Is there waterfront real estate in Scottsdale, and what should you know before you buy?

Is there waterfront real estate in Scottsdale, and what should you know before you buy? Yes, there is, and it comes in two kinds: homes on man-made lakes that a community association maintains, like the lakes in McCormick Ranch, and condos and other buildings along the Arizona Canal, including the area called the Scottsdale Waterfront next to Old Town. Before you buy either one, find out who controls the water and the bank in front of the home, read the rules that come with it, and check the flood zone and your insurance while your inspection period is still open.

I'm Jen Keene, a REALTOR® with eXp Luxury in Scottsdale, AZ, and I'm the agent people call at every stage of their life. A home on the water here comes with rules that depend on whose water it is, so that's the first thing I'd find out for any address.

None of this is legal or insurance advice. A licensed Arizona attorney can tell you what a particular easement or contract means for you, and an insurance agent can tell you what a particular policy covers.

In McCormick Ranch, the McCormick Ranch Property Owners' Association (MRPOA) maintains the lakes along with the medians and the master common areas. MRPOA's boating permit refers to the association's property, including the lakes, and MRPOA's newsletters describe it maintaining them, so MRPOA is the one to ask about the water in front of a lakefront home. Here's my guide to McCormick Ranch in Scottsdale.

The Arizona Canal is a different kind of water. It's part of the Salt River Project's water delivery system. SRP's own history page says the federal government bought the Valley's canals and that the Salt River Valley Water Users' Association, which is still part of SRP, operates them for the federal government, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation lists SRP as the operating and maintaining entity for the project.

The Scottsdale Waterfront sits along that canal in Old Town. Here's my post on Old Town Scottsdale real estate.

On a McCormick Ranch lake, buying the house doesn't give you control of the shoreline in front of it. MRPOA's rules say there is a blanket easement in favor of the association upon, across, over and under all lakefront lots, and that the line is generally about 20 feet in from the shoreline, though it can differ by lake. Nothing can be built or placed in that easement area without written approval from MRPOA's Architectural Control Committee, and the owner of a lakefront lot is responsible for keeping up any waterfront improvements the committee approved.

MRPOA also says no fence support, footing or other construction is allowed on the water side of the shoreline, and that dirt from building a home, a pool, a retaining wall or landscaping can't be allowed to spill into the lake. You also can't pump lake water to water your yard or fill a fountain or stream on your lot, and pool water can't be drained into a lake.

The first question for any lakefront home is how far the easement reaches on that lot, and the plat and the recorded documents are where you'll find it. Ask for them early, because the answer tells you what you can and can't add along the water later.

On McCormick Ranch's lakes, a dock depends on an easement. MRPOA says owners with an easement for a boat dock may place a standard dock on designated lakes and tie one permitted boat to it, and owners without that easement can't put a dock on any lake or common property. Floating docks aren't approved, boats can't be beached, and owners with docks are responsible for maintaining them.

If you don't have a shoreline easement, MRPOA's boating permit and its community guidelines both say boating is allowed only on Camelback Lake and Lake Margherite, which have concrete ramps, from sunrise to sunset. Permits come from the association office and are only for current owners and tenants, and the permit lists what isn't allowed, including inflatable boats and anything powered by something other than an electric motor, oars, a paddle or sails. Both documents also say swimming in McCormick Ranch lakes is prohibited at all times.

Fishing needs its own MRPOA permit as well as a current fishing license, and all fishing there is catch and release with artificial lures only. Here's my post on what the McCormick Ranch HOA covers, which has MRPOA's office number and hours.

A building along the canal faces water that neither you nor your condo association controls. The Bureau of Reclamation says the federal lands underlying and next to the canals became a Special Use Area in September 2022, and SRP operates and maintains the canal itself.

The canal banks are also public paths. SRP says its canal trails and banks can be used without a fee, that pedal bicycles are allowed and motorized vehicles aren't, and that no swimming or water activities are allowed in the canals. So if you're looking at a unit facing the canal, expect people on the path in front of it, and ask the association what it does and doesn't maintain between the building and the water.

Being near a lake or the canal doesn't tell you a home's flood zone, so look it up for the specific address. FEMA's Flood Map Service Center at msc.fema.gov is the official public source for flood hazard maps used by the National Flood Insurance Program, and you can search it by address. The City of Scottsdale's floodplain management page links to FEMA's flood zone maps, and its Stormwater Group can be reached at 480-312-7740 with questions.

The Flood Control District of Maricopa County also lists a Floodplain and Elevation Certificate Viewer on its online maps page, and it takes requests for flood hazard information on a property. For a home inside Scottsdale, confirm what you find with the city as well.

Some of the water you see in Scottsdale is there for flood control in the first place. The City of Scottsdale calls the Indian Bend Wash Greenbelt a flood control project, and it covers 11 miles through the city as a chain of parks, lakes, paths and golf courses. If a home backs onto the greenbelt or a wash, check the flood zone and ask the city what that land is for.

FEMA says most homeowners insurance doesn't cover flood damage, and that flood coverage is a separate policy. It also says homes in high-risk flood areas with mortgages from government-backed lenders are required to carry flood insurance. So the flood zone you find can change what you pay each month, and it's better to know that before your inspection period ends.

FEMA says there's typically a 30-day waiting period before a new National Flood Insurance Program policy takes effect, with exceptions, including coverage bought when you make or increase a mortgage. Ask your insurance agent whether the home is in a high-risk zone, whether your lender will require flood coverage, and what a policy would cost if you buy one even where it isn't required.

If you're buying on a lake with a dock or a boat, ask the agent about liability coverage too. MRPOA requires evidence of liability insurance on a boat before it will issue a boating permit.

1. Find out whether the water is an association lake or the Arizona Canal, and who operates and maintains it.
2. Read what the association says about docks, boating, fishing and the shoreline, and ask whether the lot has a dock or shoreline easement.
3. Look at the plat and recorded documents to see how far any easement reaches onto the lot.
4. Look up the flood zone on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center and confirm it with the City of Scottsdale.
5. Call your insurance agent about flood coverage, liability and any boat before the inspection period ends.
6. Read the association documents you receive after your offer is accepted, and bring any questions back to the seller while you can still negotiate.

Under A.R.S. 33-1806, a buyer in a planned community receives the association's declaration, bylaws, rules and a statement of assessments and violations after the offer is accepted, and in a community of 50 or more homes the association sends them within ten days of the seller's notice. Here's my post on HOA rules and regulations in Arizona, and here's how the inspection period in Arizona works.

The first mistake is assuming the water in front of the house comes with the house. On a McCormick Ranch lake, MRPOA's boating permit refers to the lakes as association property, and MRPOA's rules give it an easement across the lakefront lots, and along the canal the water and the banks fall under SRP and the federal government.

The second is assuming every lakefront lot can have a dock. MRPOA ties a dock to a dock easement, so ask about the specific lot before you picture a boat tied up out back.

The third is skipping the flood zone because it's the desert. A flood zone is set by the maps, and FEMA's high-risk zones can come with a lender requirement for flood insurance, so look up the address.

The fourth is planning projects along the water before reading the rules. In McCormick Ranch, a new wall, a pool or landscaping near the shoreline needs the Architectural Control Committee's written approval, and nothing can be built on the water side of the shoreline.

If you're looking at a home on a lake or along the canal, look up the flood zone for the address and ask the association for its lake rules before you make an offer. If you'd like help with a specific home, call me at (480) 203-6605 or send me a message.