Give two luxury real estate agents an unlimited budget and tell them they can buy any home in Incline Village. You might expect a debate. In our case, there really isn’t one.
Local perspective from Mary Kleingartner & Ryan Mitchell, Compass
We’d both start in exactly the same place: on the water in Incline Village, with a beautiful sandy beach and a private pier.
Where we’d disagree, just a little, is what we’d want sitting on it.
Mary’s version would be modern but warm and inviting. Beautiful architecture, incredible quality, lots of glass and natural light, but still a home where people immediately feel comfortable. Ryan would probably push things a little sleeker, with more of a contemporary mountain-modern feel.
But here’s the interesting part: neither of us would start with the house.
We’d start with the property.
If Money Were No Object, We’d Still Choose the Things We Can’t Change
After years of walking through extraordinary homes throughout Incline Village and Crystal Bay, we’ve learned that almost anything about a house can be changed if you’re willing to spend enough money.
You can remodel the kitchen. Reconfigure the floor plan. Replace every finish. Add technology. Change the landscaping. And, in the right circumstances, you can substantially renovate or rebuild the home itself.
What you can’t easily recreate is an exceptional piece of Lake Tahoe.
You can’t manufacture more shoreline. You can’t turn rocky water access into a beautiful sandy beach. You can’t move a neighboring house out of your view. You can’t pick up a property and give it better sun, more privacy, or a more extraordinary setting.
And you certainly shouldn’t assume you can simply add a private pier later. On Lake Tahoe, shoreline improvements and development are subject to extensive regulatory and permitting requirements.
That’s why, if money truly were no object, we’d spend it first on the things that are the hardest to replace.
Our Dream Starts With the Shoreline
For both of us, a sandy beach would be non-negotiable.
There’s a huge difference between owning a home that’s technically lakefront and owning a property where the shoreline becomes part of everyday life.
A great beach is where people naturally gather. It’s where you walk barefoot with your coffee in the morning, launch a paddleboard, pull up a kayak, sit with friends at the end of the day, and watch kids and grandkids spend hours going back and forth between the water and the house.
Add a private pier, and the relationship with the lake changes again. The boat is right outside. An early morning cruise doesn’t require planning. Neither does an afternoon swim or heading across the lake for lunch.
At that point, Lake Tahoe isn’t simply the view from the living room.
It’s your backyard.
The First Thing We’d Buy
If the choice were between the perfect house on a good property and the wrong house on an extraordinary lakefront parcel, we’d take the extraordinary property. Houses can change. Truly irreplaceable Lake Tahoe real estate is much harder to recreate.
It’s Not Just Lakefront. It’s How You Can Use the Lakefront.
One thing we’ve learned after years of touring Lake Tahoe properties is that the word lakefront doesn’t tell you nearly enough.
Two homes can both sit directly on Lake Tahoe and offer completely different experiences.
For us, usable shoreline would matter enormously. We wouldn’t just want to look at the lake through a wall of glass. We’d want to walk out the door and actually live on it.
That’s why the sandy beach matters.
A beautiful, usable beach changes the entire personality of a property. It creates a natural gathering place and makes getting into the water effortless. Swimming, paddleboarding, kayaking, sitting at the water’s edge, or simply walking down to the lake with a cup of coffee becomes part of everyday life.
And Then There’s the Pier
If money truly were no object, a private pier would absolutely be on both of our lists.
Part of the magic of owning a home on Lake Tahoe is being able to experience the lake from the water, not simply admire it from shore. Having your boat immediately accessible makes spontaneous mornings and afternoons on the lake possible in a way that’s very different from keeping a boat elsewhere.
It’s also one of those features we would value because it’s difficult to replicate. Lake Tahoe is highly regulated, and buyers should never assume that a property without an existing pier can simply add one later.
Not All Shoreline Is Created Equal
This is where evaluating lakefront becomes much more nuanced than simply measuring frontage.
