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I am looking to purchase a house in the area soon. I would like to stay between Wilmington and Morehead City. I know thats a big area, so help me narrow it down. I need at least 4 bedrooms and 2 baths. As close to the water as possible. Where specifically should I be looking? From the searching I have already done, the Hampstead area looks good. Any ideas? Trying to stay under 300k. I have connections to build, but don't have the time be done there for the project. I guess I'm just looking for some people who know the area to give up their .02
Getting close to the water gets very expensive very quickly, especially in that area. Hampstead is indeed *in between* and approx 20 minutes north of Wilmington depending on where you start counting. I can recommend a realtor if you PM me. I can also answer questions about the area and WB. I don't have any detailed knowledge of the MC/Beaufort area other then most housing and boating costs are lower.
I think the MHC area offers better boating and fishing than the Wilmington area but Wilmington does offer more as far as a city goes. The housing prices are probably lower in MHC, but it isn't going to be cheap buying waterfront property in the MHC area either. With the real estate market the way it is now I would think now would be a good time to buy in either place. Good luck both areas are nice.
I don't need anything the city has to offer. I would much rather be away from it all. Just looking for somehting in between that is good to the better fishing in the area. I have found some really nice places in the Snead's Ferry area. Any thoughts?? My wife's grandparents are in Leland, and we would like to be near to help take care of them.
Wilmington is an easy drive from Morehead it's around 1 hour and 45 minutes. I don't know if you have ever been to MHC. MHC is a lot larger than Snead's Ferry, we have shopping but just not as much as Wilmington and not as much traffic. It may be a little far if you need to run back and forth to look after grandparents. We have excellent places to go boating and the offshore fishing is closer here than WB.
Hampstead is growing very rapidly and there is a large development going in on the ICWW with an entrance off of Country Club Rd. The development I believe will be named St. Georges Reach and will be in the 1,200 home range, 900 or so single family and 300 attached homes. Will have water access, club house etc. The developers are in the process of getting approvals to begin the development. Probably 12 months from when houses will be available from what we hear. We are in Belvedere, which is next door to the new development, where there is a large marina, Harbour Village and good access to the ocean through New Topsail Inlet.
There is another large development with some water access north of Surf City in Holly Ridge. The name of it is Summerhouse. Their website is http://www.summerhouseoneverettbay.com.
Even in areas like Hampstead, the water front property is in the 7 digits, but there are plenty of homes near the water in your price range.
Hope this helps.
PS - I have no affiliation to the new developments, and I am not in the real estate business.
Covenants and HOAs down here (at least Raleigh, but rest of NC is getting there) are even worse than up there in the DC region, so be very careful on where you buy and what the covenants are, especially since the real estate agents tend not to disclose that information. A boat you can garage will limit your offshore time, but might be fine for the inshore and sound area. Boat storage outside of your own property can be hard to find in some areas.
Anyway, just something to keep in mind. You can probably find property outside developments (or in a small development where you might be able to influence the covenants) for the same or lower prices if you come down and look for yourself, if you rely solely on agents and computer searches, then yes, all you'll see are the big developments.
__________________ 2009 NauticStar 2200 Bay Tournament Edition with 175 hp Suzuki 4-stroke
Where we are in Belvedere there are only a couple of covenants, that have to do with minimum sq ft of the structure and no mobile homes. Otherwise they are completely harmless and we do not have any dues etc. So be careful what you imply to others.
I am very familiar with HOA's and their restrictions, I am also aware of their ability to prevent the vacant lot next door from becoming a mobile home park. A developement is definitely not my first choice, but it seems that most of the area is already bought up for that purpose. I was trying to find that piece of property that was a few minutes from the ramp without the cost of waterfront. I go down to Leland all the time for family responsibilities, I guess I need to make time to drive around and see the place.
Try Kings Harbor in Holly Ridge or Mimosa Bay in Sneads Ferry. I have a house available in Kings
Harbor in the low $400,000 range. There is a boat ramp and Gazebo with gorgeous views of the
Intracoastal Waterway throughout the neighborhood. Staying under 300K in Kings Harbor may
be possible but Mimosa Bay would be more challenging.
Wilmington area move... 
