Wife wants to buy beach condo (1 Viewer)

[DanFouts]

So wife wants to buy a beach condo (instead of redoing our primary house).

Although we live in DC, we are looking at Carolina Beach area of North Carolina. We love Wilmington, NC and the beach at Carolina Beach is nice. Did the drive this weekend...about 6 hours...

Any real estate guys know much about the prices, appreciation, market there? Any things I need to think of (erosion, real estate crash, etc)

I'm seeing 2 bedroom beachfront condos for about $180,000......HOA of about $330/month

 

[BassNBrew]

So wife wants to buy a beach condo (instead of redoing our primary house). Although we live in DC, we are looking at Carolina Beach area of North Carolina. We love Wilmington, NC and the beach at Carolina Beach is nice. Did the drive this weekend...about 6 hours...Any real estate guys know much about the prices, appreciation, market there? Any things I need to think of (erosion, real estate crash, etc)I'm seeing 2 bedroom beachfront condos for about $180,000......HOA of about $330/month

A lesson I learned the hard way...don't mix real estate investing and pleasure together. If this condo is one of the better real estate investments around, then go for it. If not, go with the better investment and use the savings to vacation wherever you want.

 

[DanFouts]

So wife wants to buy a beach condo (instead of redoing our primary house). Although we live in DC, we are looking at Carolina Beach area of North Carolina. We love Wilmington, NC and the beach at Carolina Beach is nice. Did the drive this weekend...about 6 hours...Any real estate guys know much about the prices, appreciation, market there? Any things I need to think of (erosion, real estate crash, etc)I'm seeing 2 bedroom beachfront condos for about $180,000......HOA of about $330/month

A lesson I learned the hard way...don't mix real estate investing and pleasure together. If this condo is one of the better real estate investments around, then go for it. If not, go with the better investment and use the savings to vacation wherever you want.

Ugh...this is not what I wanted to hear...lolI already think it's a bad "investment"...and agree with you!....but she really wants it and so she's fronting the downpayment from her savings, and paying the HOA. She says she wont rent it out either.....so really a investment from an appreciation standpoint, not rental income... I can't talk her out of it at this point, so I'm at least trying to minimize the pain but learning all I can about that market, area...

 

[Sweet Love]

So wife wants to buy a beach condo (instead of redoing our primary house). Although we live in DC, we are looking at Carolina Beach area of North Carolina. We love Wilmington, NC and the beach at Carolina Beach is nice. Did the drive this weekend...about 6 hours...Any real estate guys know much about the prices, appreciation, market there? Any things I need to think of (erosion, real estate crash, etc)I'm seeing 2 bedroom beachfront condos for about $180,000......HOA of about $330/month

A lesson I learned the hard way...don't mix real estate investing and pleasure together. If this condo is one of the better real estate investments around, then go for it. If not, go with the better investment and use the savings to vacation wherever you want.

I am hard-up to buy a place, but my mom-in-law, who owned a beach house in Oregon swears on not owning...she is a vacation fool...takes about 7-8 trips a year and she would never own again. NOW, I can tell you, she did the management of rentals herself, so there are a lot of headaches involved there. If you plan on renting it out, you may want to shop property managers as you shop condos, to see whether it is fiscally feasible. If you are not planning on renting it out, you either need to be comfortable with mortgages/management of two homes.Living in NC, I can tell you, Carolina Beach is a "well thought of" place by the locals...the saying goes, Yankees go to the outerbanks and the Carolina residents go to the southern NC beaches (having lived here for 13 years and moved from NJ/CT), I agree with that statement whole-heartedly...love those southern NC beaches.ETA: Just read the part about her not wanting to rent it out...you gotta get her to do that, especially if she is buying 6 hours away. It is not like you are going to drive down every weekend, late Friday and late Sunday to enjoy the place. You have to AT LEAST make it a 4 day trip to justify the drive.

 

[Doctor Detroit]

So wife wants to buy a beach condo (instead of redoing our primary house).

Although we live in DC, we are looking at Carolina Beach area of North Carolina. We love Wilmington, NC and the beach at Carolina Beach is nice. Did the drive this weekend...about 6 hours...

Any real estate guys know much about the prices, appreciation, market there? Any things I need to think of (erosion, real estate crash, etc)

I'm seeing 2 bedroom beachfront condos for about $180,000......HOA of about $330/month

A lesson I learned the hard way...don't mix real estate investing and pleasure together. If this condo is one of the better real estate investments around, then go for it. If not, go with the better investment and use the savings to vacation wherever you want.

