Investor 路 Charleston, SC 路 Member since 2019 路 112 posts 路 126 votes
Greetings all! I'm looking to get into the STR game, now that I picked up a few small single family, long term holds, to get my feet wet.
I'm torn between getting a lake house or beach house. I live in South Carolina so there are options for both of these.
Does anyone have an opinion, or experience, on why one may be better than the other? Or just some things to be aware of that I may not have considered?
Or would it be better to just be open to both options and see what deals I can find?
Greetings all! I'm looking to get into the STR game, now that I picked up a few small single family, long term holds, to get my feet wet.
I'm torn between getting a lake house or beach house. I live in South Carolina so there are options for both of these.
Does anyone have an opinion, or experience, on why one may be better than the other? Or just some things to be aware of that I may not have considered?
Or would it be better to just be open to both options and see what deals I can find?
Thanks in advance for any insight!
No need to limit yourself, be open to both options and go wherever you find the best deal!
If you can find two 3-bedroom houses for sale on the same block, even better. You can market them both as 3-bedroom houses and as a 6-bedroom house to attract both large and small groups 馃憤
Real Estate Agent 路 Surf City, NC 路 Member since 2017 路 648 posts 路 597 votes
6y
This is not a bad problem to have! My wife and I went through a similar discussion before pulling the trigger on a beach house. Our concern was that we assumed a beach property would be way more seasonal. It turns out, people want to go to the beach all year round! We do drop the price a little in the off season but May-Sept absolutely crush it!
Investor 路 Charleston, SC 路 Member since 2019 路 112 posts 路 126 votes
6y
@Luke Carl@Avery Carl I like that mentality! Keeps it simple. I'll have to really dig into each, as one thing I'm learning about STRs is that it's a lot harder to really estimate the gross earnings since there's so much variance.
Greetings all! I'm looking to get into the STR game, now that I picked up a few small single family, long term holds, to get my feet wet.
I'm torn between getting a lake house or beach house. I live in South Carolina so there are options for both of these.
Does anyone have an opinion, or experience, on why one may be better than the other? Or just some things to be aware of that I may not have considered?
Or would it be better to just be open to both options and see what deals I can find?
Thanks in advance for any insight!
No need to limit yourself, be open to both options and go wherever you find the best deal!
If you can find two 3-bedroom houses for sale on the same block, even better. You can market them both as 3-bedroom houses and as a 6-bedroom house to attract both large and small groups 馃憤
Thanks Mark! I really like that idea and hadn't thought of it at all. That really helps broaden the search too since I may have overlooked those options. Appreciate it.
Where is SC do you live. I have a Vrbo in Lake Hartwell that does very well. I'd pick the one closer to you.
Run the numbers on both and see if one stands out above the other.
Hey John, thanks for the tip. I'm in Charleston SC and was looking inland - like Lake Keowee, for example. I hadn't heard of Lake Hartwell though.
Did you find that yourself or do you have an agent who knows the inland lake-house game well? I'm really not tied to one particular area, I just figured the lake house should probably be inland a bit, since most folks who come to the coast are looking to stay at the beach.
This is not a bad problem to have! My wife and I went through a similar discussion before pulling the trigger on a beach house. Our concern was that we assumed a beach property would be way more seasonal. It turns out, people want to go to the beach all year round! We do drop the price a little in the off season but May-Sept absolutely crush it!
Where in SC are you?
Good to know - thanks Sean! I was a bit concerned about seasonality too, but I'm also not surprised to hear this. I've never understood the people who come to beaches in the winter but hey no complaints if they do!
I'm in Charleston SC. For beach properties, I was looking into Hilton Head, because inventory is unobtanium here right now. What beach did you go with for yours?
Where is SC do you live. I have a Vrbo in Lake Hartwell that does very well. I'd pick the one closer to you.
Run the numbers on both and see if one stands out above the other.
Hey John, thanks for the tip. I'm in Charleston SC and was looking inland - like Lake Keowee, for example. I hadn't heard of Lake Hartwell though.
