Greenbook: A Local Guide to Chesapeake Living - Issue 5 | Page 15

Look for a REALTOR® with a
willingness to work with other
professionals, often outside of
their geographical area. As an
investment buyer, for example,
your Financial Planner may not
be located in the community in
which you’re buying. You need a
group of professionals who will
work together on your best
interests. Consider your own
goals for buying or selling beach
property. Why are you doing
this? Are you looking for an
occasional vacation getaway?
Are your needs based on a job
relocation or retirement
relocation full time? Are you
looking for an investment
property? If the latter, then don’t
get overwhelmed, your
REALTOR® should also be able
to recommend options for
Vacation Rental and Property
Management of your beach

property so that you can focus on
your home life or vacation time
when at the beach. Last but not
least, when it comes to location
and amenities, you’re generally
going to pay the top rate that the
market dictates for location.
Amenities are often negotiable
in a price point depending on
your perspective and needs. Can
you as an investment buyer, for
example, overlook that dated
1950s kitchen recognizing that a
location in high demand will give
you the income in a few years to
renovate the property, which in
return will add value to the
property and also demand a
higher rental rate?
A Summary of Delaware Beach
Locations
Downtown Areas (“In Town”)
The ‘feel’ of the downtown areas
varies from quiet Fenwick Island
(think North Carolina barrier
island) and Bethany Beach; to
the bustle and charm of Rehoboth
Beach; to the quiet walkable
quaintness of Lewes. Expect to
pay top dollar for beach and
waterfront properties. Expect to
get a high return on investment
for rental property occupancy
within walking distance of the
ocean, bay, and boardwalks.
Delaware Bay
Whether west of Dewey Beach
along the Indian River
watershed (Long Neck and
Millsboro), or north along
Highway One to the remoteness
of the northern Delaware Bay
communities (Primehook Beach,
Broadkill and Slaughter Beach),
expect more modest homes,
often modular and/or mobile
homes in or outside of planned
communities. Many come with
boat slips.
Planned Suburban Communities
These do exist at the beach and
are more popular with year round
residents. As a year round buyer,
you should pay great attention to
the occupancy mix of such com-

munities. In the quiet
winter months, for example, if
your community is mainly out of
state ownership, then you may
be quite lonely. You can ask the
Homeowners Associations for
help in this type of research,
but be aware that your
REALTOR® cannot, and will
not, steer you to or away
from a community based on
occupancy mix. Examples of
planned ‘suburban’ type
communities are Rehoboth Beach
Yacht & Country Club and
Kinsale Glenn (Rehoboth Beach);
Sandy Brae, The Villages At
Five Points, Canary Creek,
and Senators (Lewes); The
Peninsular, and Baywood (Long
Neck and Millsboro).
Mobile Homes
Mobile home communities are
plentiful on or close to the water
at the Delaware beaches, and
provide an affordable option with
short travel times to the beaches.
Land is usually lease hold, and
you will have titled ownership
to the structure only. Most
communities do not allow
short-term rental occupancy.
Some offer long-term rental
occupancy. Mobile home
communities often feature
community pools, common area
maintenance, and a clubhouse.
Expect to go through an approval
by the board to buy in these
communities. Examples are
Camelot and Aspen Meadows
(Rehoboth Beach), and Pot Nets
(Long Neck).
I look forward to seeing you
around town and on our
wonderful beaches and trails.
Contact Any Meddick for with all
your Rehoboth Real Estate Needs.
Cell: [phone]
Office: [phone]
andymeddick.yourkwagent.com
Downtown Beach Rentals, LLC
Powered By Keller Williams
Realty At The Beach
19354 Coastal Highway, Suite C
Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971

greenbook | spring 2015

beach real estate, many of the
rules for finding a REALTOR®
in your home area apply. I
would recommend looking for a
REALTOR® who can empathize
with your situation, a
REALTOR® who knows the area
and who can see the area through
your needs. If you’re buying or
selling a beach property,
recognize that while all real
estate is local, buyers and sellers
are not necessarily local. As such,
choose a beach REALTOR® who
is technologically savvy, not just
in using the Internet for
listing and searching, but also
as a communication tool (some
meetings may have to occur
remotely while you’re out of
state, for example), and as a
marketing tool (websites,
websites, websites are the
location, location, location of
the Internet). Look for a
REALTOR® who can minimize
your valuable time while you’re
in town. How much work does
the REALTOR® do for you
before you arrive so that you do
not waste your time on a
magical mystery tour pleasure
ride versus needs-based touring?

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