Buying on Lake Norman

What to sort out before you look

Get a lender's pre-approval, not a pre-qualification, before the first showing. On this lake the good houses go quickly and a seller comparing two offers will take the one that is certain to close. Arriving without it costs people houses every month.

What is different about waterfront

Buying on the water is a different transaction. Whether the dock is permitted and transferable, how deep the water actually is at your shoreline in a drawdown year, which direction the lot faces for the evening light, the shoreline buffer rules, and whether the slip is deeded or assigned. None of that is in the listing, and all of it changes the value. I check every one before you write.

School boundaries move

Charlotte-Mecklenburg reviews assignment periodically, and the north towns have grown fast enough that boundaries have shifted more than once. A listing that advertises a school is making a claim, not a guarantee. I verify the current assignment on every house before we write an offer.

Three counties, three sets of rules

Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville and Charlotte are Mecklenburg. Mooresville, Troutman and Statesville are Iredell, and Mooresville runs its own school district. Denver is Lincoln County. Taxes, schools and permitting all change at those lines, so two houses at the same price can cost very different amounts to own.

Buying on the water is a different exercise again: read what changes when a house has a dock before you start looking, and the questions page covers due diligence, earnest money and what North Carolina sellers have to disclose.