We Buy Houses in Towns County

Chatuge docks and TVA's Section 26a permit

Docks, boathouses, and other structures on Chatuge exist under a TVA Section 26a permit. Under TVA's regulations, when ownership changes, the new owner must notify TVA within 60 days. The new owner can keep using the existing facilities while TVA decides, and TVA reissues the permit once it finds the facilities in good repair and consistent with the standards in effect when the permit was first issued.

The land matters as much as the dock. A TVA permit conveys no property interest, and to hold one an applicant must own or have a lease or easement over the land next to the water. Where a subdivision left a strip of land between a lot and TVA's flowage easement, a dock can be permitted only if the owner of that strip does not object. Before you sell, find your permit and your plat. They answer most of a buyer's questions.

The Chatuge Dam work and the lake level

In a normal year, TVA's operating guide lets Chatuge vary about 10 feet between summer and winter to make room for flood storage. In April 2025, TVA published notice that it would prepare an environmental impact statement on repairs to Chatuge Dam's spillway, outlet, and embankment. Every construction option it described would draw the reservoir down as far as elevation 1,908 feet, which is 10 feet below normal winter pool, with the drawdown estimated to last anywhere from up to four years to up to eight years depending on the option. TVA projected a final impact statement in late 2026 or early 2027.

For a lakefront seller, a long drawdown means a shallow-water dock may sit on dry ground for seasons at a time. That is a real factor in what a buyer pays for frontage. We buy lake houses regardless of where the review stands, and we tell you plainly how it affects our number.

Towns County property we buy

• Lake Chatuge homes with permitted docks or boathouses
• Lake lots separated from the water by a strip owned by someone else
• Houses with docks in shallow coves
• Mountain cabins on steep lots with wells and septic
• Houses in Hiawassee with a city nuisance or code complaint
• Second homes on the lake or in the hills, owned from out of state
• Inherited houses where the heirs disagree about selling

Records, courts, and closing in Towns County

Hiawassee is the county seat, and the county offices are in the courthouse complex on River Street. The Towns County Clerk of Superior Court records deeds and liens, which are also searchable in the statewide index. The Towns County Probate Court handles wills and estates. Towns County offers no local homestead exemptions beyond the statewide ones. Inside Hiawassee, the city handles its own building permits, nuisance complaints, and water and sewer. Outside the city, records of approved septic systems are kept in the county Environmental Health office. Closing is done by a licensed Georgia attorney.

When you ask for an offer on lake property, the TVA permit number, the plat showing the land between the house and the water, and the depth at the dock in winter tell us most of what we need. Off the lake, the septic record, the road, and for inherited property, whether an estate is open in Probate Court are what move price and timing.

Frequently asked questions