Shared dock

Quint4

Quint4

Well-Known Member
TECHNICAL Contributor
Oct 6, 2006
6,750
NC
Boat Info
CY 3375
Engines
7.4 MPI twin
Just bought a house that shares a dock with the house next door.

I talked to the neighbor and apparently dock was built in early nineties by prior owners of both properties and no written agreement exists.

It is on the property line with half on each property.....(40' long).

I want to have a written agreement drafted to try and head off any disputes in the future.

Anybody have input on this ?
 
I don't do partnerships.....if I can't afford it without a partner, I just don't buy it. However, you are in a position that should have been resolved when you bought the house/dock, so I would try to buy your neighbor's interest in the dock and agree to lease him half of it. Draw the lease so you each have an annual maintenance fee that pays into a fund for maintenance.

You both need to resolve this with an enforceable agreement of some type because the title to both properties may be encumbered by the informal agreement that exists.

Not to complicate matters, but in some places the government is involved in docks/piers etc. In Florida you cannot build a structure over the water without permission (local codes, State DEP, anoung others)and a land lease from the state of Florida for the area under the structure; In Tennessee on the lakes shere you must have a permit from the U S Army Corp of Engineers or the TVA depending upon who built the lake.

Right about now would be a good time to talk to a local lawyer...............'cause I'm not one.

Good luck with it.........
 
Thanks for the feedback Frank. This is on a canal with houses on both sides with docks.

It was represented as our own dock by the realtor so obviously we have some issues to resolve.
 
Quint,

As always Frank is 100% spot on. We are in a similar predicament with a neighborhood dock. Although in our case each of the homeowners has a deeded easement on the land the dock is on. The land is owned by one of the home owners. The original dock and easement rights were created in the 60's when all of the house lots on the the street were created by the developer.

We are trying to create a formal owner's association because we want to renovate the existing dock foundation and sea wall. To do so requires town building & conservation approval that in turn requires a license from the state and approval of the Corps of Engineers (dock is shown on NOAA charts of the river). All of these require a formal legal owner as the interested party. In Mass we have riparian rights to a specific low tide mark based on time of year, so the land under the dock already belongs to us and is covered by the Easements. All I can say is that I would not wish this headache on my worst enemy.

I am assuming that by being on a canal the dock is parallel to the bank and not perpendicular. So my suggestion is to go to home depot. Buy a good chain saw. Then separate your end of the dock from theirs on the property line. More seriously, turning one structure into two will be the best long term solution I can think of.

Sooner or later, everybody is going to have conservation issues to deal with, and while that is not fun, being the sole decision maker is a whole lot simpler.
 
Last edited:
If you write a 'contract' you are going to hire lawyers, and so will the neighbor. That means you will have a 'lawyer' agreement with your neighbor, and every time something comes up, you have a 'lawyer' issue. It's just going to get costly, litigious, and messy. This is not the best way to start a relationship with your new neighbor.

Just go talk with your neighbor and try to figure it out together. If you can't work it out, then you should get a survey and title search to be sure whose dock it actually is. From there, decide if it makes sense to hire a lawyer.
 
Henry Boyd said:
Quint,



I am assuming that by being on a canal the dock is parallel to the bank and not perpendicular. So my suggestion is to go to home depot. Buy a good chain saw. Then separate your end of the dock from theirs on the property line. More seriously, turning one structure into two will be the best long term solution I can think of.
Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking. How is the dock situated?
 
A 40 foot dock half on each side is not expensive to replace. When it starts to fall apart suggest it be removed and you each build your own.
 
Garwood 003.jpg

You should look at the maintenance agreement language for condominium associations in Michigan or some other similar state. It is pretty much established boiler plate and spells out how to handle this very issue. While it mostly relates to roads, common areas, etc. and not docks, the questions are the same. Who pays, how much, how expenses are established, and happens if you don't pay your fair share? Dockominium association agreements would be even better. I do like Henry's suggestion of separating them to avoid the potential hassle.
 
I agree with Frank. Make it legal, binding, with inspections/maintenance, etc. You don't know the neighbor so being logical and thorough may or may not make the situation worse. Defining things upfront and having written agreements is the best approach. If I were your neighbor I would appreciate it.
 
