Amy Banks Realty, Inc.

The Birmingham News
Excerpts From:  "Lake Martin Gains Fame As Getaway"
By:  Mike Cason, News Staff Writer
Dated:  Friday, February 20, 2004

Kelly House of Montgomery smelled profit, as well as new opportunities for family fun, when she plunked down money for a run-down cabin on Lake Martin.  Today, the profit potential of her second home seems less important.

"I bought it and thought I would re-sell it.  But my husband and my kids have enjoyed it so much they would die if I sold it," said House, whose cabin is near Anchor Bay on the southern end of the sprawling, 44,000-acre lake.

Lake Martin, created in the 1920s when Alabama Power Co. built a dam on the Tallapoosa River near the Tallapoosa-Elmore county line, for decades has drawn fishermen, boaters and others seeking quiet getaways.  Now, the lake is becoming increasingly popular as a site for second homes.

The lake has drawn attention from national publications and is luring more people from Atlanta and elsewhere out of state, observers say. 

In September, SmartMoney magazine recognized Lake Martin as one of five "Wide Open Spaces" where "great escapes" are still affordable....

"You can take your pick of lakeside properties from 800-square foot $150,000 cabins with two bedrooms and two bathrooms to 7,000-square foot $5 million homes with six bedrooms, six baths and a couple acres," the magazine reported.

The article said the ideal spot for a second home market is two to three hours from a metropolitan area.  Lake Martin is well within that range from Atlanta, Birmingham, and Montgomery.

Last April, EscapeHomes.com listed Lake Martin among the nation's 10 "emerging markets" for second homes.

Escape-Homes.com, a California-based Web site founded in 1998, chose sites based on the volume of inquiries about those locations and some follow-up research, said Amanda Sturges, director of operations.  Sturges said she did not know how many inquires Escape-homes.com received about Lake Martin.

Other factors included in placing the sites on the list include affordability and proximity to recreation and metropolitan areas, Sturges said.....

Value Rising

Patti Richardson, property appraiser for the Tallapoosa County Revenue Department, said the value of second homes on the lake is generally increasing at about 10 percent a year.  That varies widely, Richardson said, based on the quality of the property.

"Some are increasing 20 percent a year," Richardson said.  "Others are just stable because there are so many new developments that people have a lot more to choose from than they used to."

For decades, Lake martin's tree-covered, sloping banks have been dotted with cabins accessible by winding dirt roads.  Today the lake has about a half dozen gated communities that offer second-home buyers security, boat launches, boat trailer storage, tennis courts and other amenities, Richardson said.....

Undeveloped Shoreline

....House said she's spent about $60,000 making improvements to her lake home, which now includes a boathouse, deck and pier.

"We gutted it.  We took out three dumpster loads (of old material).  There was nothing left but the exterior walls and the foundation," House said.

There's nothing complicated about Lake martin's appeal, House said.  Her daughter, 16, likes to tube and ride around in the boat with her friends.  Here son, 14, likes to wakeboard, a hobby her husband, a lifelong skier, is also getting the hand of.

Mostly, they just like being together on the water.  They have a couple of favorite lakeside restaurants that are accessible by boat.

"You can find us there probably every Friday and Saturday nights," House said.

Susan Foy, director of the Alexander City Chamber of Commerce, has been around Lake Martin all her 41 years.....

"I think in the last few years we've seen an increase in second homes being purchased on the lake, due No. 1 to the recognition Lake Martin has received as a destination," Foy said.  "We're seeing an influx of people from Atlanta in addition to Birmingham and Montgomery."

Pat Dye, Jr., son of the former Auburn football coach, is a sports agent who lives in Atlanta and owns a second home on Lake Martin.

"I fell in love with the place when I was going to college in the 1980s," Dye said.  "I remember thinking that one day when I grow up I want to have a place there.  It hasn't lost any of its shine for me."

Dye said Lake Martin should continue to attract second home buyers from the Atlanta area, in part because it's much less congested than Lake Lanier north of Atlanta.

Foy said there is a growing cottage industry that caters to the needs of those who own second homes on the lake.

"They do everything from opening up cabins on the weekend to making sure towels are clean t putting the boat in the water and cutting grass," Foy said.

At the time the lake opened in 1926, it was the largest artificially made body of water in the world, said Michael Sznajderman, communications specialist for Alabama Power.  The power company owns the land beneath the lake, the islands on the lake and about 20,000 acres around the lake, Sznajderman said.  Much of that land is near the dam or in other areas that will remain in a natural state, he said.  The company also leases about 300 lakefront lots and has another 300 acres that can be developed over time.

Alabama Power also operates a public park and provides eight public boat ramps on the lake.

Lake Martin is named after Thomas Martin, a Montgomery attorney who helped start the company and served as president from 1920 to 1949 and CEO from 1949 to 1963.