Where would you invest for a shore home?? (Raleigh, Wilmington: rentals, insurance)

[need to get away]

I would like to purchase a shore home to vacation for a few weeks in summer and get away golf weekends. In would like to rent it when I 'm not there. What areas would be a good buy between 300K to 400K? I hear alot about Oak Island and wonder about the insurance since it is just 5 feet above sea level. I also hear that some of these homes are just double wide trailers on sticks and the middle of the island has shanty bungalows with undesirables? Is this an upcoming area, or should I be looking elsewhere, ie: Holden, Sunset, Carolina, and Ocean Isle beaches???

P.S.- Is the humidity real bad this close to the water??

[poodlecamper]

Having spent vacations there since 1989 ,(I live in CT) I love Oak Island!! The beaches are wide and beautiful, uncrowded. There are many newer, gorgeous homes near the water. There IS a trailer section, but it is set up like a regular neighborhood, with lots of trees and attractive homes(not set up on poles). There are some older, rundown cottages, but by no means a "shantytown". A good percentage of homes on the island have been built in the last 10 years or so. Yes, it's hot and humid, but on the beach there's always a breeze. The last hurricane to make a serious hit affected mostly the first three rows of homes, and not , of course, every home. You have 3 long fishing piers, restaurants, and a relaxed atmosphere. 40 miles to Myrtle Beach if you want. Any questions, email me--I'm happy to help.We started out renting a condo or house there, then went in our RV. Campground was sold last November.
And check out Southport nearby--a great place too.

[a1m1700]

Originally Posted by need to get away

I would like to purchase a shore home to vacation for a few weeks in summer and get away golf weekends. In would like to rent it when I 'm not there. What areas would be a good buy between 300K to 400K? I hear alot about Oak Island and wonder about the insurance since it is just 5 feet above sea level. I also hear that some of these homes are just double wide trailers on sticks and the middle of the island has shanty bungalows with undesirables? Is this an upcoming area, or should I be looking elsewhere, ie: Holden, Sunset, Carolina, and Ocean Isle beaches???

P.S.- Is the humidity real bad this close to the water??

How about Carolina beach. I would says Wrightsville but you won't get anything for that price.

I did a big research this year because I was looking too. You can get something at Topsail but I heard the last hurricane really did a lot of damage there and they are still trying to clean up. You can get a cheap condo there but they have air conditioners in the window. The HOA's will run you over 200.00 so keep that in mind.

Try Atlantic Beach also. I think you may be able to squeeze an Ocean front 2 bedroom condo for under 300,000 at Sea Spray.

Good Luck if you buy one let me know I'll rent it from you from time to time. LOL

[Bethanytedder]

Figure Eight Island near Wilmington is an exclusive area. I would imagine the houses are expensive in there. I know my BIL was called down there to cut grass for a client and once he was admitted to the property, the care taker told him it was the home of Tom Cruise. Whether that was true or not I don't know since Mr. Cruise was not there at the time. It was when he and Nicole Kidman were still married. But he talked like it was great in there. There are other areas down near Wilmington that would be beautiful as well. But I would be sure that if I built down there, that I used the best of the best hurricane resistant features as the special windows, the steel framing and the like. Wilmington is a prime target area for hurricanes during the times that we have been hit. In fact we got Bertha on July 12, 1996 and Fran six weeks later in September, 1996. Both came in through Wilmington and Fran did one heck of a number on Wilmington.

[Niki]

I love Oak Island and Southport. Topsail Island is also quite nice. I've heard nothing but good things about Holden Beach, Sunset Beach and Ocean Isle Beach. I don't really care for Carolina Beach. It's always looked kind of dumpy and crowded to me. The Kure Beach area is nice though.

I would check out all of them (except maybe Carolina Beach).

Oh, I hear Ocracoke Island is very nice. I've never been and it may be expensive there, but you could look into it. Also check out Emerald Isle. Again, I've never been, but I hear it's nice.

All the best.

[U.S.Citizen]

Originally Posted by need to get away

I would like to purchase a shore home to vacation for a few weeks in summer and get away golf weekends. In would like to rent it when I 'm not there. What areas would be a good buy between 300K to 400K? I hear alot about Oak Island and wonder about the insurance since it is just 5 feet above sea level. I also hear that some of these homes are just double wide trailers on sticks and the middle of the island has shanty bungalows with undesirables? Is this an upcoming area, or should I be looking elsewhere, ie: Holden, Sunset, Carolina, and Ocean Isle beaches???

P.S.- Is the humidity real bad this close to the water??

After reading what you wrote. The best thing for you to do is, to go there
yourself and look. I have already posted in other threads in the past and
to be honest with you answering the same questions over and over is something I wish I had more time to do but I don't. To bad the City-Data
Forum doesn't have North Carolina divided into 3 sections. Mountains, Piedmont and Coast. To give you a short answer to your question, try
Boiling Spring Lakes. 15 min to the beach and houses starting around 175,000. The price you are wanting to pay would qualify for one of the golf course houses there. Oak Island Wooded area, lets say for the smaller older homes on a single lot, RIGHT NOW you can find them for around 250,000 and up. By-the-way the west end of the island is a "no flood zone" it is not
required to build on pylons. 20' over sea level.

