Looking for help with house rental--Hilton Head, Duck, or similiar

blessedby3

Actually Blessedby4 now, but cant change my userna
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Mar 7, 2003
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We are looking to rent a house (preferably on the ocean...or across the street) next summer. It would need to be at least 5 BR for my family, my sisters family and my mom/stepdad. I was wondering if anyone had rented a home and had a good experience and could share a link to the home you rented. We would like a pool at the house also.
My family usually vacations at Hilton Head Island and stays in a condo. We love the laid back atmosphere and quaintness of the island. I had others recommend Duck, NC also, as a great beach. We definately dont want Myrtle.
Anyone have any suggestions?
 
Not a specific house that size, but for quietness I recommend Kure Beach, NC.
 
I think you should do some research on the areas before you just book a house. Duck is nice but it's at the north end of about 100 miles of Outer Banks. What are you looking for besides 'not Myrtle?' Duck is upscale and some think a bit uppity. My brother was not impressed. South of Duck are the cities of Nags Head and Kitty Hawk, Southern Shores.That said, try Twitty Real Estate, Village Realty, Keith Lamb real estate or VRBO. South of Duck, Corolla, Southern Shores, Nags Head and Kitty Hawk is Hatteras Island which is the anti-Myrtle. Not much in the way of development, miles of unspoiled beaches, small villages with development including oceanfront and soundfront homes. The island is so narrow, you can walk the width of it from many spots. I've spent a dozen or so years there for vacation. We've stayed oceanfront and on the sound as I don't care which water as long as I'm on water. Pamlico Sound is so wide you can't see across it. The real estate agencies for Hatteras are Midgett Realy, Outer Beaches Realty, Surf or Sound Realty and Hatteras Realty. VRBO also has many offerings on Hatteras. The difference between the Upper Outer Banks and Hatteras Island is the amount of development. Upper has tons of shops and restaurants, blocks deep. Hatteras has one road, Rt#12, that has some development in the individual villages with lots of open land between. Also, Hatteras is the location of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the lighthouse and the ferry to Ocracoke Island which is even more 'back in time' type vacationing and only accessible by water.
 
We've stayed on Hatteras Island & enjoyed it. A lot of houses have pools. We stayed in Waves & it was great. We absolutely love Topsail Island, NC. It's quiet & relaxed but close to Jacksonville or Wilmington if you want other things to do. I don't have a recommendation for a 5 bed house, though, sorry. We just look for rental companies & our requirements. We used Action Century 21 on Topsail & they were great. This past year we rented a condo directly through owners.
 

We are looking to rent a house (preferably on the ocean...or across the street) next summer. It would need to be at least 5 BR for my family, my sisters family and my mom/stepdad. I was wondering if anyone had rented a home and had a good experience and could share a link to the home you rented. We would like a pool at the house also.
My family usually vacations at Hilton Head Island and stays in a condo. We love the laid back atmosphere and quaintness of the island. I had others recommend Duck, NC also, as a great beach. We definately dont want Myrtle.
Anyone have any suggestions?

If you are used to Hilton Head, then properties on the north beaches (larger, more upscale homes, wider beaches, fewer stores and entertainment) are probably more to your liking, or alternatively, larger homes in the southernmost villages.
My understanding is that HH has very restrictive building codes and setbacks, and the OBX does not as much.

Duck is very trendy but has become also pretty commercial.
Oh, it's an upper-crusty kind of commercial :rotfl: but still tons of shopping and more than enough traffic.
KH, KDH & NH are the most commercial villages on the OBX but even then,
nothing like the insanity that is MB :eek:

NH South is a good place for less traffic, no stores at all but really close to all the hustle and bustle of NH.

Rodanthe, Waves & Salvo (the tri-villages) are much like NH was 25 years ago:
some stores but not a ton, fun things to do,
but the beaches are eroding and the "ocean front" home you want
may just have waves breaking under it at high tide. :scared1:
If you've never vacationed there you probably won't know what you are missing,
but those of us who spent lots of time there over a lifetime know
that when you lose hundreds of feet from the depth of the beach
(from dune line to water line) it's just not the same...:sad2:

Avon is the most commercial of the southern villages- a movie theater, tons to do, but I find it rather overwhelming (but I like less people anyway) :)

Buxton, Frisco, Hatteras Village- seems to have less people but still things to do.

