Ask Yourself These Questions Before Buying a Beach House
When I was in elementary school, I had a friend who visited her grandmother’s country house on the beach almost every weekend. I thought it was so fancy that she and her family would get together on Friday afternoons and spend the weekend frolicking by the ocean. And I decided from a young age that someday I would own a home away from home, preferably with an ocean view.
About a year ago, our family visited a small beach town in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, and while most people buy shells and toffee as souvenirs after their beach holidays, we returned home with our home. While it seemed to our friends and family that we bought a beach house on impulse, in reality my husband and I discussed and searched the beach areas for years before settling in one place.
Of course, the dream of owning a country home at age eight versus actually diving into real estate in a second home as an adult are two very different concepts. While my husband and I discussed our financial goals and worked on our budget to eventually include the ability to afford a vacation home, we took a crash course in owning a second home.
Here’s what we thought long before we bought our house by the beach:
How much travel time can you really control?
While the idea of getting together on a Friday night and staying at your country home every weekend seems tempting, the fact is, your home life still exists. Lawns have to be mowed, grocery shopping is necessary, and children still have soccer games even when the ocean or lake calls. Your “real” life won’t stop just because you decide to take your vacation more regularly, so consider how many errands and household projects you can actually complete in a week.
And as we learned pretty quickly, finding a handyman from multiple states quickly can be very challenging. If you decide to buy a vacation home a few hours from your home or in another state, consider hiring a local property management company to help you with weekly and monthly maintenance for your home. Property managers often have reliable contacts with contractors and lawn care companies, so if your neighbor calls and says your house is flooded, reliable help is just a phone call away.
For our family, the fact that our home is many hours away is actually a bonus. We spend our time at home much more consciously, and the ability to plan ahead has lessened the disruption to our daily lives when we do visit. If you desperately need your busy family to slip away for a few weekends a month, consider a location less than an hour away. But if your kids are older, or you are looking to retire on a less structured schedule, a larger home further away may be ideal.
Do you want to rent out your property when you are not there?
If you are buying a home for your family solely for weekend use, you can buy a home much smaller than if you wanted to generate rental income while you were away. A two-bedroom home will not appeal to a family looking to host a family gathering by the sea with twelve people, so make sure you have a clear idea of whether you will be renting the home during the high season before buying. Either way, contacting a real estate agent in the community you’re hoping to make a purchase from is your best bet. The realtor will know that the local market will generate rental income and can help you find a suitable home. And if you’re unsure about the area, a realtor can help you find a rental to try before you jump into the property.
Larger homes with amenities like pools and hot tubs are more attractive to tenants, so you may find that you end up with a larger home than you intended to buy. If you are considering renting out your vacation home, a realtor will be able to tell you which houses in the area are usually rented out for (you can also do your own online research) and what improvements you will need to add to be competitive in the market.
And be careful when applying for a mortgage if you plan on renting out your home on a regular basis: some insurance agencies won’t issue second home mortgages to rented homes, and you might have to buy a commercial policy instead.
What additional service is required?
Living by the ocean means accepting that salt water is corrosive, strong winds are a way of life, and sand will be in every crevice of your home, including air conditioning, water pumps, and electrical panels. Waterfront home renovations can vary in cost, but regular maintenance of outdoor amenities is definitely worth considering. Pools and hot tubs need to be vacuumed and serviced weekly to keep sand free, and upgrading lighting fixtures and equipment to stainless steel (more on this below) can be an unexpectedly significant upfront cost.
You can fight corrosion by installing stainless steel hardware and securing furniture to the deck, but in reality, you should be financially prepared for emergency repairs, just like you would on your main home. When deciding whether to buy a home from the water, a local surveyor should be hired to do a thorough inspection of the property. Inspectors will know if your home complies with the electrical codes and can determine if the beach terrace is safe for guests. In our case, the inspector discovered that the deck of the house was untenable. Even though this was a high cost that we did not expect, we were able to negotiate a price with the seller and the corresponding budget before closing.
Trust me, other additional costs, such as replacing Jacuzzi covers, are not cheap either. We’ve learned from our own experience that replacing a spa lid that is not properly secured will cost us $ 400. And like any old home, water heaters, air conditioners, and appliances will eventually need to be replaced. We found ourselves replacing the air conditioner almost immediately after we took over. But, again, since we inspected the house, we knew that once we got inside, we might have to incur these costs sooner rather than later.
What kind of flood insurance do you need and how much does it cost?
Despite the fact that living by the ocean has always been a dream of mine, when we looked at the houses in our beach town, my husband warned me about hurricanes and hurricanes. Since I was happy to finally live on the beach, I dismissed his warnings. So, eight days after we bought our dream home on the beach, a Category 4 hurricane hit our territory and our part of the island was closed for 48 hours. Our house has survived, but the fact remains: hurricanes happen. Fortunately, there was no damage to our home that would have required us to pay insurance coverage, but homes just 100 miles south of us were completely destroyed in many areas.
And in the end, if you live on the coast long enough, your home will have to survive a violent storm or weather disaster. The bottom line is, don’t skimp on insurance policies. Flood insurance policies will depend on the location of your vacation home and whether it is in a high-risk area. Your realtor and local insurance agents can help you determine if high risk flood insurance is required. This can be a significant additional expense, so research it ahead of time and include it in your total home cost plan.
If you don’t live nearby, are there ways to connect with the local community?
When the hurricane hit our new home, I was in terrible panic. Worries that the roof was blown off the winds and our new pool, worn out by the sand, kept me awake at night. Fortunately, before the hurricane, I joined a Facebook group for local and nonresident owners, and these kind residents became a lifeline for me and my husband. They kept us informed of the state of tides, floods and closed roads. One kind couple even came to our house to check it out later.
I’ve never been so grateful for social media as when I heard our new friend’s voice on the other end of the phone telling me that our house was still standing. If you are buying a home away from home, establish a local connection as soon as possible. It will bring you some much needed peace of mind.
Owning a beach home is definitely a dream come true. At the age of eight, however, I had no idea how many replacement hot tub covers and new sun loungers I would buy. And for some reason I cannot get a vacation from washing and feeding the children. Still working on this part of the dream …