My parents bought a house on Lake of the Ozarks, MO, in mid-80's. They lived in STL and my dad was retired so they spent a lot of time there. Myself and sisters were in our 20's and married, eventually we started having kids and the number of guests/family at the lake on the weekends and summer holidays expanded. Great times. However, as my dad aged, it became hard to keep two houses maintained, in STL and at the lake. So they sold the lake house and got a condo there to replace it. Worked very nicely until my parents got old and just didn't use it anymore and us kids had a lot going on with our growing families. Parents sold it in 2012; both parents passed within 4 years after that.
Said all that background to lead to a few points I'd observed over all those years. I'd recommend what many people have at the lake, what they call a "desert" lawn, which is not grass but large gravel/river rock and basically, maintenance-free. My dad (or me) always had to cut the lawn at arrival and sometimes, right before departure. It was work and not relaxing. Also would recommend maintenance-free siding so as not to have to paint. And composite decking/railing, not wood. Cleaning service with cost shared is a good idea. Basically, try to make everything as little work as possible.
Myself and sisters and our families loved the lake house and life. In recent years we've thought about pitching in and buying a house or condo at the lake. But with the third generation (our kids) in their 30's and with lots of friends and friends with kids, we knew demand could be severe and tough to manage. Who cleans it, who gets to use it when, etc. And then ownership--myself and two siblings have 8 kids among us, they'd be the ones to inherit it when we all pass. That ownership split could get real complicated. So we just decided it would be simpler to try to have a large vacation week at a lake resort or VRBO's each summer, which would be work-free and truly relaxing. And nothing to lead to family squabbles/issues, which are never pleasant and sometimes, very damaging. Not worth it.
Just my lengthy two cent's worth...