We’d pay attention to how the shoreline actually feels and functions. Is there a natural place to sit and gather? Is getting into the water easy? How does the beach change as lake levels fluctuate? How private does it feel? How does the home connect to the beach and pier?
Those details can dramatically change the experience of owning a lakefront home, even when two properties look fairly similar on paper.
What We’d Prioritize
If we were choosing our own Incline Village lakefront with no budget, we wouldn’t be searching for the biggest house or the longest list of amenities. We’d be looking for exceptional, usable shoreline with a sandy beach, a private pier, privacy, and a natural connection between the home and the lake. Those are the qualities we’d be reluctant to compromise on because they’re also the hardest to create later.
Same Lakefront. Two Slightly Different Dream Homes.
Once we had the right property, this is where our tastes would start to diverge—although probably not as much as you’d expect.
We both appreciate exceptional architecture, clean lines, natural materials, and homes that take full advantage of their setting. Neither of us would want a house that competes with Lake Tahoe for attention.
But we’d interpret modern Tahoe living a little differently.
Mary’s Version: Modern, Warm & Inviting
Mary’s dream home would absolutely be modern, but never cold.
Think expansive glass framing the lake, warm natural wood, stone, beautiful textures, comfortable furniture, fireplaces, and indoor-outdoor spaces that feel sophisticated without feeling precious.
The kitchen would be beautiful, but it would also be a place where people actually gather. The great room would be impressive because of the setting and proportions, not because it’s filled with things you’re afraid to touch.
There would be plenty of room for family and friends, but the house wouldn’t need to be enormous simply for the sake of being enormous. Every space would have a purpose.
Most importantly, you’d walk through the front door and immediately want to stay awhile.
Ryan’s Version: A Little Sleeker, A Little More Mountain Modern
Ryan would probably take the same exceptional lakefront setting and give the architecture a slightly sharper edge.
Cleaner lines. More contemporary mountain-modern architecture. Dramatic expanses of glass. Natural stone and wood used in a more restrained way. The overall feeling would be sophisticated and architectural, but still unmistakably Tahoe.
Where Mary might lean toward warmth and softness, Ryan would probably lean toward simplicity and precision.
But neither of us would sacrifice comfort for design.
Where We’d Completely Agree
The lake would be the focal point.
We’d want the architecture to frame the setting rather than overwhelm it, with an effortless connection from the main living spaces to the beach, pier, and outdoor entertaining areas.
We’d also want the practical features that become increasingly important once you’ve actually lived in Tahoe: great sun exposure, covered outdoor living, radiant heating and cooling, a heated driveway, a real mudroom, generous garage and gear storage, and backup power.
Beautiful design matters. But after seeing enough extraordinary homes, we’ve both come to appreciate something even more:
The best-designed luxury homes don’t just photograph beautifully. They live beautifully.
Our Common Ground
Our dream homes might look slightly different, but we’d make essentially the same first decision: buy the extraordinary property, then create the house around it. Architecture can be personal. An irreplaceable Lake Tahoe setting is something entirely different.
What We’d Happily Compromise On
Here’s where having an unlimited budget might surprise people.
We still wouldn’t expect the perfect property to come with the perfect house.
In fact, if the lakefront were extraordinary enough, there are plenty of things we’d happily overlook.
An outdated kitchen wouldn’t scare us. Neither would dated bathrooms, finishes we wouldn’t have chosen, landscaping that needs work, or an architectural style that isn’t quite right.
Those are solvable problems.
Even a significant remodel—or, for the right property, the possibility of creating something entirely new—wouldn’t necessarily deter us if the underlying real estate were exceptional.
We’d Rather Fix the House Than Wish We Could Fix the Property
This is something we talk about with buyers all the time.
It’s very easy to walk into a beautifully remodeled home and fall in love with what you see. Perfect finishes are seductive. So is a house where absolutely nothing needs to be done.
But beautiful finishes can sometimes distract buyers from the things that matter much more over time.
