Buying
Nine questions to ask before you offer on a waterfront home
Riparian rights, mooring transfer, erosion mapping, insurance history. Ask these before you fall in love, not after.
Theo Lindqvist
6 min read
Fall in love second. Ask these first, and ask them of the agent rather than the seller, because a good agent will have the answers written down already.
One — what exactly does the title include below the high-water mark? Two — is any mooring transferable with the sale, or does it revert to the harbour authority? Three — what does the most recent erosion mapping show for this specific plot, not the wider stretch? Four — has the property ever been declined cover, and by whom?
Five — what is the flood zone designation and when was it last reviewed? Six — are there riparian or access rights held by neighbours across the land? Seven — what is the full claim history for the last fifteen years? Eight — what is the annual maintenance spend the current owners actually incur, with invoices?
And nine, the one people forget — what happens to the access road in a severe storm, and who is responsible for clearing it? On several stretches of this coast the answer is the residents, jointly, and the arrangement is informal.
Every one of these is answerable in a week. None of them will cost you the house. All of them will cost you the house later if you skip them now.
Theo Lindqvist
Associate — Estuary & Ferrymead
Theo handles the estuary side, where the questions are about moorings, flood mapping and school catchments rather than glazing spans. He sails out of Ferrymead most weekends, which is how he sees half his listings first.
