Good Neighbor Podcast South Charlotte
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of South Charlotte.
Good Neighbor Podcast South Charlotte
Ep # 141 Navigating Waterfront Real Estate: Expert Tips from Mike Sposato
Luxury waterfront properties are defying market trends, with multi-million dollar homes on Lake Norman and Lake Wylie moving quickly despite economic headwinds. What's driving this surprising resilience? Cash buyers—many relocating to Charlotte from other regions—are snapping up premium lakefront homes without batting an eye at the price tag.
Mike Sposato, owner of Carolina Realty Advisors, takes us deep into the specialized world of lakefront real estate, sharing insights that go far beyond typical property transactions. The conversation reveals the complex web of regulations governing waterfront properties—from Duke Energy's "760 rule" to dock permits and septic system considerations that can make or break your lakefront dream. For those considering teardowns, Mike explains the critical importance of understanding grandfathered structures, setbacks, and permit requirements before making costly mistakes.
Not everyone has millions to spend, though, and Mike offers practical advice for both high-end buyers and those seeking more affordable options. Areas like Denver, Sherrill's Ford, and northern parts of Lake Norman still offer relative value compared to premium locations like Cornelius. First-time lakefront buyers might consider condos or townhomes starting around $300,000. Most fascinating is Mike's breakdown of creative financing strategies in today's high-interest environment, including the "3-2-1 buydown" that can temporarily transform a 7% loan into a 4% rate for the first year—a tactic that requires skilled negotiation but can make homeownership possible now rather than later. Whether you're dreaming of lakefront luxury or seeking investment opportunities in Charlotte's diverse real estate landscape, this episode delivers actionable insights from someone who knows the market inside and out. Ready to dive in? Visit carolinalakefronthomes.com or contact Mike directly to explore your options.
Carolina Realty Advisors
Mike Sposato
(704) 619-7070
mike@carolinarealtyadvisors.com
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Regina League.
Speaker 2:Hi everyone and welcome back to our real estate series with Mike Sposato. He's owner of Carolina Realty Advisors here in Charlotte. Welcome back, mike.
Speaker 3:Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2:Absolutely so. It's been a couple months since we last chatted. It was in May and you talked a lot about the Charlotte housing market, residential, and how maybe it's shifting a little bit from being such a seller's market. And tell, tell us what you're seeing lately.
Speaker 3:Well, it's still kind of moving in a direction. I always use this pendulum analogy where, essentially, if it takes you, say, 30 days or less on one side of the pendulum to sell your property, that means it's a seller's market. And as we go down that pendulum and it swings up, a buyer's market is going to be where there's any more than, say, six months of inventory, where it takes you from the time you list until the time you close. If it takes more than six months on average, then it becomes more beneficial for the buyer. We're not quite there yet and I don't think we're going to get there. It just depends on what happens with interest rates. But there's not a ton of change really. That's happened in the market since the last time we talked.
Speaker 3:One thing I am seeing that it's been really interesting and it's been great is the luxury market, the high-end luxury market. Either on, like Lake Norman or Lake Wiley, there's some of the higher-end prices, excuse me, some of the higher end houses that are waterfront are moving fairly quickly and one of the reasons is my clients that I can speak for. They're cash buyers, so they're not subject to higher interest rates and they're either. Most of them are moving here from outside of our area and they've sold or they just have the cash to do it and they're buying houses in the you know a little bit, maybe a million and a half, up to four or five million dollars. Those buyers are abundant, believe it or not, as crazy as it sounds, they're out there and it's been a really good early summer for us because we've had several clients that are just like that and so and one of the things that's been really beneficial is one of my new websites that we developed, called Carolina Lakefront Homes.
Speaker 3:So what we did is, because I've been doing so many lakefront property sales, we put together a website for our clients and any potential prospects. It's really informative. It's got tons of videos, articles, really important things that you know if you're going to be in that market segment and you want to live on the water either Lake Wiley, lake Norma or even Lake Hickory. There's things you have to know and, I think, educating people, even at that price point. You know they've never had a waterfront home and they don't realize how important things are with permitting for things like docks and septic location on your property and well, because more often than not you're not going to have city water and city sewer. So I know I'm getting off on a tangent, but I would encourage anybody who's thinking about maybe buying property on the water or on one of the lakes is to check out my website. It's carolinalakefronthomescom. One of the lakes is to check out my website.
