Buying Property Near the Beach

What does one look for when buying a property? If you want to live in a serene environment away from all the noise and forgot about being right in the middle of the city where you get to live in the midst of all the madness? Do you want to make a lucrative investment and buy a house by the beach with a killer view and a lovely ocean breeze? Do you want to buy a property where just about everyone pictures a vacation in paradise?

Beach Property

Owning property by the beach is a lifelong dream for most of us. The view can be spectacular, the property will typically be smaller and less maintenance and the smell will be a light scent of an ocean breeze. You can take your pick from townhouses to condos, vacant lands to the perfect home you have been looking for all along. This for most people would be termed as Real Estate Heaven or hitting the jackpot. Waking up to the sound of waves crashing against the beach is heavenly.  Because of limited land on a near the beach, the actual property can be costly compared to similar properties further inland that is away from cities

What To Look For

Buying property around the beach can sometimes be a difficult decision to make, but once you find your preference and have deep enough pockets to splurge comfortably on a good piece of property, you will be living large with no regrets. You will want to have local knowledge and finding a successful local real estate agent to guide you through this purchase would be wise. You want to check if the property can get government-backed flood insurance which costs under $500 per year. If that is not available that make sure you find out how much your flood insurance will cost. There are areas of the country where you can pay over $30,000 per year just to carry flood insurance. Furthermore, if you are mortgaging the property then you will be required to carry flood insurance. You will want to check for the cost of standard wind insurance as well. Older homes and condos can be more expensive than newer ones that were built with the latest hurricane codes.

Living near the beach

The property at the beach may be ideal but it may not necessarily be the perfect place for people who aren’t used to these conditions.  The corrosion from the salty water blown in from the ocean could make life a little difficult. The wind could also blow in sand from the beach regularly making cleaning your front porch or balcony quite the task. Carpets may prove to be a nuisance under these conditions. The humidity can sometimes hide during the summer but once the nights cool off, this becomes the perfect chill spot. The idea of a hurricane can be unsettling. But once you realize that you get plenty of warning and evacuation is easy your mind will be at ease. Once you have carefully considered your options and gotten the right real estate agent to aid with your selection process, life at the beach can be the best experience of your lifetime. Effective measures can be taken to avoid all these tiny mishaps mentioned above.  If these last sentences have not scared you then you may be ready to pack your bags and head to the beach. It’s a different lifestyle and once you get the hang of it you will never trade it in.

By Danny Margagliano