Updated: October 12, 2020

Lake House Rental Investment Property

HGTV has a couple of new popular shows out called Vacation House for Free and Scott’s Vacation House Rules.  Both shows focus on helping vacation owners turn a ho hum vacation property into a stunning retreat to rent out to vacationers who are willing to pay top dollar for an escape for a week or two.

Buying dated and/or run down vacation properties is fast becoming a great option for those looking for a great investment property whether they want to stay in it a well, planning on retire there one day, or its simply as an investment to get other people pay for a property which generates income.  Whatever the reason, it can be reality easy, depending on your area, to buy an investment property based on the potential income that the property well generate.

I buy fixers uppers in sought after neighborhoods.  I look for the worst house in this case cottage on a good street. Overtime we renovate to either flip it or to rent it out.

LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION!

I’m sure you’ve heard this a 1,000 times but its true.  When you’re buying a property to fix up and sell, or to fix up and rent out, location is one of the key factors in whether to purchase a property or not. This cottage is a minute walk to one of Canada’s top beaches, Sauble Beach, yet over 50 real estate agents and their clients went through the cottage and did not put in an offer of purchase.  What others saw as alot of work, I saw as an opportunity.

LIVING ROOM – BEFORE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AFTER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This lake house was a HUGE fixer upper but it had the basic bones of making the cottage a great vacation destination and a solid rental income property.  It was built in the 1930’s.  It was once a small building with one larger living room and kitchen in the corner and two tiny bedrooms off to one side.  There was an outhouse at the back.  An addition was put on to add a kitchen and a bathroom.

With ALOT of elbow grease , planning and hard work, we were able to turn this around into a rental property where it gets booked solid every year.

With every design, you need a starting point as your inspiration. My inspiration was the curtain and pillow fabric.  The wall color was based on the seafoam green in the fabric.

The plywood walls were painted.  First with two coats of a strong primer. Then several coats of paint to bring it to a pretty seafoam green color.

 

LIVING ROOM|KITCHEN – BEFORE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AFTER

All the little shelves that held a thousand unmatching knick knacks were dismantled.  The window in the hydro room was eliminated by covering it up with plywood to create a cosier look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the furniture was dated, or in really rough shape.  Through Ikea purchases, stealing furniture from my own house, and painting thrift store finds, the dated cottage began to look like a trendy beach house from the 50’s.  The town of Sauble Beach has a really 50’s vibe to it.  You feel like you’ve gone back in time.  Giving the cottage this same feel but in an updated way make this a sought after tourist destination.

LIVING ROOM – SOUTH – BEFORE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AFTER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The false ceiling were eventually removed to reveal this stunning natural wood high ceiling.  The ceiling was spray painted Benjamin Moore’s Simply White to give it a fresh look.  Laminate flooring was eventually placed to cover up the natural wide plank wood flooring.  It was a tough decision, but laminate flooring was a better choice for upkeep in a rental.

It’s hard to believe we took this on.  During the middle of the renovations, and working like madmen towards the rental season deadline, we were starting to wonder what did we do?!?

 

KITCHEN VIEW – BEFORE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BEFORE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AFTER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kitchen got a fresh coat of paint ALL OVER, laminate floors and the old false ceiling was replaced by beautiful pine plank wood.  Its a much better improvement but still require an overhaul as budget permits.  The hydro meter needs to be removed so that the kitchen can expand into the hydro room.  Sometimes you can’t do the complete renovation all at once like you see on these HGTV shows.

The best part of this cottage is the stunning view of the lake.  Its one street away but still very relaxing to watch from your kitchen window while having your morning coffee.

 

MASER BEDROOM – BEFORE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AFTER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The entire bedroom also received a fresh coat of paint from top to bottom, laminate flooring, a new bed, bedding & curtains for a fresher relaxing look.

 

KIDS BEDROOM – BEFORE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AFTER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kids bedroom received the same white paint, including ceilings, new laminate flooring and a new bunk bed was installed with safety bars.  Safety is always important in any situation but especially when you’re renting your cottage out to people where there is a potential for liability if accidents were a result from negligence on your part.

 

COTTAGE FRONT – BEFORE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AFTER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s hard to believe the front of the cottage is the same one.  Windows and doors freshly painted, trees removed, garden added, and new furniture makes this front entrance much more appealing than its previous dated look.

 

BATHROOM – BEFORE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AFTER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is the before picture the ugliest bathroom that you have ever seen?  The hot water tank was moved out to the shed, and a narrower Ikea sink was installed to replace the wider sink that too up too much space.

The cottage is still a work in progress.  There are many plans to update it.  I’m in the process of winterizing it for the fall which will bring in income all year round.

Most people judge a place on what it currently looks like, but if you have the ability to see “past” all the clutter and dated looks, you could find yourself a real gold mine.

This lake house cottage will eventually be paid by our renters!  A HUGE thank you to all our renters!!!  And that’s house I’m getting a Vacation House for Free just like on the popular HGTV show. But more importantly,

 

 

 

Welcome! I’m Debi Collinson. Designer. Stager. Real Estate Investor. In 2006, at the request of a realtor, I staged my very first home. Staging houses was just starting to become popular. I watched every staging show on HGTV that I could find. I was very nervous staging my first house, but the sellers liked their newly redesigned home so much that they turned down an offer for full asking price. I went back to design school and have never looked back. Since 2006, I have been staging & designing spaces to make them look like they belong in a magazine page, and buying “fixer uppers” to fix up & either sell for a healthy profit or to rent them out. Sign up to receive my e-mails of how to make your home stunning, how to sell your house for top dollar AND how to become financially independent one fixer upper at a time!