Sunshine School Field Trip Permission Slip: Fill & Download for Free

Yes, buying a property on the beach is a good idea … if you have done your homework!There are many hazards, both natural and man-made, that you need to know about!Over time we have bought and sold several waterfront properties. From our experience, mostly good, this is what you should consider:*Motivation - * carefully assess why you are buying a waterfront property. Investment? Retirement Retreat? Vacation? Beachfront property is usually a good investment (unless it is washed away!). But beachfront living is not for everyone. One or more members may view living near the water as being a nightmare instead of a dream come true! Consult with all the key stakeholders to make sure all are on board!*Money - * your affordable budget will determine how much you can buy and where it will be located. If money is tight, you can consider joining with a partner. Or looking at less desirable properties that have more modest price tags!*Bargains - * yes! But the prices are low because of a reason! Too difficult to get to. Or the local economy has collapsed. The local mandarins are anxious to sell the whole damn town to you just on the off chance you can revive their community! Find out what is driving a bargain price! Then take a risk or take a hike … or more likely a boat!*Searching* - most folks rely on the Internet to locate a property. You can rapidly screen or filter the candidate properties. Then talk to the owners or realtors representing them. Always request lots of pictures!*Google Maps and Google Earth - *these apps are very helpful to get a birds eye view of potential properties. Do a digital exploration or simulated drive using *Street View. *Do you like what you see?We were able to digitally explore the beach and neighborhood on one property we finally bought … even though we were 10,000 km away!*Visit - * plan a visit to the selected property. Nothing beats a first hand viewing! Check out what the neighbours are doing. Introduce yourself and find out more about the location. Neighbours can be very talkative and quite informative when they know you might soon be one of them! Sometimes you will find beautiful properties which are not advertised on the Internet.*The View - * what do you actually see? A nice sand beach with waves crashing in sounds idylllic. But seeing only blue ocean in front can get boring rather quickly!I personally found properties with a view of an island or coastline in front was far more enjoyable! One of our best was near a harbor entrance. Ships coming and going. A lighthouse which lit up fog in the evenings as its beam made enchanting patterns in the misty clouds! How about island(s) out in front with seals coaxing their pups in and out of the water? Or whales spouting just in front of your living room window? Absolutely magical!The View makes a huge difference in how you enjoy a beachfront property!*Access - * can you drive to the property? Or do you have to take a ferry? Or take your own boat? Island living in a secluded beachfront paradise may look ideal but less so when you want to shop, have to get the kids to school or have a medical emergency!Of course you could always use your helicopter to go back and forth. Why didn't I think of that?*Erosion - *waves wear away the coast. A single storm may wipe away that nice sandy beach or chew 10 metres off your property … or take that dream home down a collapsing cliff!Take a look up and down the coast. Do you see lots of rip rap or other erosion barriers in place? They can be expensive to install. And useless! Mother Nature always wins because sea will always win over land!*Weather - * marine weather is tough on people as well as property. Fog and rain can be frequent visitors.I know a few couples who thought coastal living was the answer to snow and ice. But some lasted only one winter. That is when they discovered snow (with lots of sunshine) had been replaced by gloom and 40 days and 40 nights of perpetual rain!*History - * it always helps to research how the location got to be what it is today! What drives the local economy? Disasters? Environmental issues? Are more trendy shops opening up or is the community becoming seedy and rundown?*Insurance - * some coastal properties will require you to carry full storm coverage. The authorities just simply have got sick and tired of homeowners demanding a government bailout after a storm washes away that uninsured mansion!*Taxes - * will generally be higher than inland properties. Make sure you account for that in the yearly operating budget!*Marina - * owners of beachfront properties usually are boaters or sailors. They want to have easy access to the water. I have had waterfront properties which allowed me to dock or moor a boat in front of the house.Another house I owned had a private marina nearby which was in easy walking distance. There is nothing like being able to step out of your house and on to your boat … and just go!*Support Services - * make sure you know where the nearest doctors, dentists, hospitals, schools and fire protection services are located.A friend of ours had to take 3 different ferries to get to her medical appointments. That meant staying overnight near the doctor because there was not enough time to catch the last ferry of the day.*Utilities - * take a close look at where your water and power come from. Also how sewage is handled. Properties with a septic field need to have the handling capacity checked. A new septic field may cost upwards of $25,000 to install!Also check on electrical reliability. Some coastal communities have limited reliability because they are at the tail end of the power grid. A storm can wipe out power for hours or days. That's why you see so many electrical gensets around or neighbours who are totally off-grid.*Beach Rights - * some, usually older, properties come with deeded beach rights. These may allow you to build a private dock, a breakwater or install a mooring for your boat. Beach Rights will be stated on the Land Title or reference a Land Grant.*Public Beach Access - * many jurisdictions state the beach is public property. Private land that you own may not start until X feet above the high tide mark. You also may not be allowed to put up a fence even if it would be on your property! Usually you are allowed, although not always, to prevent the public from crossing (trespassing) your property to get to and from the beach.I was surprised one time to find a very annoyed visitor pounding on my door! He demanded I open a gate so he and his family could walk to the beach. They were busy unloading beach toys, umbrella and a kayak for their regular trip to the beach … via my property!I quietly explained that the real public path to the beach was a short drive away. The grumpy trespasser went on his way, no doubt ready to give his congressman a piece of his mind. After all, did those heartless beach property owners have any right to deny access to his public property?