Did you find that yourself or do you have an agent who knows the inland lake-house game well? I'm really not tied to one particular area, I just figured the lake house should probably be inland a bit, since most folks who come to the coast are looking to stay at the beach.
At the time I used a realtor. I spent 2 years finding what I was looking for back then. I'm considering running the numbers on a new construction lake house.
I lived in Charleston for 9 years when I was in the Navy. I love the low country.
One factor to consider with a beach house is proximity to the water and factoring in the flood insurance as well as the additional maintenance cost due to the corrosive nature of the salt water. I would run the numbers on the lake house, and make sure you factor in the flood insurance and extra wear/tear numbers on the beach house, and see which one has the better ROI and/or long-term appreciation advantage.
Please feel free to reach out about any short-term rental questions. We have a rental in the Outer Banks on the beach so are familiar with beach rentals.
Hi Ross, My brother and I also have been looking at both lake (SC/GA) and beach (Gulf Coast FL) properties. Our timing is terrible because it's a sellers market now! High season + people can work from anywhere - no commuting concerns. While we look, here are a couple things we learned:
- It's the water, always. Buy good water. You can fix the house but you can't fix the water.
- Lakes have different characters, so study them. Keowee is more upscale than Lake Blue Ridge for example, so it costs more. You may think about getting a lot and building to suit if you can't find a house.
- In GA and SC, most lakes are man-made and are used for power generation. Find out about the Army Corps of Engineers rules for your lake before you buy. They determine which zones are "dockable" and which are "beachable". You want dockable and a low Corps line for best value. Your RE agent can help.
- With the beach, you have to ask about hurricane insurance. it has gone up a lot for coastal residents in last 10 years. Also, I think you are looking at a beach condo not a house, unless you are OK being blocks from the beach or your rich grandma left you bags of money.
Investor 路 Shelton, CT 路 Member since 2016 路 218 posts 路 225 votes
6y
@Ross Bowman I completely agree with @Mike Shemp about the various concerns with anything along the coast. Your insurance costs are going to be higher in some capacity.
Where is SC do you live. I have a Vrbo in Lake Hartwell that does very well. I'd pick the one closer to you.
Run the numbers on both and see if one stands out above the other.
Hey John, thanks for the tip. I'm in Charleston SC and was looking inland - like Lake Keowee, for example. I hadn't heard of Lake Hartwell though.
Did you find that yourself or do you have an agent who knows the inland lake-house game well? I'm really not tied to one particular area, I just figured the lake house should probably be inland a bit, since most folks who come to the coast are looking to stay at the beach.
At the time I used a realtor. I spent 2 years finding what I was looking for back then. I'm considering running the numbers on a new construction lake house.
I lived in Charleston for 9 years when I was in the Navy. I love the low country.
Hasn't Charleston really cracked down on STR's?
Wow 2 years, that makes me feel better about not having something yet!
And yes, Charleston has cracked down on STRs big time. The only safe places would be areas like Folly Beach, Sullivans Island and Isle of Palms. Trying to get something downtown for an Airbnb is definitely a big risk.
Even if you manage to jump through all the hoops, it's really too much squeeze for not enough juice.
Rental Property Investor 路 Streetman, TX 路 Member since 2018 路 527 posts 路 495 votes
6y
@Ross Bowman
Beach House = Hurricanes
I owned two beach properties on the Texas Gulf Coast. My dream was to own 10 units and retire as a beach bum. One was a duplex; we rented bottom unit as long term rental and used upstairs as short term rental/family beach house. The second unit was a SFH that was our 1st family beach house converted to long term rental. Both units were 5th row from the beach. Everything was going great until we were hit by a tropical storm. Downstairs unit had 18 inches of water in it. Thanks to FEMA flood insurance we were able to rebuild. 9 months later hurricane! Downstairs unit had 5ft of water. Did you know refrigerators float? All the brand new reno work was total loss. Other units sustained significant damage. Loss of rentals for prime summer season. Thanks to FEMA we were able to rebuild again. The front row of houses were a total loss. Everything gone, house and the land it sat on washed away. No hope of ever rebuilding. Many of these homes were uninsurable, no FEMA check, many people lost everything including the land. In Texas you can't own land beyond the dunes.
