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When we purchased our home 9 years ago the signage out front said Lakefront...we did not find out until closing that we did not own the last 50ft
down to the lake.( odd piece of land for the owner since it is locked in on all sides, he also owns the lake itself) This has been ok with us, all our neighbors use theirs like it belongs to them, landscaping, sprinkler systems, docks etc. County tax assessor shows legal description as "SFR Lake" . I'm confused, appraisor who just did our appraisal also said house "backs to lake". Now that we are getting ready to sell....can we advertise as Lakefront???? Please advise.
thnx
Last edited by doni; 09-25-2007 at 12:19 PM..
Reason: left out sentence
When we purchased our home 9 years ago the signage out front said Lakefront...we did not find out until closing that we did not own the last 50ft
down to the lake.( odd piece of land for the owner since it is locked in on all sides) This has been ok with us, all our neighbors use theirs like it belongs to them, landscaping, sprinkler systems, docks etc. County tax assessor shows legal description as "SFR Lake" . I'm confused, appraisor who just did our appraisal also said house "backs to lake". Now that we are getting ready to sell....can we advertise as Lakefront???? Please advise.
Location: Halfway between Number 4 Privet Drive and Forks, WA
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You can advertise as "lake view" lot.
We have a bunch of lots for sale in our subdivision that are advertised that way. The lots have sat empty for over 2 years (no one ever bought) because there is no lake access...I wouldn't pay twice the price for a lot to look out at the muddy, swampy thing they are claiming as a lake in our subdivision...
Location: Moved to town. Miss 'my' woods and critters.
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Have you ever contacted the owner of the 50' between your home and the lake about usage and/or selling that property? Do you have Title Insurance? If so, how does it read in reference to this property?
I just spoke with our county tax appraiser and he said I could advertise as Lake front (just be sure to have disclaimer) and that we are being taxed as lake front. Curiouser and curiouser.......
I just spoke with our county tax appraiser and he said I could advertise as Lake front (just be sure to have disclaimer) and that we are being taxed as lake front. Curiouser and curiouser.......
Yeah, wow is right. Are there deed restrictions on the 50' that prohibit Owner B from building on it? Could you possibly one day be looking at a home there, or the back side of a boat house and 100' long dock? Do you have an easement that allows you to traverse the 50' to gain access to the lake? Do they have an easement somewhere that allows them to gain access to it? I would think that all of that would need to be disclosed properly, which if you did, would seem to be misrepresentation to any potential buyers if you called it a lakefront lot.
I know I say this a lot on this board, but I'd be talking to an attorney on this one. I would not take the word of the local tax appraiser (who would have little to no liability if they were wrong).
My thought is that legally you could say "lake access (if true)" or "lake view", but that's just my gut reaction. "Lakefront" to me means what it says, fronting on the lake. My inlaws have a lakefront home and they and all their neighbors refer to the lake side of the house as the "front" of the house: ie lakefront.
acutually , I feel the same way.. Century 21 sold me this house and called it Lake front..No the owner of that little piece of land is locked in... so there is no access or chance of him building anything. His parcel is 75x50x75x39 not much there and he can't get out.Like I said there really is no useful purpose for this land. He is "landlocked". Actually I think this piece was part of the lake at one time and the lake has receded. If It goes back up then we will be "lakefront.
amazingly, my managing broker just bought a house with a similar situation. His home and all the neighbors have homes that ring a lake, but there is a swatch around the lake that belongs to someone else. they cannot use it, cannot get to it, but they own. when they contacted the owner to buy it, he would sell it for some outrageous sum of money. They said, no thanks. you can't get to your property, we use the property to access the lake and we mow the grass.... And we haven't had to pay one red cent.
acutually , I feel the same way.. Century 21 sold me this house and called it Lake front..No the owner of that little piece of land is locked in... so there is no access or chance of him building anything. His parcel is 75x50x75x39 not much there and he can't get out.Like I said there really is no useful purpose for this land. He is "landlocked". Actually I think this piece was part of the lake at one time and the lake has receded. If It goes back up then we will be "lakefront.
Wow, I've never heard of something like that. From what I've been told here in Michigan on inland lakes, if you truly own lakefront land with riparian rights, you own the "bottomland" of the lake out to the middle of the lake (like a giant pie being split up by the lakefront owners is how I understand it). The water is not yours, but a shared resource. If the lake recedes, then the added beach is yours. There's no way someone could come in if lake levels were low and be able to buy out the new "beach", unless the beach was somehow parceled off and willingly sold by the owner. On the big lakes like Lake Michigan, the beach area below the high-water mark is public domain (last I heard from the Supreme Court).
If that's your situation, that he bought low, maybe it was prior to more recent court rulings. FYI: I'm not an attorney, so I'm just speculating out loud.
It'd be interesting to see what exactly your deed says in relation to riparian rights. A good attorney could tell you.
Good luck!
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Wow
