We are looking for offers on our year-round home on the premium lake in Morrison County. We've held onto this for years, knowing it is a rare piece of property that would be almost impossible to replace in an affordable price range. Now with the kids mostly grown and a great opportunity in Florida, we are somewhat sadly looking to let go of
directly owning this part of the Minnesota dream.
An easy 2 hours NW of downtown Minneapolis gets you there with only about 3 miles of 2 lane road to jump from I94 to Hwy 10 and another 3 miles at the very end. It sits on a large 3 acre lot with 250' frontage providing privacy both on the dock at the lake and on the deck at the house; high elevation provides exceptional views (and yes strong legs since we put off installing a lift to our "old age" that we refuse to acknowledge as coming closer). The yard is large with a great mix of pines, oaks, birch, sumac and such along with plenty of grass area for volleyball, badminton, croquet, etc. We've left most of the trees on the bank to the lake to preserve the privacy; when the leaves are down, the view is panoramic.
Many hours have been spent relaxing in some form or other while looking out at
the mesmerizing "lakescape".
We are on a quiet bay - of maybe 100 acres - on the west end. Even on the windiest days the bay is generally usable for towing/paddling activities. A very nice public access is just around the corner from us which is very convenient for putting in and out, though you can't see it from our dock because of the shoreline. The bay also connects in via canoe/snowmobile over a water "trail" through a wetlands into 1400 acre Fish Trap lake. Our shore is firm sand in the half where we put the dock and play about in the water, with weeds and such starting on the lower end (since we don't even try to keep that cleaned out) for great panfish, bass, and northern fishing right off the dock. The lake is well known for just about any fish you want to go after and has all the room you need for water sports of any kind. Great clarity (17 feet) makes for an invigorating experience whether in or on the exceptionally clean water.
The house is compact, with a 24' by 28' footprint and about 1100 finished square feet, depending on how you count it. There is a full basement, clean and functional, with painted walls and flooring where there is not tile and siding (in lieu of paneling). Half of the basement is most of the way to being a recreation/sleeping
space with a walk out entry.
On the first floor is a large living area with double sliders overlooking the lake, a large eat-in kitchen, the primary bedroom, and a full bath. Most of this floor has been updated with new vinyl windows, oak trim, textured ceilings, and sheetrocked walls (replacing paneling). The kitchen has been partially redone with new windows, trim, flooring, and wallpaper. A large, "step-off" deck walks out from the living space with a smaller one off the kitchen; for us, when the weather is even somewhat pleasant, more "living" occurs outside than in.
Upstairs, there are 2 bedroom areas separated by a half-bath. The bedrooms are tucked under the steeply pitched roof so the ceilings are irregular. The front room is where we have our king bed positioned with our heads practically hanging out the window so we can hear the loons and see the eagles as we rest up from the rigors of lake activities. Currently there are no built-in closets in either room and we've kept the space open rather than putting in doors. The windows and paneling are original; we would be changing over to sheetrock and new windows along with the dormers/closets/doors, full bath) to complete the updating if we can't find someone who wants to take over from where it's at right now while we shift our focus elsewhere.
System-wise, the propane forced-air furnace is relatively new - installed some 6 or so years ago but only really used last winter and this. A new well was drilled around 5 years ago (I think) with a new pressure pump, pressure tank, and water heater also put in. We've been holding off on replacing the roof - which doesn't leak but shows its age - thinking we'd be putting in dormers along with some other improvements this year or next. We
will include our 32' L-shaped roll-in dock, newer 2500# wheeled aluminum boat lift w/ cover, and 8'x8' swim raft.
All in all, the house is certainly more than "OK" for either seasonal or full-time living, but it's the lake and the lot on it that are very special. We've used it very lightly over the last 14 summers, and through the years have rented it out in the off-season for $500-650/month to let it pay for taxes, insurance, and such. For the last year we have rented it for $1400/month with an option to buy that we can either transfer to you for a significant investment opportunity or cancel the option to let you grab this unique place as your own private slice of heaven.
I've include more detail than most would probably want to read hoping to answer many questions, and help qualify interest, prior to any initial contact. I would prefer email replies at this point to set up a phone conversation where we could talk a little more freely if interest warrants. We are motivated, though by no means desperate, to see what we can work
out with reasonably interested buyers. Based on feedback we've received from
many realtors and locals, you'll likely want to hurry as our unique place likely
won't be on the market too long!
