House on the water or near it?

[Ronnie]

I’m looking for homes that are on the water with a private dock or near the water with a deeded slip space on a community dock across the street. The place near the water has a small swimming pool in the backyard. I’ve got a boat and two Waverunners. If only near the water I would keep the skis on a trailer assuming I could not rent another slip on the same community dock.

We are in our early 50s and still very active but ….

Assume price is about equal but the place near the water is bigger and has a pool.

what do you guys think? What would you do? What would be your decision criteria?
anyone with experience with both have any thoughts on this?

 

[marcham]

They don't make no more waterfront ... always the best bet in terms of appreciation. You'll probably use the waverunners and the boat a lot more if you are staring at them sipping your morning coffee....

Have you owned a pool before? Requires time and attention (or a pool service). Would you prefer a dip in the lake or dip in the pool?

 

[thefortunes]

Definitely on the water.

We've had both. You will use the boat and waverunners at least twice as much.

Carrying stuff to the boat, even if it is only across the street, sucks.

 

[OCMD]

On the water, just over inspect the house - lots of issues with waterfront homes when not built properly. Ask me how I know. Thus now one mile away from the ramp in a well built home I can actually live in, if I ever decide to sell my main one. But on the water is preferable to near the water and a community dock. Any day of the week.

 

[Jim_in_Delaware]

Are we talking about similar houses on both lots? If that the case I would opt for the house on the water.

In our case, the decision was a small house on the water or our dream house further away. We opted for our dream home.

Jim

 

[Ronnie]

On the water is 1700 sq ft, 3 bdr 2 bath, near the water is 1900 sq ft, 4 bdr 2.5 bath. Never owned a pool but worked at a pool supply place as a kid, agree they become a burden quickly if not used by the home owner(s) but I can say they same thing about boats.

 

[zipper]

On the water is 1700 sq ft, 3 bdr 2 bath, near the water is 1900 sq ft, 4 bdr 2.5 bath. Never owned a pool but worked at a pool supply place as a kid, agree they become a burden quickly if not used by the home owner(s) but I can say they same thing about boats.

In this case...on the water. But we need to see pics.

 

[fatboyroy]

On the water, provided that it wont be affected by california receding shoreline lol.

 

[Ronnie]

The first three are of the place near the water. The red dots mark the house and slip space.

the last/fourth pic is of the private dock on the water, the one with the black boat in it.

these are just the first two homes we are interested in. Near the water just had a price cut a few weeks ago but yesterday the realtor told us the current asking price just went up $50k.

my wife and I are mindful that more homes should be coming on the market before summer but who knows at what and at what cost range.

 

[biffdotorg]

Biggest question in MN, or possibly your state of CA, what are the differences in Taxes? As on the water is always preferable for ease of use and resale.

In MN, you pay much higher taxes when on the water. But that is more than made up in value/resale. We rented lake homes for quite a few years with another couple and their family. The goal was to figure out what we appreciated, didn't like and what we put value on when we bought our own lake home.

We found we could give up some things to gain another. And only you and your family can be honest enough with each other to determine this. Also remember the age of your kids and how long before they are off on their own. As their use of the water is different than yours. Size of lake, type of bottom, traffic, altitude of lot (steps to water) acreage, utilities, closeness to larger city for groceries and work etc.

We determined that we were going to buy once our daughter was out of high school, no commuting and no switching schools. We also figured out that we didn't put as much value on beach, but shorefront with good docks was key, for our needs. So after shopping for two years after renting for nearly a decade, we narrowed it down. We also had to determine if we would give up a more premier lake, or city utilities to get a more rural lake with more acreage.

We ended up on a smaller lake, but big enough for water sports. Good fishing and of course a public access. We have no beach, but we are developing the bottom within legal limitations. But scored 10 acres on a private bay, with 450' of shoreline. most of it undeveloped other than our legal limit for docks and lifts and a private boat landing. The home is 100% remodeled in the past 5 years and fully inspected.

Since we closed in 2020, the market has gone totally gonzo and we feel it may have gone up at least 50% if not doubled in value. So watch that when determining on or near water. You will never lose money on waterfront. And the convenience of jumping in a wetsuit and running down my dock to get on a ski is money! Or hauling my cooler down the stairs to the bow of the boat and making the few steps back up for the forgotten keys is worth every penny. Let alone sitting at the end of the dock in the morning or evening fishing.

In your particular case, I bet you will like having your boat in the water and skis on a trailer as you can go exploring. I feel very fortunate to have my own landing so I can pull the skis for a quick trip to a neighbor lake.

Good luck Ronnie! You will find the one!

 

[2kwik4u]

For us.....There are only a handful of lakes we would want to be permanently tied to, and none of them are within commuting distance. We travel for too much with the boat to be tied to a single lake.

If we were to find a lake we really like, and a house we really like......I would want walking/personal access to the boat.....OR....The ability to drive a golf cart onto the docks and park it there. Same goes for a beach house. I don't want to have to "pack up" to only go a couple thousand feet. If I'm going to pack up to go that far, it's just as easy to load the boat on the trailer in front of the house. Launching/Retrieving is the easy part of my day, it's all the trailering covering/uncovering packing/etc that eats away at time.

For me, it's either on the water with private access, or "normal" home.....Also I would want to see my boat in the slip from the house, or have webcam coverage of it from home before I slipped anywhere. I just don't have that comfort level of leaving a boat in the water for a long time without putting eyes on it.

 

[CanTex]

Talking from experience here....we have a back yard pool at our house and yes it does get used and we enjoy it. Maintenance is not terrible if you stay on top of it, I enjoy drinking a few beers after work and checking the chemicals and cleaning the skimmer baskets.

