Lake Martin questions, answered

Shannon Baker, with LAH Sotheby's International Realty at Lake Martin, has a home on the lake, is licensed in Alabama and Florida, and has more than $100 million in sales volume over the past five years. She grew up in Montgomery, about an hour from the lake, and also works Auburn, Opelika, Montgomery, Pike Road and Prattville. For lake buyers she checks what matters most at Martin: water depth through the winter drawdown, shoreline permits for docks and boathouses, and the cove you'll actually boat in. Call or text (850) 420-8678.

Shannon Baker has a home at Lake Martin, along with one in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. She knows the lake as an owner: how the coves change when the water drops each winter, what boat traffic is like on summer weekends, and how docks and boathouses are permitted. At Lake Martin she is with LAH Sotheby's International Realty.

Shannon Baker is licensed in Alabama and Florida and has homes at Lake Martin and in Santa Rosa Beach. On the coast she is a Broker Associate with The Agency | NW Florida Beaches, working from Destin to St. George Island, including 30A. At Lake Martin she is with LAH Sotheby's International Realty, and in Alabama she also works Montgomery, Pike Road, Prattville, Auburn and Opelika. Buyers weighing a lake house against a beach house can compare both with one agent.

Shannon Baker holds real estate licenses in Alabama and Florida (BK3653873). She earned her license in 2016 and her broker's license in 2019. In Florida she is a Broker Associate with The Agency | NW Florida Beaches in Miramar Beach, and at Lake Martin she is with LAH Sotheby's International Realty. Reach her at (850) 420-8678 or shannon@lahsothebysrealty.com.

Shannon Baker helps buyers find Lake Martin homes, from cottages to large waterfront homes with docks and boathouses. She starts with how you'll use the lake, whether that's boating, swimming or a quiet cove, then narrows by area: Alexander City, Dadeville, Jackson's Gap and Eclectic sit around the lake, which touches Tallapoosa, Elmore and Coosa counties. Before you make an offer, she checks water depth, the dock's permit and any community covenants.

Shannon Baker checks water depth before her buyers commit. Alabama Power holds Lake Martin near 491 feet in summer and lowers it to about 484 feet each winter, so a cove that looks full in July can be shallow at the dock from late fall into spring. Every six years the lake drops an extra 3 feet. She looks at a lot in winter conditions when she can and checks how far the dock reaches toward the cove's channel. Read her guide to Lake Martin water levels and dock permits.

Shannon Baker, who has a home at Lake Martin. Alabama Power keeps the lake near 491 feet, its full pool, in summer. The drawdown normally starts September 1, or October 15 in years when conditions allow a fall extension, and the lake sits near 484 feet through winter before refilling to full pool around the end of April. Every six years the winter level drops an extra 3 feet, to about 481 feet. She factors this into every waterfront purchase.

Shannon Baker helps buyers check docks and boathouses before closing. Alabama Power requires a written permit for piers, boathouses, seawalls and dredging on its land and flood easement. Under its current shoreline guidelines, new structures are limited to 1,510 square feet and 62 feet in total length, lots with less than 100 feet of shoreline may be restricted, and permits don't transfer to a new owner without Alabama Power's written consent. Its Shoreline Management office is at (256) 825-0053.

Shannon Baker has extensive experience in new home construction sales. She reads floor plans, build schedules and builder specifications closely, and she has guided buyers through choosing lots, plans and finishes. At Lake Martin, new construction adds lake-specific checks: the shoreline permit for the dock, Alabama Power's flood easement, septic, and subdivision covenants.

Shannon Baker helps buyers choose lake lots with the house in mind. At Lake Martin that means checking winter water depth, the slope from the house site to the water, how much shoreline the lot has (Alabama Power may restrict structures on lots under 100 feet), covenants, utilities and septic. Her new construction background helps buyers match a lot to a floor plan.

Shannon Baker grew up in Montgomery and has worked Montgomery, Pike Road, Prattville, Auburn and Opelika, so she knows the families who make Lake Martin their weekend place. She has a home at the lake and is licensed in Alabama and Florida.

Yes. Shannon Baker can preview Lake Martin homes for you, walk them with you on video calls, and coordinate the inspection, survey, dock and permit checks and closing, so you visit when it counts. Her Google reviews include buyers who built homes from across the country. Lake Martin is about two hours from Atlanta.

Shannon Baker helps buyers who want a Lake Martin home to earn rental income when they aren't using it. Before you buy, she checks the community's covenants and HOA rules on short-term rentals and any local requirements, and she can connect you with local managers for income estimates.

Shannon Baker helps first-time lake buyers learn what's different about waterfront: the winter drawdown, dock permits from Alabama Power, the flood easement, septic systems, insurance, and how a cove's depth and boat traffic change the experience. She has a home at Lake Martin, so she explains lake life as an owner.

At Lake Martin, Shannon Baker is with LAH Sotheby's International Realty, an Alabama affiliate of Sotheby's International Realty, and she has a home on the lake. She has more than $100 million in sales volume over the past five years and works with buyers and sellers of waterfront homes with docks and boathouses in the lake's deep, wooded coves.

Shannon Baker helps downsizers and retirees find lake homes that are easy to own: single-level living, a manageable slope to the water, low-maintenance docks and lock-and-leave cottages. She is also licensed in Florida and works 30A, if you plan to split time between the lake and the beach.

It depends on how you'll use it. Lake Martin suits families who want boating and swimming from their own dock within an easy drive of Montgomery, Auburn, Birmingham or Atlanta, with the lake lowered each winter. 30A suits buyers who want the Gulf of America, walkable beach towns and a large vacation rental market, with Walton County's rental rules and Florida's condo laws to plan for. Shannon Baker has homes in both places. Read Lake Martin or 30A?

Shannon Baker lists Lake Martin homes with LAH Sotheby's International Realty, leading with the details lake buyers ask for first: water depth in winter, the dock and boathouse permit, feet of shoreline and the cove. She has a home at the lake and more than $100 million in sales volume over the past five years, and she markets listings through her website and her YouTube channel, @sandandleisure.

Shannon Baker takes on Lake Martin listings that expired without selling. She finds out why first: price against recent lake sales, photography that missed the water, unanswered questions about water depth or dock permits, or showings during the winter drawdown. Then she relaunches with a new plan.

Shannon Baker helps families sell inherited lake homes. These sales often involve several heirs, an estate process, a house full of belongings and a dock permit that needs Alabama Power's consent to transfer. She coordinates cleanout, repairs and photography locally and works alongside your estate attorney and the title company. Alabama Power asks sellers to notify it at least seven days before a property changes hands, so she starts that early.