which are best communities?

perfect fit?

Ok - Cypress Dunes is beautiful but there is no beach access. The others are ok but I think you will find Watersound West Beach a perfect fit for all. Option to join beach club includes Golf at 2 courses. The beach is a 10 minute walk or quick bike ride and the most beautiful we've seen. The Beach Club has gorgeous beach, too, and bar/restaurant w huge pool.
Plus, prices are reasonable but already starting to creep up. Good investment !

Good advice. Lpicc1 - townhouse, house or condo? Homeowner's association or not (fees)? How far from the beach? How lively of a nightlife?

High Pointe condos in Seacrest has a beach bar. Can walk to great restaurants in Rosemary Beach.

Have you considered Sandestin? Lots of golf.

I was going to suggest high point as well -- it's a great location! Sunset is in a similar location but no bar!

Ok - Cypress Dunes is beautiful but there is no beach access. The others are ok but I think you will find Watersound West Beach a perfect fit for all. Option to join beach club includes Golf at 2 courses. The beach is a 10 minute walk or quick bike ride and the most beautiful we've seen. The Beach Club has gorgeous beach, too, and bar/restaurant w huge pool.
Plus, prices are reasonable but already starting to creep up. Good investment !

Kurt is right. First you need to decide on townhouse, condo, or house.

I know someone who lost a million dollars at Cypress Dunes due to no beach access. If you can get a house there for the $500's or below, that would be a good deal. You'll have to drive or trepass on state park property to get to the beach.

The named resorts are popular for those who like a homogeneous neighborhood with not-so-private beaches. But the HOA fees are outrageous in comparison to the neighborhoods that aren't named resorts. For example, our HOA fees in Seagrove for a large home in a low density neighborhood 1 minute from a very private beach and south of 30A are $800 a year. Compare that to up to $3000 a quarter for the named resorts. You need to factor that into your costs.

As far as the named resorts go, you also need to make the walk and bike ride down to the beach from the property in which you are interested on a hot day. You need to know how miserable and buggy that would be at certain times of the year and how far you'd be from a bathroom. And are there bike paths all the way to the beach, or is your family going to have to be subjected to sharing the road with vehicles on the "short" ride to the beach?

As far as WSW goes, you have to pay a premium on top of your HOA fees at WSW to use the amenities at the "main" Watersound mentioned by vcalhoun such as the beach club, the golf courses, the Watersound pool, and the Watersound beach.

Just basically you need to have your eyes wide open.

Stop by the Cottages at Camp Creek, especially if you like Magnolia Cottages. They are near Magnolia Cottages (I like Magnolia very much as well) toward Alys Beach on the left. It's a smaller community with a huge pool. We have two side-by-side cottages there and love it there. The beach is across the street (a little to the left, about 400 yards) and we have deeded beach access. It's a quiet community on a relatively quiet stretch of road, and the beach across the street is uncrowded because it's not too near a county beach access. So, we have the advantage of a quiet beach; if you're near a county beach access, you'd have the advantage of a life guard even though it's a busier beach. Why not rent a place for a few days/week in the communities you are interested in to get a feel for them (both in off-season - say March or May when it's not spring break - and busy season - first few weeks of summer).

Lpicc1, speaking as one who has owned a gulf-front vacation home on 30a for twenty-something years, and who has no desire to or intention of selling it at this time, and who LOVES, LOVES, LOVES this area, my honest advice to you is the same advice I give my best friends and family when they get the itch to buy a second home anywhere: Rent someone else's second home when you want to go to the beach...or the mountains..or the islands...or the desert...or...well, you get the picture. Really. Trust me on this. Even if you have more money than God (or Beachrunner). Just continue to enjoy your romance with the Emerald Coast- don't marry it!

Thanks for all the advice. We have stayed in Sandestin for years and while we love it there, we kinda have our hearts set on 30A. I will definitely rule out Cypress Dunes for it's lack of beach access. I have stayed at High Pointe in the past..it's nice but a little too big..like Silver Shells in Destin. We don't really have a preference I guess..I like the idea of a condo, but don't want huge HOA fees. I have noticed alot of the houses are sold "furnished"..which would be a huge plus(if I liked their taste). When they say "Old Seagrove" and no fees..what does that just mean? Where does Old Seagrove start and end? And what are your thoughts on Carillion Beach?? I don't want to get into Panama City.

