Where should we buy our beach home?

[Anonymous]

I would check out the Glade or Canal Point near Rehoboth, both biking distance to the beach. No way would I consider anything driving distance/east of Route 1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$2m and a community pool buys you a 3br 2 bath condo in sea colony that needs a gut reno.

https://www.redfin.com/DE/Bethany-Beach/33363-Sea-Colony-Way-19930/unit-L6N/home/185113344

Sorry, but $2 million for a condo in Sea Colony is absurd, and I say that as someone who's been going to Sea Colony my whole life and whose relatives own multiple condos there.

Out of curiosity (since I'm not familiar with Sea Colony), do others think that the realtor should have done a better job describing the amenities of this property? I was curious about amenities and parking, but there is no mention. (Maybe there is a word limit?)

Yeah, that’s a missed opportunity. We have a condo in Sea Colony, as do our in-laws. We have been able to use them together as the sort of family compound OP mentions, sometimes in conjunction with rentals if we have a big group, and the amenities are a big part of why we enjoy it. There are several pools on the ocean side, including one indoor one, and a decent fitness center, plus a couple of tennis/pickleball courts. Across the highway in Sea Colony West there is an incredible tennis center and multiple courts, lots of outdoor pools, plus a large indoor one and excellent fitness center.

Owners have one dedicated parking space plus the ability to have several guests park in any available visitor parking. It is definitely a challenge to find available visitor parking during peak beach hours in the summer. If you want to find out more about the amenities and summer offerings, check out the playbook: https://www.seacolony.com/playbook

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$2m and a community pool buys you a 3br 2 bath condo in sea colony that needs a gut reno.

https://www.redfin.com/DE/Bethany-Beach/33363-Sea-Colony-Way-19930/unit-L6N/home/185113344

Sorry, but $2 million for a condo in Sea Colony is absurd, and I say that as someone who's been going to Sea Colony my whole life and whose relatives own multiple condos there.

That condo has a bunch of amenities.

That's still absurd. Sea Colony is gross. The building are an eyesore. Very crowded beach and pools during popular summer weeks. None of the food options within walking distance are that great. I seriously do not get the appeal. I think it's people who just want to say they have a place in Bethany.

[Anonymous]

We looked up and down the east coast at beach communities for a decade. Finally decided that we'd get so much more (amount of house, charm, lifestyle) by going beyond the 3-4 drive.

We bought in the Carolinas (not OBX) and while we don't go for anything less than 3 nights to make the drive worth it, we're so happy. Mid-Atlantic ocean towns just don't compare. Boxes on stilts crowded together, lots of cars, congested beaches. We were able to buy a 5-bedroom for what we would have paid for 3 bedrooms. The house is gorgeous and a block from the beach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$2m and a community pool buys you a 3br 2 bath condo in sea colony that needs a gut reno.

https://www.redfin.com/DE/Bethany-Beach/33363-Sea-Colony-Way-19930/unit-L6N/home/185113344

Sorry, but $2 million for a condo in Sea Colony is absurd, and I say that as someone who's been going to Sea Colony my whole life and whose relatives own multiple condos there.

That condo has a bunch of amenities.

That's still absurd. Sea Colony is gross. The building are an eyesore. Very crowded beach and pools during popular summer weeks. None of the food options within walking distance are that great. I seriously do not get the appeal. I think it's people who just want to say they have a place in Bethany.

It is true that the buildings are ugly on the outside, but it’s silly to say Sea Colony is “gross”. It’s well maintained and walking distance to downtown Bethany, which has several decent restaurants. And no one is going to make you go in the height of summer if you don’t like crowds. I get that it’s not for everyone, but it has many features that make it very attractive to families, plus lovely ocean views from all the East side condos.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We looked up and down the east coast at beach communities for a decade. Finally decided that we'd get so much more (amount of house, charm, lifestyle) by going beyond the 3-4 drive.

We bought in the Carolinas (not OBX) and while we don't go for anything less than 3 nights to make the drive worth it, we're so happy. Mid-Atlantic ocean towns just don't compare. Boxes on stilts crowded together, lots of cars, congested beaches. We were able to buy a 5-bedroom for what we would have paid for 3 bedrooms. The house is gorgeous and a block from the beach.

The drive to NC is soul sucking and the beaches have an absurd number of sting ray jelly fish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We looked up and down the east coast at beach communities for a decade. Finally decided that we'd get so much more (amount of house, charm, lifestyle) by going beyond the 3-4 drive.

We bought in the Carolinas (not OBX) and while we don't go for anything less than 3 nights to make the drive worth it, we're so happy. Mid-Atlantic ocean towns just don't compare. Boxes on stilts crowded together, lots of cars, congested beaches. We were able to buy a 5-bedroom for what we would have paid for 3 bedrooms. The house is gorgeous and a block from the beach.

The drive to NC is soul sucking and the beaches have an absurd number of sting ray jelly fish.

+1

Agree. OP, you can get beautiful NJ beaches for a four hour drive, which would actually be worth getting in the car.

