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My first time in this forum and hoping to get some good pointers from you all.
My family and I are currently living/working in Charlotte, but was giving the idea of owning a vacation rental some serious thoughts.
We are a family of 4 and a Golden doodle. We are looking to buy a beach facing or 2nd row home in one of the NC beaches.. objective is to enjoy the home 1 or 2 weeks per year and mostly use it as a rental property.
I will be very grateful, if you all can throw some light on :
1. Which beach towns to explore?
2. Where is the best rental market?
3. Should we consider homes with pool and elevator? (of course, price rises but do renters prefer these homes more)?
4. Since we are planning to use the property as a rental primarily, what are the things to keep in mind while making a purchase or say if we want to build on a lot.
5. We want this property to be closer to Charlotte (preferably 3-4 hours of drive) - should we stay in NC coast or explore SC as well ?
6. Budget is to stay under $600K - so I understand getting beach front might not be possible, any recommendation of towns where renters still prefer but the property is not right at the beach (not first or second row home).
Thanks all for your time and pointers! Have a wonderful day!
I'd recommend the southern Brunswick County beaches...Oak Island, Holden, Ocean Isle and Sunset.
I don't think an elevator is needed. A pool would allow to get more rent, but it would also be a maintenance nightmare to deal with from 4 hours away. Not that many people insist on either of those.
The quality of your management company will be the most important part of the equation. They need to put the house on VRBO in addition to their own website.
But frankly, if you're only going to use it 1 to 2 weeks a year, I wouldn't buy a beach house. You can get a better investment return on real estate elsewhere. The only way to achieve a decent return is to manage it yourself, which you can't do from Charlotte.
I would add Surf City/Topsail Beach to your list as well. I-140 being open around Wilmington really makes it more accessible from Charlotte than before.
If you are looking for the best long term rental investment, I think Wrightsville Beach is your best option and just let go of second row dream. If there was one beach I would trust to invest in it would be Wrightsville because of the annual re-nourishment projects and its proximity to Wilmington.
I would add Surf City/Topsail Beach to your list as well. I-140 being open around Wilmington really makes it more accessible from Charlotte than before.
If you are looking for the best long term rental investment, I think Wrightsville Beach is your best option and just let go of second row dream. If there was one beach I would trust to invest in it would be Wrightsville because of the annual re-nourishment projects and its proximity to Wilmington.
Thanks for the insight.. will definitely add this to the list and start looking..
Just as I was about to look for properties .. you shared this .. thank you :-) hoping some properties come up during the off-season!
Its a very expensive community.
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