Ugh...this is not what I wanted to hear...lolI already think it's a bad "investment"...and agree with you!

....but she really wants it and so she's fronting the downpayment from her savings, and paying the HOA.

She says she wont rent it out either.....so really a investment from an appreciation standpoint, not rental income...

I can't talk her out of it at this point, so I'm at least trying to minimize the pain but learning all I can about that market, area...

I say go for it. It's not a good investment, vacation homes rarely are. But if you absolutely love it, do it.I've traveled all over so I guess I'm spoiled in that regard, but I bought a place a few years back in Michigan that I might never be able to sell. I don't care, I love it more than anything other than a few humans and my dog. I can vacation elsewhere and do, but I rarely want to go anywhere else anyway.

 

[BassNBrew]

So wife wants to buy a beach condo (instead of redoing our primary house). Although we live in DC, we are looking at Carolina Beach area of North Carolina. We love Wilmington, NC and the beach at Carolina Beach is nice. Did the drive this weekend...about 6 hours...Any real estate guys know much about the prices, appreciation, market there? Any things I need to think of (erosion, real estate crash, etc)I'm seeing 2 bedroom beachfront condos for about $180,000......HOA of about $330/month

A lesson I learned the hard way...don't mix real estate investing and pleasure together. If this condo is one of the better real estate investments around, then go for it. If not, go with the better investment and use the savings to vacation wherever you want.

I am hard-up to buy a place, but my mom-in-law, who owned a beach house in Oregon swears on not owning...she is a vacation fool...takes about 7-8 trips a year and she would never own again. NOW, I can tell you, she did the management of rentals herself, so there are a lot of headaches involved there. If you plan on renting it out, you may want to shop property managers as you shop condos, to see whether it is fiscally feasible. If you are not planning on renting it out, you either need to be comfortable with mortgages/management of two homes.Living in NC, I can tell you, Carolina Beach is a "well thought of" place by the locals...the saying goes, Yankees go to the outerbanks and the Carolina residents go to the southern NC beaches (having lived here for 13 years and moved from NJ/CT), I agree with that statement whole-heartedly...love those southern NC beaches.ETA: Just read the part about her not wanting to rent it out...you gotta get her to do that, especially if she is buying 6 hours away. It is not like you are going to drive down every weekend, late Friday and late Sunday to enjoy the place. You have to AT LEAST make it a 4 day trip to justify the drive.

FWIW...I am a property manager and hired a property manager to handle my place 2.25 hrs away. I got crushed on this place with the fees and took over the management myself. Financially I'm way better off to the tune of a 5 digit number, but I'm burning up tons of vacation time to do this. In hindsight I could do 12 mini vacations for what it costs me to own. Oh well...forced savings plan and maybe someday we'll see appreciation.

 

[simey]

I was just in Wilmington the last two weekends in a row. I go down there several times a year to visit close friends. I live 3 hours away, and went down the last couple weeks for the Azalea Festival and to catch the Drive-By Truckers and an Earth Day Festival. Carolina Beach has been totally revamped over the last few years. In the 80s and 90s it got run down and taken over by rednecks, but it's not that way at all now. They put in a nice board walk that has great pizza (Franks Pizza), a donut shop whose donuts melt in your mouth and the shop has been featured on the food channel (Britts donuts), and some nice restaurants, shops, and local dive bars. The town also redid old run down condos and houses that had been messed up by hurricanes or just been let go. Carolina Beach is now a nice beach area again. A good friend of my close friends in Wilmington has a condo at Carolina Beach, and she rents it out in the summer. I have some friends that own places at Emerald Isle, Southport, and Oak Island. They all use theirs as a vacation home without renting them out except for the one's that own the Oak Island Beach houses (2). They have year round tenants that live in the houses. The biggest erosion problems are around the Outer Banks and around Surf City. All of the NC beach towns though have had to add more sand due to erosion especially from past hurricanes. The south end of Carolina Beach is a basic populated beach (but not as populated as Wrightsville Beach where all of the college students go). The north end of Carolina Beach you have to get a permit to drive down (the beach itself) and it must be a four wheel drive or you will get stuck in the sand. That part of the beach is not very populated.

 

[NutterButter]

Did you still pay property taxes if you pay HOA?

