The Abbey Villas

I really don’t like talking about my own listings on this blog. I think it looks cheap, and I think such listing promotion is really what’s wrong with our business. The overriding concept in real estate says “since it’s my listing it must be a great deal”, and that really doesn’t sit well with me. So no, not every property I ever touch is a great deal, and I’m usually pretty quick to point it out. When properties are deals, I point that out too, but you usually ignore me, even though I’m pretty much always right… So, here’s the deal du jour (mmm… that sounds good, I’ll have that).

The Abbey Villas are pretty well known to most Lake Geneva visitors and owners. Unlike smaller associations like Abbey Hill, the Villas at the Abbey are probably the most well known condo’s in this market. The location is ideal, with harbor front units available and a short walk to the Fontana lakefront where the beach, Gordy’s, and Chuck’s await. The Villas might be in a good location, but there’s no doubt the sales in here are suffering. Big time. A liquidity crisis so significant that not a single Villa has sold via the MLS in the past 12 months. Ouch. Now, the Villas are not the Abbey condotel units. The hotel rooms that were made into condominium rooms are completely different and have nothing to do with the Villas. The Villas are two bedroom, two bath condominiums, of typical condominium size. There are pools to use, and the restaurants at the Abbey are at your disposal. I think the Villas are pretty nice in terms of resort style vacationing, where you can wake up in the morning, walk a couple hundred yards to a coffee shop within the Abbey, grab a coffee and a newspaper, and enjoy both while taking in a view of the water. It’s a nice arrangement, and the Abbey Villas provide you with that sort of vacation atmosphere.

I have a Villa for sale, and I’ve had it for sale for a while. In fact, I had an offer of $350k on this Villa last year. We just reduced the price to $299k. Yes, $299k. Down from $389,900. Yes, it’s a deal. No, it’s not only a deal because it’s my listing. It’s a deal because it’s a thoroughly remodeled unit, offered turn key complete with furniture and decorations. It’s tasteful, and it’s bright, and there’s nothing to do but move in and enjoy your weekends in an entirely different way.

A unique feature of this Villa that I’m marketing is that it has gained membership in the Abbey Hotel rental program. That membership is not a requirement, but if you so choose to keep the condo in the rental program, you could reap returns for the days of the month that you’re not using the unit. It’s a handy way to offset ownership costs, yet still have the option of using your place pretty much whenever it’s not rented. If the rental thing bothers you, then ignore it and cancel your agreement with the Abbey. Either way, I don’t really care, and it’s still a great deal at this reduced price. There’s some noise out there that the Abbey Villa may limit rental terms from daily now to a 30 day minimum. That’s not a good thing if you’re contemplating the purchase of a unit like this to use as a rental, so stay tuned for developments on that proposal.

While the Villas are having a terrible year, they still fit nicely into our overall Lake Geneva vacation home market. The pricing has softened as much as 25% in the Villas, so there are plenty of deals to be had. If you’re looking to find an affordable, two bedroom condo within walking distance to the Fontana lakefront scene, the Abbey Villas just got a heck of a lot cheaper. See you at the lake.