Lakefront Rental Property Purchase – What Questions to Ask?

[Kory Thaut]

BP - I am considering making an offer on a four-plex that is waterfront to a large recreational lake in Washington State. According to my insurance agent, the only additional insurance requirements from a “normal” four-plex is taking into account flood risk / insurance - no other liability concerns.

I’ve never owned water front property myself, let alone rental property on a lake. Seems like there would be more issues / risks to take into consideration and I wanted to get thoughts from those that have rented property with waterfront access.

The first issue that comes to mind is the shared back area and access to the water. For example, the property has a single dock (room for 2 boats, 1 on each side) but the seawall would support 2 more boats. I could see issue with who gets what access and when. Maybe boat moorage would be an additional income opportunity?

Any other questions / concerns I should be taking into consideration with renting waterfront property to multiple families?

Thanks,