 

[VA703]

what about OBX

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

What's the story on hurricane insurance there?

My grandparents live in Myrtle and when we looked at buying a condo the market was absolutely crushed by the increase in insurance premiums. Is that just a SC thing?

 

[Arizona Ron]

Rent your fun.

It's six hours away, you'll use it MAYBE twice a year.

 

[jamny]

I could never see locking myself into a place where you HAVE to go to justify the purchase. So many great places to vacation in the country and around the world. Don't limit yourself!

Unless of course you are just not into travelling to new places. If you're just a homebody that likes the comforts of home all the time then I guess it's the way to go.

 

[Red Forman]

Rent your fun.It's six hours away, you'll use it MAYBE twice a year.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Start hiding money

 

[DanFouts]

I was just in Wilmington the last two weekends in a row. I go down there several times a year to visit close friends. I live 3 hours away, and went down the last couple weeks for the Azalea Festival and to catch the Drive-By Truckers and an Earth Day Festival. Carolina Beach has been totally revamped over the last few years. In the 80s and 90s it got run down and taken over by rednecks, but it's not that way at all now. They put in a nice board walk that has great pizza (Franks Pizza), a donut shop whose donuts melt in your mouth and the shop has been featured on the food channel (Britts donuts), and some nice restaurants, shops, and local dive bars. The town also redid old run down condos and houses that had been messed up by hurricanes or just been let go. Carolina Beach is now a nice beach area again. A good friend of my close friends in Wilmington has a condo at Carolina Beach, and she rents it out in the summer. I have some friends that own places at Emerald Isle, Southport, and Oak Island. They all use theirs as a vacation home without renting them out except for the one's that own the Oak Island Beach houses (2). They have year round tenants that live in the houses. The biggest erosion problems are around the Outer Banks and around Surf City. All of the NC beach towns though have had to add more sand due to erosion especially from past hurricanes. The south end of Carolina Beach is a basic populated beach (but not as populated as Wrightsville Beach where all of the college students go). The north end of Carolina Beach you have to get a permit to drive down (the beach itself) and it must be a four wheel drive or you will get stuck in the sand. That part of the beach is not very populated.

Great info! Thanks!She's wanted a beach house for a long time, and saved a lot of her money for the downpayment...so I'll go along for the ride. I tried to convince her it wasn't the best investment, but she wants it as reward to herself!I think you still pay property tax even with HOA...it's about $3000 for the year. And flood/hurricane insurance included in some HOAs, but not others. My worry was also looking at info on Kure beach (same strip as Carolina, but south). See lots of mention about sandbags, erosion, etc....

 

[Tuco]

I have a condo in oc, MD. We use it a few weeks in the summer and rent it out the rest of the time to friends and friends of friends. We make enough to cover the cost of it. It's decreased in value about 10% since we bought it 3 years ago, but it was down over 100k from the peak when we bought. It will go back up eventually and 're not selling anytime soon.

I would definitely look into it if I were you.

 

[simey]

My worry was also looking at info on Kure beach (same strip as Carolina, but south). See lots of mention about sandbags, erosion, etc....

Just this month the southeastern NC beaches were given a 60 million dollar grant in federal money to renourish the beaches, and Carolina and Kure Beach are part of the beach renourishment projects. They will also do some inlet dredging. They renourished the beaches along the crystal coast aka southern outer banks (Atlantic Beach, Pine Knoll Shores, Emerald Isle, etc.) several years ago, and they also did Wrightsville Beach. Now they are going to do Carolina, Kure, Holden, Long, Oak Island, Brunswick Co. Beaches, and I think Ocean Isle. It has to be done due to years of storm damage. Not only do the beaches erode, but the coast guard can't see marks that were once there.* since we are talking about nc beaches, the outer banks just went through some renourishment projects again last year.

 

[NYG Endzone]

As long as you come into the decision making process understanding that a vacation home is NOT an "investment" you'll be fine.

http://www.businessinsider.com/robert-shiller-housing-is-not-an-investment-2012-4

 

[(HULK)]

I have a condo in oc, MD. We use it a few weeks in the summer and rent it out the rest of the time to friends and friends of friends. We make enough to cover the cost of it. It's decreased in value about 10% since we bought it 3 years ago, but it was down over 100k from the peak when we bought. It will go back up eventually and 're not selling anytime soon.I would definitely look into it if I were you.

