When the kids were younger and "needed a nap," I would stick them in the old Volkswagen bus, sprinkle a few Cheerios in the tray of their car seat and drive around looking at interesting properties until long after they had fallen asleep.

The truth is I eventually would have made the drive anyway because I’m interested and curious (sometimes appalled) with the way owners utilize real estate. I also am a dreamer when it comes to waterfront and view land and often wonder "what could be" if I happened upon something remotely affordable.

The best values, and surprises, usually result from visiting a specific area and talking with its people rather than relying on a printed, or online, description.

While the remotely affordable days absolutely seem to be over now, they also seemed to be over more than 30 years ago on Father’s Day weekend when my wife and I started making such drives in our casual search for a weekend-vacation getaway.

It didn’t take long, however, to realize that virtually everything we looked at was out of our price range. The smallest, most remote cabins and lots in prime beach communities were far more expensive than anticipated. Yet, I felt that somehow, somewhere, I would find an acceptable property with decent terms and conditions.

I contacted owners of the seemingly cheapest cabins and vacant lots to see if they would consider selling. I tracked down the beach plats at the local courthouse, copied the lot numbers and found the listed owners through tax records. We then wrote letters and got several "maybe" responses.

One owner asked that we contact his attorney about a vacant lot across the street from waterfront cabins in a small beach community. It turned out the man had been involved in the original platting of the community and at one time had owned quite a bit of property in the region. He said he thought his beach community lots had been sold long ago.

And, the research helped us prepare — then pull a timely trigger — on our eventual getaway. A year later, we found a spot on a freshwater lake that we still share with another family. We had our ducks in a row, and made an informed offer while two other competing buyers would not commit without knowing more about water and sewage.

Father’s Day is right around the corner. If you enjoy driving around and seeing property, take a drive and explore the possibilities. In these times, you never know what someone might be willing to do.

To get even more valuable advice from Tom, visit his Second Home Center.

***

What’s your opinion? Leave your comments below or send a letter to the editor. To contact the writer, click the byline at the top of the story.

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