Traveling Landlord Notable Destination: Lake Tahoe’s North Shore

Lake Tahoe, 12 miles wide by 22 miles long, sits near the eastern border of California where it meets Nevada. At the southern end of the lake, South Tahoe (or the South Shore) features more casinos, bars, nightlife, and general carousing, but that remains a travelogue entry for another day.

North Tahoe, AKA the North Shore, features a small, rustic, quaint, and utterly disarming little town called Tahoe City, filled with little gems like the Front Street Station pizza house (which would more accurately be labeled a cabin or hut than a house). While there exists a token McDonalds, it forms a clear minority among local independent businesses, such as the Thai Kitchen, the Gear & Grind Cafe, and Blue Agave (“Mexican with Altitude,” for those who like groan-able humor).

All of the latter cases illustrated quite convincingly why Tahoe City’s establishments have a notorious reputation for great atmosphere and food, and terrible service. The service staff, you see, are all seasonal employees, who have far more interest in mind altering substances than, say, their job, so be prepared to wait twice as long for anything you order in Tahoe City, but the end result won’t disappoint.

There is, however, an excellent reason for all those seasonal employees who flock to Tahoe each year, or rather a host of reasons, depending on the season. Winter in Tahoe is, of course, ski season, and North Tahoe doesn’t disappoint. Two Traveling Landlord highlights include Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows ski resorts, which both featured vertical drops of several thousand feet and an impressive range of trails. Particularly noteworthy about both resorts is their proclivity towards open trail systems, where skiers and boarders can simply unload from the lift and take any direction down the mountain, without being necessarily confined to specific runs. Squaw was a little larger and a little more expensive, while Alpine catered more towards intermediate and advanced skiers and boarders. Winter pleasures also include skating on the lake and snowshoeing the area, including moonlight snowshoe tours and other hearty excursions for the intrepid.

During the warmer months, a network of trails totaling well over 400 miles keeps outdoors enthusiasts infinitely busy with hiking, camping, biking, running, and backpacking. And, of course, there’s the lake itself, offering endless opportunities for boating, fishing, waterskiing, swimming, or simply sunbathing.

No Traveling Landlord forms entry would be complete without a professional note about landlord- and real estate conditions. Tahoe City isn’t cheap, but it is gorgeous, and it is (for better or worse) in easy driving distance from a dozen cities (most notably Sacramento and the San Francisco bay area), which means there’s plenty of demand and only so much supply on the pristine North Shore. Condos can be found, however, in the $200s, which makes it surprisingly affordable for anyone considering a primary residence there.

Given the seasonal nature of the area, increasing numbers of landlords are offering seasonal rental leases, to maximize the value for individual tenants. For example, many landlords offer a ski season rental lease, from December through April, a summer lease from May through September, and the landlord often comes to enjoy the property themselves for a few weeks in between the seasonal rental leases.

Some landlords are even going so far as creating their own little time share/co-op rental leases seasonally, to further split the availability. What they’re doing is offering a weekend seasonal rental lease, and a separate weekday rental lease to unrelated tenants, so that the rental properties end up with more usage and maximum ROI for both tenants and landlords. An intriguing trick, and one we’ll no doubt see more of in resort/second home/seasonal areas such as Lake Tahoe.

Advertisement