Speaker 2:It's carolinalakefronthomescom. Well, I would guess that buying a lakefront property is more of an emotional purchase than maybe you know just your normal neighborhood. Then what advice would you give a first-time buyer you know who says, ooh, I want lakefront.
Speaker 3:A first-time buyer is going to be a tough more than likely. You know there's always exceptions to the rules, but if you're a first time buyer you want to be on the lake. You probably be looking at a condo or townhome and there's several really nice condo and townhome communities on pretty much all the local lakes Really there are. Then those are going to be price points that you might be able to get in at three hundred three fifty, something like that. It's not going to break the bank. So kind of figuring out what's important for you other than the lake. Are there any other amenities or location too close to work? A whole slew of other things that you'd want to think about. And that's part of what we do as real estate agents. We help ask the right questions so people really think about things that are going to be important to them.
Speaker 2:Right, right, I know you know it can be you and all of these emotional things, but sometimes timing is off and you just don't get all that. What about the person who has the money for the big purchase on the lake? Any specific advice for them?
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's kind of what I've been going through here with several of my clients. So that's kind of what I've been going through here with several of my clients. The view seems to be really important. Knowing the lake is important and that's where I come in. I spend a lot of time. You might be able to have a little bit of a suntan or sunburn actually, but I'm on the lake quite a bit with my clients and knowing, like, where the deep water is Some people like that's critically important.
Speaker 3:If you're going to have a boat and a dock, you don't want your boat sitting on the ground in the wintertime. You know what I mean. So you know knowing that kind of information, really understanding the importance of locating where, like your septic field is again because you're more than likely going to have septic field is again because you're more than likely going to have septic. You know not going to have City County sewer. Understanding some of the rules, like the 760 rule out on Lake Norman. Or you know what you can do with a doc. I got a client just recently, bought a house and wanted to expand on the doc that was there, but you're only allowed so much square footage per Duke Energy's rules and regulations. So you have to know that information. You just can't come in willy nilly and say I just want a big new dock and start building it because you're going to get. You know we get in trouble for that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, been there, done that, so you're exactly right. There are a lot of regulations. Are people sellers getting what they're asking for? Their homes on the lake?
Speaker 3:It's it's. The short answer is yeah, a lot of these cash buyers. They're a little bit more mature in most cases I'm finding maybe just a little bit older. They don't want to get in a big squabble and all that kind of thing. They like what they like and they're in a position where they have the money to get what they want. See the right house, or when they see the right house, they've been cash buyers and pretty close to full price and now there might be some concessions for things like repairs and maybe some personal property and things of that nature that they want. But as far as pricing goes, yes, if you've got a really nice lakefront waterfront home and it's got a nice dock and a nice flow to the home and it's in good shape, they're moving quick.
Speaker 2:Yeah, what about? You know some of these teardowns, because the lake is old and what started building around it in the 60s and someone sees a great lot, but you know they need to build a home. Do you work with those kinds of clients as well?
Speaker 3:I know this sounds weird, but once again, yes, just early this week I had a new client come in with that exact kind of scenario and that again is so important that you have the knowledge of. Okay, I'm going to tear this house down now Is this house grandfathered in? Where are my setbacks, if you know, if I leave part of the foundation, and can I still use this foundation? That's this close to the water or do I have to go to today's setbacks? That's important to know. Or, once again, where's my well located? You know, because if I have to move that along in my property, you know you need to. You need to know that.
Speaker 3:So, getting a good survey, having a good architect, and also I've got a good friend. Her name's Erica McIntosh. She owns premier permits to the Carolinas. She's really helpful with helping people kind of understand the permitting process, for you know, once you tear the property down, what has to happen and where you have to be with your doc and this and there's a lot. I'm just it's overwhelming. It's not like buying a standard home in a regular subdivision. It's much more involved and you have to have people that are experts and know what they're doing.
Speaker 2:Absolutely and have that experience in all those aspects. Are there any underestimated areas? Undervalued, I should say, on Lake Norman?
Speaker 3:still, you know, if another way of putting it is where could I get the best deal? I think is maybe what you're saying. Denver still has some good locations Sherrill's Ford and then north of Sherrill's Ford as you head up the lake Sherrill's Ford and then north of Sherrill's Ford as you head up the lake. There's places like Long Island or Troutman places up in there where it's a little further away, but you can still get to the main channel by boat. There's maybe not as developed in terms of grocery stores and other things that people are going to want, but if you are looking for where do I get the biggest bang for my buck, it would be those areas, because Cornelius is like super expensive and you're not going to find really a good deal kind of thing over in Cornelius. And Mooresville is good but it's got a lot of traffic in certain parts of Mooresville. They're not in a position where they're going to be dropping prices a ton.