You can find a great breakdown of the whole area at
http://www.exploring-the-outer-banks.com/outer-banks-communities.html


Also, here is a tripadvisor review of a HHI resident on her first ever trip to the OBX,
with a few other opinions comparing both HHI and OBX to MB thrown in...

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi...ks_versus_HHI-Outer_Banks_North_Carolina.html

You might want to take everyone's opinion with a grain of salt as you read it. :thumbsup2

Good luck in planning your trip!
Just google the area you want + beach rentals and that should get you on the right track... :yay:
All the rental agencies have search engines so you can
narrow down the field by your list of need and wants in a home,
which makes it pretty easy and lots of fun to find the vacation home of your dreams.
:cloud9:
 
Thanks for the help:thumbsup2 I have been researching rental houses and the sites are pretty overwhelming and I dont really have a good feel for an area...hence the post asking for suggestions on areas and houses that people have stayed in. I am good at HHI searching as we have been going there for the past 10 years and have stayed in various places, but other beaches not so much. I can find 2 condos in HHI in the same complex (and we may go that route) but DSis was thinking a house. Oceanfront houses for rent on HHI are just WAY out of our price range.
Thanks for all the info and suggestions on other beach areas. This is great info and I will go check out the links and places suggested above:thumbsup2
Anyone else with input or links to houses you have rented please post:)
 
One poster mentioned Outer Beaches Realty. We have rented from them several times and have wonderful experiences. We love the southern Outer Banks.
 
We typically stay in the Sea Pines plantation, renting from one of the HHI websites or VRBO, no issues. Maybe second row, always with a sweet pool and plenty of bedrooms.

My sister enjoys staying at Isle of Palms, north of HHI. She just had a great time last week and stayed in a 6br condo.

We just returned from Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach, just in FL, on the Atlantic coast, and it was lovely. The south of the island is the Omni Plantation, gated, and reminded me very much of HHI. The historic town area of FB was great, and the northern part of the beach is closer to the ocean (smaller dunes). Loved it. Tons of sea turtles and found several very cool shark teeth on the beach.
 
Blessedby3 or 4,

We must be neighbors. We also live in VA up near the north part of 81 So, hello!!

We have been going to the Outer Banks for about 4 years now. We are by no means as familiar as some with the Outer Banks. But we enjoy it enough to keep going back. We prefer the Duck/Corolla area compared to the KH, NH, SNH area. We have never stayed in the Waves/Salvo/Hatteras/Avon/Ocrakoke area.

We stayed in 5 bedroom house in the Pine Island Area of Corolla...so just north of Duck. There is $$ in Pine Island but we never encountered the snobiness that some people talk about.

The house we stayed in this past year is called The Summerhouse. It is a Sunday to Sunday rental (we prefer Sunday to Sunday as the traffic going over the bridge to the Outer Banks is so much lighter). It is on a cul-de-sac on a road called Pipsi's Point. It is semi-oceanfront. Across the street are the ocean front houses...they are much larger and can house 8 to 10 families and go about $20,000 a week. Our house went for $6000 for the week including towels, sheets, and taxes.

There are 5 bedrooms: 3 queen bedrooms (each with their own bathroom), one bedroom with two twin beds, and the last bedroom had 2 bunks...the bunks were fullsize on the bottom with a twin on the top (the decor of that room was towards kids...so it worked well with the three youngest).

It had a pool and a hot tub. You can see the ocean from the house. The walk to the beach access was just two lots over. So, it was a very easy walk!! We loved it.

The realty company was Elan Realty and they were responsive two our 2 needs: a toilet overflowed and we could not plunge it (but it was not a huge issue as there were 4 other toilets in the house) and we ran out of propane for the gas grill. They sent someone over immediately for both!! And this was during July 4th week...one of the hottest weeks of the summer when I am sure they were responding to lots of air conditioner calls.

