Listing #2 - Norfork Lake Resort

Summaries

Better lake views are hard to find than those at Listing #2 Resort

Grand Lake Views & Fabulous Sunsets
Listing #2 offers a rare combination of beautiful lake views with fabulous sunsets, facilities in great condition, growing annual sales, steady repeat business, and a comfortable owner's home. All you need to do to continue this resort's success is move in!

Please help me help you! All resort showings are by appointment only. Please phone me to schedule appointments before you come to the area. Appointments are the only way I can guarantee I will be available to you for true service.

Land
Listing #2 comprises approximately 5.8 acres on a ridge top some 200 feet above the main Norfork Lake channel. The property has a 160 degree panoramic view of the lake, and because of its southwest exposure, enjoys sunsets year around. There is enough vacant land to build several more units on the property. Most of the 5.8 acres is grass yard under tall hardwoods which shade the property and create a park-like setting. The lake side of the boundary borders the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers line. The surrounding quiet neighborhood is single family residences.

Lodging
All lodging units are kitchen units which are fully furnished with cookware, utensils, tableware, refrigerators, microwaves, toasters, ranges, and coffee makers. The majority of the units are all electric. All bed and bath  linens are supplied. All units have 40 gallon electric water heaters, color cable TVs with remote controls, ceiling fans, air conditioning, and heat. Each cabin has a picnic table and charcoal grill. For photos and details of each unit click the unit number links above.

Total resort sleeping capacity is 78 persons in 14 units contained in 12 buildings. Ten of the 14 units are separate cottages ranging in size from one room to three bedrooms. The other four units range in size from one room to two bedrooms. This range of sizes allows the resort to accommodate family reunions and other groups, individuals, families, and friends fishing together.

Units 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6 are the original separate stone cottages having beautiful lake views. The Bunkhouse is a large studio unit in the store and storage building. Unit 7 is a two story condo. Units 8 & 9 are in the same building as unit 7 and can be rented separately or as an adjoining suite. Units 10, 11, 12, and 14 (there is no unit 13) are all separate cottages of various sizes.

Owner's Home
The owner's home is a 1,120 sqft. two bedroom one full bath residence with an open living room and kitchen. The kitchen opens into the resort office and store. There is plenty of room on the property to build a new home, then convert this owner's home into another rental unit.For photos and details click Owner's Home above.

Resort Amenities
Other resort amenities include a swimming pool with "Tusk" the elephant fountain, a miniature golf course, a recreation building, a pavilion, a playground, guest laundry, and a store selling basic sundries. Click the Grounds links above for photos and details.

Dock & Rental Boats
The 12 stall metal dock with large recreation deck is in excellent condition. Four rental boats are included in the sale. For details and photos click the Dock and Boats links above.

Condition
All buildings, boats, the dock, equipment, linens, furniture, bedding, appliances, and furnishings are in good condition. Electrical, plumbing, septic, water well, dock, and all buildings are in good condition. Some of the cabins need minor cosmetic work. The current owners have made several major upgrades and improvements.

Location
The property is in Baxter County, Arkansas. By water Listing #2 is upstream from the Bidwell Point Recreation Area and the Highway 101 Bridge. This area of Norfork Lake is the most popular with vacationers. By land the property is located close to Highway 101and Highway 62/412. The City of Mountain Home is twenty minutes away. Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, shopping, banking, and dining are all 10 minutes away. The property has no roads through it so there is no traffic other than guests.

Listing #2 offers clean lodging with modern furnishings

Market Draw
When considering a trip to Norfork Lake and the Ozarks, potential area visitors are swamped with choice. Standing out in all this competition is the primary challenge facing every small resort in the market today. What it takes is a "hook", something which quickly catches a prospect's eye in any advertisement, regardless of what media that ad is in. When a resort truly has something unique and different, "standing out" becomes much easier.

As the name suggests, the purpose of a "hook" is not to sell the prospect on the resort, but rather to simply first catch and hold the prospects attention to the advertisement, thereby drawing them deeper into the presentation so that they are interested enough to absorb the total message.

Listing #2 has a very strong advertising advantage because it is one of only three resorts on Norfork lake where guests can watch beautiful sunsets over the lake from their cabins. However, most guests would likely agree that the sunsets from Listing #2 cabins and grounds are the best because Listing #2 simply has more lake view under the sunset. For Listing #2 to claim the best views and sunsets on the lake is very reasonable.

