Safest Place for Oceanfront NC real estate?

[stopgo]

We bought last year and are building this year soundfront on Topsail Island. Agree with jflanagan all around. We were not interested in oceanfront at all, have a boat and wanted to have direct water access. We have a deeded beach access with our lot that is less than 1 minute walk which is perfect, best of both worlds without the issues of oceanfront ownership. Still, there's nothing quite like oceanfront living.

You really need to decide what you want most, what you're willing to deal with, what you can afford and then find a competent realtor (not always easy) to help you find what you are looking for. We searched over a year with the help of a very good realtor, still took a long time but we always knew exactly what we were looking at and potentially getting in to with each property we visited.

There are all kinds of properties, each will have its own pros/cons. The property you cite in your first post with the 2nd row and oceanfront lots sounds like an awesome deal. you've got to understand why it's setup that way, what the restrictions for building that oceanfront lot might be. I would also want to understand exactly how it came to be that both lots are "together". I'm guess the oceanfront and 2nd row are split by a road (not a bad thing, just something you'd need to decide whether you wanted or not). Understand CAMA and all the regs there. There's a ton or required research, don't short cut any of it when looking for coastal property!

[jflanagan]

Originally Posted by sfrances22

jflanagan, thanks very much for your reply - I really appreciate hearing from someone with real-life ownership experience! I have often wondered if that saying about boat owners (something along the lines of the two happiest days in a boat owners life is the day he/she purchases the boat, and the day he/she sells) is the same for oceanfront property owners. Hah! We are at least several years out from thinking more seriously about this undertaking, but it is great to hear more about the negatives (and positives) in the meantime.

You're quite welcome. It's a shame that state and federal dollars aren't there for beach nourishment projects, but they aren't. Arguments abound regarding who should pay, i.e. oceanfront owners whose properties are threatened vs all citizens, since all can use the beaches. It's a very political and polarizing issue. Also keep in mind that towns with a strong business base are going to have more money for, and interest in, beach nourishment. For example, North Topsail is almost all residential, which makes it charming, but there's no business tax base or business advocacy for beach nourishment. I'd vote for buying a property where it's easy to enjoy the beach without having to pay through the nose for it - but at the end of the day, there's nothing like that ocean view!