Still a Value in Pacific County

The Long Beach Peninsula continues to offer home buyers excellent value. This home is listed on the MLS at $255k and has 2 beds, 2 baths and 1024 SF. You can walk to the sea in a matter of a couple of minutes from this one!

There are dozens of available homes in and along the Long Beach Peninsula and several neighborhoods are a short walk to the beach.

I sold my sister a place in Oysterville last summer and she loves it out there. The beach just has that effect on people. Whether its the salty breeze, the crashing waves, or the whole beach town vibe, the peninsula is hard to beat on price and its a nice place too.

Maybe you fancy a condo on the beach. Here is a small unit right at the beach entrance listed at $135k. It has a bed and a bath with 395 squares. What more do you need?

Be sure to check into all the fine detail before making a purchase at the coast. Like any area it has its own quirks and local-isms to be aware of.

For many a beach property is the stuff of dreams, well Long Beach makes those dreams doable, and that's OK with me.

Coastal Cottages still a Value!

The Long Beach Peninsula continues to offer an amazing beach experience for a price within reach of the middle class. I write about it a lot because this is not a fixed opportunity. The market may not always offer up this kind of value.

This adorable bay side beach house is listed at just $129k

Recently my sister and brother-in-law joined the ranks of the beach crowd, buying a modest mobile home in very nice condition on the north end of the peninsula. This lovely home is situated on 1.27 acres and offers privacy and beauty. It is about a five minute drive to crashing surf of the Pacific Ocean or to the gentle shores of the Willapa Bay. They were looking in the 150-180k range and found a number of opportunities. In the end they decided a mid peninsula location with a larger lot was preferred over a smaller 'city' lot closer to the shore.

Make no mistake friends, they had lots of options and even viewed a classic beach house style cottage with a view of Willapa Bay! There were a few cottages just a few blocks to the beach and all fell into their modest price point.

The beach is attainable and who doesn't like the beach, seriously?

Rental and Vacations Homes at the Beach

If you have spent any time reading this blog, you know I have made it abundantly clear that the Long Beach Peninsula is the real estate value of the whole Northwest Coast Line from Brookings, OR to Port Angeles, WA.

So let's say you buy a vacation home at the beach. How does this set with your tax man. First before I write another word on taxes : DISCLAIMER ALERT! I am not a tax professional and am not advising anyone on specific tax matters. Before making any decisions about taxation and its implications on your personal finances, be sure to consult your tax professional.

OK so the IRS has some weird rules regard vacation or second homes and rental properties. Many people figure they will rent out their beach house to others when they are not using it to help pay the costs of ownership. This is fine but depending on how often you rent it, it could change the tax status of the property.

The IRS deals with second homes differently than it does rental properties. If someone buys a second home and they use it exclusively for their own purpose, ie. they do not rent it out, then the IRS allows under current tax law the owner to deduct the mortgage interest up to the limits, currently at a maximum mortgage amount of $1,000,000.

Interestingly according to tax pros, the IRS doesn't care if you rent the second home out so long as it is not more than 14 days in a calendar year. Even if you rented it out for a high weekly rate, so long as it never exceeds 14 days in a calendar year, you are not required to report it. The home remains a second home.

If the house is rented more than 14 days per year it is no longer a second home and is treated differently under IRS rules. It becomes a rental property and it may actually be better in the end but it will become more complicated as the expenses and depreciated are now taken into consideration, checked against the rental income earned, now required to be reported and appropriate taxes paid.

If the rental home loses money, ie expenses are greater than income, this can provide a shelter from taxation for the owner's annual tax bill. However, when the home is sold in the future there will likely be a large capital gain that could hit the home owner hard.

The IRS tax code is a complicated animal and this is why a good CPA that specializes in individual income tax service is indispensable. The whole point of this article is that great deals at the coast aside, owning a beach house either as an investment or second home can be even more affordable that just the price and mortgage payment would indicate. Talk to your banker and your tax pro and see just how affordable that beach house can be. The talk to your local real estate pro and see what's out there. 

Another Great Beach House Deal

Oh how I love the amazing deals at the beach for coastal properties. This house is listed at a mere $199,000 and features 1240 square feet, 3 beds and 1.5 baths. You can walk to the beach in less than 5 minutes from this modern little beach house. High vaults upstairs with plenty of glass keep this place light and bright.

I found dozens of homes under 200k on the long beach peninsula with room to run and close proximity to the mighty Pacific Ocean.

Whether you want an investment rental property, second home, vacation home, or even your primary residence, this one can fit the bill.

Seriously friends, who doesn't want to live at the beach? For those of you thinking about retiring, Long Beach and the rest of the peninsula offers better pricing than the Oregon Coast and you aren't subjected to that brutally punishing Oregon State Income Tax.

This home is listed on the RMLS by Anchor Realty.