I have never owned a property near an ocean. What are potential problems for being close to an ocean? It looks like the insurance is almost double. Otherthan that, I’d think there are less obvious issue. Salt in the air may also affect appliances?
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It depends on the specific location and specific home, more than just whether it is near an ocean or not.
For example, I live in a coastal town, with many homes near the ocean. Some are on cliff, where the land erodes, such that backyard gets smaller over time. Over a 10 year period, backyard might becomes much smaller. Steps down to the beach collapse, rocks from property can land on and kill beachgoers, etc. In other areas without cliffs, there can be issues with vandalism and damage from beachgoers and homeless persons. A beach home owner I know on the other coast has issues with hurricanes and has had flooding when tide comes in too far. These are all significant issues for these particular homes, but may have negligible risk for your home.
In general, insurance will be higher for beach homes than similar non-beach homes nearby, there is likely more upkeep and maintenance from effects of saltwater and sand, and there are likely to be a larger portion renters than elsewhere. However, the specific degree of these effects will vary.
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My parents live on a barrier island in the Carolinas. Other than hurricanes, which are the largest issue where they live, insurance costs, and home maintenance are big issues. They’ve lived in their home for 20 years and had to replace their AC units four times, the salt ruins them. They were also dropped by their homeowners insurance company this year, so they are currently living without insurance (!), the insurance company left the whole area.
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I would also say that tourists and renters are an issue. Big parties, some theft, and general “I’m on vacation” behavior 
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It might be in a flood zone. If so, it’s probably likely it will flood at some point, and you’d lose all your belongings if it’s ground level. I drive past blocks and blocks of peoples lives thrown out on the curb, post Helene and Milton.
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My friend lived on the beach. He had a private drive with his 3 vehicles garaged under his house. Although there were “No Parking-you will be towed” signs with city codes, he was always blocked in on the weekends and holidays.
He and his neighbors had to frequently call towing companies.
He learned to feign innocence when sunburned people returned to their cars and tried to yell at him when their cars were gone. He told them that the police towed frequently (true because parking on the throughways would block large Emergency vehicles) and they needed to call the City or ask the police on bikes.
Because he faced the ocean and had a low fence, people would make themselves “at home” using his beach yard picnic tables, umbrellas, and mothers with young children, trying to make their way through the house to use their restroom! (Pleading with him to let their kids and themselves use his bathroom.) People actually argued with him that they had rights! He would tell them, “I’m an attorney, and no you don’t”. Or, “the bathroom flooded this morning, I’m waiting on a plumber”. He had to call the police to get people away from his home.
Loved his home but hated the public who thought they had a a right to his home.
During heavy rains, he had to have sandbags ready.
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I love being near the beach. Two negatives come quickly to mind.
Wood, stucco, metal, etc. will require regular maintenance.
And the ocean, the Pacific in my case, will occasionally smell not so good.
But the positives far outweigh the negatives in our case.
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One more thing I’ll add is that when we replaced two redwood decks in poor shape a few years ago, we used Trex (or similar product) to replace them.
They’ve required zero maintenance and still look great.
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Sorry, I keep remembering things to mention thet could make owning a home near an ocean less of a maintenance hassle.
Aluminum is corrosion resistant. I know of a large old property right near the ocean that has an almost 50-year old aluminum roof, which remains in remarkable condition. Now, every 10-15-20 years +/-, the aluminum roof will require pressure washing and recoating, but properly maintained, an aluminum roof (or other aluminum-based home feature) could last a lifetime.
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We live exactly one mile from the Pacific and the biggest issue (of which we were not aware when we purchased) is marine layer. There are numerous days where we’re covered in clouds and/or fog while it’s sunny a mile further inland. We do live on a hilly peninsula, which doesn’t help. Also the sea air is not so friendly to some vegetables.
Here’s an example of the marine layer:
We haven’t noticed particular maintenance issues -at least compared to the snow, ice, and thunderstorms of Chicagoland. And even with the overcast days, I love it here.
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We live 4 blocks from the ocean. My parents’ house was slightly nearer the ocean. Our entire state is considered “highly corrosive,” and things must be maintained accordingly.
We love being able to see the water and being able to get to it easily. We have flood insurance as well as hurricane insurance but fortunately have never had to make a claim for either for our home nor my parents. We’ve lived here 35 years and my parents’ house has been there over 60 years while it was owned by them and now a niece.
