Must have; nice to have… and in your dreams

Sit down with the family and brainstorm the essentials. This could be a dishwasher for Mom; a fishing dock for Dad; a sandy beach for the kids, or a “pets welcome” note for the dog. Call these the deal-breakers; they are the features you just cannot do without and you won’t be prepared to compromise on them. Stick to your guns on this—giving up on one because the cottage meets your needs in all other respects may not deliver the cottage experience your family hopes for.

The next set of criteria are all those features it would be nice to have, but won’t impact anyone too much if you have to do without. Perhaps satellite TV or air-conditioning would be nice, but not necessary.

Lastly, make an “in your dreams” list which might include a motor boat, a hot tub, or a complete outdoor kitchen.

When you’ve done all this, create a final list of questions you need to be answered from a listing, or directly from the owner. Here’s a few to start you off:

Do we have to bring linens, and if so, what is the bed configuration?

When you are travelling with friends and/or family, don’t leave it to the last minute to find out there’s one queen bed and the rest of the bedrooms have twins. Decide early on who will get which bedroom, and then establish what linens you need to take.

What are the check-in and check-out times?

You’ll probably find you won’t be able to check in until late afternoon and you’ll be asked to vacate the cottage by at least 11am on your last day. Since owners have only a short time for cleaning and maintenance between guests, don’t assume you’ll be able to come early and stay late.

What cleaning are we expected to do?

It is difficult to find reliable cleaning services in cottage country and although some owners are able to travel to their property to do a changeover, they often don’t have time to do a full clean between guests. You’ll generally be expected to leave the cottage in the same condition it was in when you arrived, and cleaning materials will be left for you to use before you leave. Some rentals do offer a cleaning service, but you may have to pay extra for it.

Do we have to bring drinking water?

Water is likely to come from the lake via a filtered system or from a well. Many owners provide a water cooler with a complimentary jug of water that you will be able to refill locally. If not, you’ll need to allocate car space for bottled water.

Can we have guests?

For many cottage properties, maximum occupancy means just that—and it includes all children and babies. This is often a restriction imposed by the owner’s rental insurance, or it can be limited by the cottage water and sewage system. Since the last thing anyone wants on a summer vacation is an overflowing septic tank, keeping occupancy to the levels permitted by the owner is a good decision. Even if your group is smaller than posted on a listing, it’s a courtesy to let the owners know if you plan on having guests.

Can we get connected?

If internet connection is important for you, find out if there are download limits. Don’t expect the fiery speeds of city broadband—you may be relying on a satellite connection or a portable internet system allowing just one guest at a time to have access to the service. Of course many cottages are in areas where there is no cell signal so check on this too, if you rely on an iPhone or Blackberry to keep in touch with the world.

A final tip

Before emailing owners with a cut-and-paste list of questions, check that the answers are not already provided on the listing or owner’s website, and only ask the questions you need to. Rental owners will appreciate not having to answer the same questions more than once.

The Outaouais

Located within an hour’s drive north of downtown Ottawa, this forest-stippled area is punctuated with spring-fed lakes, many of which are ringed by sandy shores that make good swimming spots for the whole family and rich fishing grounds for the cottager hungry to catch a bass. The region is home to the easily accessible Gatineau Park, drawing cottagers and day-trippers alike looking to shake a leg, be it on a leisurely stroll down wide paths or a more hardcore hike up hilly terrain. While the Outaouais is mainly considered for summer cottaging, winter here has its draws, including Gatineau’s 200-plus-kilometre network of groomed cross-country ski tracks and snowshoe paths that crisscross Gatineau Park. What’s more, with Quebec being the self-proclaimed snowmobile capital of the world (the machine was invented in the province, after all), it’s no surprise the Outaouais alone boasts some 2,000 kms of skidoo trails. The pretty towns of Chelsea, Wakefield and Val-des-Monts – with restaurants for when you don’t feel like firing up the barbecue – are only minutes away by car.

A two-bedroom waterfront log cabin on Lac Simon might start at $150,000, while a five-bedroom year-round cottage on Lac Rheaume can have an asking price of over $500,000, with the added bonus that you’re only 25 kilometres away from alpine action at Edelweiss ski resort and, a little farther on, at Mont Tremblant. On Lac Gagnon, a relatively new three-bedroom sells in the range of $300,000 to $375,000. In general, multiply the number of bedrooms by $100,000, and you get a pretty good idea of how much you’d need to shell out here.

The Laurentians

The Laurentian Mountains stretch in a west-east direction across much of the province, north of the St. Lawrence River. For the purpose of cottaging, though, the term “the Laurentians” is commonly used to indicate the specific geographic area that’s sitting in the hills an hour and a half northwest of Montreal, with Mont Tremblant the epicentre of property transactions. “A true four-season destination, Tremblant has champion-ship golf courses, cross-country-ski trails, mountain biking and downhill skiing. And with the town hosting the Ironman this summer, it’s about to become a destination for road biking, too,” says Amélie Galarneau, a real estate agent with Royal LePage Mont Tremblant. The area is peppered with lakes, including the large Lac-Tremblant-Nord boasting paddle boarding, canoeing and cruising. For those with restless-leg syndrome, the Parc National du Mont Tremblant offers beginner and expert trails for mountain bikers, as well as a network of hiking paths. A mecca for downhill enthusiasts, the Tremblant slopes are a big draw for cottagers from not only Montreal but also Ottawa, which is just over an hour and half away.

