Recently a client who is thinking about moving to the beach asked me some questions about Outer Banks beach nourishment. This common question deserves some explanation since beach nourishment and erosion has been an issue for so long. Old timers here will tell you about the long walk to the ocean from their Kitty Hawk ocean front cottage. In some parts of Kitty Hawk those cottages were lost to erosion close to thirty years ago. Frank Stick also addresses the movement of the shoreline in his 1958 … Continue reading...
What should I expect when negotiating on a vacation home in the fall?
It's common sense that sellers should be more anxious to sell their house in the fall than in the middle of the busy summer season. Negotiating on a vacation home during the spring or summer eliminates a seller's summer rental income. They also will miss out on using the property during those great summer beach days. With winter around the corner it makes sense that sellers would not be interested in paying the bills for a house they are not using very much. Trying to quantify what would seem to … Continue reading...
When is the best season to buy a rental home?
Conventional wisdom is that the best time to purchase a vacation rental home on the Outer Banks is in the spring or summer. However there are other factors to consider when making a buying decision. Here are some pros and cons of purchasing in the different seasons. Spring: Besides getting instant rental income purchasing in the spring also allows you to use it in good weather. Usually the Outer Banks has great weather in May and June. Also, you may be able to reserve it a week or two by … Continue reading...
How do vacation rentals work for an owner?
How do vacation rentals work? Renting your second home makes affordability much easier. Thousands of dollars each year can be earned to offset the mortgage or other vacation home expenses. Here’s some information about vacation rentals that will help you when thinking about buying a vacation home on the OBX. When a property is a vacation rental the listing agent has a few additional fields they can complete showing rental income. Many of the national real estate web sites do not carry these … Continue reading...
Will the vacation rental income pay for my cottage?
Claims of a vacation rental income paying for itself have been fairly common on the Outer Banks. Of course if you have a large enough down payment, then any vacation rental will have a positive cash flow. A few years ago during the boom, it was almost non-existent for a house to break even with a typical 20% down payment. The majority of vacation rentals for sale today still don’t but the chances of the cottage paying for itself are much better today. why is it better now? Sales prices have … Continue reading...