Freeing it of a $68,000-a-year mortgage, this Brunswick town to sell its beach house
A town-owned three-bedroom, two-bathroom home just a street away from the ocean in Holden Beach will soon hit the market, after the town spent thousands on repairs.
The town of Holden Beach purchased the single-family home at 796 Ocean Blvd. West in September 2019 for $342,500.
The home sits beside a town sewer pump station, which the town was upgrading to pull much of the sewer system out from underground and elevating the electrical and pump systems above base flood elevation. Concerned the changes would cause noise issues at the neighboring house, the town purchased the home largely to serve as a buffer so the noise would not affect neighbors farther west, Holden Beach Mayor Alan Holden previously told the StarNews.
Aside from the proactive move to block potential noise, the town did not have a plan for the property at the time of the purchase. The town rented the home to a town employee for a time at below-market rates, before it was eventually left vacant.
Last spring, the town was considering a few options to reanimate the home, including renovating the home for sale or short-term rental, or converting the home into a public space with bathrooms and other communal spaces, taking advantage of its proximity to the beach.
The town's yearly payment, including the principal and interest, totals over $68,000 a year. The loan, town staff reported, continues through 2037 and totals roughly $850,000.
"We should sell this property so we can get some taxes on it, we can get out from under a $68,000-a-year payment," commissioner Tracey Thomas said at the board's March 19 meeting.
Last year, neighboring property owners raised concern, not regarding noise from the sewer station, but over the appearance of the town-owned home. In response, the town invested $52,670 in "significant renovation and repair" efforts to "improve the appearance of the structure."
Mayor Pro-Tem Tom Myers described the purchase as a "solution in search of a problem."
"We haven't been able to find a problem it really serves," Myers said. "I don't wanna be handcuffed and we've gotta have this thing forever. We're not using it, it's sitting vacant, it's going to fall in disrepair again..."
In March, the Holden Beach Board of Commissioners was split three to two, ultimately passing a motion to direct staff to begin the process of selling the property.
Commissioners Page Dyer and Rick Smith voted against the move, with Dyer arguing the town should recess the decision until the completion of an island-wide ADA-compliance assessment. The assessment could identify services the town may need to invest in, such as public bathrooms, and the property could be needed to address such needs, she said.
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The prevailing motion authorized town staff to sell the property in an approach they see fit without the matter coming back before the board for further authorization.
Jamey Cross covers Brunswick County for the StarNews. Reach her at jbcross@gannett.com or message her on Twitter/X @jameybcross.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Problem beach house owned by Holden Beach to be sold following repairs