Sought after by high-rollers looking for a property with ski-in/ski-out access, Tremblant does have properties for every budget. “You can find a single-family house for under $275,000,” says Galarneau. “But if you want a lakefront close to the resort, you have to budget at least $500,000.” Half of the market for her office is from Ontario, and with direct flights from the Toronto island airport Torontonians looking for an escape are in a sense closer to a chalet in Mont Tremblant than they’d be if they had to drive from Toronto to a cottage on, say, the French River.

The Eastern Townships

Hugging the U.S. border just over an hour’s drive southeast of Montreal, the Eastern Townships is more of a family affair than Mont Tremblant. For the most part, the topography here resembles that of a pancake, with the odd mountain popping out of the flats, and there aren’t as many little lakes as north of the St. Lawrence. The bigger lakes, including Massawippi, Brome and Memphremagog, are the ones with the most attractive cottaging. Plus a property on Memphremagog , a glacial lake that stretches into Vermont, gives you the chance to spot wildlife that’s a bit out of the ordinary – Memphre, a giant, serpent-like monster, is reported to ply the waters. The area offers more than hundreds of kilometres of marked bike trails, some for adrenaline-packed downhill rides and others for more leisurely country cruising. There a water park and golf courses, as well as equestrian centres. What’s more, Quebec’s Wine Route, a road that links more than a dozen wineries, wends it’s way through the Townships, letting you pair your new discoveries with locally produced food – gourmet with a decidedly French accent. With a cottage in this area, you’re close to the makers of ice cider, Quebec’s answer to Ontario’s ice wine. Come winter, you’re close to no less than four ski resorts, including Ski Bromont, which offers night skiing every day of the week, making it the largest lit ski terrain in North America.

In Mégantic, you can get a winterized four-bedroom cottage for under $400,000, with lake access and proximity to an astronomy observatory for taking in the night sky. Over in Magog, a one-bedroom bungalow can go for under $100,000 if you’re lucky, but most properties with water access will set you back around $300,000 for a three-bedroom chalet.

Want to give Quebec a try? Search for a rental in The Outaouais, Laurentians, or Eastern Townships at CottageLife.com/Rentals.

Your cottage rental listing is a showcase for marketing and promoting your cottage, so take the time to do more than just upload a few grainy pictures and hope for the best. Paying attention to what rental guests are seeking is the key to attracting interest as well as bookings. When there are thousands of cottage owners vying for potential renters, you need to make your property stand own and get noticed

Start by looking for cottages that you would like to stay in. What sparks your interest? What rooms are most appealing? Can you imagine living in the place for a week; sleeping in the beds and cooking in the kitchen? Take some time to put yourself in your potential renters’ shoes and you’ll have a good foundation for what will work for your listing. Here are the key elements to get you started:

Headline

Describe your cottage in a few words to create a compelling headline. Pull out the features that will most appeal to potential renters and give them an irresistible spin. For example, “Spectacular Muskoka sunsets” or “ Relax and Rejuvenate on the Bruce” or “Kawartha Pets’ Paradise.”

Description

Use descriptive text to paint a picture of the experience your renters will have. Get them to imagine sitting on the dock with a chilled glass of wine while the sun goes down at the end of a magical day or cooking up a storm for the family in the well-equipped kitchen before dining al fresco on the shaded deck. Remember not to hide anything that may surprise them, such as weedy waterfront, or close neighbours – these features will be fine for the best suited to your place (say, fishermen or parents who want their children to find friends).

Staging

The images on a listing must capture attention and create anticipation in order to convince a potential renter to make an inquiry instead of moving on to the next cottage. Before taking photographs, do a staging plan to ensure that each room is shown at its best. Lay up a kitchen island with a breakfast theme, a patio table with a fresh outdoor look, and a dining table for a candlelit dinner. Stage the bedrooms with attractive bedding, throw pillows, and lamps, and use greenery and artwork to provide added interest. An image that helps people imagine their vacation is much more effective than a bare-bones room.

Photos

Set aside a few hours for your photo shoot and pay attention to detail before you start to take pictures. Remove clutter and personal items, and turn on the lights to create ambiance and appeal. Natural light is best in the early to late afternoon. Take photos from different angles and experiment with close-ups of the best features such as a bed with attractive throw pillows and interesting artwork on the back wall. Pick the best to go on the listing then create additional albums on Flickr to showcase different aspects of the property.

