Waterfront Home Inspections: Managing Risk in Paradise
Last Updated July 1, 2025
Summer’s here, and you’re probably wishing you were “knee deep in the water somewhere.” Maybe you’d rather be “sitting on the dock of the bay, watching the tide roll away.” Maybe you’re kicking back with an iced tea or lemonade at your beach home and “wastin’ away again in Margaritaville.” Or perhaps you’re dreaming about a pontoon, “making waves and catching rays up on the roof.” Because, as the Zac Brown Band put it, everyone wants their own kind of paradise now and then.
Your clients share similar aspirations. But if fishing, floating, boating, and tanning are on the agenda, they’re probably tired of paying exorbitant hotel and rental home fees, too.
According to Lighthouse, a travel and hospitality platform, short-term rental prices spiked 13.9 percent in the first half of 2024. Meanwhile, hotels’ average daily rates increased by almost six percent between 2023 and 2024, the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) reported. For a higher return, many Americans are looking to “dive into” a serious relaxation commitment: buying beachside or waterfront homes, either to rent out or live in seasonally. These buyers are long-haul investors; they see dollar signs via high appreciation or high demand waterfront vacation rentals.
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.
What’s there to love about waterfront home inspections?
Long days, cool nights, swoon-worthy sunsets: Property on the water boasts unmistakable charm. As oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau famously said, “The Sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”
What’s in it for home inspectors?
Sights
Waterfront properties carry ample benefits for you, 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.
“I’ll just sit out and watch the ocean. There’s a spot that I love in Depoe Bay where I’ve seen whales crossing. There’s all kinds of sea lions everywhere, and it’s just so much fun,” Gordon said. “Every now and then, especially in August when the waters are nice and warm, as I’m going from inspection to inspection, I’ll just stop off at a river or go float the river for a few minutes and then get dressed back up to go to the next inspection.”
Sunshine
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.
“Somebody said, ‘How are you doing today?’ And I said, ‘Any day at 80 degrees is a better day than any day that isn’t at 80 degrees,’” Taylor said during an early-April interview, when it was snowing in InspectorPro’s home base of Utah.
Services
What about clients seeking the best beach towns to own rental property? Or the multi-million-dollar price they’re 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.
What are the disadvantages of a lakefront property? What areas of a waterfront home require more time or specialized attention during inspections? And what key details should inspectors include in their reports when assessing coastal homes? Here are some considerations that inspectors and their clients should be aware of.
1. Environmental Damage
Waterfront homes are especially vulnerable to weather-related hazards and natural disasters. Not only are some regions already more prone to tropical storms and heavy winds. But rising ocean temperatures have also made these wind, rainfall, flooding, and storm surge activities stronger, more destructive, and more costly, the Environmental Defense Fund explains. This means more property damage and financial loss for communities.
There are six main factors that influence environmental damage: water, wind, salt, sand, sun, and humidity.
Water
Freshwater-adjacent homes are similar to inland-built homes, except for one hazard they share with saltwater homes, Gordon said: flooding.
“We [consider], 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.”
Agents should warn clients about areas with historical flood risks. Still, with flood insurance being a significant protection gap for America’s waterfront properties, out-of-town buyers may not realize what they’re getting into. Inspectors can help by providing an objective perspective, said Joe Serino of J. Serino Inspections in New Jersey.
In North Carolina, Matthew Skiba of Seahawk Inspection Services says the beaches are flat with little to no elevation. 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. “If I go to a beachfront house and all the receptacles and stuff are near the floor, like they are in most, I’ll write that up as, ‘Hey, I’m not necessarily saying that this is a defect. But just be aware that, in the event of a flood…all of these are going to get wet.’”
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 are less sheltered than inland properties, Ocean Home Magazine says. This is especially true when owners of waterfront properties remove trees for fear of roof damage during major storms. Ironically, trees act as a barrier and first point of contact against wind events, effectively slowing down the force before it reaches the house. Without them, the roof and exterior will take the brunt of the impact, Knappett said.
Meanwhile, heavy winds may require glass and roof fixtures rated for higher wind mitigation standards. It may also alter how you inspect the roofs, Gordon said.
“When we’re closer to the coast on the ocean, we’re looking for a lot more stuff out there because they deal with those gale force winds or hurricanes so frequently. So looking to see if they have impact resistant windows, that the house is properly raised up,” Gordon said. “One of the bigger challenges that we have is these houses are frequently built up on stilts. They’re 20, 30 feet high. And then, on top of that, you’ve got the roof to look at. And if you’re out there, 20, 30 mile an hour winds are pretty regular, so you can’t really fly a drone. The best way to do it is to use a DocaPole. That way, you can control it when we have high winds.”
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.
Salt and Sand
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.
“It’s pretty amazing what a corrosive force salt is. … 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. I’m taking extra time and anticipating more deterioration and corrosion when I’m doing a beachfront home,” Skiba said. “There’s going to be more need for more maintenance, more often if you’re beachfront, simply because it is an extraordinarily harsh environment. We can slow down the decay and we can mitigate it. … But it always wins in the end.”
“Salt, water, and metal don’t mix. If you ever ask anybody who’s in the used car business, you know they don’t want a car that’s been on the North Carolina beach too long,” Nick Gromicko of the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors agreed.
“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.
Concrete, as porous as it is, doesn’t stand a chance, either.
“When I build a concrete column for my foundations, I’m supposed to have the rebar inside of that column by two and a half inches between the rebar and the concrete. And if I don’t, because concrete is porous, the moisture that’s being blown onto that concrete wicks in through the concrete, gets onto the rebar, [and] corrodes the rebar,” Taylor said. “When it’s corroded and rusted, it expands, which breaks the concrete. And now I’m breaking my columns that support my house.”
