Buying lakeshore property: how to keep your "dream property" from becoming a nightmare
by Carter DeLaittre
As published in the February 15, 2002 issue of Outdoor News

In 1991, Bob and Sue purchased a small cabin on one of the Brainerd area lakes. Every summer weekend they traveled to the cabin, the last stretch being a two-tire track dirt road that began at the township road and then wound its way over eight neighboring lots before arriving at their property. When Bob's job required him to transfer out of state in 1998, they decided to sell the cabin. Two days before the closing, Bob and Sue learned that they never owned a legally established right to travel over their neighbors' property, and, much to their surprise and dismay, were going to have to pay the cost to establish an easement over all eight lots so that their buyers would have "legal" access to the cabin.
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For years, Mary searched for a lot on a small lake to build her dream getaway. Her top priority- a "million dollar" view. She finally found the perfect lot- heavily wooded with a rustic cabin that had a beautiful view of the lake. The existing cabin, which was located 75 feet from the shoreline, was soon torn down to make room for a new log cabin. Unfortunately, Mary found out that her new cabin could not be built in the same location as the old cabin because of the required setbacks from the shoreline. She was devastated when told that her dream cabin could be built no closer than 200 feet from the shoreline, placing it behind a hill that blocked her view of the lake.
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Tom dreamed of the day when he could own a piece of land to use as a base camp for hunting and fishing trips. Buying a cabin was not in his budget, but that did not matter. He would be happy using his tent trailer on his land until he could afford to build a cabin. Tom found the perfect lot in an area that had been subdivided by a developer two years earlier. The first weekend after his closing, Tom set up his trailer on his lot. Two weeks later, he received a letter from the developer's attorney demanding that Tom remove his trailer because private restrictions against his lot prohibited the use of a tent trailer or any other travel trailer. Tom was unable to use his lot as a base camp until he could afford to build a cabin.
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Each year, hundreds of transactions take place in Minnesota involving the purchase and sale of recreational property- lakeshore, river lots and rural acreage. As a real estate lawyer, I have found that many buyers are much more cavalier about the legal and practical issues that affect their purchase of recreational property than they are about the issues that affect their purchase of their primary home. Perhaps this is natural, considering the historical difference between the cost of recreational property and the cost of a home in a metropolitan area.

However, with the rising cost of recreational land, especially lakeshore property, "cabins" have now become major investments. Furthermore, recreational property has its own unique issues to consider, especially those dealing with governmental regulation of the use and development of shoreland property.

The end result, unfortunately, is that many buyers like Bob and Sue, Mary and Tom can be in for a very unpleasant surprise if they fail to seek proper advice and do their homework when locating, investigating and purchasing recreational property.

Over the next five weeks I will be presenting a series of articles in Outdoor News that will give practical tips and advice regarding the various issues that are, or may be, encountered when purchasing recreational property in Minnesota. The major focus will be on buying lakeshore property, although most of the information also will be useful if you are buying rural acreage or river property. My goal is simple: help the buyer identify, understand and deal with the issues that affect the purchase of lakeshore property so that he or she can avoid having the "dream property" become a lasting nightmare.

Let's start by focusing on two issues that are personal to you as a potential buyer, will have a continuing impact on your use and enjoyment of your property and must be given serious consideration before you sign a purchase agreement.

The first issue deals with the level of importance that you place on the geographic area where your property will be located and the recreational opportunities that are available in that area. Let's face facts. You probably will not be content spending all of your time at your property and will want to get out and enjoy other activities. Not all areas of Minnesota offer the same recreational opportunities. While some have hundreds of lakes, others have very few. Some areas have designated ATV trails, others have none. In some areas, the nearest 18 holes of golf is a 45 minute drive away. The terrain will vary as will the feeling of isolation and solitude. Take the time to explore different geographical areas of Minnesota so that you have a better understanding of which areas, and available opportunities, will best satisfy your needs and expectations and enhance your experience in owning lakeshore property.

The second issue deals with your drive-time "pain threshold" getting to and from your property. How do you, and your family, handle traffic jams and long hours in the car? If you live in the Twin Cities metropolitan area and will be using the property mostly on the weekends, keep in mind that your exit from the city on Friday afternoon will likely involve fighting traffic congested by other weekend escapees and your return trip on Sunday will often get you tangled up with the same crowd. If you cannot always get away on a Friday and end up leaving on Saturday, consider the difference between a 2 hour drive and a 4½ hour drive. How will extra hours in the car cut into your quality time? Will a longer trip convince you not to go and to stay home instead?

Finally, for those of you with small children, remember those seven dreaded words, "When are we going to get there?" How frazzled will your nerves be when you've been asked this question 15 times and you still have 2 hours to go?

Now's the time to do some planning. First, go buy yourself a good Minnesota atlas. The one I use and swear by is DeLorme's Minnesota Atlas & Gazetteer. This resource has 77 detailed maps showing lakes, rivers, public accesses, wildlife management areas, public forested land, bicycle trails, state parks, golf courses, and public and private campgrounds. Study the different maps and make an initial determination as to which geographical areas have the recreational opportunities that interest you and are within the boundaries of your drive-time sanity.

Next, plan out some weekend trips to explore each area. If you like camping, make a reservation at a state park or private campground in the area. If you don't like camping, check out a local resort or motel. Spend the time driving around to get a feel for the area- its lakes, towns, public lands, trails, etc. If you own a boat or a canoe, bring it along. It will come in handy exploring the local lakes. Don't forget your atlas. Use it often and mark it up. If you have young children, make sure that you allocate enough time for "kid stuff" so the little ones do not become impatient. Finally, keep track of the drive-time to and from the area.

Taking the time to do this preliminary exploring is not only fun but will come in handy when you begin checking out specific pieces of property. You will be surprised by the number of times you say, "Oh yeah, I remember that lake," when you see an ad in the paper or receive a listing sheet from a broker.

Next week, we'll talk about the conventional, and not-so conventional, ways of finding available lakeshore property. See you then. For more information, please contact Carter DeLaittre at 612.252.2858 or .

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