What’s next door? How private is the property? How does the sun hit it throughout the day? Is the shoreline actually usable? Does the home connect naturally to the lake? Are you looking across beautiful open water or over something you’d rather not see?
Those aren’t nearly as easy to change.
We’d Even Compromise on Size
If we had to choose between a substantially larger home on an inferior property and a smaller home on an extraordinary sandy lakefront parcel with a pier, we’d choose the better property.
Every time.
That’s not to say size doesn’t matter. The home still needs to function beautifully for the way you live, accommodate family and guests, and provide the spaces that are important to you.
But once those needs are met, more square footage doesn’t necessarily create a better experience.
Sometimes the greatest luxury is waking up in exactly the right place.
The Question We’d Ask
When we’re evaluating an exceptional property, we mentally separate what can be changed from what can’t. If the problems are primarily with the house, there may be solutions. If the compromises are inherent to the property itself, no amount of beautiful remodeling can make them disappear.
What We Wouldn’t Compromise On
If we’re willing to compromise on the house, what wouldn’t we compromise on?
The answer is pretty simple: the things we can’t reasonably change.
For our dream Incline Village property, that starts with the shoreline. We’d want a beautiful sandy beach, a private pier, and an easy, natural connection between the house and the water.
But we’d look well beyond the water’s edge.
Privacy
Privacy becomes increasingly valuable at the luxury level, and it isn’t something we’d want to sacrifice simply to get a bigger or newer home.
We’d pay close attention to neighboring properties, sight lines, how outdoor spaces are positioned, and whether the house feels private when you’re actually living in it—not just when you’re standing in the living room looking toward the lake.
A spectacular view loses some of its magic if every outdoor space feels exposed.
Sun
After living in Tahoe, you learn very quickly that sun matters.
We’d want a property with excellent natural light and outdoor spaces that receive enough sun to be genuinely enjoyable. In winter, good exposure can also make an enormous difference in how snow and ice linger around a property.
It’s one of those characteristics that’s easy to underestimate when you’re touring homes on a beautiful summer afternoon and impossible to manufacture later.
The View
Of course we’d want a spectacular lake view—but even here, bigger isn’t automatically better.
We’d care about the quality of the view: what’s in the foreground, how the lake is framed from the main living spaces, whether neighboring homes intrude on it, and how connected you feel to the water.
A beautifully framed view with privacy and an exceptional setting can be far more compelling than simply seeing the greatest possible amount of blue.
The Relationship Between the House & the Lake
This might be the hardest quality to describe, but we’d know it when we saw it.
Some lakefront homes feel surprisingly disconnected from the water. Others make the lake part of the experience from the moment you walk through the door.
We’d want the latter.
The main living spaces should naturally draw you toward the lake. Outdoor areas should connect easily to the beach and pier. Going from the kitchen to dinner outside or from the house to the boat shouldn’t feel like an expedition.
When all of those elements work together, the property feels effortless.
What Money Can’t Fix
An unlimited renovation budget can solve an extraordinary number of problems. It can’t give the wrong property a better location, move the neighbors, create more shoreline, change the path of the sun, or manufacture the feeling of an exceptional setting. That’s why we’d be far more demanding about the property than the house sitting on it.
What Unlimited Money Still Can’t Buy
Here’s the irony of having an unlimited budget in Incline Village: it still doesn’t mean you can buy exactly what you want.
At the very top of the market, money isn’t always the limiting factor.
Scarcity is.
There are only so many true lakefront properties. Fewer still combine the qualities we’d want most: a beautiful sandy beach, a private pier, exceptional privacy, great sun, a spectacular view, and a setting that feels special the moment you arrive.
And the owners of those properties don’t necessarily want to sell them.
The Best Properties Don’t Appear on Demand
You can decide tomorrow that you’d like a particular car, piece of art, or vacation home in many luxury destinations and immediately begin looking at options.
Exceptional Incline Village lakefront doesn’t work quite that way.
