Lighthouse Buyer's Checklist

Is the lighthouse still an active aid to navigation?

Most lighthouses in this directory still have an active light. The Coast Guard keeps the light and can enter the property without notice to service it. Smith Point, Middle Ground, Boston Light and Warwick Neck are all still lit. Ask what the Coast Guard retains before you price anything.

Active does not mean you pay for the lamp. The federal government keeps the aid to navigation as its own property. You own the tower and the ground around it, and you leave room for the Coast Guard’s equipment and access. See are lighthouses still used for why the Coast Guard keeps the light.

How do you reach it?

Boat access is the rule for offshore lighthouses and the biggest daily fact of ownership. Middle Ground was boat only, and Cleveland West Pierhead lands from a slick platform with steps or a ladder bolted to the wall. Hooper Island has no dock at all. Warwick Neck and Bristol Ferry have street addresses.

Ask how you get on and off in a swell, who owns the landing and whether the boat comes with the sale. Middle Ground was listed with a service vessel. Ask about each one. The types of lighthouses guide shows which structure types need a boat.

Who owns the ground, and what lease do you need?

The ground or lake bottom under a lighthouse is often not part of the sale. Michigan requires a Private Use Agreement for its Great Lakes bottomlands. Connecticut requires a submerged land lease for Penfield Reef. Cleveland West Pierhead needs a 25-year lease with the Army Corps of Engineers.

Get the lease terms, the cost and the renewal rules in writing before you bid. Cleveland’s $425,000 high bid in 2023 never closed, and that sale would have required a 25-year lease and liability insurance. The Michigan terms are on lighthouses for sale in Michigan.

What can and can’t you change?

Almost every lighthouse in this directory is on the National Register of Historic Places, and listings such as Smith Point say the tower is subject to restrictions. For a lighthouse conveyed under the NHLPA, proposed changes need approval from the Secretary of the Interior and the state historic preservation officer, and the deed carries public access and reversion terms.

Read the deed for these terms, and see lighthouse restoration and preservation for the repair standards. Some sales carry other limits: Hooper Island sits in a Navy danger zone and bars overnight stays, and Smith Point is sold as is by quitclaim deed.

What do you have to budget for each year?

Plan for insurance, property tax, power, water, a boat, paint and repairs. Documented figures are few: about $5,000 a year to insure the Ashtabula Harbor Light in Ohio, and Middle Ground was exempt from real estate taxes. Smith Point requires cash and lists several repairs still needed.

Get an insurance quote with the lighthouse named before you make an offer, and set aside money for the first survey and the first painting cycle. The price guide collects the figures we have.

What should you ask a seller?

Ask for photos of the base and the interior, the last survey of the structure, the lease and easement documents, any utility records and the last paint date. Ask whether furniture and a boat convey. Ask who else has looked at it and what stopped them.

Ask for permission before any visit. The Michigan listing says not to tour either light without the listing agent, and Middle Ground’s listing said not to approach the tower without prior authorization.