About Spotsylvania's Lake Anna

Lake Anna is very much in the center of Virginia which makes it a great spot to live or to spend time. From Lake Anna you have the opportunity to quickly get to so many other areas from Northern Virginia to the Tidewater area to the southwest section of Virginia. A convenient drive from Lake Anna takes you up to the D.C. metropolitan area with all the ethnic restaurants, cultural activities, museums, national monuments, and other major attractions.

Some consider Lake Anna to be in located in Central Virginia while others believe it is part of Northern Virginia. Even the Commonwealth of Virginia has mixed feelings according to the two maps below. As you will see, Louisa County is considered in Central Virginia while Spotsylvania is included in the Northern Virginia map on the office web site for the Commonwealth. Lake Anna is bordered on one side by Louisa County with a very small portion of the lake located in Orange County and the other side of the lake is located in Spotsylvania.

The most important thing is that Lake Anna is in a great location.

From Lake Anna you can easily head west to the Shenandoah Valley, an area of Virginia known and admired across the nation. It is every bit as beautiful as the pictures people have been seeing for years. Seeing the Blue Ridge Mountains is another treat. there are numerous small villages and hamlets where life is more like it was back in the 50's and 60's. Shopping malls have not taken business away from downtown. Main Street is where people do their shopping and catch up with one another. Families have lived here for generations and enjoy the luxury of being friendly with their neighbors.

When you head east you have a variety of places to go. Explore the Northern Neck, the Rappahannock River, down towards Williamsburg, a town with historical significance, and on to Norfolk and the Virginia Beach oceanfront.

Everywhere you go in Virginia you will find places of historical significance. The Commonwealth is blessed with something for everyone.

When you live at Lake Anna all of these places are within easy reach. That's just one more reason to enjoy Lake Anna if you live here. If you do not, perhaps now is the time to seriously consider making the move.

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If you or someone you know is thinking of buying or selling property at or near Lake Anna, Virginia please contact Kathleen "Kate" Elim, REALTOR®.

Kate lives at Lake Anna, knows Lake Anna, loves Lake Anna, and specializes in Lake Anna area real estate.

Call Kate at 540-226-1964 or by e-mail at lakeanna.kate@gmail.com. Be sure to check Kate's Web sites and blog at http://lakeannaandbeyond.com/ or http://lakeannacountry.com/

What do you do when you receive a call from a potential client and they ask you how the real estate market is?

Recently I had such a call from a lot owner here at Lake Anna. I told him the truth.*

I told him few lots are selling especially non-waterfront, what we call access lots. (We are selling a good number of homes on access lots.) We have a very large inventory of access lots and the prices have come down to the point that he would probably be lucky to sell for $xx,xxx even though his lot has an assigned boat slip. He would have been able to get perhaps $20-30,000 more for it when the market was hot.

This evening I received a call from a potential buyer looking for investment property at Lake Anna. He only wanted to buy a waterfront home to rent out. The requirement was that the rental income cover his monthly expenses, mortagage and taxes. Putting the minimum down, the mortgage payments would be quite high.

Waterfront homes begin around $500,000 and go up to over $2,000.000. The caller was looking for a waterfront foreclosure thinking we might have a number of those and they would now be priced very low. Well, thank goodness, that is not the case.

There are a number of beautiful waterfront homes now on the market priced well below what they could have sold for when the market was very busy. However, they are still nowhere near "fire sale" prices. I do not know of any properties here that will fit his requirements and I told him so.**

There are certainly investment possibilities here if the buyer is able to take the long view. Buying now at reduced prices and holding it until the market peaks again will net them a fine return but it is not going to happen overnight.

• How is the situation where you are and how do you respond to sellers?
  
• When buyers ask you if the bottom has hit yet what do you say?
  
• Do you find yourself talking yourself out of listings?
  
• Or working with buyers?

I believe I am very optimistic about real estate. I could not have been in it all these years through this downturn and the others I've experienced if that was not the case. Nevertheless, I do not want to give a false impression either. Sometimes that means turning away "business."

*At the end of our conversation, Mr. Seller thanked me for my honesty and said for me to call him when I thought it would be a good time for him to sell.

**Mr. Buyer said he would save my number and call me when he is able to buy a waterfront home for his family.

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If you or someone you know is thinking of buying or selling property at or near Lake Anna, please contact Kathleen "Kate" Elim. Kate lives at Lake Anna, knows Lake Anna, loves Lake Anna, and specializes in Lake Anna area real estate.

Call Kate at 540-226-1964 or by e-mail at lakeanna.kate@gmail.com. Be sure to check Kate's Web sites and blog at http://lakeannaandbeyond.com/ or http://lakeannacountry.com/

If you live at a lake doesn't it make sense to have some lures on your mail box? Who knows what kind of mail you might catch.

It's fun to drive around and see what folks have done to personalize their mailboxes. Now believe me, we have some very "Plain Jane" boxes, like the one at the end of our driveway. Perhaps that is why I notice the ones with personality.

I also like the ones that may not be particularly different but the owners have taken the time to "dress" them up abit with flowers and other types of plants. Thought I would like to share some of my favorites with you.

Everytime I pass these I think of the American flag...red, white and blue.

The one to the right is a little bit country! It makes me think of antlers. Or is it saying to us, "so big" like we used to do when we were little children? Or does it look like a someone you know describing the fish that got away?

Here's a Lake Anna neighbor that has such a green thumb they are able to "grow" ivy to decorate their mailbox. What Mother Nature doesn't do for you, do it yourself with a paintbrush.

No excuse for the mailman not to find this mailbox. Pretty nautical and very appropriate for Lake Anna.

In a contest for the Good, the Bad and the Ugly where would you place this one?

This "fish" appeared on my road one day. I now have the "pleasure" of seeing it each and every time I go out my driveway. Boy, has he got a big mouth! He'd probably make a great blogger! I bet he'd have some fish tales to tell us.

Out here in the country we must also find comfortable places for our cows and horses. This neighbor of mine gave his animals their very own barn. They just have to share with some bills and junk mail.

I wonder what type of "gifts" the postman finds in here.

Driving around Lake Anna can be interesting. Just be sure to keep your eyes open (and on the road too).

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If you or someone you know is thinking of buying or selling property at or near Lake Anna, please contact Kathleen "Kate " Elim. Kate lives at Lake Anna, knows Lake Anna, loves Lake Anna, and specializes in Lake Anna area real estate.

Call Kate at 540-226-1964 or by e-mail at lakeanna.kate@gmail.com. Be sure to check Kate's Web sites and blog at http://lakeannaandbeyond.com/ or http://lakeannacountry.com/

We've heard this advice many times and it still holds true.

Whether you are leaving a real estate company or have not been selected to list a particular property do not even begin to think that this is history. You just never know when you might want to go back to that firm. Or, you never know if some time in the future you may have the opportunity to work with that seller listing the same house or perhaps in an entirely different transaction.

Treat all parties in a transaction with professionalism, courtesy, and respect. Perhaps that other agent will be across from you on another deal and you will be needing an extra dose of cooperation. If you have shown that you will extend yourself, others may well do the same in return.

Sometimes the agent that represented the other party in the transaction stops working in your market and that client may think of you when they are looking for a REALTOR®. If you have done what it takes to get the transaction to settlement the likelihood is that you will be in line for the job.

Just recently, a few days after a settlement, the purchaser called me to ask for some information. When I offered to do some additional things to help out she told me they never expected as much from a REALTOR® as they had received from me. I replied that they now had not just a REALTOR® but a friend.

We develop friendships with fellow agents, lenders, home inspectors and others that help us with our transactions.

We are also so fortunate that many of our clients become our friends. What a nice perk. Of course, some markets facilitate this more easily than others. Fortunately for me I live in such an environment and it adds a special dimension to my work.

Take care of all of your relationships even transitory ones as you may be crossing that bridge again and again.

. . . . . . .

If you or someone you know is thinking of buying or selling property at or near Lake Anna, please contact Kathleen "Kate " Elim. Kate lives at Lake Anna, knows Lake Anna, loves Lake Anna, and specializes in Lake Anna area real estate.

Call Kate at 540-226-1964 or by e-mail at lakeanna.kate@gmail.com. Be sure to check Kate's Web sites and blog at http://lakeannaandbeyond.com/ or http://lakeannacountry.com/

That's exactly right, if it hasn't happened to you yet just wait...it will. I'm thrilled to tell you I have just received my first direct contact from a consumer through Active Rain.

I received an e-mail today from someone that has a vacation/second home here at Lake Anna. She and her husband would like to meet with me next Monday evening to discuss listing their home.

Previously, I had another agent on the Rain contact me regarding a referral (which didn't pan out as my suggested list price was too low) have any of you had that reaction from a homeowner???

Believe me, I would continue to spend time in the Rain even if I never received one single contact through it. I have received so much already, but it is nice to see that this is an added benefit.

Thank you Active Rain and all my fellow Rainers. Without all of you this dynamite site would not exist. Getting to know even just a small number of you has been a very rewarding experience. It's funny that if someone goes missing for a few weeks (I do that for days at a time) I miss them and wonder what happened. I only wish I had more time to spend here.

When I first joined the Rain I had a bit more time and had a lot of fun reading, writing, and commenting. Now I have been busier (it always slows down around November and heats up again late winter/early spring) there is not as much time to play in the Rain.

I'm looking at all the raindrops in the graphic and it reminds me of all my Raindrops here on the Rain. You have added another measure of happiness to my life. Thank you all.

Cheers to all the Raindrops I have come to know and enjoy here on the Rain. I appreciate all of you and am so happy we have this forum to learn so much, to get to know others, to share our ups and downs, and to post our thoughts and photos. What more could we ask for...I cannot think of a thing!

May the Rain continue forever and ever!

. . . . . . .

If you or someone you know is thinking of buying or selling property at or near Lake Anna, please contact Kathleen "Kate " Elim. Kate lives at Lake Anna, knows Lake Anna, loves Lake Anna, and specializes in Lake Anna area real estate.

Call Kate at 540-226-1964 or by e-mail at lakeanna.kate@gmail.com. Be sure to check Kate's Web sites and blog at http://lakeannaandbeyond.com/ or http://lakeannacountry.com/