Buying Waterfront Property

[Dutch]

We will be selling our house in the near future and are debating between buying a place on the water or staying in town. Our preference would be to live on the water but it's difficult to rationalize spending a lot of money for the house on the water relative to the size and quality of the home you can get in town for the same price. We are not sure we want to pay so much money for an average house simply because it's on the water. It's also hard to anticipate whether waterfront prices will start to stabilize or continue to keep going up which would mean we do it now or never.

Any advice?

[irishfield]

Waterfront will never stabilize. It will just keep climbing as there's a fixed amount of it unless you dig your own lake. Lots of nice little homes on Stoney Lake for (just) under 2 mil !

 

Also be prepared for lots of new "friends" and long lost relatives "just dropping by" if you live on the water. If you enjoy that side of things great...if not be forewarned. It's one of the reasons I moved off the water 19 years ago..

Edited May 1, 2007 by irishfield

[Bernie]

Hi Dutch. Never seen waterfront property going down in value. You must have a love for water if you get involved with waterfront. If you truly love it, it may not matter how much room you have in the house/cottage because you just want to be there.

 

BTW ...There are benefits of being on an island Wayne .

Edited May 1, 2007 by Nipissing

[irishfield]

BTW ...There are benefits of being on an island Wayne .

 

Why do you think I'm on one up North Bernie? Nobody can just "drop by"...at least none other than the ones that I've shown where it is, and they'z all alright so far.

[Nanook]

Be prepared to pay at least $80,000 - $100,000, just for the lot.

Then, sit and listen to the PWC zipping up and down all Summer. Then in Winter,you'll have the snow machines screaming by. I'm 10mins from the lake and can still hear them.

 

Lakefront? not for me. The Sunsets just are not worth it. IMHO!

[Bernie]

I didnt realize you were on an island Wayne.

 

Mainland property is OK for some folks. Depends a lot on where it is too. Try not to get a northern exposure. Look too see how deep the water is at your property shoreline too. Seen where some folks need to tie up 100 ft out from shore. Can you keep a dock from being ice damaged? How rough does it get? If you are unsheltered to prevailing winds it makes docking difficult as well as keeping it tied up undamaged.

Some complain that they dont like island property because of the inconvenience. I dont give it a second thought. Very few bugs. Fantastic sunrises/sunsets. No traffic noises. O ya .....fishing.

[Jen]

We bought 1300 feet of lakefront property 9 years ago, it is on a small lake that doesn't have swimming and very few homes... quiet and peaceful to say the least... We will build there someday, but for now it is a little piece of heaven.

 

Good Luck in your search.

[luv2drift]

Bend over and grab your ankles because waterfront taxes are a killer!

[pigeonfisher]

Where?

[Gary George]

High demand waterfront in Haliburton is big lakes with connected lakes. Same most everywhere, more water means more money. It also means more traffic of all kinds, winter, spring, summer and fall.

 

For my money I'd be looking at small lakes, riverfront or proximity that permits a view and some reasonable access.

 

Think gas fueled idiots on or in every kind of craft imaginable if your on busy / popular lakes. Even weekdays can be crazy if the weather is nice.

 

I'm not on a lake but most of my clients in Haliburton are, the only ones who don't comment / complain about the gas fueled frenzy are the ones who thrive in the kaos and fumes or the work-a-holics who aren't really ever home on the water anyway.

 

Choose carefully if your thinking sunsets and waterside campfires. The obvious choices that cost the most would be very low on my list.

 

Maybe your looking for that, if you are don't expect the fishing to be all that great except in the margins of the season. Thats the other benefit of "less desirable" lakes, the fishing is usually more peaceful and productive.

[irishfield]

Bend over and grab your ankles because waterfront taxes are a killer!

 

Not necessarily. Municipality of Temagami tax mill rate is 1/2 for rural or island properties compared to townsite. So if you have a $200,000 dollar house in town..you can have a $400,000 out of town waterfront property and pay the same taxes.

Edited May 1, 2007 by irishfield

[Bernie]

Bend over and grab your ankles because waterfront taxes are a killer!

 

Mine are less at the island than they are in town. Although they did go up this year to $1450. Trouble is we dont get any services. But thats OK by me.

[pigeonfisher]

High demand waterfront in Haliburton is big lakes with connected lakes. Same most everywhere, more water means more money. It also means more traffic of all kinds, winter, spring, summer and fall.

 

For my money I'd be looking at small lakes, riverfront or proximity that permits a view and some reasonable access.

 

Think gas fueled idiots on or in every kind of craft imaginable if your on busy / popular lakes. Even weekdays can be crazy if the weather is nice.

 

I'm not on a lake but most of my clients in Haliburton are, the only ones who don't comment / complain about the gas fueled frenzy are the ones who thrive in the kaos and fumes or the work-a-holics who aren't really ever home on the water anyway.

 

Choose carefully if your thinking sunsets and waterside campfires. The obvious choices that cost the most would be very low on my list.

 

Maybe your looking for that, if you are don't expect the fishing to be all that great except in the margins of the season. Thats the other benefit of "less desirable" lakes, the fishing is usually more peaceful and productive.

 

 

I get your rage, man; however, my father in law has a place on Cameron Lake. We get water ski traffic coming by during the day and fishing boats in the eveneing, some jet skis (they are sort of annoying) but on the hole it is sure a nice place to be.

 

I had a place on pigeon that had very little of this type of activity. That was PIGEON LAKE, in the KAWARTHAS. Come on. Let us not pigeonhole the world.

 

Go and look at some places. They are all less busy than the slowest street of an urban subdivision.

[Dutch]

We are looking at a place on Chemong Lake.

[Dondorfish]

Go for the lakefront - more fun to have a swill on the water - lol Which end of Chemong? I am on the south end every weekend - starting this weekend.

 

Don

[Dutch]

Tracker,

The property is just north of bridgenorth.

[Dondorfish]

Nice area - fishing has been slow the last couple of years - but I just think the fish are getting smarter! I fish from the south end up to the causeway. Maybe see you out there sometime

 

Don

[luv2drift]

Here's what you have to ask yourself. IF i buy a lakefront property am I going to use it? Secondly, If you go up there are you going to have a lake that's full of fish that you want to fish for? and Lastly, what I personally have been pondering over if I get a lakefront property am I going to sleep there and fish and boat or am I going to drive up there and want to use it as home base and canoe and portage to remote back lakes to fish and camp and never be there???

 

Lastly, remember God isn't creating anymore lakefront property!

 

There's was an article a couple months ago where a guy from toronto published numbers on how much it costs to have a cottage to a ratio of how much he actually was there and it worked out that he could of took his family of six away twice a year to a five star resort in St. Lucia?

[Big Cliff]

There are a lot of IF's involved.

 

You mentioned that you will be selling your house shortly, do you intend to live at the new place?

 

Do you work in Peterborough and will you have to travel?

 

We bought this place on Sturgeon lake both as an investment and because we wanted to live on the water but we spent 4 1/2 years looking and assessing what we wanted and needed. As others have said, waterfront property will never go down!

 

I'm not going to try to type out all the little things we learned, but if you would like to give me a call or drop by for a visit I'd be happy to share some of that information with you.

 

705-328-0750

 

Cliff

[mrdylan]

I have nothing to add but goodluck. Personally I would love to live right on the water or even have a cottage. As of now I live right off Simcoe ST in North Oshawa and you wanna hear noisy I think I would welcome the sound of boats buzzin by all day I know it doesn't bother me up at our trailer.

[fishindevil]

I have lots of freinds that live on waterfront property all over southern ontario,and in the bancroft area ,and everyone of them would never treade it for the world,and some of their places have doubled and tripled in price its amazing,and there is getting less of it all the time,if you can afford it well you know what to do....good-luck cheers

[pigeonfisher]

I like the Algoma region as well, in fact I will be up there this weekend.

[Tom McCutcheon]

Dutch; we sold our place in London On. 4 years ago and bought a house on a back bay of Pigeon Lake. we don't get any strange boats other than the odd professional bass fisherman past the dock and in the winter I make a large rink with help from the neighborhood kids on the lake. the snow machines are a bit noisy, but then you just turn up the sound of the movie or hockey game until they go home. I also would not trade this life for the world, highly recommend doing your homework and then jump in with both feet. We are also on the east side of the lake so therefore still only about 20 minutes from Peterborough services.

 

Good luck

[Jer]

I made the move to the lake about 11 years ago...and don't think I'll ever leave.

 

Having grown up in the suburban hell of Mississauga...this is paradise. Don't worry about noisy jet-skis and snowmobiles. It really is only busy around here on the summer weekends. The rest of the time I sit on my dock and wonder where the heck is everybody?

 

Of course, back in '96, prices were still a bit more reasonable. I paid $113,000 (though the house was listed at $139K) and could probably get at least $250K right now ($300K if I could put the fishing rod down and do some renovating).

 

Your taxes won't be outta sight either. I was paying about $1450 in '96 and last year just over $2000 on a $218,000 assesment (Bridgenorth is the same township).

 

I say, if you can afford the mortgage....go for it!