A Brick waterfront home is two purchases in one: the house, and everything at the water’s edge. The right agent knows what to check on the dock, the bulkhead and the flood zone before a price is set or an offer goes in, and gets the answers before anyone commits.
Dennis Mark Interdonato leads The Dennis Mark Group from its team office on Princeton Avenue in Brick, the same avenue as Windward Beach, the township’s bayfront park. He has been in construction since 2003, including years building and remodeling New Jersey homes. On any waterfront home he lists or shows, he runs the same checklist: whether the home holds the tidelands grant, lease or license the state usually requires for a dock over tidal water, plus the dock’s own permits; the bulkhead’s age, its material and a bulkhead contractor’s inspection; the FEMA flood zone, the elevation certificate and the flood insurance history; and any substantial damage or elevation requirement the township has on file, which he asks for through a public records (OPRA) request.
Brick’s water comes in many forms: lagoon, bay and river neighborhoods such as Shore Acres, Cherry Quay, Bay Harbor, Baywood and Breton Woods, and Normandy Beach on the barrier island between the ocean and the bay. Each kind of water is its own market, so a waterfront home’s comparable sales should come from the same kind of water.
He also reminds buyers and sellers that homeowners insurance and flood insurance are separate policies, and that wind and named-storm coverage is worth reading line by line with an insurance broker who knows shore homes. Sellers get these answers into the listing, so nothing surprises a buyer during inspections.
In his words: “You need to have a bulkhead inspection. It is imperative.” See Waterfront Homes.