Here is the link: http://www.elanvacations.com/outer-banks-vacation-rentals/all/DetailPage/7/The-Summerhouse

The beach was never crowded. Also, up in the Corolla/Duck area, people cannot park on the roads and just go to the beach. Therefore, the beach access is only for people living or renting in the Pine Island area.

Also, what I got a kick out of the Pine Island area...they have some poor college student riding around in a golf cart, taking the garbage bins and the recycling bins down to the street on trash days and then bringing them back in to the car port the next day. I just have never had that done for me before. I did catch him one day...he told me although that is all he does he doesn't mind...he is making money. He has a positive outlook, so that was good.

There is another rental I am looking at for the same area: Crosswinds. This rental is right across from the beach access. Here is the link: http://www.elanvacations.com/outer-banks-vacation-rentals/all/DetailPage/95/Crosswinds. I have never stayed there but again, like the area.

Again, the Pine Island area of Corolla is very nice. And there is not a lot of traffic as it is on a skinner part of the Outer Banks and the only reason people would drive in the neighborhood is if they are staying there.

Good luck with your search!!
 
We really like being oceanfront.
If that's beacuse you want a view, I understand....but that likely means HHI is out as oceanfront homes will all be quite expensive anywhere on the island.

But if you are concerned about distance: no roads to cross, not even the drive way, and maybe 180 seconds more walking on the beach access path.
 
Blessedby3 or 4,

We must be neighbors. We also live in VA up near the north part of 81 So, hello!!

We have been going to the Outer Banks for about 4 years now. We are by no means as familiar as some with the Outer Banks. But we enjoy it enough to keep going back. We prefer the Duck/Corolla area compared to the KH, NH, SNH area. We have never stayed in the Waves/Salvo/Hatteras/Avon/Ocrakoke area.

We stayed in 5 bedroom house in the Pine Island Area of Corolla...so just north of Duck. There is $$ in Pine Island but we never encountered the snobiness that some people talk about.

The house we stayed in this past year is called The Summerhouse. It is a Sunday to Sunday rental (we prefer Sunday to Sunday as the traffic going over the bridge to the Outer Banks is so much lighter). It is on a cul-de-sac on a road called Pipsi's Point. It is semi-oceanfront. Across the street are the ocean front houses...they are much larger and can house 8 to 10 families and go about $20,000 a week. Our house went for $6000 for the week including towels, sheets, and taxes.

There are 5 bedrooms: 3 queen bedrooms (each with their own bathroom), one bedroom with two twin beds, and the last bedroom had 2 bunks...the bunks were fullsize on the bottom with a twin on the top (the decor of that room was towards kids...so it worked well with the three youngest).

It had a pool and a hot tub. You can see the ocean from the house. The walk to the beach access was just two lots over. So, it was a very easy walk!! We loved it.

The realty company was Elan Realty and they were responsive two our 2 needs: a toilet overflowed and we could not plunge it (but it was not a huge issue as there were 4 other toilets in the house) and we ran out of propane for the gas grill. They sent someone over immediately for both!! And this was during July 4th week...one of the hottest weeks of the summer when I am sure they were responding to lots of air conditioner calls.

Here is the link: http://www.elanvacations.com/outer-banks-vacation-rentals/all/DetailPage/7/The-Summerhouse

The beach was never crowded. Also, up in the Corolla/Duck area, people cannot park on the roads and just go to the beach. Therefore, the beach access is only for people living or renting in the Pine Island area.

Also, what I got a kick out of the Pine Island area...they have some poor college student riding around in a golf cart, taking the garbage bins and the recycling bins down to the street on trash days and then bringing them back in to the car port the next day. I just have never had that done for me before. I did catch him one day...he told me although that is all he does he doesn't mind...he is making money. He has a positive outlook, so that was good.

There is another rental I am looking at for the same area: Crosswinds. This rental is right across from the beach access. Here is the link: http://www.elanvacations.com/outer-banks-vacation-rentals/all/DetailPage/95/Crosswinds. I have never stayed there but again, like the area.

