Waterfront and Dock Information

Yes, it is the American Dream, especially in Florida. Buy a home on "Big" water and dock the boat out back and live it up. Before you buy, however, there are a few questions you may want to find the answers to. Take it from us, as we have been through it all as far as permitting goes for a boat dock. We purchased a home right on beautiful Lemon Bay in Englewood about a year and a half ago. We immediately began working on getting a new dock put in as the old one was quite dilapidated and we are active boaters. We were told correctly when we purchased the home that the existing dock was "grandfathered in". What we did not realize was that only the existing dock was grandfathered, look out if you want to replace it, or make any type of major repair. The laws have changed and now you must abide by all of the Resource Protection laws, and also conform to Department of Environmental Protection, Army Corp of Engineers, and others such as the Water & Navigation Control Authority (WNCA). We have finally muddled our way through all of the paperwork with the help of some very knowledgeable people. To make a long story short, our dock went from 16ft. long to a required 300 ft. long! Would we do it again? You bet! The added value to our property will make it all worth it in the long run. Here is a link to a great website that I would highly recommend. It is from a local attorney who specializes in waterfront real estate transactions. http://www.flwaterfront.com/default2.htm Have you had a problem getting a new dock installed? We would love to hear your story! After all we have been through, we feel we have truly earned the title "Waterfront Specialists".