[P JOHNSON]

Georgia couple looking to buy Lake property at Scottsboro, Guntersville area for our retirement. Would perfer Water front.

[Keeper]

There is property available in the areas you mentioned depending on what you want to spend. Do you want a house already on the property or do you want to build? How much do you want to spend is also a big question. tr Property with a house is going to be expensive at least from what I have seen while looking for property for my nephew. Nice house on the lake in Guntersville in the 400K range. What is your price range?
There is a 70 acre lake in Arab which is less expensive with 5 acre lots.
Give us an idea of what you are looking to spend and we can tell you if you can find your dream home in this area.
I am not a realtor but spend all last week looking for my family.

[P JOHNSON]

We thought we would find just the lot for now and build when we are ready. We are still 20 years from retirement but wanted to get stared paying for the land. We would like to stay around 50,000.

[Keeper]

The biggest problem with lake front property besides the cost is most of the prime locations have already been bought up and most have houses on them already. The sites now available are usually on the side of a mountain which make building a house expensive. The price you are looking to pay are few, I know because that is the price range my nephew was looking to spend.

My nephew found a 4 1/2 acre lot with water access (boat house) but the lot itself is not on the lake, which is pretty common here for around 90K, but it was also on the side of the mountain which meant building a house would require making the lot suitable for building which would add to the cost of building a house. You might look around Weiss Lake also near I 20. That area is just starting to build up and since you have time it might be a good bet.

I will send you a PM for the real estate site in this area. Just be sure to ask about the suitablity of building if you inquire about a piece of property.

[harry chickpea]

You might also consider that regulations in Alabama are fairly relaxed now, but as time goes on will get stricter, due to pressure from environmental groups, creeping government interferance, and other factors.

Lots near a lake typically require a septic system to be at least 50' from the water, 25' from a property line or house, and 100' from a well. (I think I'm remembering those figures correctly.) In the future, I expect the distance to water to be increased for new construction. That might mean a lot you buy now and don't develop isn't a viable property in the future, or might require a composting or incinerating toilet. Another issue to consider is that lakefront property will get more crowded and noisy and may not fit your requirement needs as well as some other property.