Again, the Pine Island area of Corolla is very nice. And there is not a lot of traffic as it is on a skinner part of the Outer Banks and the only reason people would drive in the neighborhood is if they are staying there.

Good luck with your search!!


Thanks for the links and info! Im going to go check those out :thumbsup2 We are right off of 81 in Botetourt County....nice to find folks nearby!


If that's beacuse you want a view, I understand....but that likely means HHI is out as oceanfront homes will all be quite expensive anywhere on the island.

But if you are concerned about distance: no roads to cross, not even the drive way, and maybe 180 seconds more walking on the beach access path.

I know...the oceanfront homes are crazy expensive! We always stay oceanside, but in condos. We may have to go that route and stay in 2 condos to be able to stay on the oceanside. I dont want to have to worry about crossing roads...the actual view of the ocean doesnt concern me. With having a 4 year old, and 7 people to carry chairs, toys, towels, etc.... I dont want to have to drag that stuff any further than I have to. I wish I was one of those folks I see who carry their towel and book and can be content on the beach with that. I have to have umbrella, chair, towel, bag of snacks and drinks, toys, etc. Even with a beach cart it looks like we are moving in for 3 weeks:scared:
 
Not arguing here...just want to make sure that you're understanding things correctly
I dont want to have to worry about crossing roads...the actual view of the ocean doesnt concern me.
In Sea Pines, the 'ocean side' homes are all next to these access paths that are 2-3 foot wide concrete sidewalks....no roads to cross.
146456_8.jpg

In Sea Pines, you still have to access the beach via these access paths from most ocean front homes (as very few have ever been allowed to build their own access to the actual beach).
 
Not arguing here...just want to make sure that you're understanding things correctly

In Sea Pines, the 'ocean side' homes are all next to these access paths that are 2-3 foot wide concrete sidewalks....no roads to cross.
146456_8.jpg

In Sea Pines, you still have to access the beach via these access paths from most ocean front homes (as very few have ever been allowed to build their own access to the actual beach).

Gotcha, thanks! We have visited Sea Pines, but never stayed there. Thanks for the visual :)

http://www.treasurerealty.com/rentals/4318id/4318id.htm

We stayed this house two years ago. Treasure Realty has a lot of great homes on their website. We've used their agency three times before.

This house is gorgeous! Thanks!
 
Never stayed in HHI but LOVE OBX!! We go every summer, even ifs it just a weekend or two here and there. This past June was our "family" vacation, 13 of us in one house. We stayed in Hatteras Island which is as far south on Rt. 12 you can get without boarding the ferry to Ocracoke. We rented from Midgett Realty, great people, will definitely use them again. Here's our house..
http://www.midgettrealty.com/rental/wheelhouse

It was lovely, had an elevator for my MIL and was ADA compliant. Here's our view every morning from the top deck...
photobucket-15284-1345734292417.jpg


It was lovely. And I understand perfectly about looking like you're going to live at the beach with all the "stuff". Story of my life! :goodvibes
 
Never stayed in HHI but LOVE OBX!! We go every summer, even ifs it just a weekend or two here and there. This past June was our "family" vacation, 13 of us in one house. We stayed in Hatteras Island which is as far south on Rt. 12 you can get without boarding the ferry to Ocracoke. We rented from Midgett Realty, great people, will definitely use them again. Here's our house..
http://www.midgettrealty.com/rental/wheelhouse

It was lovely, had an elevator for my MIL and was ADA compliant. Here's our view every morning from the top deck...
photobucket-15284-1345734292417.jpg


It was lovely. And I understand perfectly about looking like you're going to live at the beach with all the "stuff". Story of my life! :goodvibes

Wow...that is an awesome house! Does it have a pool? I saw a hot tub, but didnt see a pool. That looks so roomy and nice...right there on the beach:cloud9:
 
Wow...that is an awesome house! Does it have a pool? I saw a hot tub, but didnt see a pool. That looks so roomy and nice...right there on the beach:cloud9:

No pool, that would've pushed the rent up quite a bit more! lol But it was REALLY nice having the beach access right there. :cool2:
 





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