Finding the right beach front property can be incredibly hard. There are so many locations, real estate agents, and other factors to choose from. But, by doing careful research and making sure that you have examined everything to do with the house, you will be able to find the beachfront property that you want in no time.
Examine Your Budget
The first major aspect that you have to consider when attempting to buy beach front property is your personal budget. How much money you have available to spend will dictate where you can live, what type of house you can buy, and how close to the beach you can get. For most of us, this will limit our choices somewhat.
Never try to buy a home that is out of your price range or that you would feel uncomfortable making the loan payments. If the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008 taught most Americans anything, it’s that you can’t have your cake and eat it too. Also, and perhaps just as importantly, keep in mind that mortgages are not the only upkeep costs that you’re going to have to pay on your home. You may have to furnish it, pay taxes, maintenance, and insurance. Once again, depending on where you live these can be very significant costs.
Know the Area
If you’re buying this oceanfront property for your personal use, especially if it’s for use as a primary home, make sure that you know the area very well before you decide to make a significant investment in it. Even if you have been to a town a few times during tourist season, once everyone leaves, the town can become completely different and show you a new, more unlikeable face.
Also make sure that you are able to take the climate. For some people, the tropics may be good, even great, for a week, but when you’re down there longer, you can start to notice other things than the ever present sun, like the bugs, common rain showers, and the humidity. Also make sure you know how much extreme weather you are likely to have to encounter. Hurricanes are an all-too common phenomena in many Caribbean locations and the threat of them can greatly drive up your insurance costs, making your dream home ultimately unaffordable. On top of hurricanes, there may be other, more severe storms that blow in off of the sea, or monsoons or dry spells to deal with depending on your location.
Keep the Local Housing Market in Mind
Especially, if you’re buying this home as an investment property, make sure that you are intimately familiar with the local housing market before you make the plunge. In many areas prices for housing has outstripped rental prices in recent years. This means that you could find yourself in many places earning less in rent each month than it takes to pay for upkeep on the actual property. If you needed this money to make the mortgage payments, you could find yourself high and dry sooner than you think.
Using the services of a trustworthy local real estate agent can help you greatly in this, as they will be aware of the recent trends, what’s working for investment or rental beach front properties, what areas are good deals, and what areas have been jumping up in price recently.
Inspect the Building
Finally, always inspect the building and the areas surrounding it for how solid the construction is and how likely it is to corrode in the sea air. If at all possible, have a certified architect inspect the building to make sure that it doesn’t show signs of premature wear and tear. Also make sure that all the plumbing and drainage around the house are up to your standards.
Finally, when you’re inspecting the house, don’t forget to look at the land around it, especially if you are buying property right on the beachfront. See how high the tides are and inquire about what the waves are doing to the shoreline. Are the eroding the beach to the point where you soon will have your house in the ocean instead of bordering it? Is there enough vegetation in the area to protect your new home and the shoreline from winds, rains, storms, and high tides? All this needs to be taken into consideration.
Finding the right beach front property for you does not have to be incredibly difficult. Just make sure that you do the research that’s required, inspect the property before you buy it, and know what you are getting yourself into. By following these steps, you should find yourself with a new beachfront home, vacation house, rental, or investment property in no time.
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Jack is the owner and founder of the Beachfront Property Guide. 
