Need help - Buying 2nd home.. Barefoot Resort vs. Beachfront condo (North: oceanfront, rentals)

[bballa21]

Hello all,
My wife and I are looking to buy a 2 or 3 bedroom condo in North Myrtle and we need help deciding between Barefoot Resort or a condo by the beach. Without ever visiting Barefoot Resort but rather reading a lot about the area, the main reasons of choosing Barefoot is the golf courses (only looking for units with transferrable golf memberships), Barefoot Landing very close (We've been there), 3 BR is much more affordable, a lot of pools and activities for our 20 month old. I understand Barefoot has a shuttle to a Barefoot Resort beachfront cabana but we are beach bums and would love to be able to walk the beach every day and night, but more expensive than Barefoot and HOAs on most condos by the beach are very high.

So really just need an opinion on Barefoot Resort, being on the beach is an easy sell for me

[CTyankee54]

As no one has responded to your post, I'll give you what little I know about Barefoot even though I do no live there. My information is based on what was relayed to me by a friend who lives there. If you consider Barefoot, be sure and look in the sections that do not allow short term rentals. My friend had a condo in a building that allowed vacation rentals and she said it was horrible. She sold it and moved into the more stable area of Barefoot.



On the flip side, as you indicated, the HOA fees for a condo on the beach are astronomical and you definitely would have constant vacationers coming in and out of the building at all hours of the day/night. Vacationers are not, generally, very considerate of others...their attitude is "I'm on vacation and letting my hair down regardless of how it impacts others." Additionally, you would be in the middle of constant tourist vehicle traffic which can be pretty bad during the summer near the beach. One also has to consider that quality and maintenance of the condo building (especially in light of the collapse in FL).



Finally, as your child ages toward school, I would imagine (but don't know for certain) that Barefoot would be in a better school district than the condos on the beach.

[blueherons]

By a wide margin, the beach.

The Barefoot area is much hotter in the summer with no ocean breeze to cool it off. Oceanfront and near ocean properties will always hold their value over non waterfront properties.

There is something to be said about being able to walk to the beach.

[leadfoot4]

Originally Posted by CTyankee54

As no one has responded to your post, I'll give you what little I know about Barefoot even though I do no live there. My information is based on what was relayed to me by a friend who lives there. If you consider Barefoot, be sure and look in the sections that do not allow short term rentals. My friend had a condo in a building that allowed vacation rentals and she said it was horrible. She sold it and moved into the more stable area of Barefoot.



On the flip side, as you indicated, the HOA fees for a condo on the beach are astronomical and you definitely would have constant vacationers coming in and out of the building at all hours of the day/night. Vacationers are not, generally, very considerate of others...their attitude is "I'm on vacation and letting my hair down regardless of how it impacts others." Additionally, you would be in the middle of constant tourist vehicle traffic which can be pretty bad during the summer near the beach. One also has to consider that quality and maintenance of the condo building (especially in light of the collapse in FL).



Finally, as your child ages toward school, I would imagine (but don't know for certain) that Barefoot would be in a better school district than the condos on the beach.

Good advice, for sure. With respect to the highlighted, I originally rented a condo unit in Cherry Grove for several years, that was owned by a colleague I worked with, and really enjoyed the time spent there. It was quiet and peaceful. He later sold his unit, and I wound up renting a unit from one of the "mass marketing" management groups, and ran into the described situation a couple of times.

[TMSRetired]

Anything along the beach will be fall of tourists coming and going. Since they are on vacation, every day is a party day.

I live in Barefoot and being 5-10 minutes from the beach on the other side of the intracoastal makes a world of difference.
The beach at 46th street (straight drive from Barefoot) becomes a sardine can in July/Aug with people on top of each other, parking lots full and just crowded all the time.

I've been driving up north of Main to the emptier beaches...about a 15 minute drive and definitely worth it.

Usually the crowds die down after Labor Day weekend.

You'll find more peace and quiet in Barefoot if you intend to live here full time.

[cb at sea]

You can always buy a golf cart to get you to and from the beach, if you want to be in Barefoot. It's a nice place, but for a more "neighborhood" feel, definitely don't buy where they are allowed to rent. We had a condo for 13 years....and we rented it....and we were ok with it, as we were only there 4-5 times yearly. Had that been a permanent home, we would NOT have purchased a condo! We listed ours and it sold 2 days later, sight unseen. Hubby has health issues that don't allow us as much travel time anymore.