Buying Lake Travis waterfront: what to verify before you make an offer

Start with the things a lake view does not show you: ownership of the land under the dock, the dock’s compliance, how far the lake moves, the septic system, the flood status and the insurance. Each has an official source, and each is cheaper to check before your option period ends than after.

Not legal advice — verify with the authority. I am a real estate broker, not an attorney or engineer. Below, I say what the authority publishes and what I check for my clients, and I point you to the specialist for the rest.

You cannot assume that lakefront means lake-bottom ownership. The LCRA says most of the shoreline around the Highland Lakes is privately owned, the State of Texas owns the water, and property owners must own or have permission to use the submerged land under a fixed dock, and the underwater property used for anchors for a floating dock. An owner next to LCRA-owned land must contact LCRA Real Estate Services.

What I check for clients:

• The survey and title commitment: exactly where the property line meets the water, and what the deed conveys.
• Whether any LCRA-owned land sits between the lot and the lake, and if so, a call to LCRA Real Estate Services before you rely on the dock.
• Whether the dock and any boathouse are described in the seller’s paperwork and convey with the sale.

The LCRA states that it does not require a permit, registration or fees for residential docks of 1,500 square feet or less. That is not the same as no rules: residential docks on the Highland Lakes must meet the LCRA’s Safety Standards for flotation, lighting, access, anchoring and maximum distance from shore, and those standards apply even when lake levels are low. The maximum distance from shore listed for Lake Travis is 100 feet. Marinas must have LCRA permits, and shoreline owners may place U.S. Coast Guard-approved no-wake buoys up to 50 feet beyond their shore or dock without a permit.

What I check for clients:

• Dock size, condition, flotation, lighting, anchoring, access and reach from shore against the published standards, with a dock contractor if anything looks doubtful.
• Whether the dock is fixed or floating, since that changes which submerged land matters.
• Any HOA or community approval needed to change, add or replace a dock or boat lift (see the HOA question below).
• Whether other local or federal approvals apply to work you plan, which I ask the LCRA and your contractor rather than assume.

A lot, by design. The LCRA considers Lake Travis full for water supply purposes at 681 feet above mean sea level, and the lake is designed to hold additional floodwater in a flood pool above that; water would flow over the Mansfield Dam spillway above 714 feet. It is the only lake in the Highland Lakes chain specifically designed to hold back floodwaters. So what you see on a tour is one day in a wide range.

The LCRA also allows some owner work at low water: when Lake Travis falls below 676 feet, property owners may clear debris around docks and retaining walls and repair existing retaining walls and bulkheads under LCRA’s lakewide permit, subject to notification rules.

What I check for clients:

• Photos of the same shoreline and dock at different lake levels, and the LCRA’s Hydromet history for the dates that matter to you.
• How the dock, ramp and access path perform at high and low water, not only at the level you see.
• The lot’s elevation relative to the flood pool, together with the flood-zone and insurance checks below.

Many lake homes are not on city sewer, and the state’s rule is simple: the TCEQ says a permit and approved plan are required to construct, alter, repair, extend and operate an on-site sewage facility (OSSF), and that TCEQ is often not the permitting authority; the local program is. In Travis County, the county’s rules split licensing into a Permit to Construct and a License to Operate, and they include maintenance requirements for certain systems. Outside Travis County, the permitting authority is set by county, so confirm which applies to your address.

The TCEQ also notes that your mortgage company may require an evaluation of the system before the sale, that this evaluation is not required or regulated by the TCEQ, and that after purchase you should notify the local permitting authority that you are the new owner. The LCRA’s Highland Lakes Watershed Ordinance is separate: it addresses stormwater and development, and septic falls under the separate permit program.

What I check for clients:

• The permit and License to Operate records from the permitting authority, and whether they match the system actually in the ground.
• Maintenance contracts and reports where the system requires them, and who is responsible after closing.
• An independent evaluation by a licensed professional, ordered early, and the seller’s repair history.
• The new-owner notice to the permitting authority as part of the closing checklist.

