Diamond in the rough
Submitted: June 30, 2012
Stayed: June 2012
If you're looking for perfection or elegance, this is not the house for you. If you have kids and/or pets and don't mind cosmetic blemishes and some minor functional issues, but want to be right on beautiful Lake Norman, this is the place for you.
My first impression was that the pictures didn't accurately reflect the state of the property, but I came to the conclusion that it's just that the trees/brush have overgrown. The view from the house down to the lake is much more obstructed than the photos show. But it is still a beautiful view.
The house is older and not in perfect condition, but it was good for what we needed it for - to bring our family and dogs with us and spend a week on the lake. The house has 3 levels - the front of the house opens to the ground level, but if you drive around the circular drive to the lower level, it leads to the basement/walkout level. That's where the kitchen and bedrooms are (plus a bathroom and a living area) so we unpacked down there.
The kitchen is stocked with a toaster, coffee maker, waffle maker, and some older pots and pans, plus dishes & utensils. There are no plastic cups so if you have kids you may want to bring some. There is an extra refrigerator in the dining area, which we found very useful for keeping ice and drinks in, and used the main fridge for food. There is a gas grill on the back patio which we used and it worked well.
There is a patio halfway down to the water that has some sparse furniture and a brick grill. We didn't find the brick grill to be useful - it is small and it was full of yard debris, so we brought our portable fire pit and put that down there and enjoyed that area in the evenings.
There are quite a few spiders down by the lake, but as we found out, it is just part of lake living. The house was bug-free and clean. There are some hardwoods and some laminate flooring which was easy to keep clean.
The dock is great - it is very large with 2 boat slips and jet ski docks, which worked perfectly with our lake kayaks. We rented a pontoon from the owner for 3 days, which was great. It's an older boat, about 20-22 feet, with a 90hp motor. We rented a tube from Lake Norman Marina and the kids had a great time with that.
The owner of the home is very kind and forthcoming. He does his best to address any issues. Once we relaxed and accepted we weren't staying at the Ritz, we really enjoyed our stay there. I would recommend the property, especially if you have pets.
Helpful votes: 4/4
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