A home on the beach in Sunset Beach, North Carolina, is a dream for many. But before finding a home that suits your preferences and needs, there are some important factors to consider to help you determine if a Sunset Beach property truly is the ideal home for you. One of these considerations is the beach usage around the property.
Who Gets to Use the Beach Near Your Sunset Beach Home?
If you are planning to purchase a Sunset Beach home right on the beach, this is a great question to ask. It will help you to determine if the home is ideal for your vision of quiet and privacy or fun and activity you hope to find around your property.
The Sunset Beach Public Trust Doctrine
Under the Sunset Beach Public Trust Doctrine, the general public has the right to use state oceanfront beaches. Some areas of the beach land are privately owned in Sunset Beach, but the land between the dunes and the water is accessible to the public, allowing everyone to enjoy this part of the beach.
There are many private homes along the beachfront in Sunset Beach that have private ownership of land. Generally, these homes may own land to the high watermark, so they cannot prevent public beach access to the water or dry sand areas further down the beach.
What does this mean for people hoping to gain public beach access around a Sunset Beach home?
This means that the public is open to walk on any areas where there is wet sand. Private property owners cannot keep the public from accessing wet sand areas on the beach. Any area of the sand that stays dry and is within the official private ownership boundaries of a property is not allowed to be used by the public. The public is open to access the beach as long as they stay below the high tide line.
Protecting ownership boundaries
If you feel the need to protect beach ownership boundaries, it can be within your rights to place signage or even place a bit of fencing around your property lines to ensure that your private areas of the beach remain private. It is within your right to ask people to move on if they are hanging out in an area above the high tide line that is a portion of your privately owned property. For the most part, people are respectful of private boundaries on the beach and do not cause issues for private homeowners. But it is good to be aware that there may be a visitor or two at some point that will stretch beyond these boundaries. Sometimes they may not know, and sometimes they may be overly excited to utilize the beautiful beaches of Sunset Beach.
It is always good to be aware that this is a possibility, though it is not a growing pesky concern in the area. Owning a home on the beach comes with some drawbacks, and one of the drawbacks is ensuring that your private spaces stay private when you own a bit of the sandy paradise that is Sunset Beach.
If you prefer a stretch of the beach that is quiet and rarely sees a ton of traffic, it is always best to utilize the expertise of a local Sunset Beach realtor to help you find the quietest stretch of beach with an ideal Sunset Beach property that meets your wants and needs.
If you are hoping to find a property on Sunset Beach, you want a local Sunset Beach real estate agent to help you out. Sunset Beach is a special place in North Carolina with a culture and real estate market all its own. Making sure you have an expert Sunset Beach real estate agent working with you to find your ideal home in this “hidden” gem of North Carolina is essential. Contact the team at Sunset Beach and Beyond to help you find the coastal North Carolina home that meets both your wants and your needs.
“Life will lead you to where you belong. Five years ago life led me to meeting Karen Baker at an Open House. Our relationship continues as Karen and her husband Frank have been outstanding not only in helping my husband and I find the right retirement relocation home, but we have watched their commitment in helping many others find their homes. She and Frank treat every client as if they are the only ones that exist. They provide thorough research of areas and homes of interest and present you with the options. They are not your typical hard sell, must-buy-now realtors. They are here to help you find your next home?. You won’t go wrong with the Bakers!”-Sunset Beach and Beyond Review