Paul Zubrys

Union Pier, MI Real Estate | Are Private Beach Rights Important?

Paul Zubrys — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 12:24:00 GMT

The Village of Union Pier, MI is unique in that part of the town is located in New Buffalo Township, and the other half is located in Chikaming Township. Union Pier Rd, a.k.a "Townline Rd" is the dividing line for the two townships. When you drive into Union Pier off of I94 Michigan Exit 6, you are on that division road.

In regards to the value of Private Beach Rights, much depends on which township the property in question resides. The township of New Buffalo has only one municipal beach access, and that one is at the very end of Townline Rd where it dead ends into Lake Michigan. The only other public beach in New Buffalo is the City Park Beach located at the end of Whittaker St in New Buffalo (I94, Michigan Exit 1) where is take a sharp curve after you past the bridge and Lake Michigan is straight ahead. Therefore, if you own a property in the Township of New Buffalo and you do NOT have the rights to use a private beach, you are limited to those 2 municipal beaches. When looking to acquire real estate in Union Pier, having private beach rights is really the only way to be within a very short walking distance to beach access. Therefore, the most desirable properties are usually located within the communities of Gowdy Shores, Gordon Beach, and Tmberland Estates. Developments such as Lakeshore Cottages and Pier Meadows in Union Pier, MI do not have private beach rights due to their location being east of Lakeshore Rd The areas with private beach rights in New Buffalo Township are limited to Grand Beach, Forest Beach, Warwick Shores, Riviera Beach, Sturgeon Beach, and Timberlane Estates.

Chikaming Township, on the other hand, has 7 municipal beaches, including 1 with parking; "Cherry Beach" in Harbert. Depending on the exact location of a property, it is very possible to have beach access directly across the street, without private beach rights, as long as the property is located across the street from one of the Chikaming Township beaches.

So, the bottom line is this. Try to remember that having private beach rights in New Buffalo Township is likely much more valuable than having private beach rights in Chikaming Townhip.

Bank Owned Michigan Lakefront Property | Real Estate Foreclosures, REO and Short Sales

Paul Zubrys — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 05:46:00 GMT

How can you locate a great deal on a lakefront property owned by a distressed seller? Read this article and I will send you a current list of distressed lakefront property for sale. I've been in the Michigan real estate market for more than 20 years now. I'm a bit young to remeber the high interest rates of the 1970s, however, I did endure the real estate recession of the early 90's. Back then, around 1989, the average price for a Lake Michigan lakefront lot was about $1000 per foot of lake frontage. Some of the more desirable lots in New Buffal, MI or in Union Pier, MI the better 100' wide lots with private beach rights, such as those in Gowdy Shores, Gordon Beach, or Riviera Beach, sold for as much as $150,000. During the recession, prices didn't really drop as much as the denand stopped growing and the overall market hit a plateau. A couple years later, prices began to sharply climb and did not stop until our current recession began in late 2007. ...(read more)

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