I would think that the idea of living on a beautiful Orlando lake close to restaurants, shopping, possibly work and everything else downtown would be appealing to many.  Imagine your home as your vacation home- and being able to live the dream all year long? Not bad!

However not all lake front homes are created equal. 
Not all Orlando lakes are created equal.
If you are in the market for a lake front home close to downtown Orlando Florida you may want to ask the following questions:

• Is the home truly "Lake Front"?  There are many homes that are advertised as lake front and many of them are not.  For example, a home that faces a lake is actually lake view if there is any sort of  road between the house and the lake. The house might have spectacular views, but it is not true lake front property and will not be valued as such.


1225 Bryn Mawr St 32804 we have currently listed on "private" ski lake-  Lake Silver


• What kind of lake is the home situated on?  Basically, you have recreational lakes which allow skiing, and the rest that do not.  From what I have seen  lake homes on recreational lakes-  which allow fishing, boating, skiing etc. can garner greater sales price cost per square foot than one equal in all ways (including location) but not situated on a recreational lakes.  Furthermore, when I asked Kelly Kellogg, State Certified Residential Appraiser she said there was no comparison because "a skiable lake is not comparable to a small lake which is not skiable".   

What kind of public access does the lake have?  If you look at the City of Orlando Lake Finder Map you can search each of the lakes downtown.  Click on one and you will see the different ways the public may or may not access the lake.  For example, if you click on Lake Silver you will see that there is no fishing, boating, and no public park access whatsoever.  This means, unless you are a resident surrounding Lake Silver, you will not be able to access its 70 acres of skiable lake.  Yet less than a mile away is Lake Fairview for which the city allows public access for fishing, boating and public parks. You might come to the conclusion that a home on a private lake would be considered more valuable than one equal in all ways to one that is "open to the public". 

My advice is to find out the answers to these questions if you are pursuing lake front property. If you have any questions, or would like to see our beautiful listing at 1225 Bryn Mawr in College Park please get in touch.

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