Things to Consider When Purchasing Beach Home
So, you have finally decided to move ahead with your dreams of purchasing a beach home. Living on the edge of the sand that leads straight up to the water is a dream that many people have. The ones that do take the leap can have an awe-inspiring move, or they can get stuck in an eye-opening experience that makes them rethink their decision.
To make sure that you stay in the group of people that are happy with their move you need to consider a few things before you make it. Let us dig into some these now.
- Budget: Most everything in life that deals with finances requires a budget of some kind. If you have so much money that it is not an issue then you may be able to skip this part, but for most of us this is the starting point. You need to have a budget that details out how much money you could afford for a house payment, and you need to stick with it. Never go over your set amounts.
- Inspector: You will need to find a local building inspector that specializes in beach front property. You need to have them check on the homes that you are considering. If the home has some issues that you are willing to fix it will give you a fantastic way to discuss a reduction in the asking price. For instance, if the ac unit needs professional ac repair services or if the water heater requires water heater repair, you may either shoulder the cost or negotiate the price of the property with the owner. If it has issues that you are not willing to have fixed you need to mark the house off your list and go on to the next choice.
- Foundation: An extremely important thing to check before buying is the foundation. It must be in terrific condition, and it must be built to withstand the weather in the area that you are planning to move to. Considering the fact that the house will be right on the beach it must be able to withstand floods when the tides come in, windstorms when they come off the water, and possibly typhons and hurricanes, depending on where you are, e.g., installing hurricane doors. If the foundation is not up to the weather, you do not want to even consider moving into it.
- Outdoor Living Space: When you live on the beach you want to be able to be outside as much as possible, including mealtimes. When you are going through the process of purchasing a beach front house you will want to make sure that there is space outside, preferably some space that has already been set up for some outdoor living. If you are smashed in with other houses and have no room to be outside, then you will definitely want to look elsewhere.
- Insurance: You need to check to see how much insurance will cost you, especially if you are not planning to stay in the beach house full time. A vacation home is great, but you will need to either hire someone to keep an eye on it, or you will have to increase your insurance coverage and take your chances. Go through an online comparison site, like iSelect home and contents insurance comparisons and find the best deal for the best level of coverage.
- Neighbors: There is nothing worse than getting into a beach front house and finding out that you have a neighbor that throws huge parties every night, or a neighbor that uses the yard as a racetrack. Then again, you might make some new friends that will keep an eye on things if you are not around, and vice versa It is always a promising idea to be friendly with the neighbors on all sides, otherwise the most beautiful home in the world will simply not be worth the drama. You need to take the time to find out what type of neighbors that you will have, and if they are a problem you will want to consider moving on to the next option on your list.
- Potential Rental Income: One thing that you could consider doing, if you are not planning to live in the beach home full time you can rent it out to other people that want to enjoy the location but cannot afford to buy one for themselves. You could make a decent amount of money by doing this, just make sure that you never count on this income when you are doing your budget. You never want to spend money, or account for money, that you do not have. If you go with this option, you also need to make sure that you have insurance coverage year-round because you never truly know how the renters will treat your property.
- Property Caretaker: If you are planning to rent the property out for a few months during the year, or if you are going to leave it empty for any length of time, you will need some type of property caretaker. Whether you want to hire a local to take care of things, or a company formed for the purpose, you will need to have some options in mind, and a plan set in motion as soon as you finish the buying process.
These are some of the basic things to consider when buying a beach home, along with the minute details that you have. The location should be in an area that you want to move into, and the house should be able to accommodate everyone that will be using it. This includes family or friends that may want to join you in paradise for a week or two.
Buying any type of home, especially one on the beach, is a long-term investment that you will be locked into for a number of years. Never rush into a purchase of any kind, even if it is the house of our dreams. It must meet the criteria that you have set, it must be under your budget, and it absolutely must give you a warm, fuzzy feeling in the bottom of your heart. If it does not excite you, it is not the right home to buy.