One of the biggest threats to anyone that owns a beach front property is the threat of shoreline erosion. Shorelines are constantly changing and erosion can quickly eat away at a lot of your property. Before you buy your property, make sure that you know all the causes of the erosion in your area and what it means for your parcel of land.
Most shoreline erosion is simply seasonal and nothing to worry about. Beaches around your property will erode during violent, stormy seasons and then in calmer months more sand will be deposited. While this isn’t anything to worry about, you should be aware of how much change you can expect to have each year. In some places beaches can move up to 100 feet inland during stormy seasons!
Hurricanes and other big storms also cause a huge amount of shoreline displacement and erosion. A large storm can open up and close off inlets and erode certain shorelines while depositing a great deal of sand on other ones. This can’t be predicted and is a fact of life of living at the beach. However, most times these changes are only temporary and the shoreline usually keeps its shape, unless there are dramatic changes.
The type of erosion that you have to really watch out for when you’re buying ocean front properties is long-term shoreline erosion. There are many causes of long-term erosion, from rising sea levels, jetties installed up the coast, or just changes in currents. Always make sure that you ask about this because there’s not requirement that you have to be told about erosion before you buy the home.
Shoreline erosion is a huge factor in choosing a beach property. Make sure that you know how much erosion your property is likely to be subject to and if the erosion is long term or seasonal.
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