Waterfront Home Inspections

Note: The Managing Risk column with InspectorPro Insurance provides home inspectors with tips to protect their businesses against insurance claims

Long days, cool nights, swoon-worthy sunsets—property on the water boasts unmistakable charm. There’s a lot for home inspectors to love, too.

The views? You’re right there enjoying them. Kurvin Gordon of Ugly Duckling Inspections in Oregon keeps a popup camper chair and a swimsuit in his vehicle and enjoys the ocean views and the river water when he has longer breaks between inspections.

The weather? You’re living in it. This certainly applies to inspectors like Dan Taylor of Roatan Inspections, who moved to the beach to escape the cold. 

What about the multimillion-dollar price many buyers are paying to lock in their investments? 

As with any luxury home inspection, you have the opportunity to focus on quality, high-end service and charge more for less volume. Plus, depending on your location, waterfront homes may require more ancillary inspection services, such as wind mitigation, septic system, mold, and pool and spa inspections. This means more opportunities to multiply your earning potential.

Challenges of Inspecting Waterfront Properties

But as the saying goes, nature is beautiful in its peace and terrible in its wrath. The same force that draws prospective buyers in can scare them off just as easily.

If you’re new to river, lake, canal, or ocean-adjacent homes, or you’re moving your inspection business to bluer waters soon, there are a few things you should know. Here are some challenges that inspectors and their clients should be aware of. 

1. Environmental Damage

Waterfront homes are especially vulnerable to weather-related hazards and natural disasters. This means more property damage and financial loss for communities.

Water

For example, freshwater- and saltwater-adjacent homes are both prone to flooding, Gordon said.

“Where’s the closest stream, creek, river, or lake?” Gordon said. “And then we educate our clients about looking at the FEMA maps to make sure they’re not in a floodplain—or if they are, to make sure that the house is raised high enough outside that floodplain.”

In North Carolina, Matthew Skiba of Seahawk Inspection Services says most homes by the beach are built on pilings, with flood vents for letting water escape and electrical systems suspended off the ground. But these flood damage mitigation efforts aren’t perfect or omnipresent.

“There are still ground-level apartments that were built in the ’50s and ’60s that people live in that flood every time there’s a hurricane. And so, of course that increases mold and moisture concerns,” Skiba said. 

Proximity to water also raises erosion, settlement, and moisture infiltration concerns. Inspectors may notice foundations cracking, patios pulling away, doors and windows falling out of plumb, and concrete efflorescence, said Christopher Knappett of Coastal Property Inspections in California.

Wind

Waterfront homes endure extreme wind activity, too, Knappett said. They may require glass and roof fixtures rated for higher wind mitigation standards. And, for your safety and precision, you may need to adjust your methods for areas like the roof.

Gordon, for example, has inspected oceanfront homes built high off the ground and with regular 20- to 30-mile-per hour winds. Instead of walking the roofs or flying his drone, he prefers a DocaPole.

Salt and Sand

It isn’t just the wind itself that waterfront homeowners and inspectors worry about. It’s what the wind blows in—specifically salt and sand. 

“Where in other areas you just look for hail damage … [with waterfront property], what you look as much for is airborne debris damage on your exterior surfaces,” said Larry Wasson of Affiliated Inspectors in Maryland. 

The continuous battering of sand and salty, moist air against a waterfront home will cause severe wear and tear over time. Coastal inspectors often notice rusted, corroded metal connectors, fasteners, and window or door hardware; interior and exterior moisture damage; concrete and wood degradation; and damage to exposed electrical and plumbing, our interviewees said.

“Any metal component of the home, all of the deck attachments, fasteners, nails, flashing—even if it’s a material that is manufactured in order to be more resilient against that salt air—it’s still going to deteriorate quicker,” Skiba said. 

“From fasteners to hurricane straps and tie downs, paint, door and window hardware, roofing, flashing—all of that [corrosion] is a result of the salt spray from the proximity to the ocean,” Taylor said.

Sun

You’ve heard of damaging UV exposure against your skin. (Hint, wear your sunscreen, folks.) But what about UV exposure against your home?

Homes on the water often have less shade. Plus, southern states and regions closer to the equator face higher UV radiation exposure. These homes experience more significant UV degradation than homes up north, Taylor said. It’s especially harmful to the roof and anything made of wood, Knappett said. 

Humidity

Waterfront homes are often exposed to higher humidity, as well. This increases the likelihood of condensation and mold, particularly if they aren’t ventilated to account for that humidity.

“If you’re right on the beach, the wind’s blowing moist, wet air from the ocean against the house basically every day. It’s sort of a localized, extraordinarily humid environment,” Skiba said.

2. Pests

Animals and bugs love water. Bodies of water like lakes and rivers attract bugs, like flies and mosquitoes, Sunstate Pest Management wrote on their blog. Warm, humid regions spell ideal conditions for termites, too. Meanwhile, bugs attract higher concentrations of bats and other pests. Rodents, raccoons, snakes, and other reptiles are drawn there for food, water, and even shelter, Sunstate Pest explained.

If you’re licensed and covered to perform pest inspections, then termites, rodents, and bats are good news for your inspection business. Otherwise, use your agreement and inspection report to make it clear you don’t report pests. Moreover, if you see signs of a potential pest infestation, recommend evaluation from a specialist who can help.

3. Vacancies

Inspectors should also prepare to encounter waterfront properties with frequent vacancies.

