We are teachers who always dreamed of owning property on the water. In 2020 our youngest son graduated from college and there was that pandemic that also helped us realize how short life is. That is when Dianna started scouring Zillow and other real estate tools.
Our Lake House
While scrolling suggested properties in January 2025, I found some that piqued our interest. They were out of any kind of consideration based on the cost. It became clear that the only way that was going to happen was to buy a fixer upper. And one that wasn’t actually on the water.
That was how we ended up looking at the place that we purchased. There were red flags of course. (See future blog post about red flag warnings) But we went for it knowing that there would be a ton of work to get the neglected property back in shape – or even safe enough to stay in. It ended up being in much worse shape than we originally realized and became a complete tear down. (See future blog post about the low down on the cost of repairing VS cost of demo).
Follow our surprises & setbacks, progress, and lessons learned as we “shift Geers” into this renovation life! Weekly blog posts will be posted on Dianna’s Substack page.
More about us
Mike is a long time middle school science teacher and coach. Most recently he was the head wrestling coach for the inaugural girls wrestling team at his local high school. He is also an avid fisherman and gets sidetracked looking at water wherever we go. It is clear why he has always dreamed of a lake house or cabin.
Dianna is a semi-retired middle school teacher and school librarian. She has always dreamed of being an author and of having a little writing getaway. Dreaming of a lake house or cabin was a perfect convergence of both of our interests in one tiny place.
Let’s Connect!
You may reach me via email: diannageers@gmail.com
Substack: @diannageers1
Instagram: @diannageers
TikTok: @diannageers
Twitter: @dianna_geers
Shifting Geers 