Sailboat Waterfront Lots in Port Charlotte- BE CAREFUL Before You Buy
Historically, sailboat waterfront accessible lots in Port Charlotte are much cheaper than in other areas. In 21 years of selling sailboat waterfront I have had hundreds of calls on these lots because they look like such a good deal. Often they are not!
There are many factors to consider. Lets start with the easiest lot to consider for purchase: A lot with an existing seawall.
Existing seawall lots with sailboat accessible water
Many lots in Port Charlotte are in poor condition because of their age. Most realtors and property owners don’t recognize the warning signs of old seawalls. They are quite obvious if you know what to look for. Replacing an old seawall will cost you upwards of $50,000 so be careful.
Is a lot being sold in Port Charlotte as a Sailboat Waterfront lot really what it claims to be? Not always is the short answer. In our area, if there are no bridges then a realtor will often advertise that is sailboat accessible because of no mast height restrictions. Of course, equally as important is draft of your keel and many PC canals are shallow or have shallow areas on the way out to the harbor. Contact me for canal depths of dig deeper into this website for more information.
Unimproved lots with sailboat accessible water
Be very cautious with your investment money here. Most undeveloped lots have mangroves and removing them is costly at best and may take more than a year to get an approval. There is a mangrove mitigation process and it is not guaranteed that your lot will be approved for development and removal. Thank the government agencies that decided the small tooth Sawfish likes to spawn in Port Charlotte canals.
Before buying a lot you need to establish if the soil can support a house and possibly a pool. Two different criteria for load bearing structure on waterfront land. This is an expensive test to determine soil compaction. If its bad soil the remediation can run from $30,000 to much higher numbers.
Gopher Tortoises and Burrowing Owls: Yes they live around here and can cause development issues.
Low lying land which is typical on the sailboat lots in Port Charlotte will require hundreds of truckloads of dirt, worst case. Very expensive!
Adding a seawall is another expensive proposition. There are many seawall options from concrete to synthetic corregated panels.
Lastly, Port Charlotte does not have a plan for routine maintenance of canal depths or the common connecting canals that take you to open water. Please understand the water depths if you are a sailor before making a purchase.
Finally, know your boat ride times out from the lot. I know all the boat ride times as I have put the time in myself. Many realtors will tell you it’s a short ride out when it might be 45 minutes. There are canal lots that are over an hour to get out to Alligator Bay and then you have another 10-15 minutes at idle speed to get into the Peace River.
And one of the most common questions about sailboat waterfront lots in Port Charlotte. Can I live on my sailboat at the lot with no home on the land. The answer is no. A residential neighborhood does not want transient boaters camping on vacant land and the county has ordinances against it.