I was about to post something similar. You live in the DC area, a vacation home in southern NC will be rarely used and a pain to get to. A place in DelMarVa will get used a ton though. I would look at condos in Bethany & Rehobeth, DE, Ocean City, MD, and down in Sanderling, VA (just south of VA Beach).

 

[simey]

I have a condo in oc, MD. We use it a few weeks in the summer and rent it out the rest of the time to friends and friends of friends. We make enough to cover the cost of it. It's decreased in value about 10% since we bought it 3 years ago, but it was down over 100k from the peak when we bought. It will go back up eventually and 're not selling anytime soon.I would definitely look into it if I were you.

I was about to post something similar. You live in the DC area, a vacation home in southern NC will be rarely used and a pain to get to. A place in DelMarVa will get used a ton though. I would look at condos in Bethany & Rehobeth, DE, Ocean City, MD, and down in Sanderling, VA (just south of VA Beach).

My parents have some close friends that live in Vienna, VA, and they have a condo at VA Beach.

 

[DanFouts]

I have a condo in oc, MD. We use it a few weeks in the summer and rent it out the rest of the time to friends and friends of friends. We make enough to cover the cost of it. It's decreased in value about 10% since we bought it 3 years ago, but it was down over 100k from the peak when we bought. It will go back up eventually and 're not selling anytime soon.I would definitely look into it if I were you.

I was about to post something similar. You live in the DC area, a vacation home in southern NC will be rarely used and a pain to get to. A place in DelMarVa will get used a ton though. I would look at condos in Bethany & Rehobeth, DE, Ocean City, MD, and down in Sanderling, VA (just south of VA Beach).

It sounds good, and we have looked there, but there were a few problems. The prices in "DC area..within 3 hours" are MUCH higher than NC. That NC property is ocean front, 2 bedrooms, and next to restaurants, etc. Similar properties in Rehobeth are like $400,000. NC water is a little warmer as well. Finally, we like the "atmosphere" of Carolina better than Ocean City/Virginia Beach/Myrtle beach. There are so many compromises!!

 

[EYLive]

I say buy it. And stock up on chimichangas.

 

[Doctor Detroit]

Rent your fun.It's six hours away, you'll use it MAYBE twice a year.

You two have no concept of the measurement of time do you? Six hours by car is nothing.

 

[omally]

My worry was also looking at info on Kure beach (same strip as Carolina, but south). See lots of mention about sandbags, erosion, etc....

Just this month the southeastern NC beaches were given a 60 million dollar grant in federal money to renourish the beaches, and Carolina and Kure Beach are part of the beach renourishment projects. They will also do some inlet dredging. They renourished the beaches along the crystal coast aka southern outer banks (Atlantic Beach, Pine Knoll Shores, Emerald Isle, etc.) several years ago, and they also did Wrightsville Beach. Now they are going to do Carolina, Kure, Holden, Long, Oak Island, Brunswick Co. Beaches, and I think Ocean Isle in SC. It has to be done due to years of storm damage. Not only do the beaches erode, but the coast guard can't see marks that were once there.* since we are talking about nc beaches, the outer banks just went through some renourishment projects again last year.

I wouldn't worry about erosion. As simey stated they are going to renourish the beaches in that part of NC, which is something that they have to do now and then especially in the Outer Banks. Carolina Beach is really on the upswing since being revitalized, and it's a good place to buy property right now.

 

[GroveDiesel]

If you're worried about erosion, check out Sunset Beach. It's situated east and west more than north and south, so all the sand that erodes from the beaches north of SB end up adding to the beach at Sunset. The boardwalk walking paths that they have for beach access have to keep getting dug out because the dunes keep growing so much that they bury the ~10' walkways. They've even added lots at the one end because the island grew bigger.

 

[Treynwreck3]

I had a house on the beach in Fort Morgan, AL for several years. We went about twice a year for a week, and rented it out the rest of the year. We cash-flowed it, but after a couple of hurricanes and the PITA that went along with it, we sold it and never looked back. I'll never own resort/vacation property again. It's much easier to rent and go where you want when you want.

 

[Tackling Dummies]

Local resident here, I'm about 15 minutes to Wrightsville Beach & 25-30 to Carolina Beach.

Stay away from investing in oceanfront properties, rent them when you plan on coming down instead. The market is still flush with homes and condos for sale/rent here, so it's not going to be easy to move it afterwards. I have two close friends that are both in bankruptcy over beach properties after the bottom fell and another that cannot get rid of a condo on another beach. Enjoy your stay here, glad that you came, but keep your money in your pocket.

if you ever need anything here, feel free to PM me.

 

[DCThunder]

Simey, Ocean Isle is in North Carolina, just fyi. That's the beach where I'd want to buy.

 

[simey]

Simey, Ocean Isle is in North Carolina, just fyi. That's the beach where I'd want to buy.

Yeah, I know it's in NC. I meant to write "Ocean Isle which is on the NC/SC border" (like Sunset Beach which is where my Aunt has a place) when I wrote it. I was trying to work plus post in here.

 

[coyote5]

Rent your fun.It's six hours away, you'll use it MAYBE twice a year.

You two have no concept of the measurement of time do you? Six hours by car is nothing.

It's 3 times more than 2 hours and half as much as 12 hours. Everyone's threshold for length they're willing to drive for a weekend getaway is different. Me, I wouldn't be spending very many weekends somewhere that took me 6 hours to get to. HTH.

 

[simey]

Local resident here, I'm about 15 minutes to Wrightsville Beach & 25-30 to Carolina Beach. Stay away from investing in oceanfront properties, rent them when you plan on coming down instead. The market is still flush with homes and condos for sale/rent here, so it's not going to be easy to move it afterwards. I have two close friends that are both in bankruptcy over beach properties after the bottom fell and another that cannot get rid of a condo on another beach. Enjoy your stay here, glad that you came, but keep your money in your pocket. if you ever need anything here, feel free to PM me.

What if they don't want to sale it, and just want it for a vacation home? My aunt owns a place at Sunset Beach, and she lives there several months out of the year. Her and my late uncle used to go down a few times a year before they both retired. Once they retired they spent certain months there. They never rented it out. My uncle is deceased now, but as I said my aunt still lives there several months out of the year. I also have two friends that do rent out two beach properties they have at Oak Island. They have year long tenants in them, and have never had to worry about them not being rented out.

 

[Doctor Detroit]

Rent your fun.It's six hours away, you'll use it MAYBE twice a year.

You two have no concept of the measurement of time do you? Six hours by car is nothing.

It's 3 times more than 2 hours and half as much as 12 hours. Everyone's threshold for length they're willing to drive for a weekend getaway is different. Me, I wouldn't be spending very many weekends somewhere that took me 6 hours to get to. HTH.

Ok, thanks genius. Dan lives in DC, he probably spends three hours a day in a car.

 

[DanFouts]

Rent your fun.It's six hours away, you'll use it MAYBE twice a year.

You two have no concept of the measurement of time do you? Six hours by car is nothing.

It's 3 times more than 2 hours and half as much as 12 hours. Everyone's threshold for length they're willing to drive for a weekend getaway is different. Me, I wouldn't be spending very many weekends somewhere that took me 6 hours to get to. HTH.

Ok, thanks genius. Dan lives in DC, he probably spends three hours a day in a car.

We drove the 6hrs last weekend...it's not too bad when we each take a 3hr shift. That said, I can see about 2 big trips in summer (1 week each) and several long weekends (Jan, Feb, Oct, Nov) a year. We also vacation at a lot of other places during the summer, and maybe renting it out 1-2 months in high season summer would not be a bad idea!

 

[Exit 1]

Does it have to be NC?

There are some awesome deals right now for condos in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area.....especially if you planned on flipping it in 5 to 10 years.

 

[coyote5]

Rent your fun.

It's six hours away, you'll use it MAYBE twice a year.

You two have no concept of the measurement of time do you? Six hours by car is nothing.

It's 3 times more than 2 hours and half as much as 12 hours. Everyone's threshold for length they're willing to drive for a weekend getaway is different. Me, I wouldn't be spending very many weekends somewhere that took me 6 hours to get to. HTH.

Ok, thanks genius. Dan lives in DC, he probably spends three hours a day in a car.

Doesn't change anything I wrote. You were the one who copped the snarky attitude.

 

[Sweet Love]

So wife wants to buy a beach condo (instead of redoing our primary house). Although we live in DC, we are looking at Carolina Beach area of North Carolina. We love Wilmington, NC and the beach at Carolina Beach is nice. Did the drive this weekend...about 6 hours...Any real estate guys know much about the prices, appreciation, market there? Any things I need to think of (erosion, real estate crash, etc)I'm seeing 2 bedroom beachfront condos for about $180,000......HOA of about $330/month

A lesson I learned the hard way...don't mix real estate investing and pleasure together. If this condo is one of the better real estate investments around, then go for it. If not, go with the better investment and use the savings to vacation wherever you want.

I am hard-up to buy a place, but my mom-in-law, who owned a beach house in Oregon swears on not owning...she is a vacation fool...takes about 7-8 trips a year and she would never own again. NOW, I can tell you, she did the management of rentals herself, so there are a lot of headaches involved there. If you plan on renting it out, you may want to shop property managers as you shop condos, to see whether it is fiscally feasible. If you are not planning on renting it out, you either need to be comfortable with mortgages/management of two homes.Living in NC, I can tell you, Carolina Beach is a "well thought of" place by the locals...the saying goes, Yankees go to the outerbanks and the Carolina residents go to the southern NC beaches (having lived here for 13 years and moved from NJ/CT), I agree with that statement whole-heartedly...love those southern NC beaches.ETA: Just read the part about her not wanting to rent it out...you gotta get her to do that, especially if she is buying 6 hours away. It is not like you are going to drive down every weekend, late Friday and late Sunday to enjoy the place. You have to AT LEAST make it a 4 day trip to justify the drive.

FWIW...I am a property manager and hired a property manager to handle my place 2.25 hrs away. I got crushed on this place with the fees and took over the management myself. Financially I'm way better off to the tune of a 5 digit number, but I'm burning up tons of vacation time to do this. In hindsight I could do 12 mini vacations for what it costs me to own. Oh well...forced savings plan and maybe someday we'll see appreciation.

See, that is what I heard. We rent every year at the beach and there have been times lately where we have to call the owner who manages himself about stuff. Every time it has been because the wifi is not working, but our last trip in January to Kiawah Island, I was on the phone with the owner (found out he was a VP with BoA and was in China) multiple times because I was supposed to be working that week. I was very courteous, etc., but it must have been a major pain for him to deal with it as we were both on the phone with the cable company trying to get them to come out. He ended up knocking off $150 on the rental because I could not work (which was very nice), but then he barely covered his costs (and certainly not his time).In the end, I will probably sell my home in Raleigh when the kids are grown and get a condo here and one at the beach and do a 50/50 split between the places.

 

[Arizona Ron]

Rent your fun.It's six hours away, you'll use it MAYBE twice a year.

You two have no concept of the measurement of time do you? Six hours by car is nothing.

It's 3 times more than 2 hours and half as much as 12 hours. Everyone's threshold for length they're willing to drive for a weekend getaway is different. Me, I wouldn't be spending very many weekends somewhere that took me 6 hours to get to. HTH.

Ok, thanks genius. Dan lives in DC, he probably spends three hours a day in a car.

We drove the 6hrs last weekend...it's not too bad when we each take a 3hr shift. That said, I can see about 2 big trips in summer (1 week each) and several long weekends (Jan, Feb, Oct, Nov) a year. We also vacation at a lot of other places during the summer, and maybe renting it out 1-2 months in high season summer would not be a bad idea!

I also live in the DC area. There's no way you get there in 6 hours in the summer time unless you're driving at 3AM.After the first 10 - 12 hour trip thanks to Rt 95, you'll hate that place. And flying there isn't cheap at all.WNB

 

[Apple Jack]

I'm in the DC area and my parents have lived in the Outer Banks for 21 years. Rent. Don't buy. And forget Ocean City, MD, or any other beach north of Virginia Beach.

 

[DanFouts]

Rent your fun.It's six hours away, you'll use it MAYBE twice a year.

You two have no concept of the measurement of time do you? Six hours by car is nothing.

It's 3 times more than 2 hours and half as much as 12 hours. Everyone's threshold for length they're willing to drive for a weekend getaway is different. Me, I wouldn't be spending very many weekends somewhere that took me 6 hours to get to. HTH.

Ok, thanks genius. Dan lives in DC, he probably spends three hours a day in a car.

We drove the 6hrs last weekend...it's not too bad when we each take a 3hr shift. That said, I can see about 2 big trips in summer (1 week each) and several long weekends (Jan, Feb, Oct, Nov) a year. We also vacation at a lot of other places during the summer, and maybe renting it out 1-2 months in high season summer would not be a bad idea!