*Beach and Waterfront Activity - * talk to the neighbours or others familiar with your proposed location. Are there rowdy beach parties all night long? ATVs and beach buggues racing up and down the sand? Noisy ski-doos, cigarette boats disturbing the tranquility?*Neighbours - * take a look around. Do you feel comfortable with what you see? Good old boys repairing cars or wrecked boats on the front lawn are perfect for some… but not others!*Survey - * a Real Property Report or other document prepared by a professional surveyor will show you the exact dimensions of the property. Also where the “permanent” survey pins should be located. You may need a shovel or a magnet to find the buried pins.Waterfront property is valuable so you want to be sure of what you are buying! Even the professionals can make a mistake, like this:Please read: Do surveyors make mistakes?*Legal - * find out who the local lawyers, notary publics or title agents are. Typically the coastal agents will be familiar with the proper conveyancing or transfer of title.*Leased Land - * Indigenous native peoples often lease their ancestral coasts to wealthier parties. A beachfront house on leased land can be a bargain. But check the fine print of the lease. Usually you can sell your house and remaining lease to others. But the property value will decline as the lease nears its end.Most leases are renewed. But the lease renewal may cost a lot more. Especially if demand for beachfront property has gone up!I saw one sad case where none of the leases were renewed. The tribe owning the land wouid not offer renewal at any price!The leaseholders finally checked their fine print. Tte tribe did own the land but not the homes built on it. The tribe said. Fine! Just remove your house before we take back the land. Or just leave it behind! Your call!Some leaseholders had been there for generations. It was not practical to move many beach houses. As a result, some homeowners just abandoned them. Others burnt them to the ground to at least give the local fire brigade some practice! Like this:*Stratas - * are like a land condominium. A developer sells off a collection of properties which have common architectural requirements and own utilities in common. In theory, things are cheaper because you share costs with everyone else.**This includes sharing the costs of a lawyer if something goes wrong with the strata!**The first, and certainly the last strata I owned, became embroiled with the developer. He had refused to turn over land alleged to be allocated to the strata septic field!Lawyers on both sides seemed to want to take forever to settle. In the meantime we shared the escalating legal costs! Ouch!Fortunately, I had delayed building. So I dumped the land and the stench of the legal quagmire!*Building Restrictions - * most locations will have construction standards which you must meet. Drawings of buildings have to be submitted and approved by a local planning authority. Find out how the process works. You may not be allowed to build what you want and where you want it!For example, stilts are often mandatory in places where storm surges and hurricanes are frequent. Like this:Sometimes a bargain property is too good to be true! That's because nothing can be built on it since the property is eroding or slipping into the sea! Know what you can and cannot do before you buy!*Environment Regulations - * generally speaking you are not allowed to do anything to the shore or beach unless you have a permit! One millionaire thought he knew how to play the system:He figured it is better to seek forgiveness than ask permission. He owned a construction business. So he simply built his own private breakwater into the bay! Perfect protection for that shiny new yacht!The authorities finally twigged on to the fact the new breakwater was illegal. However, they also recognized that removing the breakwater would cause even more environmental damage. So the breakwater stayed put. The wily and wealthy owner had counted on that! The hefty fine wouid just be chump change for him!**But he figured wrong!**He lost yacht, home, breakwater, wife and kids. Not all in that order! Why?**Because it is damn difficult to run a company, pay the bills, cruise in your yacht or have dinner with your family when they have put you in JAIL!***Renovations - * before you buy, find out where the best local contractors are. A realtor usually knows. The manager of the local building supply company or hardware store always know which contractors buy from them the most often. Their business cards are often available at the order desk.*Privacy - * does the property meet your needs for seclusion and privacy? Do you have neighbors up the hill or overlooking you? Do you mind the curious onlookers watching your every move? Or papparazzi taking photos of you to sell to the tabloids?On the other hand, some owners feel more secure by having a community or neighbours close by!*Security - * a small beach community may seem very secure. Like a small town, everyone knows everyone else! It seems secure bur what about tourists, gawkers and seasonal visitors?We thought we were pretty secure until we returned one afternoon to find our newly built beachfront home had been burglarized! The police said it was not unusual for teenagers to prowl the beaches in ATVs. They typically targeted homes like ours which were fully or partly obscured by trees from other homes.We installed a better burglar alarm system the next day. The installation was not needed in our “safe” place … until they smashed in our doors leading to the beach!*Pirates - *Aye, aye me hearties! Piracy is alive and well on the coast! A friend of ours bought a small island. He hired a landing craft to unload building materials on the beach. So far so good!But the following day, the building contractor arrived and sadly reported that parties unknown had liberated all the materials! Everything vanished as fast as it was delivered! No progress waa made until there was full time security resident on the island!Of course, there must be a market for a tracking device you can insert into building bricks or a piece of lumber!These are only some of the considerations in buying or investing in beachfront properties. It can be a very enjoyable experience and lifestyle … provided you do your homework.Further links for curious readers;Before you dream of making mucho money renting out that swank beachfront house, read this:What are some of the worst renters or tenants you have came across?Good info about coastal living can be found here:U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit)