John and Jana Kovac desired a vacation home where they could enjoy water sports as they did with their families while growing up. The couple, who work in the marketing and advertising field and are in their mid-30s, chatted about their second home on Lake Wedowee in Alabama.
Why Lake Wedowee: "I grew up around water up in Cleveland. I kind of missed it," said John, who enjoys skiing, fishing and windsurfing. As kids, both of them spent summers in Canada with their families. "We kind of wanted to have the same fun time with our family," Jana said. They sought a lake home farther than Lake Lanier and Lake Allatoona, so they searched on lakes Hartwell, Oconee and Sinclair. Then they remembered that their friends, Kara O'Brien and Paula Rose, had built a home on an Alabama lake, and they were invited to Lake Wedowee for the weekend. "It just didn't compare to anything else we had found," Jana said. "It was a beautiful lake and had the real nature and remoteness that we loved." They found the prices were comparable to Lake Sinclair, and ending up buying a home across the street from Rose and O'Brien.
Their home: It's a five-bedroom, three-bath home with an open floor plan and a basement, situated on a peninsula. "The view of the house kind of sells it," John said. The sellers took time to explain how and why they built the home about six years ago, and they took them out on their boat. "Their heart and soul was in that place," John said. The off-white color palette created an airy feel in the window-filled home and emphasized the homes' wood accents. There's also a screened porch, a deck and a boat dock. They've decorated with a coastal look, using white couches with light blue and tan accent pillows.
How far from home: About an hour and 30 minutes from Inman Park.
How often they're there: Every other weekend, in the summer.
What they do when they're there: Skiing, wakeboarding, windsurfing, hiking, swimming and spending time with friends.
What they love about it: The clarity of the water and the remote setting, which is a large contrast to living in the city. "It kind of brought us back to growing up going to cottages on lakes," John said.
Tip for buying a vacation home: Expand your search and look at many homes. They searched for about five months, so by the time they found the Lake Wedowee house, they knew what was available, what was in their price range and what types of compromises they would have to make, John said. They recommend renting a place for a week or weekend to spend time at the lake you're considering and talk to other homeowners.
At a glance
John and Jana Kovac’s home on Lake Wedowee has five bedrooms, three baths and about 2,077 square feet of livable space, according to Randolph County tax records. They purchased it in October 2008.
Community overview
Lake Wedowee is an 10,666-acre lake with a 272-mile shoreline in east Alabama. Alabama Power Co. began construction of Lake Harris, as it is officially known, in 1974 and completed it in 1982. The Alabama Department of Conservation calls Lake Wedowee one of the top three lakes in Alabama for fishing. Alabama Power owns more than 65 percent of the property surrounding Lake Wedowee.
In 2005, 2006 and 2007, the Lake Wedowee market saw increases, up to 50 percent annually, in the number of sales and values of lake homes and lots, said Leisel Caldwell, managing broker of Re/Max Lakefront. Its first $1 million home sale was in 2007, when a lake lot also topped $500,000. It felt the impact of the housing market slowdown in 2008, with high-priced properties but few buyers and closings, Caldwell said. In 2010, there are foreclosures and bank-owned properties, developers who must sell to stay afloat, and sellers who must sell due to life changes or financial woes, she said. Prices are being reduced, with lake lots offered at 50 percent of the original asking price and deals for under $350,000.
Information
Re/Max Lakefront
www.ilovelakewedowee.com
Alabama Power
www.alabamapower.com/lakes
Lake Wedowee Life magazine
www.Lakewedoweelife.com
Lake Wedowee Property Owners Association
www.lakewedoweepoa.com
For sale
$525,000: 60 Cobblestone Drive, Wedowee, AL 36278. A three-bedroom, 3 ½-bath lake home built in 2007 with a dock and boat slip, hot tub, and two levels of screened porches and decks.
$389,000: 670 Sweetwater Point, Wedowee, AL 36278. A two-bedroom, two-bath lakefront cabin built in 2003 with decks and a dock.
Recent sales
$318,000: 343 Pleasure Point Drive, Wedowee, AL 36278. An updated three-bedroom, two-bath lake home built in 2006 with a deck, outdoor kitchen, hot tub and gazebo.
$352,800: Lot 2 The Landing at Chimney Cove, Wedowee, AL 36278. A three-bedroom, 3 ½-bath custom home built in 2007 with heart of pine floors, timber-frame beams and posts, and a boat slip.
Getting there
Take I-20 West into Alabama to Exit 199 (Heflin/Hollis) and turn left onto Ala. 9. Stay on Ala. 9 until a four-way stop, then turn left onto U.S. 431, which goes to Lake Wedowee.
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