Lesson learned I sold everything. Fortunately I still made money on appreciation. Years later my wife was in town and took photos of the duplex. I couldn鈥檛 recognize it after subsequent storms. I looked up history on CAD, the duplex was foreclosed on and sold for half what I sold for.
My takeaway is it is not a matter of IF but WHEN you will have a Hurricane.
One factor to consider with a beach house is proximity to the water and factoring in the flood insurance as well as the additional maintenance cost due to the corrosive nature of the salt water. I would run the numbers on the lake house, and make sure you factor in the flood insurance and extra wear/tear numbers on the beach house, and see which one has the better ROI and/or long-term appreciation advantage.
Please feel free to reach out about any short-term rental questions. We have a rental in the Outer Banks on the beach so are familiar with beach rentals.
Mike
Great point - thank you sir! Flood insurance was definitely a concern as I imagine it can hurt your numbers. I'm not sure what a normal flood insurance rate would even be, so I'll dig into it.
Awesome to hear you have something in OBX. I was actually considering there too, but it's just so far from me. I can do a four hour haul here and there, but OBX is like 8+ from Charleston due to the water.
I owned two beach properties on the Texas Gulf Coast. My dream was to own 10 units and retire as a beach bum. One was a duplex; we rented bottom unit as long term rental and used upstairs as short term rental/family beach house. The second unit was a SFH that was our 1st family beach house converted to long term rental. Both units were 5th row from the beach. Everything was going great until we were hit by a tropical storm. Downstairs unit had 18 inches of water in it. Thanks to FEMA flood insurance we were able to rebuild. 9 months later hurricane! Downstairs unit had 5ft of water. Did you know refrigerators float? All the brand new reno work was total loss. Other units sustained significant damage. Loss of rentals for prime summer season. Thanks to FEMA we were able to rebuild again. The front row of houses were a total loss. Everything gone, house and the land it sat on washed away. No hope of ever rebuilding. Many of these homes were uninsurable, no FEMA check, many people lost everything including the land. In Texas you can't own land beyond the dunes.
Lesson learned I sold everything. Fortunately I still made money on appreciation. Years later my wife was in town and took photos of the duplex. I couldn鈥檛 recognize it after subsequent storms. I looked up history on CAD, the duplex was foreclosed on and sold for half what I sold for.
My takeaway is it is not a matter of IF but WHEN you will have a Hurricane.
Thats great feedback, thank you sir. I orignally had just assumed that hurricane insurance would cover this, but I can see how repeated impacts would really hurt the numbers :-/
@Ross Bowman - When you look at lakes, be sure to look at the 100 year flood map as well as the last 5 years of water levels. We've had droughts in the South and the lakes go way down. That means your dock is stranded (or flooded) and you have to move it.
You will find more "deals" at the ends of coves, but that's also where the water is the lowest during dry periods. Again, get an honest RE agent who's done a lot of deals on that lake.
@Ross Bowman - When you look at lakes, be sure to look at the 100 year flood map as well as the last 5 years of water levels. We've had droughts in the South and the lakes go way down. That means your dock is stranded (or flooded) and you have to move it.
You will find more "deals" at the ends of coves, but that's also where the water is the lowest during dry periods. Again, get an honest RE agent who's done a lot of deals on that lake.
Wow thats super helpful Cate, thank you. I had no idea and hadn't even considered that but I'll try to find an agent in SC who really knows lakes!
New to Real Estate 路 Charleston, SC 路 Member since 2018 路 10 posts 路 5 votes
6y
had vacation property / STR at beach (not beachfront), one property on deep water and another on tidal creek ; flood insurance not bad but what kills me is property insurance , mainly for 2nd homes / investment properties !
I'm fi ding myself in the same situation..in process of selling 2 properties in Florida and WA t to do something on A lake or beach in SC. I'm currently living in NJ. but will eventually. Ove down and I belive I'd like a lake house. Juggling right now any help would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!