The water is a different business

Five lakes. Five sets of rules.

Lake Norman, Lake Wylie, Mountain Island, Lake Hickory and High Rock. Four are Duke water on the Catawba, one is not, and the rules for your dock change with it.

Mike SposatoTalk to MikeBack to the home page

What changes when the deal is on the water

  • The dock permit, whether it exists, and whether it transfers to you
  • The shoreline classification and what it lets you build, repair or extend
  • What conveys with the property at the waterline and what does not
  • Which authority governs the water here, and what its current rules say
  • What the survey shows against what the listing photos imply
Pick a lakeChoose one below for what is specific to it, or call and Mike tells you which one actually fits what you are looking for.

The five lakes

Lake NormanDock permits, shoreline classificationLake WylieThe state line runs through itMountain Island LakeA drinking water reservoir firstLake HickoryA thin marketHigh Rock LakeNot a Duke lake

Three minutes

What life on the water is actually like, and how to see it from the dock.

The lakes near Charlotte, what separates them, and the part almost nobody else offers — viewing waterfront homes by boat, from the water, the way a buyer will actually use them.

Before you write an offer on the water

The permit work is a separate job.

The dock is not part of the deed. On a Duke Energy lake the structure exists under a lake use permit, and the permit number, the permit holder of record and whether the structure as built matches the structure as permitted are all verifiable in writing before you sign. Most buyers find out afterwards.

Dock and shoreline permit verificationSelling on the waterEverything else he does

Read next

The full waterfront library

Answering now

Ask a question out loud, right now

Tap the mic and talk. The assistant takes questions on neighborhoods, the lakes, dock permits, the NC-SC line and how the buying process actually runs here. Any hour, no form, no waiting for a callback.

It takes your details and hands the conversation straight to Mike, so nothing sits in an inbox overnight.

Start here. This is Mike’s assistant, not Mike. Tell it what you are looking for, your timeline and your must-haves. It hands him the whole picture, so when he calls you he has already done the homework instead of asking you the basics on a first showing.