We owned an OBX rental for about a decade and can answer a few of the previous questions based on our experience.

Depending on when you buy, it can be very difficult to make any money on these rentals even when they are fully booked during the high and higher seasons. Renters are very tough on the properties and wear and tear is a real issue. Each renter is replaced with another renter with virtually no turnaround time, and the new arrival is paying good money and expects everything to be in good working order.
That means your management company is replacing common items -- a blender, for example -- all the time and at premium prices. Management fees and wear and tear costs are simply outrageous.

The salt air, harsh winters -- and, again, the renters -- are very hard on HVAC systems. You need to replace them two or three times as often as your primary residence, and then some.

Pools aren't maintained for free. Beach furniture rusts and damages very easily and needs to be replaced often during the summer.

Flood insurance will easily cost hundreds of dollars a month and can be more.

When you see that houses are not available for many months in the winter, it's generally not because they're fully rented -- it's because they're taken off the market and the house is shut down. This is because in OBX the only homes that will consistently attract winter rentals are those directly on the beach, and even there only at dramatically reduced rates. For most owners, the expenses involved in keeping the homes on the market for those months just don't make sense given the low rents.

OBX home values really fluctuate depending on the economy. We bought when prices were high, unfortunately, and sold when prices were in the middle of a long decline. If you were fortunate enough to buy at a low point, I imagine you can do well enough -- unlike sale prices, rental prices have only gone up -- but recent buyers are not in this situation.

Our OBX investment was, in short, by far the worst financial decision we ever made.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can put over 20 people into this house. I can't even imagine the wear and tear on everything. It looks like you make all of your money in a month or two, but property management fees are probably 30%. The maintenance costs if you don't want it to be or become a total dump would be very high. Not to mention the aggravation.

If you have to rent it 2 months in the summer when do you even get to use it yourself if you have school aged kids with limited time off? I never understood the appeal of rental summer homes in the climates where it’s only usable 2-3 months a year. When you can collect meaningful rent is when you want to be there, and outside of summer months the demand must be abysmally low, so you cannot break even.

I would want a vacation rental property somewhere with all year round demand if I relied on rental income and also wanted to enjoy it myself.

That’s why we are looking for a place that has peak rental during the summer (when we don’t plan to be there) but is temperate during the winter when we plan to use it.

Seems like North Florida and Georgia coast fit the bill. Seems like temps are mainly in high 60s (perfect for us), with stretches in the 70s/80s…and times when you might have several days in 50s.

I like ski destinations if it was all about the money…but would find it hard to live in a ski place for many months of a year.

Anonymous wrote:Are these properties really empty in winter? My mom likes to go to Outer Banks in February. The temperatures are typically in the 50s then but compared to where we live (Chicago) it's practically tropical.

This house is marked as "booked" on the rental page from New Year's Day until the end of March next year, I wonder if the owners are there over that time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because the people with all the money aren't spending it in red states.

Also, beach shifts are currently happening in our area.

VA Beach used to be known as the ghetto beach with lots of crime. That's now shifted up to OCMD.

OCMD used to be known as being the redneck trashy beach. That's now OBX beaches.

OBX used to be known as the nice beach where the middle class & UMC vacationed and now those people are going north and are all about living the "New England summer life". It's HUGE on social media right now and everyone wants to be relevant on social media.

And VA Beach is kind of just vibing right now. It isn't necessarily hot, but people are more open to going there since they've done big crackdowns on crime & teenage nonsense.

I agree that OBX lacks the charm of NE beaches. I never saw the appeal. Lots of huge generic 10 bedroom homes with no character right up against each other. But southern beaches like Kiawah, Daufuskie, and Bald Head Island continue to be a draw exactly because they have a sense of local identity, including distinctive architectural styles. And you can actually be in the ocean 5 months of the year.

Are you looking for a beach to sit in or do you actually want to be in the ocean?
If it’s being in the water that you like, then I would recommend obx

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely only exists to be a rental home. It looks very very typical as a rental which is why it probably gets good reviews, but there's a reason the owners want to get out.

OP here. Why do you think the owners want to get out? It seems like these homes are booked throughout the year.

DP maybe the rentals does not cover the cost? Also think FEMA changed the flood zone and flood insurance has gone up. There are a lot of insurance coverage you have to get. Like flood insurance does not cover wind damage that may result in water damage.

Anonymous wrote:Because the people with all the money aren't spending it in red states.

Also, beach shifts are currently happening in our area.

VA Beach used to be known as the ghetto beach with lots of crime. That's now shifted up to OCMD.

OCMD used to be known as being the redneck trashy beach. That's now OBX beaches.

OBX used to be known as the nice beach where the middle class & UMC vacationed and now those people are going north and are all about living the "New England summer life". It's HUGE on social media right now and everyone wants to be relevant on social media.

