Buying a Home on Lake Palestine: What to Know First

Before buying a home on Lake Palestine, look past the house. Check where it sits on the lake, the water depth off the dock, the shape of any dock, boathouse or shoreline, and which permits and community rules come with it. I walk through all of it in the short video below.

The video covers what I tell buyers first. The sections below follow the same topics, and each one links to a longer guide if you want the whole story.

Choosing the right Lake Palestine property

Start with the location, not the house. A place can look perfect online and still sit on the wrong part of the lake for the way you want to live. Where it sits shapes the view, the water off the dock and how quiet your mornings are. When you're ready to look, here are my current listings, and I can show you other homes on the lake too.

Cove or open water?

Coves and open water each have a different feel, but every spot on the lake is its own. Many coves are quieter and more sheltered, and open-water frontage often has the longer view and more room for boating. How much shade, wind, boat wake and water depth a particular property gets depends on where it sits, so judge each one on its own. I go through the tradeoffs in detail in cove vs open water on Lake Palestine.

Docks and boathouses

If the property has a dock or boathouse, look at it as closely as you look at the house. Ask how old it is, what condition it's in and how solid the structure is. Find out how the electricity is run to it and how the plumbing is set up. And ask the seller for the permits on anything already built at the water. My Lake Palestine dock permits guide explains how those permits work, along with what I look at when I walk a dock with a buyer.

Shoreline and retaining walls

On most Lake Palestine waterfront, the strip between the lot and the water lies below the 355-foot takeline. That land is generally owned by the Upper Neches River Municipal Water Authority (in some places the Authority holds a flood easement instead), and its rules require a Limited Use Permit for any rights to use it. Building or changing a dock, boathouse or bulkhead there takes a separate construction permit under the Authority's building guidelines. Ownership lines, easements and permits differ from one property to the next, so verify them for the specific lot before you buy, starting with the survey and the seller's permits.

Whether a lot needs a retaining wall depends on the property. Some shorelines hold up fine without one and some need one, so look at the bank itself and ask how old any existing wall is and what shape it's in. Read the survey carefully too, since shoreline boundaries and easements on lake lots can be easy to misunderstand. I cover that in property survey mistakes East Texas buyers make.

Water depth and boating access

Lake Palestine covers 25,560 acres and reaches a maximum depth of 58 feet, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife, but depth varies a lot from one shoreline to the next. Don't assume any dock has deep water. Check the depth at the property you're considering, and ask how the dock does when the lake is low.

Texas Parks and Wildlife also notes that most of the lake's vegetation and submerged timber is above the Texas Highway 155 bridge, in the main lake and in arms like Kickapoo and the Neches River. If you're looking up the lake, ask about stumps and grass near the dock.

No dock of your own? Texas Parks and Wildlife lists the public boat ramps and access points on Lake Palestine. I go deeper on why depth at the dock matters in what determines a Lake Palestine home's value.

What kind of lake life do you want?

The right property depends on how you'll use it. Someone moving here full time, someone planning for retirement and a family coming up for weekends are shopping for different places. If you want to fish, you'll look at the water differently than someone who mostly wants to pull tubers or sit on a quiet dock with a cup of coffee.

In the video I ask buyers to picture what they need the home for. Tell me that, and I can point you to the parts of the lake and the neighborhoods that fit.

Lake Palestine communities

Lake Palestine isn't one community. Gated neighborhoods, older lake subdivisions and the small towns around the shore each have their own setting and amenities. My Lake Palestine neighborhoods guide walks through them one at a time. Dues, building rules and short-term rental limits vary by community and property owners association, so confirm the current rules with the association before you buy.

Why I know this lake

My husband and I have called Lake Palestine home for more than 20 years, and we were out on the water long before we owned property here. I've been a REALTOR® for 12+ years. I hold the GRI designation, and I was named 2021 REALTOR® of the Year by the Palestine Association of REALTORS®.

So when I show you a lake property, I'm looking at the water, the dock and the shoreline as closely as the house. You can read more about how I work on my Lake Palestine real estate agent page.

More for Lake Palestine buyers

• Cove vs Open Water on Lake Palestine: the full comparison, from calm water and shade to views and room to run a boat.
• Lake Palestine Dock Permits: who owns the shoreline, which permits you need and what to check on a dock.
• Lake Palestine Neighborhoods Guide: the communities around the lake, one at a time.
• Property Survey Mistakes East Texas Buyers Make: what to look for before you close.
• Earnest Money in Texas Real Estate: what you put down with an offer and how it works.
• My current listings.

Charlene Hall, GRI · REALTOR®

East TX Realtor® and Lake Palestine resident for more than 20 years, with 12+ years in real estate across Anderson, Henderson, Cherokee, and Smith counties. 2021 REALTOR® of the Year, Palestine Association of REALTORS®.