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Making the Most of Your Real Estate Agent's Expertise


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Making the Most of Your Real Estate Agent's Expertise

Buying a new home is an exciting experience, but there is a lot that has to be considered if you want to make sure that your investment is a solid one. For example, while it isn’t required, it is a good idea to have your real estate agent hire an independent inspector to have prospective homes personally inspected for safety and condition before making an offer. Learning how your real estate agent can best help you before actually hiring an agent will ensure that the person you work with has the experience and ideas needed to get the results that you want. On this website, you can expect to find out how to find a great real estate agent and how you can best tap into the talents.

Want To Purchase Lakefront Property? Ask These Questions

Once you've spent some time in and around a gorgeous lake, it's natural that you'll feel drawn to the area and want to buy a property right on the water. It isn't always easy to purchase such sought-after properties so you may be eager to put in an offer on anything, but ask these questions to select your future home more wisely.

What are Insurance Costs Like?

Because you'll be getting a home near water, flooding is a more of a possibility than it would be if you bought a house that was miles away from the shore. It's smart to research the history of flooding in the area, but you may also seriously consider finding out about current and projected flooding insurance costs that you might need to pay. You can directly contact insurers in the area to get that information, or you might ask your realtor or current owners of properties you're thinking about. That way, you can factor in those costs when deciding how high you're willing to go on a lakefront property.

Does This Property Have Riparian Rights?

Just because a house is near the water, don't assume that means that the homeowner has any rights to the water itself. If you plan to use the water near a house in anyway, make sure that whatever property you consider comes along with riparian rights. Riparian rights mean that the property owner owns a certain amount of land beneath the water; you cannot own the lake water of course, but these rights allow you to build a dock and use that space as you like.

Is There a Boat Dock?

One of the perks to lakefront living is the ability to take a small boat out onto the lake when the weather is nice. You might not even have a boat yet, so you may not think much about asking whether a particular property has a boat dock; it's important to ask anyway. For one thing, if you should later purchase a boat, you'll need a dock. If a particular property has a dock, you'll need to inspect it for quality and strength. If it doesn't, you'll have to be aware of the costs involved in constructing one down the line. If you never buy a boat and the property has one, you'll have to maintain it and make arrangements for heavy storms so that it isn't damaged or cause damage to others.

A lakefront property overlooking a beautiful body of water is something you can achieve without trouble if you ask the questions above and take appropriate action. Discussing issues specific to these properties with your realtor can also provide excellent guidance.