Buying a home near a body of water comes with its own set of obstacles and considerations. Take a look at these 5 things you should know about buying a waterfront home if you’re thinking about making one of these properties your next home.
Select Your Location Carefully
Before you get carried away with the thrill of browsing the ads, consider what type of body of water you want to be near.
Individual properties may exist immediately beside a public river, while other planned communities are developed around private natural or artificial ponds and lakes. The crucial thing to remember is that these various sites will generate vastly varied levels of traffic and consumers.
Consider how you would spend your time at your lovely waterfront property, as well as the activities and people you would be involved with. For someone who is extroverted, having a property that backs up to a public beach could be ideal, but for someone else, the lack of privacy could be a nightmare.
Shoreline History
Not all waterfront properties are made equal, and you should learn about the area in which they are located before investing emotionally or financially.
Do some study into the area’s history, particularly any natural disasters that have occurred. You’re not interested in knowing how common hurricanes or tornadoes are, but rather in getting a sense of the soil composition and tidal levels expected throughout the year.
It’s crucial to know if you should expect erosion problems so you can properly care for the property and anticipate any potential problems. And you don’t want to buy a new house only to have an inch or two of water on the ground level owing to a combination of severe rains and high tides during the summer months.
Insurance
One thing to keep in mind when buying a waterfront home is that you will almost certainly need more insurance.
To meet all conditions, be prepared to get flood insurance, if not also hurricane and earthquake insurance. This means you’ll have to spend more money merely to acquire the property, and it’s something that many eager buyers miss.
Before signing anything, learn about the insurance needs for a home you’re interested in, and call your insurance agent for bids.
Inspection
With the added concerns of insurance costs and catastrophe preparedness, it should be evident why we recommend exercising extreme caution and a critical eye when it comes to inspections.
Walk through the property thoroughly on your first visit, keeping an eye out for anything that could be unsafe or cause you issues as an owner in the future. If soil testing and an inspection of prospective erosion and runoff reveal a less-than-steady soil composition that could cause difficulties for your entire home, if not the foundation, you could save a lot of money.
Additional Financial Commitments
Last but not least, eager homebuyers may overlook the possibility of additional charges such as boat dock and lift fees, as well as increased water and sewer rates.
Any coastal home you look at will almost certainly have greater water and sewer utility expenses than a home further inland. Obtaining a summary of the previous owner’s utility bills from the previous year might aid in the alleviation or reduction of this problem while also assisting you in proper budgeting.
Find Your Waterfront Home
Contact our team of experts at We Buy Houses immediately if you’re looking to buy a beachfront home!