Tips and Advice on Water Front Real Estate
Almost everyone enjoys a walk along the beach, the views, the sounds, nothing is quite like the peaceful feeling you get when strolling along the water front. Many people dream of living right on the water and for those who are looking to buy and those thinking of selling here are a few important tips to help you position yourself for a successful transaction.
First know your properties rights and privileges. If you have water front is there an easement across your land for public access to the beach. Is the area in front of your home yours to the mean high tide mark or is the beach public or association. If you are a member of an association, what are the dues and what are the privileges. A seller prepares themselves correctly when the provide the agent and the buyer pool with all the information about rights, privileges and restrictions.
We have an interesting article on flood insurance that helps guide you through insurance considerations for flood insurance click Flood Insurance for more info.
Bring your insurance agent in on the discussions early in the process. An educated consumer is best for everyone concerned. A Certificate of Elevation is required. If you are a seller who has owned the home for some time, chances are you do not have one. It is advisable to invest the $1,000 to $2,000 to secure one so that once you get an offer, this is out of the way since it can take 10 days to get one. A resource site for locating an engineering firm that can complete the survey and certificate is http://www.ctsurveyor.com/firm.html.
Federal Flood Insurance is available up to $250,000 and many policies can be transfered, and when you are paying upwards of $1,000,000 for a home this policy can work with an augmented policy to lower your premiums.
Third, is there a sea wall on your property? If so make sure you have a relationship with a construction company specializing in marine construction and sea walls. Keep on top of the maintenance to prevent major costs down stream. Maintaining a wall is relatively easy, building a new one is costly an complex with the permitting requirements. If you are buying a waterfront property with a Sea Wall, get it inspected. Most Home Inspection companies will not inspect a sea wall so there will be a separate inspection involved. Your agent is one source of references for inspection companies.
