Waterfront Living Guide

How to Choose a Waterfront Property

Evaluate your lifestyle and needs to find that perfect place by the water.

By Shannon Petrie, FrontDoor.com | Published: 9/24/2008

A sandy beach is one of the most desirable and valuable attributes of a waterfront property.

As with any other real estate purchase, the old adage holds true: location, location, location. After determining your needs in a waterfront home, it's important to visit different areas and see what feels right to you.

"As much as owning a waterfront home is great, you're still in a community, and you have to love the community as well," Garrett says.

Once you focus on an area and start looking at specific properties, the most important thing to remember is to put your emphasis on the property rather than the house.

"If you're buying a normal house, the real value is in the house, not the land," Garrett says. "With waterfront properties, almost your entire value is in the land."

Not all waterfront properties are equal; certain attributes make some waterfront properties more valuable than others. When helping clients shop for lakefront homes in Maine, Ferent ranks properties on a 50-point scale, giving a maximum 10-point value to each of five attributes he considers most important in lakefront homes:

1. Sandy beach. A sandy beach equals a more pleasant lakefront experience for the whole family. "If they have young kids in the family, they want the toddlers playing in the sand," Ferent says. "If they have seniors in the family, it's easier to enter the water." This is a rare quality of lakefront properties in Maine, making it especially valuable.
2. View. This attribute lets you enjoy your waterfront property as you get older and become less active in the water. "It's sure nice to be able to sit back in an Adirondack chair with a beer and look at the setting sun over the mountains," Ferent says.
3. Level lot. The flatter the lot the better; it makes access to the water easier. "Some lakefront lots are steep, and as we get older, it gets difficult to get up and down to the lake," Ferent says, "All of a sudden they don't want to go to the lake anymore because it's difficult for them to get down to the water."
4. Proximity to water. Since 1990, all waterfront properties in Maine must be built at least 100 feet from the water, but homes that are closer to the water allow you to be closer to wildlife and to keep an eye on your kids from your home.
5. Privacy. This often corresponds to the amount of lake frontage the property has. Some lakefront properties have as little as 50 feet of frontage, which offer very little privacy. "One hundred feet starts to give you some privacy, while 150-200 feet gives you wonderful privacy from your neighbors," Ferent says.

Very few properties earn a perfect score on the scale, Ferent says, but homebuyers should seriously consider properties that rank high in these five attributes.

Depending on the area and the type of waterfront property you buy, other issues will present themselves in your search. In rural areas, for instance, you'll have to make sure you have access to utilities, roads and an adequate septic system. Don't just assume these things will be available. For oceanfront properties, it's often best to buy a property that already has a seawall and a dock, as obtaining permission to build these structures can be difficult.

With all of the considerations that go into buying a waterfront home, having a real estate agent who specializes in waterfront properties in your area is crucial. Your agent can help you sort through the complex issues and get you on the right track to finding the right waterfront home.

<< Slide Show: Top 10 Waterfront Markets I What to Expect When You Live by the Water >>

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