And VA Beach is kind of just vibing right now. It isn't necessarily hot, but people are more open to going there since they've done big crackdowns on crime & teenage nonsense.

I agree that OBX lacks the charm of NE beaches. I never saw the appeal. Lots of huge generic 10 bedroom homes with no character right up against each other. But southern beaches like Kiawah, Daufuskie, and Bald Head Island continue to be a draw exactly because they have a sense of local identity, including distinctive architectural styles. And you can actually be in the ocean 5 months of the year.

Too big, needs work, no view, overpriced

I agree with others that the beach access is not that great. Those who have been there know you don't just walk between houses onto the beach. You will not have access to the private paths from the beachfront homes and there is a steep dune that makes it essentially impossible to walk between houses onto the beach. You will need to use a public beach access with stairs, which is either 6 houses away to the left, or 7 houses away to the right. IMO, the house is nice for the area but overpriced.

I like visiting OBX but I could never stomach owning a home there. The weather is nuts and houses are seriously damaged all the time by hurricanes and storm surges. Just maintenance costs alone will negate any income from seasonal rentals. I have been in that area and that road is almost completely covered in sand after a storm. I have always wondered how they clear it off. I have seen oceanfront houses with swimming pools completely filled with sand. I would lose my mind trying to maintain a house there.

Are these properties really empty in winter? My mom likes to go to Outer Banks in February. The temperatures are typically in the 50s then but compared to where we live (Chicago) it's practically tropical.

Anonymous wrote:Definitely only exists to be a rental home. It looks very very typical as a rental which is why it probably gets good reviews, but there's a reason the owners want to get out.

OP here. Why do you think the owners want to get out? It seems like these homes are booked throughout the year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely only exists to be a rental home. It looks very very typical as a rental which is why it probably gets good reviews, but there's a reason the owners want to get out.

They current owners bought it in September 2022 but put it back on the market just 14 months later (per Redfin), so either there was an extenuating circumstance or they decided *really* quickly that the rental-house game wasn't for them. But now it's been for sale for nearly two years.

Sounds like typical pandemic rush with people acquiring vacation rental properties banking on never ending demand for remote working laptop class to get away from the cities. In 2022 these properties got overpriced quickly and then the stream of renters must have died down. It’s a good rental for more than one family sharing, but definitely needs a refresh or decor, which must not be making economic sense for the owner, so they want out before plunking money into it.

Homeowners insurance in the OBX is only going to go up, not to Florida levels but it will only increase. I also wonder if they're staring some expensive repairs in the face, like HVAC/roof/pool. It looks as if they've tried to do some piecemeal renovations to certain rooms but most of the interior is really dated. It looks like the type of OBX house my post-college friends and I would rent in like 2002, and we treated those rentals shabbily back then. I can only imagine what groups of 20 people do to these houses now.

Anonymous wrote:You can put over 20 people into this house. I can't even imagine the wear and tear on everything. It looks like you make all of your money in a month or two, but property management fees are probably 30%. The maintenance costs if you don't want it to be or become a total dump would be very high. Not to mention the aggravation.

If you have to rent it 2 months in the summer when do you even get to use it yourself if you have school aged kids with limited time off? I never understood the appeal of rental summer homes in the climates where it’s only usable 2-3 months a year. When you can collect meaningful rent is when you want to be there, and outside of summer months the demand must be abysmally low, so you cannot break even.

I would want a vacation rental property somewhere with all year round demand if I relied on rental income and also wanted to enjoy it myself.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely only exists to be a rental home. It looks very very typical as a rental which is why it probably gets good reviews, but there's a reason the owners want to get out.

They current owners bought it in September 2022 but put it back on the market just 14 months later (per Redfin), so either there was an extenuating circumstance or they decided *really* quickly that the rental-house game wasn't for them. But now it's been for sale for nearly two years.

Sounds like typical pandemic rush with people acquiring vacation rental properties banking on never ending demand for remote working laptop class to get away from the cities. In 2022 these properties got overpriced quickly and then the stream of renters must have died down. It’s a good rental for more than one family sharing, but definitely needs a refresh or decor, which must not be making economic sense for the owner, so they want out before plunking money into it.

Anonymous wrote:It's over 2 million dollars and looks like a fancy rental.

When was it fancy? In early 90s?

It’s pretty dated and full of fugly furniture for a contemporary rental, not to mention fancy one. IKEA would be better

Anonymous wrote:Definitely only exists to be a rental home. It looks very very typical as a rental which is why it probably gets good reviews, but there's a reason the owners want to get out.

They current owners bought it in September 2022 but put it back on the market just 14 months later (per Redfin), so either there was an extenuating circumstance or they decided *really* quickly that the rental-house game wasn't for them. But now it's been for sale for nearly two years.