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Old 08-19-2010, 07:17 PM
 
102 posts, read 538,495 times
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I’m posting this on the RE forum because I would love to hear what RE pros think about owning property (a primary residence) right by the beach. Is it a huge risk you would not take because of the location (i.e., hurricanes, floods)? Is it a huge risk to buy right now because of the economy? Or is this a good time to buy (next spring-summer) because prices have come down so much during the past couple of years? If you could buy a place in a "vacation location," would you do it?

My husband and I have been thinking about relocating to the Va Beach area for the past year. He has a good job opportunity on his plate, so we would go with a job in hand. We’ve vacationed in the area for more than a decade, including just a week ago, and so we know the lay of the land pretty well. The schools are great, so we know our kids (9 and 12) would get a good education. We are lucky in that we have good equity in our home in the DC area, so we could leave our current area (and the rat race, and the stress) with plenty of money for a down payment and still have some nice reserves to put into savings.

So I’m wondering, what do RE pros think about owning a home at the beach? We would not be making this move as an investment, but obviously we would not want to take huge financial risks by moving to such a new environment. What should we be looking out for before buying property by the ocean? Any cautionary tales we should be aware of?

Thank you in advance for ANY info you can provide!
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Old 08-19-2010, 09:42 PM
 
Location: On the Chesapeake
44,879 posts, read 59,858,372 times
Reputation: 60419
Hurricanes
Nor'easters (more common than hurricanes, especially in winter)
Coastal flooding
Winter winds off the ocean are cold so you have higher heating bills among other issues


An upside is that God's not making any more waterfront.

I'm not in real estate but look where I live.

Last edited by North Beach Person; 08-19-2010 at 10:03 PM..
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Old 08-19-2010, 11:36 PM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,338 posts, read 93,414,573 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by North Beach Person View Post

An upside is that God's not making any more waterfront.
Since god probably doesn't exist, and any freshman geology student can tell you the rate at which waterfront is formed, the original poster would be advised to consider what land isn't yet developed and what land is close to jobs.
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Old 08-20-2010, 07:10 AM
 
22,768 posts, read 30,599,621 times
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living at the beach makes me envy those people who live in rural inland areas, with forests and big grassy fields and all the land you'd ever want.

you'll have scrubby little brush trees at the beach, if we you any. grass doesn't grow well naturally, and people are packed into tiny little lots. plus you do get tired of the beach itself, so it helps to have access to the water via boat or kayak. around here it seems like a lot of people move to the beach, and then again to something waterfront on the mainland. i don't know how VA Beach is, though. from what i know, you wouldn't get large hurricanes up that way often, if ever. small hurricanes and tropical storms are a fact of life, of course.
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Old 08-20-2010, 07:43 AM
 
Location: Athens
470 posts, read 1,494,049 times
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There are pluses and minuses for living at the beach just as there are anywhere else. I would recommend you actually talk to people living in the area, along with real estate agents to get a more personal opinion. It all should really boil down to how you and your husband feel about it. Pro's and con's are pretty subjective.
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Old 08-23-2010, 10:51 AM
 
102 posts, read 538,495 times
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Thanks so much for your replies. They are much appreciated!

We have been getting some info from a couple of people who live in the area, but they are trying to recruit my husband for the move, so I'm not quite sure how objective their info is.
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Old 06-07-2015, 07:57 PM
 
5 posts, read 32,697 times
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One con that no one has mentioned--rust due to salt water in the air. This can be a big problem for cars so if you like to collect those or have classic cars or other metal stuff that is precious to you you might want to think twice.

If the beach is public property then you have big problems. I don't know how VA beach is but in Hawaii (where I am from) all of the beaches are public property. This means that you are required to provide public access and that you can have homeless people living (and pooping) right next to your house. Also if the beach comes closer to your home through erosion your land then becomes public beach. It can also mean tourists parking right in front of your home and clogging up the roads with traffic or dealing with strangers around your house at all hours if you are near a popular beach.

Of course erosion is always a worry, especially if you are right on the shoreline. One good storm can change the shoreline quite a bit.

le roi's point about the plants is also good. You can't really garden very well on beachfront property.

The pros are that you can go to the beach right away. Also you never have to worry about another house blocking your view. My grandfather is a big time fisherman and he loves looking out at the sea in the morning to see if there are fish jumping out of the water, because then he wants to go fishing big time!

Personally I would prefer living inland with a short trip to the beach because it feels like the best of both worlds, but that is just me.
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Old 06-07-2015, 11:46 PM
 
Location: Florida -
10,213 posts, read 14,738,790 times
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We lived within a block of the beach for about 16-years and then directly on the beach for the next 8-years. (Now, we live on the harbor). We like the water and my wife would like to move back on the ocean.

Depending on the location, corrosion can be a problem (Mid East Florida on Atlantic side will rust plastic!). This can be particularly tough on A/C units.

We've never worried about hurricanes and have never experienced a large, direct hit. One thought is that a significant part of hurricane damage is caused by debris, not water ... and if one is directly on the ocean, there isn't much debris.

While the views are great, we've found that the higher floors in condos actually provide LESS of a view, since all one can see without going outside and looking down over the rail ... is water. Something around the 3rd floor provides a better view of the beach, but, enough privacy to keep passer-byers from looking in.

Insurance costs can be high and some places are considered 'flood zone' or even 'Cobra zone', making insurance almost non-available. Watch the hurricane deductible on insurance policies --- in many cases, one is essentially self-insured, except for a catastrophic storm.

Another consideration is the ceiling/roof line. A direct oceanfront unit with a short ceiling/roof line can make sitting on the balcony to enjoy the beach ... pretty hot and uncomfortable. A good Vertiglide shade can help prevent too much sun during the summer.

A lot of plants aren't particularly salt tolerant, but, enough are okay to allow a pretty wide range of landscaping.
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Old 06-08-2015, 12:42 AM
 
5,048 posts, read 9,547,004 times
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Virginia Beach is the fastest growing city in Va. It is a city and tourism is just part of their immense income. There's the military, tons of farms, some hi tech stuff, etc.

Go there for a while and see how you like it.

By Virginia Beach you may mean the city...or, if near the ocean, then maybe more the boardwalk area rather than Sandbridge, Virginia's Outer Banks.

In certain areas there is lots of jet noise but many people don't mind that. Part of life.

The beach is about 100 yards out in many places and they are always working somewhere against erosion, pumping sand from the inlet into spots getting bare. Then, in the area of the three mile long boardwalk, there is the 30' wide boardwalk, two lane bike path, hotel back yards, and then the main drag. All that can help in water not making it to houses much of the time.

Someone told me once why they are not effected as much as much of the east coast by hurricanes.

There seems to be a good system for water runoff.

Thousands of acres of parks and unspoiled areas.

I understand it's not to be thought of as inexpensive housing because it's further south. There are some really pricey areas.
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Old 06-08-2015, 07:51 AM
 
Location: Raleigh, NC
19,360 posts, read 27,567,150 times
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You guys realize this thread is five years old, right?
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