Yet gorgeous sunsets and grand lake views are not enough. While they serve well as hooks and attention-getters, they are only the starting point. The rest of the message must convey value, flexibility, and diversity. Consumers expect ultra-clean lodging. They expect modern appliances, good quality beds, and great service. While cabins do not need to be brand new, they must be well decorated, everything must work, and attention to detail must be immediately apparent to guests. How does one measure whether or not all of these requirements are meeting guest expectations?

If guest expectations are met, they will come back. First-time guests become repeat business. And they spread the word so that over-all the business grows, that is, the ratio of first-time guests to repeat guest visits widens. Finally, if a resort has not changed with the times, then sales will either stagnate, or slowly drop off. Listing #2 has seen sales grow every year over the last four years.

Listing #2 promotes the best lake views and sunsets on Norfork

Competition
Like any small resort in the Twin Lakes area, Listing #2 has a lot of good competition from other well managed, clean, and attractive resorts. While all resorts enjoy high summer occupancy from Gen X families, summer sales alone are no longer generating enough gross revenue to support 12 months of mortgage payments. Due to longer school years the summer season has shortened by about three weeks from what it was 15 years ago.

Two factors allow this resort to keep growing. One is that resorts having lake views will always get more spring and fall business than those without lake views - unless the owners are good advertisers. Second is that there is enough summer tourism business to fill all area resorts. The high season is the easy part! By careful planning, and with the lake views, this resort has a growing spring and fall business.

Activities
Guests staying at Listing #2 generally participate in several water sport activities. They also participate in several land-based activities in combination with water sports. Fishing for crappie, large mouth bass, small mouth bass, white bass, striped bass, walleye, and catfish are the primary sportfish species in the lake. Children, as well as many adults, also enjoy fishing for the easy-to-catch sunfish and bream. Fishing from the Listing #2 dock is some of the best on the lake, and the reasons why are explained in the dock section of this presentation.

Fishing guides are willing to pick up Listing #2 guests at the dock because Listing #2 is in a convenient location on the lake. Guests can launch their own boats at two different locations within a 5 minute boat run from the property.

Primary water sports are water skiing, wakeboarding, tubing, swimming, cruising the lake by boat, and just plain relaxing on the water. On this part of Norfork Lake there are four full service marinas within 5 to 10 minutes by water. All sell fuel, have marine centers, stores, and scuba shops.

Land based activities include 18 hole golf, visiting several area attractions, scenic drives, going on day hikes, and taking day trips to attractions within a 2 hour drive of which there are several.

Listing #2 has a newer 12-stall steel dock with a large swimming and fishing deck

Public Services & Utilities
Gamaliel (pronounced Ga-mail-ya) Volunteer Fire Department, which is less than 5 miles away, provides fire protection. The Gamaliel U.S. Post Office is 4 miles away. Law Enforcement is provided by Baxter County Sheriff's Department. Emergency medical services are provided by Baxter Regional Medical Center. North Arkansas Electrical Cooperative provides electricity, and CenturyTel provides telephone service. Internet connections are available via dialup or cable broadband. Cox Cable provides the cable TV service. Baxter County does not have any county wide zoning, so compliance with zoning ordinances is not an issue.The property is in the Mountain Home school district and the school bus stops at the drive way.

Civil Amenities
The Wal-Mart Super Center, Lowes, Home Depot, a bowling alley, several restaurants, and several banks are 15 minutes or less away. Two large full service marinas are both less than 5 miles away by road, and 2 miles by water. Three convenience stores selling gasoline, oil, food, snacks, ice, sundries, etc. are all within a 3 mile drive. The 18 hole Twin Lakes Golf course is 20 minutes away. Several more banks, shopping, movie theaters, bowling, churches, and other service sector businesses are all 15-20 minutes away in Mountain Home. The ASU campus is also 20 minutes away.

Water Wells
Four water wells supply drinking water to various buildings. All four conform to current State and County Health Department Regulations. The main resort well supplies the owner's home and units 1 through 9. Water pressure, well capacity, and recharge time on the main well are high enough to handle water load demands even on busy holiday weekends when the resort is filled to capacity.

Septic Systems
There are five separate gravity flow septic systems in the main resort, and separate systems for units 10, 11, 12, and 14. All are in good working condition.

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