lake front home owners

[2000silvers2k]

Im sure there has to be some water front home owners here,

I am looking for a little knowledge and advice.

we are are thinking selling out small 3 bedroom cape and are looking to upgrade. There are two roads we could take here. One road is to spend about 300k +/- and get a really nice modern 3-4 bedroom house, 2-3 bath on 2-3 acres that is move in ready and in great condition. the other road we could take would get us a 400k fixer-upper 2-3 bedroom 1-2 bath lake house on a 1/4 acre (at best) lot. the fixes could take longer as the mortgage will be more..

I have weighed out the pros and cons, and i totally want to do the lake house, but im wondering if im overlooking anything here. is it legal to turn a 2 bedroom lake house into a 3 bedroom house? will this mess up the septic? are there any negatives to living on a lake that i may not think of? (non stop boating noise in the summer, close neighbors? etc?)

hopefully their are some lakefront owners that can give me some advice. i sure would love to come home to a view of the lake with my boat docked out front! (just gotta sell my house!)

 

[lkbum]

Re: lake front home owners

I have either lived or owned on Lake Lanier in North Georgia since the early 80's.
Here's my view from my deck......

Usually "small" cabin/fixer uppers are cheaper because there is not room to expand the septic system, hence, all you can ever have is a small house. A large lot resolves this problem. In georgia, the county health department holds all the records for the septic system, including perc test results, size requirements, plat of filed location etc. In the last few years, size requirements for leach fields have doubled (literally doubled) which makes most older smaller places unable to be modifiied.

Not sure what lake you are looking at, but here are some considerations to look at in the south.
1) Lake Level Fluctuation - Lot's of lake fluctuate seasonally. Make sure you have "year round" water. The normal fluctuation for our lake is 8'. During our drought two years ago, the lake dropped 20'. There are a lot of places for sale on our lake now because the lake is up.
2) Boat traffic - I have friends who bought glorious places in the winter only to find out that summer that they are in a popular water skiing cove. This results in constant waves which can be a real pain.
3) South Facing - our first lake place had just about all glass facing the lake, and facing due north. Great in the summer, but froze our butts in the winter.
4) Prevailing winds - We normally get wind west to east. Get a place on point that catches a lot of wind can be undesirable.
5) Prevailing Winds part 2 - If you end up with a place where the prevailing winds blow into your cove, you are going to end up with debris and at this time of year dead fish blowing up onto your shore. This may seem minor, but on our lake it can be a fair amount of work keeping the shore clear.

 

[bigdee]

Re: lake front home owners

Definitely check the septic issues! The percolation test determines how many bedrooms you can have. If the original test was for 2 BR your stuck with that unless municipal sewer is available. Also lake front property falls under more than one jurisdiction. In my case I have to answer to the electric utility that owns the lake (and a portion of the shoreline),the US army corps of engineers,the state archaeology society and the county government. Over the years things have changed and new construction has been limited unless you have been grandfathered in. DO YOUR RESEARCH!!!

 

[JB]

Re: lake front home owners

Forty some years ago, when I was still married and raising a herd of teens we had a really nice 3-2 on a couple of acres walking distance from our boathouse on Lake Grapevine. If there were problems (had 1 outboard stolen off our boat) the LOML handled them because I was too busy making a living to really get the most out of it.

Since I became single again, about 30 years ago, I have lived on the water twice. Small 1BR cabin on Lake Minnetonka and 2BR town house on a canal in S. Florida.

It was very nice to have my own dock and boat at my doorstep. EVERYTHING else really Hoovered, between HOAs, local nutcases who hate fishermen and thieves I was constantly into some hassle or other.

I will take the modest home in the wilderness anytime. I have been here (The Hideout) for nearly 20 years and love it more every day.

 

[2000silvers2k]

Re: lake front home owners

Great info guys, just what i was looking for.

I think the biggest problem i will have is with the septic if its only a 2 bedroom. there is currently a 3 bedroom that really appeals to us which would be perfect, but we shall see.

The lake is a smaller 300 acre lake in southern nh.

 

[OldePharte]

Re: lake front home owners

Can't speak to your jurisdiction, but here in MO the septic size is based on the number of bedrooms. Soooo, expanding to 3 bedrooms COULD require you to put in a larger tank & field. I say COULD as in some areas one can be grandfathered. And if ya got to put in a new tank & field ya could run to set back and distance issues; i.e. 50 feet from lake, 50 feet from well, 50 feet from previous tank & field, etc. for example (distances are "throw-out" numbers).

Then there is the ol' Base Flood Elevations to be considered if financing the place.

Better know every requirement that may be in place for lake side living. Do you have to worry about vegetation control, what can you do/not do on your land, etc? Zoning? All residential or could someone open a water-front bar next door?

Our house is about 30 feet from the water and we absolutely love it. No wake cove, so no skiers or PWCs. Down side from being across from a public ramp is the occasional idiot who launches his triple 1075's boat with straight exhausts at 4:30am.

We are lucky that we have decent neighbors so we don't have stereo wars on the weekends.

I think you are on the right path. List every pro and con for each place, and be honest.

 

[gstanton]

Re: lake front home owners

Good advice above. Only thing I can add is to see if your neighbors can sell, tear down and put in a 20 person rental. That has happened to us, and now we have hot tub seranades pretty regularly.

 

[FunInDuhSun]

Re: lake front home owners

Lake living is great but has it's annoyances.
There's NOTHING better than sitting on the porch early in the AM with my tea.
Summer noise can get frustrating, especially late at night and on weekends. And Yeah, I'm an old fogey.

I think the biggest problem i will have is with the septic if its only a 2 bedroom. there is currently a 3 bedroom that really appeals to us which would be perfect, but we shall see.

Here's an option to consider if they hassle you.
My neighborhood was originally subdivided about 80 years ago and (believe it or not) all the properties dumped their sewage right into the lake.
Of course the laws changed, but that created a new problem- almost all the lakefront lots were too small for a proper septic system.
The equitable solution was to bury large holding tanks in each yard. After 30+ years that's what we still have. We're responsible for tank maintenance and pumping.

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: lake front home owners

We plan on retiring to our property NEAR the lake. I don't have the view, but with lakefront property taxes being 6-10 times that of similar properties without shoreline, and that combined with the added building restrictions and noise, I'll be happy without the view.
As a side note, septics in my area are based on the number of washrooms.

 

[rogerwa]

Re: lake front home owners

Two things I would point out..

1) Property taxes will be quite a bit more on the water. You need to figure that into your financial equation
2) Fully investigate any land use restrictions in the case you want to expand the foundation or go vertical. Many places via zoning or other ordinance place the first 75-100 feet of your land off the lake as off limits to you and any changes. If the house is within that zone you have a battle on you hands trying to make any changes to the dwelling.

JB, One bedroom cabin on Mkta?? Must have been MANY years ago. Nowadays the only one bedroom cabins on Mkta are floating.