Saving money for a down payment on a home is no easy feat, which is why I started looking into various ways to make sure that I had things sorted out like I should. I began working with a real estate agent to chat about what to do and how to start saving, and they explained how much I needed if I wanted to avoid private mortgage insurance, and when the market typically trended upwards. It was really neat for me to see everything I could do with the advice, and saving became easier after I had a clear goal. Find out more about real estate by reading this blog.
Cathy Frazier
If you love being near the water, you may have decided to try to find a house to buy near a lake or the ocean. However, even if you find the house of your dreams near the water, you need to carefully inspect the property's shoreline using the tips below.
1. Revisit the Property on a Rainy Day
If your first view of the property was on a bright, sunny day, you probably only saw relatively still waters. However, if you were to live on the property, you will not only have calm weather, and you need to know exactly how rough conditions will affect the behavior of the water.
Before you make a decision to buy the property, set up a time to revisit it when rain and wind are in the forecast. Either during or directly after the rainstorm, look at the way the water washes up onto your property. Also, look for areas where large puddles form that may indicate that the water is either reaching the land or not draining properly.
If you do see large puddles in the yard or waves hitting your property, you will have to decide whether or not you can deal with the damage they will cause any structures or plants you may plan on putting there. However, if the water seems to reach the house, you may have to contend with damage and flooding indoors, which could lead to future expenses.
2. Look for Signs of Erosion Along the Shoreline
Along with seeing how the water affects the property during a rainstorm, also look carefully at the shoreline. Many properties have either wooded or netted barriers that help keep the soil from eroding into the body of water.
However, if you do not find any barriers, the property may be slowly eroding away. Look for large holes or gulleys along the shoreline that may be evidence that this could be the case.
Finding erosion along the shoreline may not be a reason to forget about buying the property. However, you need to consider that you may need to put up your own erosion barriers if you were to buy the property so you can factor in the expense along with the cost of it.
While you may long to live next to the water, you still need to make sure that the property is not at risk of severe damage because of it. For more information about searching for waterfront properties in your area, contact a real estate agent like those at Lakeshore Realty North.