About Margie Sorrell | Lake Oconee Real Estate Expert
A top realtor, with over $100 million in career sales, most people around Lake Oconee know me simply as “Marge.” I have a 40+ year history here at Lake Oconee and found my passion sixteen years ago representing buyers and sellers in all three counties that touch the lake shores – Greene, Putnam, and Morgan.
I was born in Greene County at the dawn of Lake Oconee. My family were some of the first members of what is now Reynolds Lake Oconee. As a child I spent evenings swimming in the Preserve pool and playing in the road we all know as Linger Longer. Growing up here, I learned to appreciate the value of the lake developments and the amazing opportunity they provide for the area. 
In 2005 I graduated from UGA. I lived and worked in the Athens area for a few years before briefly moving to Charleston, SC where I became a licensed real estate agent. For several years I worked with resort developer, Creative Communities Incorporated, where I marketed and sold property in private golf, lake, and mountain communities throughout the Carolinas and Georgia.
From 2008 to 2010 my husband, Drew, and I cruised the beautiful waters of the South Pacific on our own sailboat. After selling the boat in Australia I pulled Drew back home to Greensboro, where we got married and started a business. I joined Coldwell Banker Lake Oconee Realty 2010 and worked part time while concentrating on motherhood for a few years. In 2016 I came back to real estate full time. Drew and I, along with our three kids, live on a beautiful property on the Richland side of the lake. Our house was originally built by my cousin in 1978. We also keep a lot and membership inside the gates of Reynolds Lake Oconee where we frequently enjoy the amenities. During the week you can find me in the office, at Publix, or Lake Oconee Academy carline. On the weekends, we boat and truly enjoy the community. We could not live a more quintessential Lake Oconee life.
I am 100% full time in real estate, always on, never closed. I am a solo agent with $100 million + in total sales during my career. Each year, Coldwell Banker recognizes me as one of their top agents worldwide. Personal connection and lifelong friendship is more important to me than anything. My clients are my friends and I treat them as so. I am a genuine person and a hard worker. No one wants it more. Give me the chance to show you what I can do. You will not be disappointed. Get in touch, or start with my Lake Oconee neighborhood guide if you are still working out where to look. I personally drove every subdivision and community to make that guide and you won’t find a more complete Lake Oconee resource online anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions About Margie Sorrell
What makes you different from the other agents at the lake?
I’m the only Lake Oconee REALTOR who was actually born here – right down the road in Minnie G Boswell Hospital – the precursor to St. Mary’s Good Samaritan. I have a forty-five year history with Lake Oconee. My current house looks out to the waters off the Burch x Boathouse restaurant where I swam as a little girl (back when it was called Granite Shoals). You won’t find another agent with as much homegrown history. I’ve been a solo agent with Coldwell Banker for 16 years and have amassed over $100 million in lifetime sales. I’m a five-time Realtor of the Year with the Lake Oconee Breeze, a member of Coldwell Banker’s International President’s Elite for the top two percent of agents worldwide, a Certified Residential Specialist and a Certified Global Luxury Property Specialist. I’ve closed inside the gates and out, waterfront and golf, houses and raw lots, pre-lake farmhouses and brand-new construction.
Do you sell inside the gates or outside?
Both, and in close to equal measure. About half my closings are inside Reynolds Lake Oconee, The Landing, Harbor Club and Del Webb, and the other half are on the non-gated shoreline and in smaller neighborhoods most people have never heard of. That matters more than it sounds. The two markets price differently and they don’t compare against each other — a property inside the gates and a property outside the gates are totally different. Both a seller and a buyer needs to understand that in order to properly analyze any home or lot. And my neighborhood guide shows you why.
What would you know about a lake house that an agent from Atlanta or elsewhere wouldn’t?
The things that don’t show up in a listing. Whether the dock is legal under Georgia Power’s current rules and what it costs if it isn’t. How much the boat lifts are worth. How deep the water is at the end of the dock, and how steep the walk down to it is. Whether reaching the house by boat means going under a bridge and what kind of boat fits under that bridge. And I know where proper comps are located as two houses with the same sq ft, beds and baths, but on different parts of the lake rarely compare to one another. I’ve had out-of-area buyer’s agents try to comp my listing to a houses in a completely different Lake Oconee neighborhood district before. I’d rather teach you about the lake than teach your realtor.
Do you sell lots as well as houses?
Yes — a good share of what I close is land though raw land is getting more and more scarce around Lake Oconee. A lot’s value depends on what you can actually build and where. It doesn’t matter if it is lakefront, inland, farm, or on the golf course. Two parcels side by side can be worth very different money for reasons you cannot see standing on them. If you’re looking at land, walk it with someone who has sold it here before.
What do some of your sales look like?
I represented the highest-priced waterfront home sold at Lake Oconee outside the gated golf communities — $3,738,000 in the Sandy Creek neighborhood, on the Richland side of the lake. I’ve sold lots inside the gates of Reynolds Lake Oconee for $2,450,000 and I’ve sold them for less than $15,000. And I handled both sides of a transaction for 100+ acres of development land adjacent to Harbor Club. I have worked on all sides of the lake from Buckhead to deep Putnam to White Plains at all price points.
How do you decide what my house should list for?
I work from closed sales, recent ones, in the appropriate neighborhoods that actually compare to it. And I don’t price by the square foot — on this lake square footage explains almost none of what a house is actually worth. What separates two houses that look identical on paper is the things the MLS doesn’t record: the floorplan style, what tee box or part of the lake the house looks out to, how the place has been kept, what it feels like standing in the living room. I research those on every comparable house before I compare it to your sale. The number I bring you is built to sell in a defined window and to survive the appraisal, not to win the listing.
I live in Atlanta or out of state. Can I sell my lake house without being here for all of it?
Yes, and most of my sellers are in exactly that position — this is a second-home lake and a lot of the owners are hours or more away. I can handle showings, coordinate whatever needs doing before we go on market, and keep you posted without you driving down for every step. I’ve watered plants and blown driveways off. I want to sell just as much as you. Your property will be handled with the utmost care and diligence.