Availability

If the listing site you are using has an availability calendar, keep it up to date and don’t ask potential renters to call you for rates or availability. They won’t. When people are searching for a cottage rental and are faced with a wide choice, they want accurate and up to date information and will move on very quickly if it is not at hand.

Amenities

Most potential renters will start their search with a set of criteria a listing has to meet. To make their search easier and to get them to stick around and look at your place, make your facility list clear. List the number of bedrooms and bathrooms with detail on what is in each; include all main appliances and additional features such as internet and satellite TV. Attract renters with ‘Large DVD library’ or ‘Plenty of water toys’ or ‘Fishing rods and equipment.’ Attracting the eyes of picky renters often means having more amenities than the competition.

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Considering renting out your cottage? CottageLife.com/rentals is a great place to start!

There are reasons besides price to look in fall though, says Haliburton broker Anthony vanLieshout of Royal LePage Lakes of Haliburton brokerage. “I’ve always felt that fall’s the best time to buy,” he says. Many of the lakes in his area are reservoir lakes, where water levels drop two to nine feet in the fall. “You’ll get to see the shoreline at its most visible, and see what the low water level is like. And with the foliage coming off the trees, you’ll see the cottage’s privacy level when it’s at its worst.”

Land O’ Lakes broker Chris Winney of Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty tips towards spring. “It’s wet,” she says. “In my experience, water is one of the worst enemies of a cottage, and in spring, you’ll get a good sense of how dry the cottage stays.” You’ll also see how water-laden the ground itself gets.

And what about winter bargain hunters? “I get nervous when people buy in winter,” says Winney. “You can’t see the shoreline, and unless you or the agent know the property or have good photos of the shoreline, it’s hard to know what you’re getting.”

Access isn’t the only issue when it comes to roads, though. Will the road to your cottage be plowed in the winter? Who pays for its upkeep? While some cottagers are lucky enough to have county or township roads that run right to their driveways, many cottages are accessed via private roads. Usually, the local cottage or road association—made up of the property owners who use the road—will assume care of the road, assessing members an annual fee for maintenance and, if the road is open in the winter, plowing. “We pay $125 a year to keep our lane maintained, insured and plowed,” says Chris Winney Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty. “It’s the best $125 I pay.” Note that in some areas, seasonal cottagers may be assessed a lower rate than those who use their properties year-round, though this isn’t always the case.

If you’re purchasing in an area where mining activity is likely, ask your lawyer to check to ensure that there are no mining claims staked on the property you’re purchasing, and see if it’s possible to obtain the mineral rights yourself. And while you’re at it, ask about native land claims—or rumours of claims—on the property you’re considering.

Of course, you have no way of knowing for sure that the market value of the cottages in your area will increase in the future and not drop further. “The premise of this plan is that the current capital gains tax on the transfer of the cottage to the kids will be less than the future capital gains tax when the parents die, and that’s not guaranteed,” says Karen Slezak, a partner with chartered accounting firm Soberman in Toronto. She points out that another financial consideration is whether the money paid out through triggering the capital gains tax now would actually be worth more in the future if it were invested.

Don’t forget the non-tax considerations. If the cottage is transferred to the kids, do they make the decisions about repairs and renos? Who pays for the firewood and insurance? Also, do all the kids even want the cottage, or would they prefer a payout from the estate? “There’s no one-size-fits-all answer,” says Slezak. “It depends on the situation.”

Consider this true tale shared by one realtor: A Toronto buyer opts to use his Toronto agent as he searches for a family cottage. They find the perfect property: a relatively new cottage on a bay. They look at it in November. The bay is skimmed over with ice and a dusting of snow. The cottage is stunning. The Sold sign goes up. The buyer makes plans for a dock, perfect for his boat and for his teenaged kids to dive into the water from. Which all comes to naught when spring arrives—and he discovers that his beautiful bay is only half a metre deep.

Look for an agent who is a member of the local real estate board and is knowledgeable about the local lakes, advises John Sallinen or Re/Max Parry Sound-Muskoka Realty. “That kind of agent will know, okay, you and your family of teens love pwcs, but on this lake, they’re all canoe people, and if you buy there, you’re going to be the black sheep of the lake, so that might not be the lake you want to be on,” he says. He suggests using a local lawyer as well. “We have a local cottage development that went in in the 1960s, and the developer did not transfer all of the rights of way correctly,” he says. Local lawyers know that when properties in that development change hands, they need to ensure that the seller has clear access and title—and if not, to ensure that the seller, rather than the buyer, pays to clear it up. “I’m not saying an outside lawyer wouldn’t notice it,” says Sallinen, “but a local lawyer would be unlikely to miss it.”

Chris Winney of Royal LePage Pro Alliance Realty in Land O’ Lakes suggests localizing yourself, as well—by picking up the local news-paper regularly as you’re cottage-hunting so that you’re in the know about regional issues and concerns. “And talk to the neighbours. A neighbour is going to give you the honest truth about what the water’s like, what the lake’s like, what the community is like.”