Speaker 2:Gotcha, so also just the late conversation. What is one trend in real estate that people are underestimating, and how are you capitalizing on that?
Speaker 3:So that's. It's an interesting question and how I would want to rephrase it or say it is. It comes down to the loan. A lot of people right now, if they're needing financing, say they're a traditional buyer, putting five or 10 or 20 percent down. If the interest rate that they're getting is seven percent, the payment structure on it is a little scary. The payment structure on it is a little scary, it's pretty high, but because sellers are a little bit more motivated and properties are sitting on the market a little bit longer, if you have a good realtor who understands the financing aspect of it, you can negotiate credits with the seller in a lot of cases to get them to give additional money towards the buyer's closing costs. And what you could do as an example is you might have a 7% rate but maybe you can negotiate enough of a credit to get that all the way down to a 6% rate or five and a half or five and three quarters on a 30 year fixed.
Speaker 3:Or another thing which I've done is there's certain loan products out there. One's called a 3-2-1 buy down, another one's a 2-1 buy down and simply put, if we use that same 7% interest rate, if you can get a 3-2-1 buy down. That first year it would be three points less or it'd be 4% interest rate. Then the next year or the next 12 months, it would be set at 5% and then goes to 6% and then, if you don't refinance in that time period, it eventually will go up to 7% again. But that's one thing that people don't really know a lot about.
Speaker 3:I'll tell you one thing is critical in order to do that kind of loan, you got to have a good agent who knows how to negotiate it. You got to have a good agent who knows how to negotiate it. You got to have a great lender who can do it. And also you have to have a seller who's willing to pay for it, because the buyer can't pay for it at all. It's got to be a gift from the seller and the agent's not allowed to give the gift. So it's got to come from the seller, but I've been successful doing it. It's got to come from the seller, but I've been successful doing it. It's not easy, but it really helps a lot. It helps people get into homes now versus waiting Cause. There's a waiting game because of the interest rates. A lot of buyers are like let's wait and see what happens here. You know.
Speaker 2:Wow, you have a lot of skill. You brought up some things that I don't think most of us ever think about. One final question If you had 500 500 000 cash to invest in, charlotte.
Speaker 3:Where would you put it and why? Well, um, I'm in a somewhat of a similar dot 500, but I'm in a position where I'm doing what's called a 1031 exchange and, without getting into the weeds on that, it's a situation where I'm selling one income producing rental property and I have to take the. There's a certain amount of money I have to take and I have to apply that to additional property in order to postpone the big tax bill that comes. That's not exactly the way it goes, but, generally speaking speaking, hopefully people understand what I'm saying. So, um, there's a lot of people like getting into airbnbs. They're hard to find, um, but if you can find one, that's got it.
Speaker 3:You know some sort of recent history on how much incomes are producing and you could buy a turnkey. That would be a good place to park your money. There are certain neighborhoods in Charlotte that seem to be insulated or good for rental properties. Uptown, south End, dilworth, myers Park are examples where if you could get something in one of those neighborhoods and you're able to hold on to that and get a renter to come in and pay some of the mortgage, or if you pay cash with your 500, they could just give you an income stream. There's so many different ways you can make money if you had a half million dollars in real estate from buying commercial property to buying lots and trying to build on them and then flip them and continuing to do that. There's a lot of ways to skin the cat for sure.
Speaker 2:Well, charlotte's a hot market and definitely you know this area as good as anyone. Thank you so much, mike. This has been incredible valuable information. Appreciate you joining us today.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you got it. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2:Say one more time your number and how to reach you.
Speaker 3:Okay, so it's Mike Sposato. Reach you. Okay, so it's Mike Sposato, Carolina Realty Advisors. My number 704-619-7070. Email is just mike at carolinarealtyadvisorscom. I mentioned that one website that's kind of a it's a great website. It's carolinalakefronthomes. com.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much, Mike. I look forward to our next session together.
Speaker 3:Yeah, me too. Have a great day.
Speaker 2:You too.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPSouthCharlotte. com. That's GNPSouthCharlotte. com, or call 980-351-5719.