September 26, 2009
I recently read an article about recycling suburbia. An interesting concept based on the fact that demand for a house with a yard in a suburb has dwindled. Households want more compact living places (think the “Not So Big House”) and walkable blocks and public spaces with mixed-use town centers.
The Town of Manteo understands this concept. In approving the master plan for Marshes Light, they wanted the community to be a seamless extension of the downtown historic neighborhood. A boardwalk was built skirting Shallowbag Bay and connecting to Manteo’s boardwalk and Marina.
At build-out Marshes Light will incorporate a mix of retail and residences, condominiums, single family homes, an inn, and a marina. Next door is the new downtown campus for the College of the Albemarle. Everything is within walking distance with a beautiful soundside backdrop.
I explored this concept of coastal small town living in a previous post at http://www.beachroadtomanteo.com/2009/08/finding-meaning-in-making-of-mayberry.html.
Manteo has a wonderful variety of shops, great restaurants and many attractions including The Elizabethan Gardens, The Lost Colony, NC Aquarium, Roanoke Island Festival Park and Outdoor Pavilion. And, of course, is its location, 10 minutes from the beaches at Nags Head and the Outer Banks and an alternate route on the Intracoastal Waterway.
For more information about the Town of Manteo, visit their website at http://www.townofmanteo.com/. For more information about Marshes Light, visit http://www.marsheslight.com/.
Categories: Uncategorized.
Tags: Coastal Living, Manteo Real Estate, small towns, Walkable Towns
September 22, 2009
Last week I posted about identifying your space needs (Man Cave) and whether a condo or single family home is right for you.
We often get asked at Marshes Light what the difference in costs are between condo ownership and single family home ownership. Here’s a partial list of some of the items/fees associated with the different types of ownership:
- Master Association (at Marshes Light everyone is a member of the Master Association)
- Condominium Association (only Condo owners belong to this Association and the fee covers items 4 & 5 below)
- Property Taxes (due on single family homes and condos)
- Insurance (HO-3 policy, wind and flood)
- Exterior maintenance & reserves
- Utilities
- Condominium contents insurance
After doing a comparison on the two ownership types at Marshes Light, we found that the difference in cost comes down to about $60.00 more per month for the condo than single family home. For more information about Marshes Light, visit www.marsheslight.com.
Categories: Uncategorized.
September 18, 2009
I had a recent visitor to the sales center in Marshes Light in Manteo, who has been by a couple of times to look at our Marina Villas, a/k/a Marina Condominiums. Harry will give a long, careful look at the homes and the floor plans, albeit wistfully – thinking about the carefree lifestyle he would enjoy, his hours spent on the golf course instead of on top of his roof, cleaning out gutters.
But, invariably he will shake his head and declare, “Nope, there’s no place for my Man-Cave.”
Being married to a man who has three Man-Caves, four if you count the Hunt Club in Granville County, I understand the amount of stuff that an active guy can accumulate and the need to bond over said stuff with other guys.
The Marshes Light Villas are spacious and each one includes a locking storage closet (approx. 8′x8′) and there’s a rack for kayaks and canoes.
But if you need room for an ATV or a large HDTV with serious electronics, or if you have a green thumb and gardening is important, a single family home with detached garage (with FROG) would be your best choice.
Fortunately, at Marshes Light, we have both.
Care-free, low maintenance condo living with lock-and-go flexibility OR a free-standing single home with room for a guy’s (or girl’s) stuff and a garden. Remember, too, that today’s building materials are low maintenance (think Hardi-Plank), which reduces upkeep in a free-standing home.
Categories: Uncategorized.
Tags: designing space, Man cave, manteo, outer banks
September 13, 2009
On the Outer Banks, you’ll find a plethora of Redskins and Panthers fans. Both teams are on today, Panthers game started at 1 p.m. against Philadelphia; Redskins at Giant Stadium later at 4:15.
Which explains why it is so quiet outside. A beautiful sunny day would usually find people and pets outside on the boardwalk or in a boat or kayak on the Sound.
So, while everyone else is inside rooting it up for the Panthers (who need a little encouragement right now), I took my camera and went outside.
Categories: Uncategorized.
Tags: Football, manteo, outer banks, Roanoke Island
September 8, 2009
A well functioning house or functionally obsolete?
Our house is a reverse-floor plan, popular along the beach so that the main living level, kitchen and great room is on the top floor to maximize ocean views. These houses are typically on 8′ pilings so that finished first floor is above sea level (in many cases 2′ – 4′ height would suffice, but the extra height gives a better chance of an ocean view).
Over the past ten years, the trees have grown so much in our yard completely blocking our ocean views.
The only benefit (other than view) with this type of floor plan is that hauling groceries up two full flights of stairs helps keep us in shape.
We have a large landscaped back yard that has a pool, apple trees, live oaks – the same oaks that provide the canopy that blocks the ocean view. Right outside the gate is open space (common land) that is in its natural state. We have cleared a path through this space that leads us to a nearby street that is direct access to the beach. We are the only ones that use the path and it tunnels through a heavily wooded (providing more canopy) area.
We love our location in Southern Shores. But the floor plan completely isolates anyone in the kitchen and living room from the beautiful back yard and swimming pool. It’s no fun to entertain or grill outside while the family enjoys the pool on a sunny afternoon.
We’ve remodeled four or five times and we now face replacing the upstairs heat pump and fixing a leak in the roof from an older addition.
Our dilemma: do we keep patching a house that has outlived our purpose or is it time to demolish? Is there anything worth salvaging?
HGTV? Ty Pennington? Bob Vila? Anybody?
More on this later!
Categories: Uncategorized.
Tags: beach building, demolition, Home remodeling
September 3, 2009
My son Sam is a senior at First Flight High School, just started back this week. He is the last of the Whitley Boys to complete their education in the Dare County school system. He will be in the graduating class of 2010. Dare County School System is one of the best in the state, here’s a few reasons why:
Recent news from the school’s website: http://www.darecountyschoolsonline.com/moxie/schools/index.shtml
- Dare Students Shine as Second Best in State on SAT
- Dare Schools Meet 98% of Federal Testing Targets
- FFHS ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicles)Team takes First in Design in International Competition, Buzzard Bay, Massachusetts
- FFHS Journalism Program Earns Tar Heel Award and more.
There have been memorable events over the years with the Whitley Boys in school, but one that stands out in my mind occurred a couple of years ago.
I packed lunch for Sam when he was 14, a young 9th grader, first year of high school. Off he goes to school. At lunch in the cafeteria, he reaches into his lunch bag, pulls out his sandwich and a Budweiser! Blame it on lack of coffee or something, I guess I thought it was a soda. Good kid that he is, he turned it right in to the teacher on duty.
Categories: Uncategorized.
Tags: Dare County, Life with Kids, outer banks, Public Schools
