The Artful Dwelling

Modern, Mountain Lake Retreat For Sale-Lake Lanier

This is one of my former projects that is so special to me. It's my second home. I wanted to buy a lake house on Lake Lanier as a respite from normal life and to be whisked away to a very special place. I knew it was "the one" as soon as I set foot in the house.

One of the reasons I love this house is because you feel like you are so far away from Atlanta--but you're really not. It's all intersate to within 5 minutes of the house. North Lake, to me at least, is so much better than South Lake. It's not as crowded, you can scoot around Gainesville very easily without a lot of traffic, and you have the view and feel of the amazing North Georgia Mountains. It really feels like you have been transported to a real retreat--not a neighborhood with houses close together that happen to be on a lake.

The minute I turn my car into the driveway, I take in a breath and sigh really big--it's so private, so peaceful, and so charming. There is a farmers market nearby, and a neat grocery store within 10 minutes. It is convenient to everything. Don't let the Lula address fool you. This is unlike other house on South Lake.

Totally renovated to evoke more feelings of the mountains, but a little modern and chic too, it's ready to be that place for someone else. Take a look!

http://www.coldwellbankeratlanta.com/property/details/1522195/MLS-5084924/4107-Cagle-Road-Lula-GA-30554.aspx

Here is the listing agent's website: http://www.housesonlanier.net/

Related articles

Lake Lanier Looking Good

Modern, Mountain Lake Retreat For Sale-Lake Lanier

This is one of my former projects that is so special to me. It's my second home. I wanted to buy a lake house on Lake Lanier as a respite from normal life and to be whisked away to a very special place. I knew it was "the one" as soon as I set foot in the house.

One of the reasons I love this house is because you feel like you are so far away from Atlanta--but you're really not. It's all intersate to within 5 minutes of the house. North Lake, to me at least, is so much better than South Lake. It's not as crowded, you can scoot around Gainesville very easily without a lot of traffic, and you have the view and feel of the amazing North Georgia Mountains. It really feels like you have been transported to a real retreat--not a neighborhood with houses close together that happen to be on a lake.

The minute I turn my car into the driveway, I take in a breath and sigh really big--it's so private, so peaceful, and so charming. There is a farmers market nearby, and a neat grocery store within 10 minutes. It is convenient to everything. Don't let the Lula address fool you. This is unlike other house on South Lake.

Totally renovated to evoke more feelings of the mountains, but a little modern and chic too, it's ready to be that place for someone else. Take a look!

http://www.coldwellbankeratlanta.com/property/details/1522195/MLS-5084924/4107-Cagle-Road-Lula-GA-30554.aspx

Here is the listing agent's website: http://www.housesonlanier.net/

Related articles

Lake Lanier Looking Good

Lake Renovation

My beloved Lake House, a modern, mountain and lake retreat near Atlanta, is for sale. Renovating this house long distance in only 6 weeks was such a rush. It has had two fantastic rental years, and it's time for someone else to enjoy this house and or use it as a vacation rental home. Some of the things in here I did so inexpensively and some items I spend a lot of money on. Take a peek!

http://housesonlanier.net/Properties/4107_Cagle/4107Cagle.htm

Another Great House to Flip

OK, here's a new project for me, Property Chick. All I need is the money!

I got to do my favorite passtime the other day, I went looking for my next remodeling project at Lake Lanier. This is still a great area for flipping properties. Property values have dropped like everywhere else, but there are diamonds out there and the lake market is doing better than ever. There are no more dock permits, so houses with docks will always be in demand.

Of course I found a house that I loved. This house would be a great property to flip. So many have already passed this house over. It's story is a well known story to me.

The owner of the house passed away recently and the remaining family member doesn't want to remodel anything or really come back to the house. My sister and I felt the same way after my parents died. It does though make for a great find. I would buy it as is and save the family the stress of cleaning it out. It does need a lot more work, more than the lake house I remodeled earlier this year on Lake Lanier (www.vrbo.com/348760), but the result would be absolutely amazing.

It would make a great family house. The rooms are very large, and after I was done you would have 180 degree view of the lake. The land itself and how the house sits on the land is fabulous- This is what people would pay for. There is also a wide gravel path that you can drive on all the way down to the dock. In blogging about this, I feel like I am letting a secret out-other flippers will rush over there. I am completely confident in the fact that I have the experience and talent to do it better than an investor or builder. I really have found ways to get the most bang for your buck in terms of product use and where to put your money. The one I finished earlier this year gained me more than two and a half times the equity against expenses. 