[U.S.Citizen]

Originally Posted by U.S.Citizen

After reading what you wrote. The best thing for you to do is, to go there
yourself and look. I have already posted in other threads in the past and
to be honest with you answering the same questions over and over is something I wish I had more time to do but I don't. To bad the City-Data
Forum doesn't have North Carolina divided into 3 sections. Mountains, Piedmont and Coast. To give you a short answer to your question, try
Boiling Spring Lakes. 15 min to the beach and houses starting around 175,000. The price you are wanting to pay would qualify for one of the golf course houses there. Oak Island Wooded area, lets say for the smaller older homes on a single lot, RIGHT NOW you can find them for around 250,000 and up. By-the-way the west end of the island is a "no flood zone" it is not
required to build on pylons. 20' over sea level.

One little addition about Boiling Spring Lakes I forgot to add. Actually, it's
something big that I forgot. The kind of money you are looking to spend
would also put you in the price range of one of the lake front homes in addition to the golf course homes.

If you are stictly looking for a vacation house that you can go to 3 or 4 weeks in a year, Oak Island would be my choice. This is the time to buy.
It IS a buyers market for now.

[JTupper]

Have you ever considered the Emerald Isle area?
It is a very family oriented area and many vacation rentals are offered here. You would have the option of hiring one the property management companies to assist you in renting it when you're not using the home yourself. There are currently many great deals for buyers and the opportunity to make a return on an investment.

[JayDaughtry]

You might want to look at my comment to the family looking to move from Miami Beach. I think anywhere in Brunswick County represents a potential opportunity as it becomes more popular. In general I would look at the development more than I would look specifically at which town it's in. I'm not sure if you considered looking at Myrtle Beach, but there are some solid opportunities there as well. Feel free to contact me directly. And, yes, it gets quite humid there in the summer- and not just close to the water. Since you make reference to the "shore", I'm guessing you're from the Northeast. We just call it the beach (a beach house). Most likely the summers are going to be hotter and more humid than you're used to, but then you get the milder winters. I think the trade off is worth it. I grew up in Wilmington, N.C. and only saw snow on the ground twice in 15 years. One time we actually drove 30 minutes north to see snow. I don't know about you, but I hear a number of people talk about their desire for four seasons. Not me- if I never saw snow again, it would be fine with me.

[dsobotta]

I would like to second JTupper's suggestion about considering the Emerald Isle area. We looked for four summers from Chincoteague, Va. to Southport/Oak Isle and decided that for us Cape Carteret/Emerald had the best combination of services, most affordable homes, lack of traffic, and natural beauty.

It's also a year round area so the restaurants don't all close. There are a wide variety of cottages to large beach homes available, and if you do buy a place and want to rent it, there is more than one rental agent management company to choose from. I have heard that the two larges firms have over 1,500 properties in the 18 miles of beach from Atlantic Beach to Emerald Isle.

We have neighbors from all over on our street. We live in Cape Carteret just a few miles from the beach.

I have a website with lots of information on the area, including the weather. I call it Coastal Paradise because that is what I think I have found. You can find an archive of posts that I have done about our first winter here in my Coastal Blog

In the Coastal Paradise site I also talk about the decision process we went through in finding the right spot for us. Really the only way is to come visit and start looking. There are so many factors that are different for everyone.

We also have almost as many kinds of water as Eskimos have snow. Well maybe not that many, but saying you want to be on the water down here can have lots of different answers.

We saw a little ice on the "gut" behind our house this winter, but as far as I am concerned the weather has been great. In January the gas logs turned on for a few minutes in the morning were all we needed most days.

We're about an hour and one half from Wilmington which is fine by me. I have had all the traffic I want in my life. We're about two hours from Raleigh and it is all four lanes which is something you should think about if you want to be able to evacuate should a storm come. Our beaches are south facing and we have a wonderful sound area in Bogue Sound.

There are lots of festivals in the area with a tremendous amount of community spirit. There is everything in the area from great fishing to the cute shops in Swansboro to the wonderful historical area in Beaufort. We also have the protection from complete development offered by Croatan National Forest and Cape Lookout Seashore. You can take boats from Harker's Island to there for a very reasonable fee. We also have wonderful trails for hiking in the area.

Here is a Google map (http://tinyurl.com/33fsgb - broken link) of the general area.

There are also weekly and yearly rentals available if you just want to check out area for a short or long time before buying. You can also rent for a weekend if you call late in the week.

I have a photo site with lots of area pictures.

All of the areas have something great going for them. You just have to find the one that feels right to you and balances what you are willing to pay with what is available and the risk of living there.

As a Realtor® I can tell you that there are plenty of places available now especially over on the beach. You can also find new construction from the low $200s up depending on what kind of community you want and how far from the beach is acceptable to you. We're ten minutes which is about right for convenience and saving on insurance. You should become familiar with the Flood zones before starting to look.

Carteret County where I live is mostly water so we have lots of choices on or near the water.

Our second home is in the mountains near Roanoke, Va. I actually mowed my yard there on April 6 and it was snow covered on April 7. I am perfectly happy with the climate and yard mowing down here where I still haven't had to mow my centipede yard, but I have been able to enjoy the fresh local strawberries.

We have friends from Massachusetts visiting us this weekend. They are in for a treat in that this weekend is supposed to be glorious.

I have also written travel guides for Swansboro and Beaufort.

We had a great time looking and deciding where to put down roots.