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 face harsher sunlight exposure due to having less shade. Furthermore, southern states and regions closer to the equator experience higher UV radiation exposure. This is especially harmful to the roof and anything made of wood.
“The high exposure side is typically your Southwest exposure.That’s the big, sun-beating area that wreaks havoc on things—on your roof, on that side of the structure, and then deteriorating materials faster, drawing things out,” Knappett said. “We have a lot of stucco here, which isn’t as affected. But any of the wood surfaces [are] really prone to weathering.”
“ I have to worry more about UV degradation than somebody up north would,” Taylor said. “I’ll have 340 days a year of direct sunlight. I’m pretty close to the equator. So, in the Caribbean, the granules on my asphalt shingle roofs don’t last as long, the paint doesn’t last as long because of the UV. I have things that break down faster here than I would up in, let’s say Utah, Wyoming, or Iowa.”
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.
Wasson witnessed this firsthand when he inspected a lakefront townhome. A single mother had lived there for nearly 10 years without issue. She often stored seasonal clothing in her attic on clothes racks. While having a new roof installed, the roofer encouraged her to “improve” her ventilation by installing ridge vents. Six months later, she noticed mold growing on her clothes in the attic. What happened?
“ The humidity was higher on the outside air than it was in the attic. And when you started pulling higher humidity air volumes from the outside into the attic, you created the problem,” Wasson said.
Although ridge vents are a helpful solution in most houses, it had the opposite effect here. After sealing it off and installing humidity monitors, the humidity dropped right off, Wasson said. Inspectors should bear this difference in mind, notably with older waterfront homes that lack closed-conditioned attics and other mitigation efforts, Skiba said.
“Obviously beachfront property nowadays is very expensive. So people that are buying those lots and building new houses have money to fortify those homes, in many cases, against the elements,” he said. “ Builders have gotten smarter over the years about how to build beachfront, so it really does matter the era the home was built. But yes, you’re likely to see more issues with mold and condensation in beachfront homes, especially in the attic.”
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.
Some families will live in lake- or ocean-adjacent homes year round. Others, however, use them exclusively as waterfront vacation rentals. They’ll stay for the summer and either rent it out or lock it up when the weather turns sour. If the owners don’t keep up with maintenance, homes by the beach or shore could attract 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.
“Bad things happen in empty houses,” one user commented on Reddit. “Mice and bugs can be bad, but finding ongoing water damage that has had months to rot is a special kind of joy when going ‘on vacation’ to your house.”
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. As Ryan Fitzgerald says in a Raleigh Realty blog post, there’s something so charming about exclusive water access, private marinas, and quiet escapes into nature.
Remoteness, however, is a double-edged sword. One such challenge is access to convenient, public amenities, Fitzgerald writes.
Lakefront home plots, for example, may have inconsistent access to public water, sewage, and electrical services, some owners report. Septic systems 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.
How to Manage Risk While Inspecting a Property on the Water
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 nine 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? Do you know how soil washout from a failing bulkhead can move the soil and the foundation? Do you know how storm surges can affect homes?
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.
“ You should always try to seek out a local mentor. Because even though a lot of the housing structures are the same, the building method might be completely different,” 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.”
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.
“A lot of inspectors do not look at the surroundings of the community when they approach their site to inspect,” Wasson said. “[With waterfront homes], I would want to see that there’s surrounding structures that provide protection on this house. And if not, I’m going to bring up wind mitigation as a concern to be monitored.”
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.”
Be honest with clients about what you know or don’t know, Gordon said. In his experience, once he sets expectations and discloses his limitations, clients are still open to hiring him and getting his perspective.
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, you may warn them that older beach homes might be poorly insulated, as James Carlton of Adirondack Inspections in Tennessee experienced.
Alternatively, 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.
And be prepared to refer clients to specialists. For example, if his clients are buying a home close to a marina, Wasson encourages them to consult the marina about chemical, electrocution, and other hazards specific to that marina.
Take lots of photos and videos.
When it comes to waterfront home inspections, photos and videos are your friends. 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).
To protect yourself, take lots of photos (and better yet, videos). Document non-defect areas and areas you couldn’t access, as well. Even if you don’t put them in your report, store these assets digitally for as long as possible.
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.
“ A lot of the beachfront houses, especially on the barrier islands here, they’ll have a dock in the backyard or across the street. And the docks are built basically the same way as the foundation and the decks and stuff are. So it’s going to be constantly battered with actual water getting blown onto it or heavy, humid salt air,” Skiba said. “Recommend routine inspections. And then if you find a bolt that’s getting sort of deteriorated but isn’t really far gone, it’s much easier [for clients] to remove and replace that than when they’re so flaky and they sort of fuse together.”
“Whenever you live in an area where there is a higher risk of issues, you should always discuss those issues with your clients and then encourage them to have annual inspections,” Gordon said. “Because for a homeowner’s claim, frequently they have time limits on that. … We’re looking at the roofs, we’re making sure the shingles are still in place, we’re making sure the siding’s still in place. And that way if there is an issue, you’re still within that window where you can file an insurance claim. And you’re only out the inspection costs, not the tens of thousands to replace the roof.”
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. See how this played out for a real inspector who didn’t have a pest endorsement and neglected to report bats in the attic here.
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.
Get ready to ride the waves with a policy designed specifically for home inspectors. Complete our online application to get a free, no-obligation quote.
