Marina Lifestyle
Affordable Alternative To Buying A Beach House ...one couple finds living on the water a better solution.
When Jim and Nikki decided to buy a weekend home at the beach, they spent
weekends cruising up and down the coast looking for the affordable lot
or "fixer-upper". After careful budget-crunching and lots of
miles logged, they abandoned their search for that perfect little house
and went the untraditional route. Jim's dream of living directly on the
water, with the sun rising on one side of the house and setting on the
other couldn't be afforded on their combined six-figure income. Instead,
after deciding that the two-hour drive to Wilmington was the perfect place
for a weekend getaway, they stumbled upon a great altnertive to their housing
dilemma--they bought a boat slip. Not just any boat slip, but one located
on a historic site in downtown Wilmington located along the Cape Fear River.
Along with the boat slip, they were able to afford a boat that fit their
needs: weekend home, the ability to entertain onboard, perfect location,
and the ability to sail if they wanted.
The only drawback to this whole solution was the fact that neither had grown up on a sailboat, nor were they confident sailors. So this lead them back to the drawing board with a piece of paper, calculator, and a list of pros and cons. If a modest beach house, on an unpopulated beach, costs roughly $200,000 dollars to purchase to purchase, plus utilities, homeowner insurance, flood insurance, and the like, this second dream home would end up costing them roughly $1700 dollars, plus the required 20% down payment for a second home. Instead, for roughly $115,000 less, they could own a slip downtown on the river, with a home that travels, has room to entertain and fits in under their $100K price range.
With the threat of hurricane season looming, they conquered that fear of disaster by buying a boat slip in what has been repeately documented as "the safest place on the East Coast". With the storm swells, Wrightsville Beach gets approximately 12-foot storm surges, while this section of the Cape Fear River typically receives 3-foot surges, so the area real estate and the docked boats are protected from the damaging winds and water.
"Our family thought we were crazy when we told them we wanted to buy a boat. After all, we grew up inland. But who hasn't spent their days at work staring out the window, thinking about what it would be like to sail the ocean? Instead of dreaming about it, we made it happen."
Nikki likes the boat option and is happy with the ability to sail to different marinas on the weekends with friends. "We used to spend roughly $600 dollars on a weekend staying in hotels, eating out, etc. If we did that twice a month, we're paying $1200 for something we can't claim on our taxes. Just throwing it away." Another advantage to ownership, Nikki says, is it gives them the flexibility to rent it to another party if and when they travel. "Similar to a beach house, but they supply their own boat so we don't have to worry about maid service and damage."
They wandered upon Cape Fear Marina located on the historic Cornelius Harnett / William Hilton site on the northeast end of the Cape Fear River. Home of Bennett Brothers Yachts, a custom yacht manufacturer that specializes in boats 40' - 70 feet, they found exactly what they were looking for.
"And the best part," remarked Jim, "is the staff of BBY has taken the time to truly teach us the love of sailing, the ways of the ocean, and how to manage and enjoy our boat. They took a heard task and simplified it for us."
"We're not dreaming about having this lifestyle, we're living it."
Bennett Brothers Yachts is located at the CAPE FEAR MARINA on the Northeast Cape Fear River in historic Wilmington, North Carolina. The site, discovered long ago by William Hilton who chose it for its natural protection from foul weather and pirates, is a proven hurricane haven. The docks are heavily built of twice treated southern yellow pine, reinforced with steel. The steel pilings are a hefty ¾ inch steel driven 18 feet into river bed. Slips range in size from 35 feet to 177 feet with deep water. Our largest slips are t-heads, so docking is a breeze. There is pump out at each slip, electric, water and telephone.
The dockhouse at the Cape Fear Marina has an office available to our guests with internet access, spanky showers and bathrooms and a laundry room. With an expansive porch filled with adirondeck chairs, you can put your feet up and enjoy the view!
Historic Wilmington is known for its restaurants, museums and night life. Just minutes away is Wrightsville Beach, a mecca for surfing, kitesailing or just people watching fun-in-the-sun! Let us arrange for your accommodations, car rental or dinner reservations.