When looking at buying lake front property it’s a good idea to know the difference between “Deeded / Fee Simple” and “Leased / Less Than Fee Simple” in types of ownership.
Deeded or Fee Simple
Deeded or Fee Simple is the most common form of ownership. This means that the owner of the built structures on the property also owns the land (dirt) below the structures.
Leased or Less Than Fee Simple
Leased or Less Than Fee Simple is a much more complicated form of ownership. On Payette Lake the state owns some of the land around the lake in which houses have been built on. The state does not own any of the “improvements” or “vertical structures” but only the land that those improvements are on. The owner of the improvements (house, etc) has a lease with the State of Idaho and pays the State of Idaho an annual payment to “lease” the land that the house (improvement) is on. Following state statue the state can sale the land via live public auction at or above the current appraised value. Any qualified person can attend the auction and bid on any property. The successful high bidder then has to pay the owner of the “improvements” (house) the current appraised value for the home. Or the owner of the improvement (house) can move the improvement off of the property prior to the sale at the expense of the improvement owner.