I agree with the above advice to get a legal agreement in place that will protect both of you. (your real estate agent that gave you a false representation might find some legal reasons to help you with your legal fees, but that is another issue.)

And do it ASAP when there are no other disputes with your neighbor (or the next one if they sell). If things go south you will want to have an agreement in place.
 
The dock is in need of repair. The neighbors in question have been here 3 years and never had a boat. The are friendly and willing to work with us should we proceed as a shared dock.

I pulled GIS data and it looks like the property line runs right down the middle of the dock.

The real estate ad said "boat dock" with pics of the dock. We walked the dock with the realtor twice and lots of talk of my intent to fix it up and put a 35 - 40' boat on it. It is not listed or otherwise mentioned on the deed.

dock1.png
 
Quint4 said:
The dock is in need of repair. The neighbors in question have been here 3 years and never had a boat. The are friendly and willing to work with us should we proceed as a shared dock.

I pulled GIS data and it looks like the property line runs right down the middle of the dock.

The real estate ad said "boat dock" with pics of the dock. We walked the dock with the realtor twice and lots of talk of my intent to fix it up and put a 35 - 40' boat on it. It is not listed or otherwise mentioned on the deed.

View attachment 94058
Click to expand...
IMG_5502.JPG

Before you spend any money on this project, find out if it is permitted to have that type of dock, or any dock in that location. Also, read up on "riparian rights."
 
IMG_5500.JPG

Another thought about docks based upon first hand experience from a friend of mine. He bought a house with a dock that was in poor condition. He is the type of guy who is not too concerned with what things cost. So, he got the required permits and installed a beautifully built permanent dock that was expensive. He later received a letter from an attorney telling him that his neighbor's riparian rights had been violated. So, at great expense he had the dock removed. He then installed a very nice floating dock in the proper location. He found out that large wakes can damage those kinds of docks and has had significant maintenance costs to keep it functional. Changing lake levels made it a good decision, however, until Lake Michigan hit a record low several years ago and the dock sat on sand instead of floating on water. He was encouraged when water levels went back up, that is until Lake Michigan began to reach record high levels recently. He now has to walk up a 45 degree grade to reach the part that floats, which also floats at a steep angle.
Docks can be tricky to own. We found that a fixed dock worked best on our lake. During high and low water, we were always able to keep our boat secure with plenty of water in the wells (23 feet). We did have an ice flow snap a piling off one time in 44 years of ownership. That is a $2,000 expense that insurance does not cover.
Good luck with your new dock. On balance, it is wonderful to have a private slip.
 
Last edited:
As Frank said get it in writing. Not sure about your state but, is the dock real or personal property? Who is liable if somebody gets hurt on the dock? Again not sure about your area, but who owns the land below the water? On some of the TVA lakes, you have private land ownership under the water. Saw a deed for a private island that called for over 100 acres with only about 4 acres above the high water flowage easement that TVA has. Getting a dock permit can get real interesting at times.
 
Last edited:
Depending on the condition of the current dock, would it make sense to tear it down and then build a dock on your own property?
 
Dock ownership can be different, I got 85' of floating docks on the Monongahela river in pa which I've had for 30 years and the water here can go up and down from summer thru spring 20' and I don't have the high maintenance costs because of waves but the docks need to be built for the conditions you will be experiencing and we get a lot of waves all summer from all the boats. I also own a house in N Carolina with docks and these rules, regulations and conditions are completely different than my other docks. So bottom line is research all the rules and regulations and talk to everyone including neighbors you can before doing anything with docks and watch out for grandfathered in rules and regulations which there are more of than you think and a lot of people in your area might not know about. Do your homework first
 
I agree with Frank's comments but I would start in a simple place.....pull the building permits. I seriously doubt your community lets people show up with pile driving equipment and build docks without a plan and a permit. Your aerial photo shows lots of docks on neighboring properties.

That will answer a number of pertinent questions:

1) Who pulled the permits?
2) How was the dock sited?
3) When was it built?
4) What company did the construction?
5) Who paid for the work?

Hopefully it was permitted. If not....things are far more complex since it may be cheaper to tear it down and move it on to your property. Having a dock easement between two neighbors is just problematic.
 
Was built in 1995.......nothing on the deed. We are searching for any permits that may have been obtained.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,172
Messages
1,427,834
Members
61,084
Latest member
AntonioJamm
Back
Top