The property you want may not be available this year. It may not be available for several years. Some extraordinary homes change hands very rarely, and others may sell privately without ever being broadly marketed.
At this level, patience can become just as important as purchasing power.
Irreplaceability Is the Ultimate Luxury
The word luxury gets used constantly in real estate. But for us, the most valuable properties aren’t necessarily the ones with the longest amenity lists or the most elaborate finishes.
They’re the ones that would be extraordinarily difficult to recreate.
A beautiful stretch of shoreline. A sandy beach. A private pier. Privacy in exactly the right setting. Exceptional sun. A view that feels completely your own.
When several of those qualities exist on the same property, you’re no longer simply comparing bedrooms, square footage, or price per square foot.
You’re evaluating scarcity.
Sometimes the Best Move Is to Wait
If money truly were no object, neither of us would spend it simply because we could.
We’d wait for the right property.
That’s something sophisticated buyers sometimes understand better than anyone. When the criteria are very specific and the asset is genuinely scarce, forcing a purchase can mean compromising on the very qualities that made you want to own in Tahoe in the first place.
We’d rather wait for extraordinary than buy expensive simply because it was available.
The Real Advantage of an Unlimited Budget
If money were truly no object, the greatest advantage wouldn’t be the ability to buy the biggest house. It would be the ability to wait patiently for an irreplaceable property—and recognize it immediately when it finally became available.
Why We’d Still Choose Incline Village
With an unlimited budget, we could theoretically choose almost anywhere on Lake Tahoe.
We’d still choose Incline Village.
Part of that answer is personal. This is home. We know the streets, the neighborhoods, the people, and the rhythm of living here through every season.
But even setting that aside, Incline Village offers a combination that’s remarkably difficult to duplicate.
It’s the Entire Lifestyle, Not Just the Lakefront
Our dream property might begin with a sandy beach and a pier, but we wouldn’t want to live somewhere simply because the house itself was extraordinary.
We want everything outside the front door, too.
In Incline Village, you can spend the morning skiing, play golf in the afternoon when the seasons cooperate, head out on the lake, hike or bike directly into the mountains, and still meet friends for dinner without feeling like you’re living in a resort town built exclusively for visitors.
There’s a real community here, and that’s an important distinction.
Convenience Matters More Than You Think
At the luxury level, people understandably focus on privacy and seclusion. We value both. But we also appreciate being connected to everyday life.
There’s something wonderful about owning an extraordinary property without having to sacrifice convenience to get it.
Beaches, golf, skiing, trails, restaurants, everyday services, and the lake are all part of the same relatively compact community. You can have privacy without feeling isolated.
After living here for years, that’s a luxury we probably appreciate more today than we did when we first arrived.
And Then There’s Nevada
For many luxury buyers, the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe carries additional appeal. Nevada’s tax structure can be an important consideration, particularly for buyers relocating from states with higher income taxes.
Tax planning is highly individual and something buyers should discuss with their own tax and financial advisors, but there’s no question that Nevada residency is part of the conversation for many of the clients we meet.
For us, though, it wouldn’t be the reason we’d choose Incline Village.
It would simply be another advantage of living somewhere we’d already choose anyway.
Why Incline?
If money were no object, we wouldn’t choose Incline Village because of a single amenity, tax advantage, or piece of real estate. We’d choose it because of the combination: Lake Tahoe, mountains, privacy, recreation, community, convenience, and the ability to build a life here that feels very different from almost anywhere else.
How We’d Know We’d Found the One
After all of this, you’d think we’d have a complicated checklist for the perfect Incline Village property.
We wouldn’t.
By the time you’ve toured enough extraordinary homes, you realize the very best properties tend to announce themselves pretty quickly.
You notice the setting before you notice the finishes.
You notice the privacy. The sun. The way the lake fills the view. The sound of the water from the beach. How naturally the house connects to the shoreline. And, perhaps most importantly, how the property makes you feel when you’re standing there.
We’d Look Past the First Impression
That doesn’t mean we’d let emotion make the decision for us.
