We are looking at LOTO for a summer home. Budget started at $500-600k and is now at $1mm to get what we would even consider worth owning near Osage. .

As many have stated, get outside the main areas of town and you can get stuff in the $500k range. Lots of things up past the 35-40mm are in great coves and not nearly as expensive as the Osage/Lake Ozark/4 Seasons areas.

Lots of REALLY nice condo complexes in the developed areas that are under $500k and will get you some return as rentals.

Here is just one example of a great complex.
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1225-Lands-End-Pkwy-Apt-732_Osage-Beach_MO_65065_M83250-23821

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/Lands-End-Pkwy-Unit-811_Osage-Beach_MO_65065_M96957-80972

As long as the cold doesn't bug you too much I would at coming to Michigan. Whether you want to live on Lake Huron or Lake Michigan, both have lots of boating as well as good restaurants. I'm up in Port Huron/St. Clair Michigan and during the summer the boating here is great.

Don,t come to MI. way to short boating season, way to long winters with SNOW.
And we are always in LOCK DOWN mode!
our self imposed dictator will drive working class out

LOTO is amazing, there are a tons of great properties, the trick is to know what you want, There are some nice homes that are 30 yrs old and have a kick ass doc and that will drive the price up. There are also some nice homes with a very small dock. Some homes are close to bars, some very remote and you get to boat a little to go to dinner by water. some places are easy to get to by boat but a real biatch to get to by car. or the the other way. I know almost every inch of that lake. give me a call Ill find ya the right property that fits you budget and checks off the boxes of what you need. i also know of some properties that are for sale that are not on MLS (everything is for sale :) some people just dont want to list it)

Randy Wild
314-420-2619

I purchased a condo in Osage Beach this past winter. After towing wide boats from Cali to Loto for the past 10 years during the shootout it seemed like a good idea. I planned to fly out for a week vacation each month during boating season. Covid changed my plans a bit. I towed the boat to the lake in August and towed it home in September to winter in California. My retirement plans will be to keep the condo and buy a few acres with a modest home to build a shop with heat and air to store my cars and boats when the weather becomes unbearable. Property is cheap an hour from the lake.

^^^^^ this is the best way to REALLY find out the best options. Call a guy that has lived, built and sold at the lake for years. And has always been a "boat guy" so he gets the whole picture.

Four Seasons is not leased land. Tan-Tar-A used to be, not sure if it still is. Short term rentals in Four Seasons is a no. Long term ok. In other words, no AirB&B or nightly rentals except at the Lodge or Tree Tops or places like that. Yearly rentals ok. Keep looking, there is a lot of property out here to buy, you just have to be ready to buy when it goes up. Every house on my street that went up for sale this year since March, sold fast and in the 450K to 700K range. Including, docks, some or all furnishings. It is a great place to live, but I will tell you, it gets rough on the weekends, places are busy, this is the Lake Life. Got to wait your turn, don't yell at the workers, they are doing the best they can and don't be a cheapskate. They work 4 to 6 month's non-stop and that is all they make. Marina's, paint shops, dock builders, lift builders are all busy. I did talk to a dock guy yesterday, that had a customer cancel his new dock until the election is certified.
Do your homework.

Yay!!! Met a guy last week at Lucy's. He is a Cali transplant, told me the same thing !!

Property is cheap 10 min from the Lake. Bought a lot on the river side, building a cabin and shop to get away from the Lake when I want too. 150K Max, land, cabin and garage.

If you don’t have to be on the water $500K will get you a real nice place in some nice areas that will either have a community dock that you’ll have to drive to or you can lease a slip at a marina (what I’m currently doing). As stated above, if you don’t know the area well get hooked up with someone that does to help guide you. I’ve passed on a lot of nice places as by water they are where I want to be but by land it sucks and vice versa. Even with the prices being where they are at I’d still buy if the right place came along and I got there before everyone else. At some point burning thru $10K a season on rent makes less sense then paying a premium on property.