Could someone suggest a 1 bedroom vacation apartment or condo with a lakeview preferably not too far from Raleigh or Charlotte, North Carolina. We've had good luck in the past from renting from a private person rather than an agent, so that would be our preferance.
Any other suggestions for a relaxing week's stay at the end of April would be appreciated. (Virginia is also an option)

Well, firstyou'd have to find the lake. We have Lake Norman and Lake Wylie here near Charlotte, but I don't usually think in terms of them being a week long vacation destination--they are residential developments, not really resorts.
Where are you coming from? Do you expect to have a boat to use.

We'll be coming from Newark Airport. A few years age we were at Smith Mountain Lake in Va. which was very relaxing and a week to 10 days was perfect for us to relax by a lake and take day tours (by rental car). We thought we could do something similar in N.C. possibly at Lake Norman. But we're certainly open to suggestions. We plan to go late April--beginning of May.

Personally, I'd go to western NC - closer to Asheville
here's a cabin next to water, but a creek instead of a lake

http://www.vrbo.com/44685

Yeah, I wouldn't consider Lake Norman to be a great spot for a "very relaxing . . . week to 10 days". See what you can find on Lake Lure - beautiful on its own and about 45 minutes from Asheville and less than 2 hrs from CTL. Should be a bit warmer than the true mountain areas in April.

Have you considered the beach rather than a lake. Beautiful time of year at the NC and SC beaches--and easy access from Newark to the coast--Wilmington, Myrtle Beach, Charleston.

Thanks for the great suggestions. Lake Lure looks beautiful--I'm looking into that now, but so far I haven't found what we're interested in with lakeview for our dates. There seem to be many larger homes--3-5 bedrooms with lakeview which are quite a bit more expensive. We prefer lakes over beaches, but if someone has a suggestion for a condo with view, we'll consider that as well.