Single, first time home buyer, wants to find small home, moving from Wash, DC, Tybee island (Savannah: for sale)

[Lee Hayden]

Hi everyone out there! I have never done this before...not real tech savvy. Would Like to move from Wash, DC area to the south...yea! I am retired and am looking for a small home to live in and do my art. I am a first time home buyer. Love, love, love Tybee and the whole Savannah charm. I am just starting my search. I have a neice in Charleston, SC who is a chef. I will search there too but I prefer Savannah area. Tybee Island if possible. It is so sweet and artsie. But I need to know if I can afford a house there. Don't need much room. There are no kids. Would love to see the water. I have a need to be near water. Don't know if that is affordable though. But this is just a start for me so any advice would be ever so appreciated. I am love the south...always have...s'where I belong y'all. Thanks sooooooooooo much!

[Padgett2]

Just a suggestion......if you can't find your spot on Tybee, think about all the other property that is on the salt water rivers in the area.

There is a condo type development on Tybee, in which the developers seemed to have gone broke. I don't know the name, it's on the north side of the island. I understand that there are some bargains there.

[conniecws]

did u find a place? looking now for similar reasons.
connie

[goldenager]

Was just there this past weekend looking for a single family home for my wife and I... long story short, if you want something more than a rat-hole, expect to spend more than $250k (even for the smallest place). Don't get me wrong, there are some nice houses on the island (depending on what you're willing to live with), but on the whole, housing is still pretty expensive there.

Hope this helps.

[gentlearts]

Same goes for the islands area in general. We looked for several days in 31410 and only found some unimproved ca 1970 little ranches for under 250K.

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by goldenager

Was just there this past weekend looking for a single family home for my wife and I... long story short, if you want something more than a rat-hole, expect to spend more than $250k (even for the smallest place). Don't get me wrong, there are some nice houses on the island (depending on what you're willing to live with), but on the whole, housing is still pretty expensive there.

Hope this helps.

Yes, the bottom line is that beachside living in GA comes with a price tag, just like anywhere else.
If you're on a small budget and want to settle in coastal GA, my suggestion is to get off of the islands and look at some of the 'river towns' a little bit inland: Midway, Darien, Brunswick, St Marys. You've got water access, planty of Southern charm and a much lower price tag.

http://www.cityofdarienga.com/

Historic Downtown Brunswick, Georgia

Welcome to St Marys, Georgia

[goldenager]

Originally Posted by LovinDecatur

Yes, the bottom line is that beachside living in GA comes with a price tag, just like anywhere else.
If you're on a small budget and want to settle in coastal GA, my suggestion is to get off of the islands and look at some of the 'river towns' a little bit inland: Midway, Darien, Brunswick, St Marys. You've got water access, planty of Southern charm and a much lower price tag.

I never said that I personally was on a small budget, hense why I was looking on Tybee in the first place. In fact, the wife and I have scaled up our price range since our visit to include some of the better homes for sale on the island.

So I guess what I was trying to say in my initial post is pretty much what you just stated... there is no cheap housing when looking at coastal property.

[juliecoffee]

don't forget to look at homeowner's and flood insurance - on Tybee finding insurance may be a challenge.

[Brian prahs]

Originally Posted by goldenager

Was just there this past weekend looking for a single family home for my wife and I... long story short, if you want something more than a rat-hole, expect to spend more than $250k (even for the smallest place). Don't get me wrong, there are some nice houses on the island (depending on what you're willing to live with), but on the whole, housing is still pretty expensive there.

Hope this helps.

WE looked into a real jewel on the north end of the island.
The roof of the garage was covered with a tarp. The front screen door was about to fall off. The eves are rotten and the roof on the main house was almost as bad as the garage. And that was what we could see from the outside. God only knows what it was like on the inside..
The listed price was 275k.
We considered the condition of the cheapest house we could find. Factored in the
knats that make it horrible till after sundown and the high property taxes. along with having to deal with the locals not being very receptive to new comers. And decided to rent something in town.

WE also looked at a few rentals on the island. One had a 5 foot hole in the ceiling and no heat for 900 a month. and the other one was 1100 dollars a month and hadn't been maintained for years. Yard, paint, etc.. and no parking.

Brian.