With 8,000 lakes, fifth most in the country, Washington is a happy hunting ground for waterfront lots. Highly popular Lake Chelan, the third-deepest lake in the United States, is not on the top of the list of affordable freshwater options, at least not anywhere near Chelan, where scarce waterfront residential lots start at $2 million. But there’s a hack for that.

Mercer Island residents Sheri and Jeff Blumenthal have been vacationing in the area for 20 years, attracted to the pristine water, family friendly vibe, outdoor culture, dry climate, golf, agricultural productivity, toasty summers, and wine industry. A waterfront lot was beyond their means. Until one day it wasn’t.

“We were just paddling along on the lake and saw a ‘For Sale’ sign on a dock, and we had a Covid-crazy idea,” Jeff recalls.

The road near Chelan (population 4,200) hugs the lake, creating a series of cheaper parcels that aren’t big enough to qualify for a building permit. Over the years, property owners have developed a sort of day-use cabana lifestyle to utilize the waterfront lots. Building permits are not required for uninhabited small accessory structures in Washington, as long as mechanical systems aren’t installed. Portable solar panels and batteries and other energy-efficient outdoor technology are making such tiny off-grid hideaways more feasible.

The Blumenthals bought the cabana lot, and up the hill about a mile away a second larger parcel with a great view, where they constructed a 2,500-square foot modern farmhouse and planted a necklace of wine grapes.

“We built our home in Mercer Island, and enjoyed the process,” Sheri says.

Cabanas provide a roof and three walls for privacy and shade, with a fourth wall that can be opened to the water. Custom models sell for up to $50,000. The Blumenthals budgeted $20,000 plus $1,000 for delivery, and commissioned a lockable unit featuring LP siding, partial bar, refrigerator, and other creature comforts. Family pitched in to build a “pop-up picnic table boat” permanently moored to the dock.

While there was an impulse component to the cabana lot purchase, the Blumenthals are both long-time professionals in finance who had carefully plotted a move to Chelan. First, they had committed to visiting the area frequently for one year. “We weren’t sure that we would want to spend most of our vacations in the same place,” Sheri says. Today, their now college-age kids are frequent visitors. Second, they reduced anxiety by creating a spreadsheet of expected expenses for their second home.

“For the most part, it was pretty accurate,” Jeff notes.

And now, the Blumenthals are very much enjoying their “cabana” lifestyle.