When buying a waterfront home, what should you consider? These nine pros and cons will help you with your buying decision.
We love waterfront homes for a variety of reasons. The views are gorgeous, whether the home overlooks a gentle lake, a raging river, or the constant ebb and flow of the ocean. Finding a list of waterfront homes for sale is easy with Point2Homes. They have set up a web site and an iPhone app to make finding a new home easy.
If you’re thinking about buying a waterfront home, you probably don’t need to hear any pros, but I’ve listed them here anyway.
Pros of a Waterfront Home
- The view. Calming, refreshing, invigorating – the water speaks to us in different ways.
- Playing. Whether you want to swim, boat, fish, waterski, or just take the kids on nature walks, living along the waterfront enables you to do all those things and more.
- Holds its value. Mostly because of the view and the possibilities for sports and outdoor fun, waterfront homes tend to hold their value. People will always want a waterfront home and there aren’t that many out there.
Cons of a Waterfront Home
- Possible flooding. Floods are a big thing to consider. Point2homes includes a FEMA flood insurance map overlay so you know exactly what you’re getting. Depending on the area, floods along the waterfront might be rare or common. Flood insurance is cheap, so it’s always worth getting if you might need it.
- Increased homeowner insurance premiums.
- Sea wall maintenance. Or canal wall. Whatever sort of waterfront your house faces, the land will need to be shored up with a wall to prevent erosion. That wall will need maintenance and it’s not the sort of maintenance most people are equipped to do on their own.
- Dock maintenance. Properly maintained docks can last a long time. Just be sure to add it to your list of chores.
- Pesky critters. Depending on where the waterfront home is located, pesky critters could include mosquitoes, alligators, the occasional nutria, neighbor children, or those horrible biting flies that cover Louisiana in the summer.
- Dirty water. If you don’t own the whole body of water, chances are good that other people will be out there playing on the water and accidentally spilling bits of garbage or losing hats in the water. It all collect