If you are buying waterfront property with an existing dock, you may know that there are a lot of rules enforced by the DES Wetlands Bureau regarding dock structures. One important thing to know about the dock you are buying is that all the proper permitting was done for it. If you think you are getting a 50 foot dock because that is what is on the premises, but you later find out that the previous owner only had a permit to put in a 30ft dock, you may get an unpleasant surprise the next time you need to get a permit to do work on the dock. I'm not sure how often this happens, but I certainly would want to check it out before buying a place to avoid any surprises. The DES has a search facility on their website where you can pull info about permits on a piece of property. I believe owners are also required to file their permits with their town deed registrar. For many counties, you can search for deed info at
www.nhdeeds.com. Good luck.