I also live in the DC area. There's no way you get there in 6 hours in the summer time unless you're driving at 3AM.After the first 10 - 12 hour trip thanks to Rt 95, you'll hate that place. And flying there isn't cheap at all.WNB

That is a very good point! I hadn't thought about summer traffic versus spring traffic....ugh.... Only thing is I told my wife if drive is closer to 8 hour range, she will have to do bulk of it while I read (she REALLY wants a place....lol)

 

[Arizona Ron]

That is a very good point! I hadn't thought about summer traffic versus spring traffic....ugh.... Only thing is I told my wife if drive is closer to 8 hour range, she will have to do bulk of it while I read (she REALLY wants a place....lol)

Suggestion: Stay at a rental near where you want to buy two differetn weeks this summer. If you still love it, buy. I'm guessing after staying two different weeks, that should get the idea buying out of her system.

 

[roadkill1292]

I-95 on a summer Saturday, among other times, can a nightmare. And the worst traffic jam I ever encountered was trying to leave Corolla on the Outer Banks one Friday night.

Having said all that, I would love to have a house on Topsail Island.

 

[drfeelgood]

I-95 on a summer Saturday, among other times, can a nightmare. And the worst traffic jam I ever encountered was trying to leave Corolla on the Outer Banks one Friday night.Having said all that, I would love to have a house on Topsail Island.

The Outer Banks has smaller artery roads than the path to Carolina Beach from DC. The main roads from DC to Wilmington are I-95 and I-40. I-95 takes you to straight to I-40, and I-40 takes you straight to Wilmington, and it's only about a 25 minute ride from Wilmington to Carolina Beach.

 

[drfeelgood]

Living in NC, I can tell you, Carolina Beach is a "well thought of" place by the locals...the saying goes, Yankees go to the outerbanks and the Carolina residents go to the southern NC beaches (having lived here for 13 years and moved from NJ/CT), I agree with that statement whole-heartedly...love those southern NC beaches.

Being that the Outer Banks are closer to the North there are more yankees in the Outer Banks, but there are plenty around the Southern NC beaches as well.

 

[roadkill1292]

I-95 on a summer Saturday, among other times, can a nightmare. And the worst traffic jam I ever encountered was trying to leave Corolla on the Outer Banks one Friday night.Having said all that, I would love to have a house on Topsail Island.

The Outer Banks has smaller artery roads than the path to Carolina Beach from DC. The main roads from DC to Wilmington are I-95 and I-40. I-95 takes you to straight to I-40, and I-40 takes you straight to Wilmington, and it's only about a 25 minute ride from Wilmington to Carolina Beach.

Yes, I follow the same path to Topsail and I-95 is terrible in places (northern Va., Richmond bypass, and a routine weird jam that occurs out in the middle of nowhere just south of the NC/Va line) on summer Saturdays. Even with all that, I'd rather travel to the Wilmington area than the Outer Banks.

 

[DanFouts]

I-95 on a summer Saturday, among other times, can a nightmare. And the worst traffic jam I ever encountered was trying to leave Corolla on the Outer Banks one Friday night.Having said all that, I would love to have a house on Topsail Island.

The Outer Banks has smaller artery roads than the path to Carolina Beach from DC. The main roads from DC to Wilmington are I-95 and I-40. I-95 takes you to straight to I-40, and I-40 takes you straight to Wilmington, and it's only about a 25 minute ride from Wilmington to Carolina Beach.

Yes, I follow the same path to Topsail and I-95 is terrible in places (northern Va., Richmond bypass, and a routine weird jam that occurs out in the middle of nowhere just south of the NC/Va line) on summer Saturdays. Even with all that, I'd rather travel to the Wilmington area than the Outer Banks.

We love Wilmington..great historic waterfront with nice AFFORDABLE (ie not DC prices) restaurants/bars. It's one reason we want a beach condo in that area....

 

[Grahamburn]

As long as you come into the decision making process understanding that a vacation home is NOT an "investment" you'll be fine.http://www.businessinsider.com/robert-shiller-housing-is-not-an-investment-2012-4

Why not? It certainly can be in this kind of market environment.

Local resident here, I'm about 15 minutes to Wrightsville Beach & 25-30 to Carolina Beach. Stay away from investing in oceanfront properties, rent them when you plan on coming down instead. The market is still flush with homes and condos for sale/rent here, so it's not going to be easy to move it afterwards. I have two close friends that are both in bankruptcy over beach properties after the bottom fell and another that cannot get rid of a condo on another beach. Enjoy your stay here, glad that you came, but keep your money in your pocket. if you ever need anything here, feel free to PM me.

