Waterfront homes... Sea,river or lakeshore ? Pros & cons of each location... (Houston: real estate, neighborhood)

[iamanewcomer]

I believe most commentators agree that a waterfront home has a special charm ( ...& cost...).

In HOU,one can select between seashore,riverside & lakeshore lot.

I welcome comments from people who have homes on such locations & can tell the positives & the negatives of each one...

[Jezer]

We lived in a gated community, called Twin Lakes, in NW Houston.

We were in a cul de sac and quite a few of our friends were closer to the actual lakes.

The pros were the views and that you can't be directly overlooked from a lake, ie privacy.

The downside was that they were more likely to be affected by snakes which were water mocassons, otherwise known as cottonmouths, and copperheads.

It's not to say you wouldn't get snakes elsewhere but there was less chance, so it appeared.

We enjoyed our cul de sac position as it was pretty quiet.

[ShelbyGirl1]

We live on a lake and lagoon...cornor lot on Seabrook Island. We absolutely love it! Up side....gorgeous views and wildlife...our boat is in our backyard...walk down a few steps and we're on it...Nothing more relaxing than sitting in your backyard as the sun goes down with a glass of wine (or beer) and enjoying the serene tranquility of it all. We spend HOURS in our backyard!
Downside...the occasional loud boats...we don't mind as we see it as part of on the water living. Hurricanes and their water surge...water came up some 15 ft over flood stage with Ike and put our boat thru the boathouse roof...Our stupidity...we now have a trailer for it! But no water damage, as we are built up high...A BIG MUST!
Yes, we see the occasional snake...not really a biggie for us...we also see an occasional alligator...always during June which is breeding time, but then they seem to disappear.
For us, the plus out weigh the downside by far...but that is just our opinion!

[Lake Conroe resident]

We live on Lake Conroe, about 45 miles North of Houston.
Positives are the wonderful views, easy access to your boat, fishing, and just relaxing with a peaceful back-drop. Nothing like sitting by the pool with a cold drink watching the scenery, not to mention being able to walk a few steps and drop a line in the water, or go for a boat ride.
Negatives; Waterfront homes seem to need power-washed a lot more than non waterfront homes.

[desertsun41]

Sometimes we drive through a neighborhood of cookie cutter homes and wonder why or how anyone would want to live like that. Im not putting anyone down, everyone has their thing. I just cant see living anyplace but where there is water behind me.

I grew up on the east coast and spent so much of my free time out on Raritan Bay or up the large rivers and sometimes but rare out into the Atlantic Ocean. When you get home your boat is white with salt. If your tired from a long day tearing up the bay and get home you are too tired to wash the salt off the boat. Then the next day you scrub harder to get it off.

In fresh water lakes you leave clean and come home clean. I have Lake Livingston in my back yard and have an infinate view northward. There is just nothing as great as smelling the fresh water breeze blowing into your home. Watching storms become the greatest nature documentary on earth.

The early mornings when the water is dead calm you can sit queitly and listen to the Bass smashing the surface to put some poor injured minnow out of his misery. I watch the Great Blue Herons and the White Egrets quietly walk the shallows every single morning without even making a wake as their feet hit the water. Then they will just die bomb some small fingerling Shad. I watch as he turns the fish head first in his mouth before swallowing it. Sometimes I am close enough to see the bulge go down his long neck as it swallows.

Quite often I kayak out to Pine Island late at night. Halfway out I stop, sit and listen as I stare at the moon, the stars and all that surrounds it. The silence is deafening only to be broken by yet another game fish blasting the surface to gulp a Water Moccasin. And dont even get me talking about fishing.......................

[iamanewcomer]

Nice poetic post...

[Benning]

One thing to consider: bulkheads

If the waterfront home you like has bulkheads, they do need to be maintained regularly, and it is usually not a small, inconsequential cost to think about.

[iamanewcomer]

Hmm,not sure what "bulkhead " is...

[Lake Conroe resident]

Bulkhead; A retaining wall if you will, that holds up the real estate/land from washing away into the lake, usually made of wood. Also implemented so folks could put boats behind their property without them having to sit in the dirt. Imagine the lake being a very large Doughboy pool, with the sides of it being the bulkhead.

[iamanewcomer]

A wooden dam.Got it.

I checked prices at HAR.

Seafront is the most expensive,but lakeshore lots can be truly affordable,even for less than 100K.

Is the water of Hou lakes renewed somehow ? Are they clean enough to swim ?