When the owners don’t keep up with maintenance, homes by the beach or shore attract more pests, water damage, and mold. If these defects are outside your scope, if they show up after your inspection, or if they’re hiding in the walls, clients might accuse you of a neglectful inspection.

4. Limited Access to Amenities

Though there’s a lot to love about waterfront homes, one of the biggest appeals is the opportunity for seclusion. 

Remoteness, however, is a double-edged sword. One such challenge is access to convenient, public amenities.

Lakefront home plots, for example, may have inconsistent access to public water, sewage, and electrical services, some owners report. Some have septic systems. These can be problematic when families rent their properties as temporary vacation homes or host large parties. Alternatively, buyers may not be familiar with proper septic system maintenance, and may neglect routine septic inspections.

Manage Risk While Inspecting Waterfront Property

Waterfront home inspections aren’t all fun in the sun. But they shouldn’t stop you from “catching a wave” and “sitting on top of the world,” either.

We interviewed inspectors to share a few essential tips and insights for coastal or waterfront home inspections.

Learn as much as possible about the area.

If you’re moving to an area with more waterfront properties, get to know the climate, construction trends, and common problems. For example, can you identify corrosion? Are you familiar with dock inspections? Hurricanes? Higher wind mitigation standards? 

Read articles. Take the best beach real estate or dock inspection classes you can find. Learning about the region will lead to more informed reports and conversations with clients.

“Reading books on water table issues, historical storms, how they affect different materials in different areas along the shore, and then just doing research online. … All that kind of stuff definitely helps,” Andrew Serino of J. Serino Inspections said. 

Finding an inspector mentor with experience is valuable, too, Gordon said.

“Whenever you change any kind of major climates or terrain, definitely you should power up with a local mentor to really learn what that local community’s all about,” he said.

It also helps to gather some info about the property beforehand, so you can recommend additional services like pool or wind mitigation inspections. Just remember—do not start inspecting or producing a report without a signed agreement.

Set clear expectations.

Additionally, researching a waterfront home beforehand allows you to disclaim potential limitations and set expectations with clients, Gordon explains. This, in turn, can help you prevent claims.

“Just gathering information about the property beforehand … we want to talk with the client about their expectations and discuss what our limitations are and make sure that we’re still a right fit,” Gordon said. “Because it’s always better to walk away from a client you don’t think you’re going to be able to properly serve …rather than potentially even getting sued because you’re missing something.”

Furthermore, you’re likely to encounter buyers who’ve never owned waterfront properties before. While setting expectations about your services, you might gently educate them about the home, too. 

For example, perhaps it’s an original, older house with a wooden deck or dock, untouched since they were built, Skiba explains. If they host a family reunion or rent it out for large groups, they may not realize how quickly the deteriorated wood and fasteners on an old deck can collapse under the weight of 25 people (and exposed to salty water and wind, no less).

“That’s when these tragedies of deck collapse and stuff occur. Another reason why it’s so important is a lot of these homes I’m inspecting beachfront are seasonal rentals. It’s a liability concern. And certainly you don’t want anybody to get hurt,” Skiba said.

Watch your scope.

To protect your business from waterfront home inspection claims, know your standards of practice (SOPs). 

For example, ASHI’s SOPs do not require inspectors to evaluate seawalls, break-walls, or docks. But if docks are common in your area, and you choose to exceed your standards, be consistent across each inspection. You don’t want to inspect the dock at one lakefront home but skip it at the next. 

Moreover, check your insurance policy to verify you have coverage for the items you’re inspecting. At InspectorPro, we encourage inspectors to only report dock conditions that are visible above the waterline. We do not cover structural recommendations or inspectors performing their own repairs.

Take lots of photos and videos.

To protect yourself, take lots of photos (and better yet, videos). They prove what was (and wasn’t) visible at the time of your inspection. This is especially important with ocean-, lake-, or riverfront homes prone to heavy rain and high humidity. You never know what mold growth has been intentionally concealed (or what will become visible in the weeks following your inspection).

Recommend annual inspections.

Because waterfront properties are exposed to such extreme conditions, many inspectors encourage their clients to get annual inspections. As you would for a vacation or short-term rental property, too, consider calling out potential long-term or maintenance concerns, like docks and piers exposed to severe weathering.

Get coverage for common claims.

For the best possible peace of mind, verify you have insurance coverage for the most common claims in your area.

If local homes are prone to mold, add a mold endorsement to your insurance policy. Similarly, if bats and termites are common, get coverage for pest-related inspection claims. The unfortunate reality is, if your client discovers pests or mold after moving in, they might charge you for the damages—even if you’ve made it clear you aren’t a pest inspector. 

Tide or tempest, we’ve got you covered.

Waterfront home worries on your mind? From docks to downpours, InspectorPro offers the ultimate coverage for inspectors who take relaxing spaces (and not-so-relaxing claims) seriously.

Not insured with InspectorPro, but want to be? Scan the QR code or visit inspectorproinsurance.com to apply for a free quote.

Alyssa Cink is the Marketing Content Editor for InspectorPro Insurance, which offers ASHI members exclusive benefits through its program: InspectorPro with the ASHI Advantage. Through risk management articles in the ASHI Reporter and on the InspectorPro website, InspectorPro helps inspectors protect their livelihood and avoid unnecessary risk. Get peace of mind and better protection with InspectorPro’s pre-claims assistance and straightforward coverage. Learn more at inspectorproinsurance.com/ashi-advantage.