You have to look it up; the view will not tell you. FEMA says its Flood Map Service Center is the official online location to find flood hazard mapping products, and that any place with a 1% or higher chance of flooding each year is considered high risk; the Texas Water Development Board points to the same Flood Map Service Center as the official public source of flood hazard information supporting the National Flood Insurance Program. In Texas, the seller’s disclosure notice under Property Code section 5.008 asks whether the property is located wholly or partly in a 100-year floodplain, a 500-year floodplain, a floodway, a flood pool or a reservoir, and about previous flooding and present flood insurance coverage. TREC’s Seller’s Disclosure Notice (Form 55-1) is required for sellers of previously occupied single-family residences under contracts entered into on or after September 1, 2023.

On insurance, FEMA says homes and businesses in high-risk flood areas with mortgages from government-backed lenders are required to have flood insurance, and that most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage. The Texas Department of Insurance says the same about most home policies, that you can buy flood insurance from your insurer or the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), that most policies have a 30-day waiting period, and that an NFIP policy covers the home up to $250,000 with a separate policy for belongings up to $100,000.

What I check for clients:

• The FEMA map for the address and the seller’s disclosure, together, in the first days of the option period.
• A real insurance quote before the option period ends, remembering the 30-day waiting period unless coverage is required by a lender.
• Whether the coverage limits fit the value of a luxury home, and whether your agent should quote private flood coverage as well as NFIP.
• Any prior water entry or claims disclosed, and questions to the seller about them.

Shoreline work has its own rules. Under the LCRA’s Highland Lakes Dredge and Fill Ordinance, dredging includes removing material or structures such as piers and bulkheads below the regulated pool elevation, and fill includes placing any material, wall, riprap or revetment below the regulated pool elevation. Smaller projects (under 500 cubic yards of material or fewer than 500 linear feet of shoreline) require notification or fall under an Army Corps permit; larger projects need an LCRA permit. Depending on the work, you may also need authorization from agencies such as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality or the Texas Historical Commission.

When Lake Travis is below 676 feet, owners may repair existing retaining walls and bulkheads and clear debris around docks and walls. Work that disturbs lakebed sediment needs a written notification to the LCRA first, and work must stay within your property bounds, not on exposed lakebed owned by the LCRA.

What I check for clients:

• The condition and age of the bulkhead or retaining wall, and any records of past repairs or notifications.
• A shoreline or marine contractor’s opinion on any wall or slope that looks stressed, before you close.
• Where the property line actually sits relative to any exposed lakebed.
• Whether planned work (a new wall, dredging, a larger dock) triggers notification or a permit, asked of the LCRA up front.

Only with the right contract. The LCRA says lakeside residential property owners must have a domestic use water contract with LCRA to pump water from one of the Highland Lakes, and that these contracts are for up to 10 years and up to 10 acre-feet of water per year. The LCRA’s FAQ adds that you may still need a contract if your water needs must be met through releases.

What I check for clients:

• Whether an existing lake intake or pump has a current LCRA contract, in whose name, and what happens to it at sale, which I ask the LCRA to confirm.
• Whether your intended use (household, landscaping, irrigation) is covered, again confirmed with the LCRA.
• The pump and line condition, with the seller’s records.

More than buyers expect. The LCRA’s Highland Lakes Watershed Ordinance covers certain land modification within the Lake Travis watershed in Travis County, inside or outside city limits, and requires approved water quality facilities, buffer zones that remain free of development and temporary erosion and sediment controls. It applies to construction such as buildings, roads and paved areas when impervious cover exceeds 10,000 square feet and/or land disturbance exceeds one acre.

What I check for clients:

• Before a buyer prices in a pool, addition, guest house or driveway, whether the lot’s buffers and impervious-cover history allow it, asked of the city or county and the LCRA.
• What was permitted when the existing improvements were built.
• Any community architectural-review rules on top of the public ones.

I bring a written checklist built from the questions above, ask the authorities the questions you should not have to, and line up the specialists: attorney or title company, surveyor, licensed septic evaluator, dock or shoreline contractor and an insurance agent who can quote flood coverage. LCRA regulations and boat dock permitting are part of what I handle for Lake Travis clients, and I would rather you know before you offer than after you close.

Talk to Cynthia about waterfront