We have private dock at our vacation/lake house, ABSOLUTLEY nothing better then your own dock a few steps from the back patio. We often go out for an early morning surf session or jet ski run, come back have breakfast and float the afternoon away in the cove...then go out again for a sunset cruise. No way I would ever launch the boat twice in one day.

So to answer your question on which home to purchase, go with the on the water with a dock if access to boating is your main driver for moving. Be sure to confirm water depth and requirements for adding a boat lift.

Best of luck in your finding your next home.

 

[Jim_in_Delaware]

@Ronnie, I don't think you could go wrong with either choice! .

If you get the house with a pool, would you use the pool? More importantly, which home does your significant other prefer?

Personally, as it looks like an easy walk to the boat, even if you are not on the water, I would probably choose the bigger house with the pool.

If you are taking out a mortgage, the sooner you purchase your new home the better as interest rates are rising along with the Fed's announcements for higher interest rates. This is one of the things that gives me heartburn as we wait for our home build to be done as we can't lock in the mortgage rate until that happens.

Jim

 

[tpspeier]

We had an off-water lot with deeded dock (i.e. 2.5 slips) for about 13 years. When we bought, we were younger and the kids were younger. We thought nothing of packing up early in the morning and hopping on the golf cart to ride to the dock (about 1/2 mile). We would spend all day on the water and ride back home at the end of the day. We had the routine down to an art and it was simple.

Flash forward about 13 years and the whole process became a pain. The kids are now old enough to drive the jet skis and the simple transport to the dock became a hassle. We needed to coordinate driving the golf cart or someone needed to walk. My wife and I don't want to be on the water all day but still like to watch but would need to be down at the dock to watch. Also, our parents are now much older and like to stay in the house (or on the porch). With waterfront, they can still see the kids ride or wake as they go by the house.

We ended up upgrading to waterfront last summer and it is 100 times better for our family at this point in time. Yes, it's more expensive and the taxes are higher (due to the increased property value) but it's well worth it. It's so easy for us to load/unload passengers as the day goes on. It's also great to have a swim area at the house.

As for the pool, we have a pool at our main (non-lake) home. I converted to a SWGC this season and have a legitimate cleaning robot so it is now almost maintenance free.

 

[OurCrew]

On the water all the way!!! I guess I lucked out getting exactly what you are asking for as a home.
All I can say is seek and you shall find, they are out there but this the time to do it
I was looking for the samething two years ago, I wanted waterfront with a boat lift ( pool would be added bonus ). Fell in love with it the first viewing ( February 19, 2020 ) ever though it was a crappy rainy day.
Extra’s was
Fully fenced in compound
Pool
Elevated Boathouse with lift underneath
Canopied boat Lift
Three car garage with 12x40 attic room above ( for my N scale train layout)
Great neighbors and very friendly sociable neighborhood ( monthly dinner gatherings at the yacht club down the street )




Second photo is from Realor listing, I have since replaced the roofs on house, canopy and boathouse with metal roofs after Hurricane Isaias

 

[MidnightRider]

1000% on the water. Actively enjoying the lake whenever you can is great, but you can't underestimate being able to "passively" enjoy the lake which is pretty much full time. Whether its enjoying the view out your window sitting at the kitchen table or sipping coffee on your deck/patio in the early morning. Those relaxed effortless lake moments are priceless and you can't enjoy/experience this unless you are right on the water.
All that is beyond the convenience of having the boat in the water ready to go at all times, which is amazing but obvious.

 

[Julian]

On the water would be my vote....but not all on the water locations are equal. You have to look at:

• No wake distance to where you can boat....some are close....some a LONG way.
• Wind direction and weed collection....from the look of it, one of those areas in your pics has a line of floating buoys protecting the dock....looks like they might get a lot of drifting crap
• Share dock or private docks (can cost more to have a shared on).

 

[RobbieO]

The first three are of the place near the water. The red dots mark the house and slip space.

the last/fourth pic is of the private dock on the water, the one with the black boat in it.

these are just the first two homes we are interested in. Near the water just had a price cut a few weeks ago but yesterday the realtor told us the current asking price just went up $50k.

my wife and I are mindful that more homes should be coming on the market before summer but who knows at what and at what cost range.
View attachment 170409View attachment 170410View attachment 170411View attachment 170412

Why move to Discovery Bay just to be near the water? I'd say get one on the water. I've heard the HOA fees there are extremely high. There are people who moved to my community from there because of the HOA fees. If you can afford it, go with on the water. You're only given one life.

 

[HangOutdoors]

On the water all the way!!! I guess I lucked out getting exactly what you are asking for as a home.
All I can say is seek and you shall find, they are out there but this the time to do it
I was looking for the samething two years ago, I wanted waterfront with a boat lift ( pool would be added bonus ). Fell in love with it the first viewing ( February 19, 2020 ) ever though it was a crappy rainy day.
Extra’s was
Fully fenced in compound
Pool
Elevated Boathouse with lift underneath
Canopied boat Lift
Three car garage with 12x40 attic room above ( for my N scale train layout)
Great neighbors and very friendly sociable neighborhood ( monthly dinner gatherings at the yacht club down the street )

View attachment 170420
View attachment 170421

Second photo is from Realor listing, I have since replaced the roofs on house, canopy and boathouse with metal roofs after Hurricane Isaias

Wow. That is fantastic. I would love to live there...

 

[Taylorman]

Don’t settle. My guess is you know what you want and what will serve you/your family best. If it’s one of those two houses buy and don’t look back. If not, don’t settle and keep looking until you find it. If it’s a must move situation then go with your gut and don’t look back. Wishing you happiness, health and peace of mind with your final choice.