What Your Lakefront Agent Wants You to Know Before You Buy That Dock

Most buyers fall in love with the view. Brie Stephens, Broker and Owner of Lake Life Realty at Compass, wants to make sure they also fall in love with the dock. Because in lakefront real estate, the dock is not just a structure. It is the heart of the entire investment.



When buyers come to Brie with their wish lists, they talk about sunsets and boat rides and long summer weekends. What they do not always think about is whether the docking system on that dream property is legal, permitted, and actually deep enough to use the boat they plan to bring. That is the conversation Brie makes sure happens every single time.



Brie Stephens leads Lake Life Realty at Compass, the top-performing lakefront real estate team in New Hampshire's Lakes Region, and she has seen what happens when buyers skip this step. It is not a small problem. It can affect your ability to use the property the way you imagined, your ability to sell it later, and your peace of mind from the moment you sign.

The first thing Brie looks at when evaluating a dock is documentation. New Hampshire's Department of Environmental Services, known as the DES, oversees what is permitted along the shoreline, and any dock or docking structure on a lakefront property needs to be accounted for. That means it should either be registered with the state, carry the proper permits, or have verified grandfathered status with written documentation to support it.



"I would want to make sure that there wasn't anything illegal added to the docking system that was of value to me," Brie says. "And that it's all either grandfathered, and I have the written documentation I need for that, or it's registered."



This matters more than buyers often realize. If a previous owner expanded a dock without permits, that addition could be flagged or required to be removed. If you are counting on that space for your boat lift or your jet ski storage, you need to know before you buy, not after.



Lake Life Realty specializes in luxury waterfront properties on Lake Winnipesaukee and throughout the NH Lakes Region, which means Brie and her team have deep experience navigating exactly these conversations with the DES and guiding buyers through the verification process.



Here is where Brie's personal experience on the water becomes a genuine advantage for her clients. She understands Lake Winnipesaukee not just as a market but as a living body of water that behaves differently depending on the time of year.



The lake is managed through a dam system, and as the season progresses, water levels drop. A property that looks perfect in May, with plenty of depth at the dock, may tell a very different story by late August or September. Add a drought year to the equation, and that margin gets even tighter.



Brie Stephens was named to NAR's 30 Under 30 and has closed over $128 million in lakefront property sales, and she brings that depth of knowledge to bear on something as specific as asking: what kind of boat do you want to keep here? Because the answer to that question determines whether a dock is truly functional for your life or just functional on paper.



Some coves and waterfront areas on the lake are naturally shallower, and that limits your options. A shallow dock might work beautifully for a pontoon boat or a jet ski. It will not work for a deep-V hull or a larger cruiser. Knowing the difference before you close protects the entire vision you have for life on the water.



"I'd want to make sure that that dock could accommodate that for the vast majority of the season," Brie explains. "The vast majority of the season to me is Memorial Day to Columbus Day."