I have heard the same from some friends that own seconds in the area but call Nashville home. Although, it's a hard itch not to scratch. I enjoyed your advice.

unless you plan to rent it i wouldn't buy

i have a very small mortgage on my home and it still costs me 30k a yr to have it. you can go on 10-15 nice trips around the world yearly for that. renting it to pay the expenses was the only way i could justify owning it. so far so good as the renting has beem seemless

OK- just saw that you are looking for vacation property- sorry! But I am going to leave up my post because someone might be looking to relocate-

Remember that many of the homes in the vacation areas have very little storage- they are built for vacations/second homes, not to really live in them full-time, with kids, several seasons of clothes, your boxes of Christmas stuff, etc. Many people have to use storage units. Garages and useful storage space is almost a luxury around here.

Also do your homework on the schools. Walton County is more like a rural school district and completely different than Atlanta- there are good and bad things in those differences. I am just being honest here.

Unless you can afford not to rent, I wouldn't buy.

That is, unless you're the type who won't get stressed due to rental damage and missing items.

We built our house as a home, not a rental property, but we had to rent to afford the mortgage. Wish we hadn't done that. Every time we walk into the house, we hold our breaths and hope there isn't too much damage. Granted we've had some very nice rental guests, but some renters can do more damage in one week that we can do in 5 years, not to mention the broken items that they throw away so that housekeeping won't notice the damage.

I'm tired of having to load up the pantry and refrigerator from the owners closet every time we arrive, and then have to return it all to the renters closet when we leave. I'm tired of renters letting their children paint in the house. I'm tired of having to spend hours and sometimes days during our beach trips waiting for repairmen to repair abuse by renters.

We are looking for a smaller place so we don't have to rent, can leave our food and stuff out, and don't have so little time there in the summer just to get rental income.

Again, it depends on your personality, but we just don't like people tearing up our stuff, even if they are paying.

True that Beachrunner. Most of our renters have been very responsible but once in a while you run across a situation that leaves you scratching your head. If you want to rent out your house, I guess you can't sweat the small stuff.

This type of information is something a good Realtor will help you with understanding. If you haven't chosen a Realtor yet, I'll be glad to assist you.

Murray is right! First shop for a realtor that is the right fit for you. They'll be able to guide you to the best areas for your family!

Thanks for all the advice. We have stayed in Sandestin for years and while we love it there, we kinda have our hearts set on 30A. I will definitely rule out Cypress Dunes for it's lack of beach access. I have stayed at High Pointe in the past..it's nice but a little too big..like Silver Shells in Destin. We don't really have a preference I guess..I like the idea of a condo, but don't want huge HOA fees. I have noticed alot of the houses are sold "furnished"..which would be a huge plus(if I liked their taste). When they say "Old Seagrove" and no fees..what does that just mean? Where does Old Seagrove start and end? And what are your thoughts on Carillion Beach?? I don't want to get into Panama City.

According to my textbook buyer from Louisville, KY, whose territory runs from KY to the FL Panhandle, Carillon property owners are in such trouble that he rents there for a month for less than 30A charges for a week for a similar rental.

Furnished home sales are negotiable from my experience. And there are places that have never been lived in, so furnished is not an option.

I'm not a local, but I think that Old Seagrove starts just to the east of Seaside and ends where the one-story brick houses end on at Dothan Avenue (although One Seagrove Place was there in the 60's). To get a definitive answer, you'd need to ask a local. Old Seagrove is actually pretty pricey because of the tear downs and funky re-dos of gramps' and grammy's old beachfront places. Maybe you should try east of there.

Grayton is awesome, but you have to keep on top of the market there. The affordable places sell fast there.

Just my unprofessional yet biased opinions. So I defer to professional realtors and locals for their opinions.

True that Beachrunner. Most of our renters have been very responsible but once in a while you run across a situation that leaves you scratching your head. If you want to rent out your house, I guess you can't sweat the small stuff.

The problem is that the small stuff becomes big stuff. I won't forget the first time we found our beach house trashed by renters. I have never felt quite the same about it since.

Having relocated to 30A almost 3-years ago, I have to speak up for the east end of 30A. We fell in love with the slower pace of life and less congestion in the east. The crowds in spring and summer can be daunting compared to the fall and winter but they're mostly walkers, runners and bikers, nothing like the traffic congestion in Seaside and Seagrove. In regards to the prices, as has been said before, it's not cheap but there are some deals available if you look. 30A is a beautiful place to live, just give yourself time to find the area that draws you back.

We are looking for a smaller place so we don't have to rent, can leave our food and stuff out, and don't have so little time there in the summer just to get rental income.

I'm sure you've considered this, but often the writeoff is better than the rental income.