The problem right now with the house is that it's still living in the 70's, and when you walk in the front door and look around, you don't know where you are. The things that you see confuse you on the use of space. This would turn off buyers immediately because they would not know what was bothering them about the house, then they would see the non-updated decor, and leave immediately. I don't see this as a big remodel, but most people would.

The vision is already in my head and I keep thinking about this house. It is such a diamond. I am so excited, all I need is a client to buy it, an investor, or HGTV to give me the money and follow the remodel! See what you think.

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4480-Cherokee-Trl-Gainesville-GA-30504/14854764_zpid/

 

 

 

 

 

Art For Everyone

I am still flying high from my trip to market in Atlanta last weekend. There is so much to see! Even over the 14 hours we spent there, I still did not see enough. I did find a few new favorite lines of furniture, lighting, and art.

In about 30 minutes, I picked out artwork for an entire house, my lake house. This showroom does not even showcase all of their work, they carry over 3000 pieces of art. This line is wholesale to the trade, but it's well worth it for me to meet their minimums and open an account. I love stretched canvas--and these are very high quality and such a delight.

http://www.oopsydaisy.com/PE2233.aspx

 

Blue Heron Landing

We are about to go binding and I'm beyond excited about getting my lake house finally! It is a dream come true. For all you who are following the Lake House Tale, it will now continue under it's own blog and website! I will post all the ups and downs of renovation and the transformation on:

www.blueheronlandingblog.com and

Rental information will be at www.blueheronlandingonlanier.com

It's going to be a fun ride!

Little Piece of Paradise

This could be my little piece of paradise! I am waiting to hear and the suspense is killing me. Six months of searching for the right property and to have finally found it--I am on pins and needles. It's gorgeous and the owners are so sweet. My wonderful agent found this property that was not listed, but knew the owners wanted to sell in the future. This waiting is excruciating!

New Favorite Tile

I am usually a very colorful person--in how I decorate and how I dress. I think I'm in the mood for a little more calming atmosphere now. I've selected potential finishes for my lake house master bath. Since it's on a very peaceful setting on Lake Lanier, I really want the Master Bath to be rustic, calming, and very cost effective. I love this combination, even though it's neutral.

The bottom tile resembles Hickory wood, size of 4" x 24", and I'm so in love with this tile--and it's affordable at around $4.00/sq. ft. The splurge of course is the pebble tile, but if you use it on a shower floor and as a border in the shower, you get the most bang for your buck without needing a lot of square footage. I can't decide if I want the shower walls to be matte subway tiles, glass subway tiles, or very affordable hexagon 1 x 1's. We will see!

Trial By Fire, The Lake House Saga Continues

I am going to start a new section on my blog about how to truly evaluate a home that you are looking at to purchase. I've had learned so much over the last six months regarding foreclosures and short sales that it's too much information to put into one post.

This new house that I've put an offer on has had a fire, so literally this is trial or education by fire. I always seem to have to learn by the seat of my pants and quickly. This house has so much potential, BUT there is the issue of smoke damage and you cannot really tell how much smoke damage is behind the walls or inside the chimney structure. The owners did not file an insurance claim, so right now there's no way to know. It's also a short sale, so now there's a bank involved who probably does not know their asset is compromised because there was no claim filed, and the owners probably will not want to file a claim at this point.

WOW--lots to learn here!

I am very thankful that i have a "team" of experts that help me evaluate a home or potential to flip and not get into a money pit, are myself as the designer and the seer of potential, my agent who has vowed to protect my interests, a contractor that I trust, and an insurance adjuster. If I had not gotten the advice of all those people, I probably be in trouble by now. Remember, I have gone through putting contracts on houses that had potential meth, mold, horrible cigarette smoke and now fire. I have learned a lot!

Another Amazing Renovation

I found this re-model on another blog and alas it's another Lake Lanier renovation....you won't believe your eyes to see the before and after! Take a look!

http://hookedonhouses.net/2010/03/05/before-after-vacation-home-on-lake-lanier-gets-new-look/