Once a property captured our attention, we’d start looking much more critically at the things that could affect its long-term enjoyment and value.
What’s happening on the neighboring properties? Could anything meaningfully change the privacy or view? How does the property live at different times of day and throughout the seasons? What are the opportunities and limitations if we eventually want to remodel or rebuild?
We’d want to understand the property we were actually buying, not simply the version presented during a beautiful afternoon showing.
Then We’d Come Back to the Simplest Question
If the beach were exceptional, the pier was exactly what we wanted, the setting felt private, the sun was right, and we couldn’t stop thinking about the property after we left, we’d probably have our answer.
Because at this level, the decision eventually becomes less about finding something with absolutely no imperfections and more about recognizing which imperfections don’t matter.
We can change the house.
We can change the finishes.
We can change how the spaces function.
We can’t create another piece of Lake Tahoe.
Our Litmus Test
If we walked away and immediately started redesigning the house in our heads rather than searching for a different property, we’d know we’d found something special. The perfect house can be created. The perfect setting has to be found.
So, If Money Were No Object…
We’d buy the property first.
Not the biggest house. Not the newest house. Not necessarily the home with the most impressive architecture or the longest list of amenities.
We’d wait for an extraordinary piece of Incline Village lakefront with a sandy beach, a private pier, great sun, privacy, and a setting we couldn’t imagine finding anywhere else.
Then we’d make the house our own.
Mary would make it modern, warm, comfortable, and inviting. Ryan would probably make it a little sleeker and more mountain modern. We’d undoubtedly disagree about a few details along the way.
But we’d agree completely about what matters most.
The Ultimate Luxury Is Something You Can’t Recreate
After years of living in Incline Village and representing buyers and sellers throughout the luxury market, we’ve had the opportunity to experience some truly extraordinary homes.
And the more exceptional properties you see, the less impressed you become by luxury simply for the sake of luxury.
Beautiful finishes can be replaced. Technology becomes outdated. Design trends change. Even extraordinary homes can eventually be remodeled or rebuilt.
But a remarkable piece of land on Lake Tahoe is different.
The shoreline. The beach. The view. The privacy. The sun. The sound of the water. The way the property feels when you walk outside in the morning.
Those are the things that can’t simply be ordered, renovated, or recreated.
To us, that’s what makes a truly exceptional property valuable.
And That’s How We Help Our Clients Look at Tahoe Real Estate
Most of our clients aren’t shopping with an unlimited budget. Almost everyone has parameters, priorities, and compromises to consider.
But the exercise is still useful.
Before getting distracted by beautiful finishes or impressive square footage, we encourage buyers to identify the things that matter most to them and separate what can eventually be changed from what can’t.
For one buyer, that might be lakefront. For another, it’s a panoramic view, complete privacy, walkability, acreage, golf course frontage, or a particular neighborhood.
There isn’t one perfect property in Incline Village.
There’s the property that’s exceptionally difficult to replace for you.
Our Final Answer
If money were no object, we’d choose an extraordinary Incline Village lakefront with a sandy beach and private pier, then create the house around it. Because after seeing enough remarkable homes, we’ve learned one lesson again and again: the perfect house can be created. The perfect setting has to be found.
About Mary Kleingartner & Ryan Mitchell
Mary Kleingartner and Ryan Mitchell are luxury real estate advisors with Compass specializing in Incline Village, Crystal Bay, and Lake Tahoe’s Nevada North Shore. As longtime local residents, they bring firsthand knowledge of the properties, neighborhoods, regulations, and lifestyle considerations that make the Incline Village luxury real estate market unique.
They represent buyers and sellers across the luxury market, including lakefront estates, exceptional lake-view properties, new construction, development opportunities, and properties that may never reach the public market.
Through InclineLuxHomes.com, Mary and Ryan share the same local insight they provide their clients, from neighborhood and market guides to TRPA, building, buying, selling, and what it’s actually like to live in Lake Tahoe.