Hi..I live in Atlanta, and for years we have "toyed" with the idea of buying a vacation property. NOW is the time I say..if only we knew where we wanted to be. So..my question to you locals is "where would you recommend a family of 5 look?" We have a freshman in college, a freshman in high school and an 8th grader. My husband is a huge golfer and we love good restaurants and lively nightlife. Just from browsing listings..I like the looks of the Villas at Sunset Beach, Summers Edge, Grove by The Sea, Magnolia Cottages by the Sea, Cypress Dunes and the Dunes of Seagrove. We really want a community pool..and would LOVE if that pool had a beachbar..but I know most don't Any advice would be appreciated!!

Do you have a price point? That might really help.

As people whove been on this board a long time know, I've been so happy with my decision to buy a small 3 bedroom/2 bath cottage at teh Cottages at Camp Creek in 2003 and then bought the one next door in 2004. We have had many wonderful family vacations there, and built irreplacable memories by going to our cottages over and over again with friends and family. It goes with teh old adage "there's no place like home". Now that both kids are soon to be in college (one is and one goes in September), I'll be at the cottages more oftgen with my sweetie and that will help me make the transition to a prent with no kids at home. And someday the kids will use the cottages with their friends and children and we will use them during the cold winter months. That said, here's my less romantic advice:

1. we like having small places - easier and cheapter to take care of and we can do a lot of the work ourselves and less likely to have big crowds renting. if we can't afford both someday, we can sell one and keep the other and still have our "home" at the beach.
2. you have to be secure financially with a steady job(s) to be able to pay the mortgage and have a back-up plan if you get sick, lose a job, etc. The mortgage shouldn't cause any financial stress. rentals take the edge off, but don't pay the mortgage and other expenses. One the cottage mortgages are paid off, I expect the rentals will take care of most of the bills for the cottages.
3. we have had very few problems with renters. Of course, we use rental companies so by the time we show up, everything is in good shape. There are always some broken things when we get there and someone once stole a guitar we had under the bed, but all in all we've been happy with the quality of the renters. you definitely can't be fussy at all if you're going to rent. We have really enjoyed the renters that we spoke to and met over the years and we like giving people a chance to have a special place at the beach. we are as careful as we can be to not rent to groups of teens, partiers, and mostly we rent to families and couples and snowbirds. I suppose I'll be singing a different tune if we ever have a really bad experience, but that hasn't happened yet.
4. we need to learn to relax more when we're at the cottages because I in particular spend a lot of time deep cleaning the cottages, gardening, updating things, etc. it's harder to relax when it's your own place and it's a rental.
5. it would be nice to just own the place and not have to rent, but for now renting is fine for us and we do make other people happy by renting. someday, we may decide to rent one of the cottages less often so that we don't have to do as much to maintain it for renting and so that we can keep our food in the fridge. at that point, we may rent it to people we've come to know well over the years and the other as an "open" rental.
6. we like having a rental company to keep an eye on things. No rental company is perfect, but it's better than having no oversight.
7. make sure wherever you buy has a really good association and leadership (we do) and that the association fees are reasonable not only at teh beginning when you buy into a new community but over the years (our's are very reasonable)
8. Consider hurricanes when you buy. Newer construction has more hurricane protection, being up on a high dune is nice, and ask if the windows are impact resistent. Few places have those, but they'd be nice to have.
9. We love, love, love having a big porch - we pretty much treat the porch as an extra room most of the year.

OK, that's all I have for now and now I have to go back to work to keep my job to pay for the cottages! I hoe this info has been useful, even thugh it's quite stream of consciousness.

Well, we are building a custom home in Watersound West right now. Bought the land 3 years ago and started 6 months ago. Alot of choices on 30A. We have been coming here for a decade and finally got tired of rental costs and availability. I can tell you that one of the best kept secrets for us was finding WS West. Maybe the best beach on 30A. HOA is reasonable and the community pool is simply amazing. Prices are creeping up but the lots are still available. If you do decide to look at WS West, think long and hard about using a custom builder as opposed to the pop-up spec homes now available. We used a custom builder and came in way under budget and got a VERY superior product in the current market conditions. The Beach Club is simply awesome, HOWEVER it is probably (no..it is...) overpriced for what you get. Some of the builders are giving deep discounts on this if you buy a spec home...I would jump on that for sure. Email me if you have questions. We did alot of homework (over 5 years) before we pulled the trigger on a custom home. Oh, and we could never rent it. Its a home, not a rental property. All it takes is one disrespectful rental.

Carillon Beach has good access to 30-A and to restaurants/shopping/nightlife (Pier Park). And a good prices at this time. Also Publix, Winn Dixie and CVS are across the street. Nice beach - was just renourished. No traffic issues during the season.

Hello - re saw your article of 5 years ago that mentioned the new house you were building in WSWB. We are looking to build a custom home there and we'd be interested in a builder recommendation. We have our lot which is in the Cottage District. Hope to hear from you.