Buying Lakefront Homes

When Buyer’s think of owning a year round or seasonal waterfront residence, Vermont is not often the first state they look. But those who do, soon discover what a natural wonder and under utilized resource Lake Champlain is. From the long winding channels and locks that serve as your approach from the Hudson River to the multiple "gunk hole" anchorages throughout the Lake Champlain Islands, sailing, kayaking, fishing and boating this wonderful waterway is as varied and diverse as the homes that you will find scattered along its shores. Many of these "homes" started as seasonal cottages or "camps" as they are called by the locals. The origin of the term camp most probably originated from the fact that the original use of the lakeshore lots that these structures now occupy was nothing more than a camp site with a tent platform to provide a dry level spot for your trusty war surplus canvas tent. While you won’t find any tent platforms for sale these days, the homes that are offered will run the spectrum from seasonal, un-insulated cabins with little or no luxuries to large year round luxury homes complete with all the amenities you could imagine.
Just as the structures and homes will vary - so will the quality of the lakeshore itself. Some homes, while located on lots that go right to the waters edge, will have such steep banks that there is literally no way to get from the house site to the water without negotiating the bank on your hands and knees or installing an actual staircase to the water. The depth and quality of the lake water off the shore line can also be different from one bay or beach to another. True sand beaches, as you would normally picture them, are rare and hard to find. More likely the "beach" being offered in any advertisement will be horizontal slabs of ledge or "skipping stone" quality rocks mixed with large to sand size particles. Once you have re-adjusted your definition of beach, this wildly diverse lake offers everything from shallow slow flowing marshland teaming with waterfowl to extremely well protected deep water mooring spots. All of these things are possible; you just have to know where to look.