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OWNERS: |
| Q. I own a beachfront property - who owns the beach? |
| A. It depends. In Ocean City, most of the beach is owned by the City of Ocean City. Some property owners actually own a portion of the beach via riparian lot(s) or riparian right's (see below). |
Q. What are beachfront "riparian rights"? |
| A. Actually, misnomer.
The term "riparian" itself refers to right pertaining to rivers, lakes, streams, bays, or navigable water.
The term technically correct in referring to the rights in land abutting a beach and ocean is "littoral".
Beachfront littoral rights are the rights, including ownership, that an upland beachfront property owner has in the beach and dune lands extending from the upland portion of the lot to the state commissioner's grant line.
Littoral lands are the beach and dune lands abutting the upland portion of the lot and extending to the grant line, including lands either gained or lost through accretion or erosion within this beach portion.
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Q. Is there any value to my littoral (riparian) rights? |
| A. You bet there is!! Ask Chip. |
Q. By the way, what is a "Riparian Claim"? |
| A. A claim filed by the Tideland Resource Council, division of the Department of Environmental protection of the State of New Jersey in any lands once flowed by tidelands in New Jersey for which there was no formal grant conveyed to the property. This can apply to beach property, although in Ocean City, this would be rare. It is much common with property located on or near the bay.
A set of maps showing affected areas is available to the public at city hall at 9th & Asbury Ave.
For more detail, you can go to the state's website at:
www.nj.gov/dep/landuse
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Q. I Own a beachfront property. There is a bulkhead on my property. I own all the way to the bulkhead right? |
| A. Not necessarily. Some People have found out the hard way that they not do NOT own all the way to the bulkhead and therefore are actually not even beachfront. |
Q. By the way, who owns the bulkhead? |
| A. It depends again. Many property owners actually own there bulkhead and do not even realize it. If you own your property as an investment property, you could be depreciating this bulkhead as a named improvement to land. Does your accountant know this?
If you need a layman's educated opinion on this matter, call Chip.
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Q. I have dunes on the beach in front of my beach property that are growing tall and starting to block my view. Do I have rights in this regards? |
| A. You very well may have rights in this regard. Call Chip. |
Q. I understand that there are pipes under the dunes in front of my property. What are they? |
| A. In 1992, the city of Ocean City, with the assistance of the state of New Jersey and the Federal Army Corps of Engineers, became the first coastal barrier island in the United States to initiate an ongoing assisted beach replenishment program. Pipes to distribute dredged sand were stretched along the ocean strand and then dunes were constructed to cover them.
Where the pipes and constructed dunes stretched across privately owned beach, an easement in the form of an easement deed was acquired from the property owner in order to ensure that no trespass existed in the project.
Today, not only do the pipes afford the ability to provide ongoing sand replenishment, but the dunes now provide protection against storms.
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Q. I Own a beachfront property. I may want to build an addition, or, possibly tear down my existing house and build new. What will I need to do? |
| A. firstly, you will need both state and local permits. State permitting information. |
Q. I OWN A BEACHFRONT PROPERTY. I MAY WANT TO BUILD AN ADDITION, OR, POSSIBLY TEAR DOWN MY EXISTING HOUSE AND BUILD NEW. WHAT WILL I NEED TO DO? |
| A. Firstly, you will need both state and local permits. State permitting information can be obtained at New Jersey's coastal permit website: www.nj.gov/dep/lamduse. Ocean City's permitting information can be obtained at the city's zoning office located at 16 th & West Ave.
You should consult a local attorney, a local engineer, and a local real estate expert for advice and guidance.
Eventually, you will need an architect and builder.
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Q. I JUST PURCHASED A BEACHFRONT PROPERTY AND NOTICED THERE IS NO DIRECT PATHWAY OVER THE DUNES GIVING ACCESS TO THE OCEAN. CAN I CUT MY OWN PATHWAY? |
| A. No. You must seek permission from the state before doing anything with a dune. Many learn this the hard way. |
Q. I UNDERSTAND THAT THE CITY OF OCEAN CITY HAS ADOPTED A NEW CONTINUING CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY (C.C.O.) ORDINANCE.
IN THE EVENT I WANT TO SELL MY BEACHFRONT PROPERTY, WILL THIS NEW ORDINANCE AFFECT MY PROPERTY?
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| A. If your property is between 1 and 10 years old, you will need to acquire a C.C.O. from the city at the time of settlement of your property.
One very important requirement is that the city will want to be certain that there is no material deviation in the property from the building plans filed with the city at the time the original certificate of occupancy was issued. Call Chip with questions on this.
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PROSPECTIVE OWNERS: |
Q. WE ARE THINKING OF PURCHASING A BEACHFRONT PROPERTY. WHAT SHOULD WE KNOW? |
| A. Actually, you should know everything. Unfortunately, this is not easy. Any real estate agent can give you the obvious - the location, the property type, the zoning; and the data from the listing, such as price, age taxes, etc.
But you also need to know the not so obvious. You need to know the VALUE of a particular location over another; you need to know the parameters of the property and whether it is actually a beachfront. You need to know whether there is the bulkhead ON your property, and, if so, who owns it. You need to know who really owns the beach in front of your property and what your rights AND limitations are, such as access and egress, use, and limitation of use to others.
In short, you need a beachfront EXPERT! (Check Chip's Beachfront Sales).
You will also need attorney familiar with Ocean city beach property. Chip can make recommendations.
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Q. WE ARE LOOKING AT A PROPERTY TO BUY BUT WE CANNOT SEE THE OCEAN AS DUNES ARE BLOCKING OUR VIEW. WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT THIS? |
| A. Probably nothing except BE CAREFUL! The Supreme Court of the state of New Jersey has decided that there can definitely be a value attributed to a view. Make sure you know BEFORE you purchase. Moreover, state and federal law prohibits altering or destroying dunes. Governmental authorities are constantly updating aerial photographs of the beach and dune property and now determine with accuracy and proof in the event that such lands are altered. |
Q. WHAT ABOUT STORMS OR FLOODING? |
| A. Some of the properties along the beach have been here for nearly a century - long before state and federally assisted replenishment programs, bulkhead systems, or even floor insurance were in effect. While nowhere in the world offers entirely risk free living, the South Jersey shore an amazingly good track record. |
Q. WHAT ABOUT FLOOD INSURANCE - ISN'T IT EXPENSIVE? |
| A. Actually, it is surprisingly affordable. Call Chip for details. |
Q. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS WE SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE INVESTING IN A BEACHFRONT PROPERTY? |
| A. The list is endless, but the answer is, it depends upon those things that are important to you and your family:
Lifeguard stands and stations, fishing privileges, surfing laws, handicap access, sailboat launching, public restroom facilities, beach buggy access, food concessions are all considerations, just to name a few.
Probably the main consideration from an objective standpoint is value, and the LIKELIHOOH FOR APPRECIATION. For this, call Chip.
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