NC and MD simply do not appeal to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$2m and a community pool buys you a 3br 2 bath condo in sea colony that needs a gut reno.

https://www.redfin.com/DE/Bethany-Beach/33363-Sea-Colony-Way-19930/unit-L6N/home/185113344

Sorry, but $2 million for a condo in Sea Colony is absurd, and I say that as someone who's been going to Sea Colony my whole life and whose relatives own multiple condos there.

That condo has a bunch of amenities.

That's still absurd. Sea Colony is gross. The building are an eyesore. Very crowded beach and pools during popular summer weeks. None of the food options within walking distance are that great. I seriously do not get the appeal. I think it's people who just want to say they have a place in Bethany.

It is true that the buildings are ugly on the outside, but it’s silly to say Sea Colony is “gross”. It’s well maintained and walking distance to downtown Bethany, which has several decent restaurants. And no one is going to make you go in the height of summer if you don’t like crowds. I get that it’s not for everyone, but it has many features that make it very attractive to families, plus lovely ocean views from all the East side condos.

Is it really walking distance to the boardwalk/restaurants? I nm,.vq

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$2m and a community pool buys you a 3br 2 bath condo in sea colony that needs a gut reno.

https://www.redfin.com/DE/Bethany-Beach/33363-Sea-Colony-Way-19930/unit-L6N/home/185113344

Sorry, but $2 million for a condo in Sea Colony is absurd, and I say that as someone who's been going to Sea Colony my whole life and whose relatives own multiple condos there.

That condo has a bunch of amenities.

That's still absurd. Sea Colony is gross. The building are an eyesore. Very crowded beach and pools during popular summer weeks. None of the food options within walking distance are that great. I seriously do not get the appeal. I think it's people who just want to say they have a place in Bethany.

It is true that the buildings are ugly on the outside, but it’s silly to say Sea Colony is “gross”. It’s well maintained and walking distance to downtown Bethany, which has several decent restaurants. And no one is going to make you go in the height of summer if you don’t like crowds. I get that it’s not for everyone, but it has many features that make it very attractive to families, plus lovely ocean views from all the East side condos.

Is it really walking distance to the boardwalk/restaurants? I nm,.vq

Your post petered off, but yes, it’s approximately .75 miles to the boardwalk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$2m and a community pool buys you a 3br 2 bath condo in sea colony that needs a gut reno.

https://www.redfin.com/DE/Bethany-Beach/33363-Sea-Colony-Way-19930/unit-L6N/home/185113344

Sorry, but $2 million for a condo in Sea Colony is absurd, and I say that as someone who's been going to Sea Colony my whole life and whose relatives own multiple condos there.

That condo has a bunch of amenities.

That's still absurd. Sea Colony is gross. The building are an eyesore. Very crowded beach and pools during popular summer weeks. None of the food options within walking distance are that great. I seriously do not get the appeal. I think it's people who just want to say they have a place in Bethany.

I think the main appeal is that there are relatively affordable units (the ones on the west side of Route 1 are bigger and less on top of everyone else than the ones on the east side). But a $2 million 3BR sort of defeats that argument.

You can, however, easily walk from Sea Colony to downtown Bethany, so I don't know that I agree with "none of the food options" being any good.

[Anonymous]

Id buy sound front in Corolla, Outer Banks with that budget. It’s beautiful and the sound front sunsets are amazing and you’d be less likely to have to deal with erosion issues with the beach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We own in OCNJ and love it. It's 3 hours flat from our NW DC home with zero traffic. 3.5 hours on a more typical drive and if we stop once for something like gas. It is primarily a destination for Philly and NY families but we have 3 good sets of DC friends who own within 5 blocks of us.
We bought the house when our kids were about 4, 7, 8 and now they're teens. They went there with us as kids and now as older teens one is spending the entire summer there and the other two are coming and going with us.

There are no gated communities or pools on the island but almost every house is walking distance to the beach. I personally can't imagine having a "beach house" that requires that I drive and park to get to the beach, especially if I was paying $2 million.

Is this the same creative math that gets one from Aldie to DC in 30 minutes or less? Because right now my GPS is showing 7 hours from NW to OCNJ.

You need to put your glasses on.
I grew up in NY and it was 4 hours door-to-door from Bethesda to NY... OCNJ is an hour closer than that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Id buy sound front in Corolla, Outer Banks with that budget. It’s beautiful and the sound front sunsets are amazing and you’d be less likely to have to deal with erosion issues with the beach.

I love Corolla, and the sunsets are amazing, but it is really buggy and all it takes is one big rainstorm and Route 15 will flood blocking access.

[Anonymous]

Hamptons. It takes longer to get there but it is infinitely nicer than any of the crappy beaches in Delaware or Maryland mentioned in this thread. You can buy a SFH 20-30 minutes from Westhampton and Southampton for around $500k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Id buy sound front in Corolla, Outer Banks with that budget. It’s beautiful and the sound front sunsets are amazing and you’d be less likely to have to deal with erosion issues with the beach.

Hamptons are as far away from DC as Outer Banks and have less bugs and less Confederate flags. Cleaner water too.