North Carolina -Paar spends $ 200K home while erosion slowly swallows their coastline
When Dr. Scott Twentyman And Cindy Doughty Van Rodanthe, NC, bought their beach house with three floors in 2002, extreme weather and Stranderosie were not problems they were worried about.
“It was not on our radar at that time,” says Twentyman REALTOR.COM®. “We never even thought of it.”
But over time, Rodanthe almost eroded 13 feet per yearAccording to some estimates, which ultimately ends the dream house of the couple. So they had to move – but they didn’t go without their house!
The perfect storm
Twentyman and Doughty saw several of their neighbors’ houses in 2019 fall into the Atlantic Ocean, when the Outer Banks was hit by three Nor’eaasters in a row, including Hurricane Dorian.
“When one of the houses went down, one of the neighbor’s posts crashed through our back door and our first floor had 2 feet of water in it,” Doughty recalls. “It was crazy.”
The couple knew that they had to take action – and quickly.
“It was clear that we had to move or lose the house,” says Twentyman. “We had no choice.”
When they put the house on the market, they feared that they would receive a Lowball offer because the house was uninhabitable at that time.
“Plus, we could never get anything like this house again, so we really didn’t want to sell it,” notes Twentyman.
“And you can never replace the display,” adds Doughty. “This is not something that you can just buy somewhere.”
The solution? Move the house completely. Fortunately they were “happy” to possess a double party, Twentyman explains, so moving the house was actually a feasible option.
“Otherwise there would have been no empty lots to move it because Hatteras Island is built,” he says.
The price to save their house
The couple eventually made the decision to move their house 100 further inland from the advancing beach. Although it was not a far step, it was still an important undertaking that came with a good price tag – more than $ 200,000, which they all had to pay from their own pockets.
The reason for this considerable out-of-pocket costs, Twentyman explains, is that insurance companies usually refuse to cover the costs of proactively moving a house, even if it is clearly threatened by natural troops.
“The insurance company says that the house should fall into the ocean before you are paid,” Twentyman complains. “It’s idiot.”
To save their house, the couple had to take out a loan of equity for another real estate that they owned to finance the move itself.
“We hired a company with the name Expert House Movers, and they have certainly earned their name,” says Twentyman, in which they explain that they were the same team to move the Lighthouse Cape Hatteras in the late nineties.
Due to the same erosion problem, the historical structure must be moved at 2,900 feet from the place where it had been since 1870.
Knowing that they have dealt with such an important project, the couple gave “trust” to trust their own home, would be moved with care.
Time was essential
They had to completely remove the first floor – which consisted of an entrance, the laundry room and the stairs – so that they could place beams under the house on top of the posts to support the weight of the structure.
And because the hurricane season was going on, it was a race by De Tijd.
“As soon as the house is gone, you can’t do anything with that country – it’s a total loss,” says Twentyman. “The house goes down – that’s it.”
Saving the necessary permits and the completion of the construction took several long months.
“It was very stressful,” says Doughty.
But luckily the actual act of moving the house lasted only about 20 minutes.
“I was really surprised how quickly that part happened,” adds Doughty.
The big move
Shocking they didn’t have to get anything out of the house before it was moved.
“I just assumed that we had to empty the house and remove all the glassware from the shelves, but they told me we didn’t have to do anything,” Doughty recalls.
Although the night of the move was characterized by heavy storms, a short calmness was transported.
“The wind died, the rain stopped and it really became quiet,” says Doughty. “I still get goosebumps just thinking.”
After the house was moved, the posts were no longer driven into sand – they were now on the foundation.
“Knowing that it is on the rock, gives us more peace of mind, especially if the weather is bad,” says Twentyman.
No second thoughts
The couple says that they absolutely do not regret moving their home and would advise other people in coastal communities to do the same.
“It was a big leap of faith, but it paid off,” says Doughty. “We both have such a strong emotional bond with this house, and we didn’t want to lose it.”
Although the experience was stressful, Twentyman says that they actually came closer to them as a few, “because we were together in this battle together.”
