Anyone buying or selling shoreline property on the Madison chain
Waterfront due diligence
The specialist work behind a shoreline transaction: permit verification, frontage and depth measurement, shoreland zoning review and a plain-English report you can act on.
The short version
Dane County shoreland zoning, the DNR's pier rules and each municipality's own ordinances overlap in ways that surprise experienced buyers. A pier can be legal, legally non-conforming, or in a grey area that only becomes a problem when you try to replace it after a hard winter.
We treat that as its own piece of work. For every shoreline property our buyers get serious about, we verify the pier permit status, measure frontage against the plat and the survey, check the water depth at the pier head, and read the shoreland ordinance for what could be rebuilt if something were lost.
Sellers get the same service in reverse. Resolving a permit question before a listing goes live is far cheaper than discovering it during a buyer's inspection contingency, and it keeps a sale from falling apart in week three.
Step by step
How it actually runs
Property review
We start with the plat, the survey if one exists, and the assessor's record for the parcel.
Municipal check
Calls and records requests to the village, city or township, plus the DNR where the pier needs a state permit.
On-site measurement
Frontage, depth at the pier head, and photographs of the shoreline structures and any stairs.
Written summary
Two to three pages, plain English, with anything that should become an offer contingency flagged.
Offer or repair strategy
Buyers get a contingency plan. Sellers get a fix-it list so it never becomes a negotiation.
Why it matters
Three things this prevents
Every one of these came out of a transaction where it nearly went the other way.
No permit surprises
The pier question gets answered in week one instead of week three of a contingency period.
Frontage you can verify
Measured against the plat, not taken from the listing sheet.
Rebuild rights in writing
You know what you could put back before you buy, not after a storm.
What it costs
No packages, no surprises
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| For our buyer clients | Included | Part of buyer representation, no separate charge |
| For our listing clients | Included | Run before the listing goes live |
| Standalone review | $450 sample | For owners not currently buying or selling with us |
Sample figures for demonstration only. Standalone review pricing depends on the municipality and the records involved.
Questions
About this service
Anything not covered here, call the office and ask.
No. Some are permitted, some are legally non-conforming and some were never permitted at all. The distinction matters most when you want to replace or extend it.
The lake bed is held in trust by the state. What you own is riparian rights, which govern reasonable use, including a pier within the rules that apply to your lake and municipality.
Yes, more often than you would expect, usually because the number came from an old tax record. We measure against the plat every time.
Yes. Owners often ask us before they invest in a new pier or a shoreline repair. That is our standalone review.
Related
Usually booked alongside
Book the first conversation
Ninety minutes, no charge, and you leave with a written plan whether or not you hire us.
Four agents, one office on Monona Avenue, replies within one business day.