We do have termites throughout our state and some corrosion (especially on aluminum) but with attention, it can be maintained. If you maintain your home and don’t live TOO close to the ocean, you can still get insurance.
We aren’t right on the water so don’t have the problems others have written about.
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We had a house near the ocean for 20 years. The house was on a bluff and across the street from the water. Because of the elevation, we didn’t need to worry about flooding (this was in Japan, so we would have worried about tsunami). We had the site checked for stability before we bought, so we also weren’t worried about landslides. We were mindful of the corrosion issues when we purchased window frames, outdoor lights, etc., and that wasn’t really too much of a problem. We did have a lot of wind and had some roof damage during a typhoon. If you are a gardener or like to have a nice yard, there can be challenges there, from the soil, the salt and the wind.
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Living near but not right ON the beach you have fewer problems with trespass and those issues.
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Houses with ocean waterfront property, or any waterfront property around here, are easy two to three times or more expensive than ones even a short distance away.
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I grew up in water front home with the beach only blocks away. I highly recommend.
The salt air does get to things but you live with it.
I now live on the river. One thing not mentioned is that when a storm rolls in and there isn’t much to block the wind it can get a bit scary. Just a bit inland and the wind levels are much lower. We have 30-50mph wind gusts on a regular basis with a big storm. Hence my back porch furniture is just things I can handle myself and drag in or fold up. Not a big deal for us but I’ve known people to move because of it. Just depends on you and spouse and your comfort level. But living on the water is its own therapy.
It really makes a difference to know the location you are asking about.
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There are development restrictions that apply to areas within x feet of ocean, so putting an addition may require a lot of state/local permits.
Check the flood zone to see if you are in one and if the existing structure meets the requirements of the zone. If it does not, any substantial renovation will require it to be brought into compliance.
Consider looking at GIS models of sea level rise in the municipality.
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This is definitely true. If we’re talking about the Carolinas or Florida, that’s a very different story than the Oregon coast, which is also different than the Maine coast.
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Our family has a house on the Puget Sound, which is a bit different in some ways but similar in others. Off the top of my head:
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Outdoor grill grates rust quickly (noticeably different than the exact same grill just two miles from the waterfront). No issues with indoor appliances.
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You need to be (should be!) mindful of how run off from your home affects the ecosystem, e.g. fertilizers and pesticides in your yard or on your lawn.
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King Tides in the winter (especially if they are coupled with stormy weather) usually means that the water is coming up over the grass and garden. Depending on how long it lasts, the salt water will have an effect.
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There are a lot of regulations that are both essential and important, yet sometimes make no sense on an individual level. An 8’ section of a 100’ bulkhead needs repair or it will fall down? No, per the county there can be no repair, it must just fall down.
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Exterior paint wears down more quickly than inland. (It’s just the salt air, we don’t have salt water spray at the level of the house.)
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If you have any unheated or unfinished storage spaces, such as under the house, a shed, a garage - there will be humidity issues there.
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The salt air is corrosive and does a number on metal. We have a vacation place that’s on an island (Northeast) and when we leave for the winter we store our car inside and bring in all the metal furniture and gear. Insurance can be expensive too. Dealing with it all is just a fact of life when you live near the ocean.
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We, too, have a place on Puget Sound. While not the open ocean, there are similarities.
We have a low bank, maybe 10-ish feet high, with steps down to a ramp to the beach/water. We also have boat rails for our dinghy. The ramp decided to try and float away during king tides this past winter, and we had to rush over and secure it so it wouldn’t disappear. The metal hinges between steps and ramp had corroded and disintegrated.
The rails were starting to rot in places, so H had to replace sections. Then it turned out that the lag screws weren’t properly treated, so he got to redo them.
Tides determine when you can do these repairs.
DNR and the county determine what can go in. Neighbors have been working for several years to get a dock.
Can’t cut down trees that are too close to the water.
Rebuilding after a fire or to replace a falling-down structure can be really difficult because of shoreline restrictions that came about after the original build.
The metal roof will be sanded and repainted next spring/summer
The damp permeates space that’s not well-heated. I walked into a few houses and turned right back around because of the smell.
Neighbors who turn their places into vacation rentals can make life a living hell with noise and theft.
I love the place, though, and wouldn’t change it for anything.
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