Everything You Need To Know About Waterfront Homes For Sale
Searching for a waterfront home can be a daunting task, but with the help of a real estate professional, it can be an exciting and rewarding experience. There are a few things to keep in mind when looking for waterfront homes for sale.
The Frontage
The first thing you'll want to consider is the frontage of the property. On a regular home, this typically means the front yard where the property abuts the road. With a waterfront property, however, this term is actually referring to the backyard and the amount of property that abuts the body of water.
The frontage will determine how much of the water you'll be able to see and enjoy from your backyard, as well as how large your dock can be. If you're looking for a property with room for a large dock, you'll need to find one with a lot of frontage.
Furthermore, with lakefront homes, the value is often determined in part by how many feet of water frontage the home has.
The Lake
Speaking of the body of water, if the waterfront homes for sale that you are interested in happens to be on a lake, there are a few things you need to understand about the lake itself.
Some lakes are part of reservoirs and are only open to the public for fishing or other activities during specific hours of the day or times of the year. Other lakes may be entirely private, only accessible to those who live on the lake or own property along its shores.
Furthermore, some lakes restrict certain activities entirely. Smaller lakes, for example, may deem themselves 'quiet lakes' or 'non-sports lakes', meaning that they do not allow motorized crafts on their lakes. In other words, you can only use things that you can paddle yourself, like paddleboards, canoes, and kayaks.
Of course, you'll also want to consider the quality of the water. Depending on where you live, this may not be much of an issue. In some areas, however, you'll want to make sure that the water is free of harmful toxins, chemicals, and invasive species and that the shoreline is not weedy or mucky.
When searching for waterfront homes for sale, be sure to ask your real estate agent about the public access and restrictions of the lake to ensure that you can enjoy the activities you love.
The House
Believe it or not, the house is one of the least important components when you are looking at waterfront homes for sale. While your goal is to find a house that has enough bedrooms and bathrooms to accommodate all your friends and family, a house can easily be changed. Changing the shape, size, or make-up of a body of water is not nearly as easy.
If you are looking for waterfront homes for sale, contact a company like Lifestyle Properties at Keller Williams Realty today to get started.
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