My colleague just bought a house in Seabrook Island a couple of months ago. We are only in the office 3 days a week so they go back and forth. They don't rent it. They will retire there.

I don’t think people from up north, where climate change feels more distant, really understand how coastal communities down south are starting to deal with the effects of global warming already. I would not sink money into such a community

I don’t think it’s wise to live in a hurricane prone area as seniors, especially one without great hospitals. There is also an evolving insurance crisis that would prevent me from looking at owning anything coastal in the southeast. What is happening in New Orleans and Florida is going to happen to everything south of Virginia. I lived in the south for decades until recently and personally would not plan on such a place for retirement.

I haven't, but the whole maybe we'll retire there thing...yeah 2x now we bought AirBNBs in potential retirement areas and it was a total bust. Once you spend significant time in an area you get why it wouldn't work. The big one is access to medical care. All of the affordable areas seem to have absolutely nothing medically.

Also you might realize 1) don't fit in with the locals or 2) most of the 'hood is vacationers and you can't actually find any friends.

I am from SC and I think it's not a good idea to retire there unless you are from there and that's where all your family and friends are. It's a medically underserved area and at risk for hurricanes which are hard to evacuate from.

It's especially a bad idea to retire on the coasts with the higher hurricane risk. It's hard to evacuate when you are old and disabled.

Don't do it

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a house in a SC beach area that is used about 8-10 weeks per year. We do not rent it.

We have no mortgage but total costs with insurance (about $17,000), property taxes, utilities, maintenance, etc come to about $40-45,000 per year for a house that is on the smaller side for the area.

Unless your taxes are over $20,000, that doesn't sound right. I don't spend remotely that much on our house here in DC. How can you possibly spend that much on house that is used a quarter of the year?

DP but it costs a lot more to maintain a house you’re not at all the time, because you have to hire someone. And idk if that PP is oceanfront, but everything at the beach wears out and needs replacing earlier. EVERYTHING.

Property taxes are $17,000 and insurance is $17,000. Add in utilities, property manager fees and maintenance and that’s what it costs.

Anonymous wrote:I have a house in a SC beach area that is used about 8-10 weeks per year. We do not rent it.

We have no mortgage but total costs with insurance (about $17,000), property taxes, utilities, maintenance, etc come to about $40-45,000 per year for a house that is on the smaller side for the area.

Unless your taxes are over $20,000, that doesn't sound right. I don't spend remotely that much on our house here in DC. How can you possibly spend that much on house that is used a quarter of the year?

My boss had one in sea island but he ended up selling it. Too far to get to.

I have a house in a SC beach area that is used about 8-10 weeks per year. We do not rent it.

We have no mortgage but total costs with insurance (about $17,000), property taxes, utilities, maintenance, etc come to about $40-45,000 per year for a house that is on the smaller side for the area.

What about Kiawah? Palmetto bluff?

My DH and I have talked about getting a retirement home for December through March in Charleston or Savannah. I have visited Charleston twice and I have a nephew in Savannah who we plan to visit. We are retiring north of DC and not crazy about spending the winters there. Average home prices in Charleston seem to be about the same as CCDC where we live now.

Also interested. I’m from there and have never checked out real estate…

Bump. Anyone?

We love Hilton Head/Kiawah/Sea Island areas and aspire to buy a second home that could become our retirement home in 15-20 years.

Anybody done this? How often do you use it? Do you rent it out? Are costs to insure it crazy?
Trying to get a feel for total cost of ownership as we weigh just continue to rent/vacation in the area.
Thanks!