Your friends probably took out huge mortgages and overpaid thinking they could flip a place in a few years. OP is talking about an oceanfront condo for under $200K, and it sounds like the wife has some cash to throw at a downpayment. I'd assume they're looking at $800-$1,000 a month to own their own place. This is a great time to buy one.That being said, it doesn't make much sense to buy if the wife isn't willing to rent it out when your family isn't using. You're just throwing money away doing that. With rental income and the money you save vactioning in your own place you shouldn't do worse than break even on a vacation home.Just looked on VRBO and properties in that area are renting for around $1,000 a week.

 

[simey]

I-95 on a summer Saturday, among other times, can a nightmare. And the worst traffic jam I ever encountered was trying to leave Corolla on the Outer Banks one Friday night.Having said all that, I would love to have a house on Topsail Island.

The Outer Banks has smaller artery roads than the path to Carolina Beach from DC. The main roads from DC to Wilmington are I-95 and I-40. I-95 takes you to straight to I-40, and I-40 takes you straight to Wilmington, and it's only about a 25 minute ride from Wilmington to Carolina Beach.

Yes, I follow the same path to Topsail and I-95 is terrible in places (northern Va., Richmond bypass, and a routine weird jam that occurs out in the middle of nowhere just south of the NC/Va line) on summer Saturdays. Even with all that, I'd rather travel to the Wilmington area than the Outer Banks.

Topsail's beach got renourished last spring, but last August Hurricane Irene took out 27% of it's beach when she blew by. The good news is FEMA is repairing the hurricane damage to the beach right now. They are pumping sand onto the beach by dredging their inlet, which has needed dredging for years. It supposed to be completed by the end of the month.

 

[roadkill1292]

I-95 on a summer Saturday, among other times, can a nightmare. And the worst traffic jam I ever encountered was trying to leave Corolla on the Outer Banks one Friday night.Having said all that, I would love to have a house on Topsail Island.

The Outer Banks has smaller artery roads than the path to Carolina Beach from DC. The main roads from DC to Wilmington are I-95 and I-40. I-95 takes you to straight to I-40, and I-40 takes you straight to Wilmington, and it's only about a 25 minute ride from Wilmington to Carolina Beach.

Yes, I follow the same path to Topsail and I-95 is terrible in places (northern Va., Richmond bypass, and a routine weird jam that occurs out in the middle of nowhere just south of the NC/Va line) on summer Saturdays. Even with all that, I'd rather travel to the Wilmington area than the Outer Banks.

Topsail's beach got renourished last spring, but last August Hurricane Irene took out 27% of it's beach when she blew by. The good news is FEMA is repairing the hurricane damage to the beach right now. They are pumping sand onto the beach by dredging their inlet, which has needed dredging for years. It supposed to be completed by the end of the month.

Good info here. Especially since we're planning to head back there later this summer. I love the place but it is frightfully exposed to storms.

 

[simey]

We love Wilmington..great historic waterfront with nice AFFORDABLE (ie not DC prices) restaurants/bars. It's one reason we want a beach condo in that area....

Wilmington is loaded with great restaurants. My favorite is probably Indochine. It's a Thai/Vietmanese restaurant, and the food is fantastic. I usually get the beef w/basil, and we always get the Tofu Toast as appetizers. They fill my martini glass to the top too which I like.

 

[NajehHejan]

So wife wants to buy a beach condo (instead of redoing our primary house). Although we live in DC, we are looking at Carolina Beach area of North Carolina. We love Wilmington, NC and the beach at Carolina Beach is nice. Did the drive this weekend...about 6 hours... Any real estate guys know much about the prices, appreciation, market there? Any things I need to think of (erosion, real estate crash, etc) I'm seeing 2 bedroom beachfront condos for about $180,000......HOA of about $330/month

Update? Did you take the plunge? If so, how’s it going?

The wife and I are considering getting a condo in Rehobeth Beach. The plan would be to find a unit that has a great property management company that would handle the rentals (for a big fee, of course) and we would maybe use it a few times a year when it’s not rented out for either us or family/friends.

I could see it being a sweet deal (have somewhere nice to vacation, maybe get lucky and the rentals covers ¼ to ½ of the total out of pocket PITI mortgage payments) or a complete disaster (repair issues, place gets damaged and/or wiped out by a storm, rental headaches).