer value are not the ones that the hurried buyers tend to find. </p>
<p>The spastic lurches of the new buyers that find themselves facing down a summer spent lake home-less are quite remarkable. They are buyers that are present in alarming numbers today, and while they offer plenty of fresh tinder for new lakefront sellers, those sellers who would be very well to consider listing now if they wish to sell, these green, uneducated buyers skew this market in a way that I rather they wouldn’t. I love competition, and I love the immediacy of a deal that must be seized quickly and efficiently in order to win the property, but I don’t like working with intelligent buyers who are working against these naive ones. The naive buyers are being pushed to properties that don’t necessarily make sense, because the angle is one of timing first and value a very distant second. </p>
<p>This is why I write this appeal to you today. If you are a buyer considering anything at the lake (and are unrepresented), I ask that you do me this one favor. <a href="mailto:dave@genevalakefrontrealty.com">Email me</a>. Or call me, though I admit to being slow with phone call returns. I’m sorry about this, but 18 years in I’m a very old dog and I’ve adapted better to new tricks, and these tricks are written word intensive. Touch base with me somehow, and ask me about the market. Ask me about a house you’re considering. Ask me about this subdivision and that street, and I’ll answer as though I’ll never speak with you again. I won’t push you towards anything, but I will pull you away from something that might not represent value to anyone at all. I won’t label you as a motivated buyer or a sluggish one, I’ll just treat you like a buyer and whether you buy next week, next year, or never, it won’t matter much to me. </p>
<p>My goal when working with buyers is very simple. I wish to find value. I aim to propel you to the front of the line if the property you desire is new and fresh and teeming with value. But moreover, I wish to keep you from the mistakes that I see the other buyers making in this market. A hot market is lots of fun, but the frenzy can mask buying mistakes because the decisions are not made with an eye toward lasting value, they are made with an eye towards winning the property. When a property is highly in demand, this is an accurate goal, but when the property is overpriced for one reason or another, there is reason to point out those deficiencies and pass on the offering. To twist the words but keep the message of an old country song, some of the best real estate deals are the ones that you don’t make. </p>
<p>Today, if you’re in this market, consider talking with me. I’ll tell you what’s what and I won’t push you unless the property is worth the push. I’ll educate you on the market first, and then when the right thing does present itself, we’ll be ready to act with ruthless efficiency. If the right thing doesn’t present, we’ll revisit the aged inventory and determine which properties are ripe to sell at a market discount, and we’ll do this before the rest of the market figures out that there’s a deal to be had. We’ll identify value, and we’ll avoid the pitfalls of new inventory in a hot market. It’ll be fun, I promise. You can trust me because I have a beard. Oh, and a lifetime of living on and near these shores, and 18 years of everyday, full time real estate experience. And sales numbers that border on gaudy. And a dazzling beard. </p>
<p>(A quick word on the comments section of the blog. I have temporarily put restrictions on the comments, due to an overabundance of spam, and due, in some part, to a ridiculous, anonymous person that leaves fragmented, nonsensical comments that border on creepy. One such brilliant display encouraged buyers to contact sellers of listed properties direct, which is something that buyers don’t do because of contract relationships between sellers and their brokers. Oh, and they also don’t do that because it’s weird, ineffective, and stalky. So, until I get the comments under control, they’ll be limited for a while. As always,<a href="mailto:dave@genevalakefrontrealty.com"> email me </a>with any comments, questions, or suggestions. Thanks much.)</p>
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