Know Your Finances

The first thing that you need to be aware of before you decide to buy a beach house for sale is your personal financial situation. Can you really afford to have the beach house if there are no tenants for a period of time. Depending on how you file your taxes losses on a rental property may be tax deductible, but a tax refund in April won’t help you pay your mortgage in December. Also make sure that you don’t forget about all the other costs that you will incur by renting the property out. These costs include, but aren’t limited to, management, maintenance, and cleaning fees, insurance premiums, and property taxes. Also always give yourself enough room so that if something goes wrong with the home you’ll have the resources to fix it.

One important expense, and one many people forget to take into account is the expense of traveling to take care of the property. Most people try to find rentals within a hour to 45 minutes of their home because of this, but if its not possible for you, travel expenses to your rental property can be a significant part of your budget as well.

Know the Local Market

Before you buy a property that you want to turn into a rental home, you should also know the local market. You can find out about it from a trusted local real estate agent or by doing some research online. You should know what property prices have done in the past few years and how much you could stand to make both optimistically and conservatively. Keep the future in mind as well. Are there any infrastructure improvements going in that could cause more tourists to come or go elsewhere?

Only you can know if it’s the right time for you to get a beachfront rental property along Oregon’s coast. Before you buy you should have your personal finances to the point where the property won’t be a burden to you and you should also know whatever you can about the local market. Doing this will allow you to make an educated buy and grab a property that will give you a revenue stream for years to come.

While nice agates may be found on any Oregon beach there are a few select beaches that deliver a bounty virtually every year. The main beach near the city of Bandon is a perennial favorite and can be accessed by taking the road to the Coquile Lighthouse off of Highway 101. There you will find several miles of smooth beach dotted with rocks. The downside to Bandon’s beach is that it is a very well known and fairly busy rockhounding spot so you may have to hunt a while to find some prize specimens. The outgoing tide always leaves a new assortment so you will have your best luck by going then.

Another excellent location for finding agates, especially rarer agates like pink, blue, sagenite and black agates, as well as some really nice jasper (“Oregon jade”) samples, are the beaches around the town of Newport. These beaches are also known for fossilized whale and dolphin bones and even more common samples of fossilized clams and snails. The most well known of these beach locations is the aptly named Agate Beach, but this is also one of the busiest rockounding beaches. On a day with nice weather, you will see many fellow rockhounds scouring Agate Beach. If you want a less crowded field try Beverly Beach or any of the other beaches you can access off of Hwy 101 in Newport.

Winter tends to be the best time for hunting rocks on the Oregon coast. The rougher ocean water during the winter tend to churn up more rocks that find their way to the beach surface. If you plan a trip at this time of year, come prepared for cold and wet weather. Dress in warm and waterproof gear, wear gloves, and, as always, be careful and keep one eye on the water at all times. “Sneaker waves” are not uncommon especially with an incoming tide. Never turn you back on the water when you are near the breaking surf and watch any children closely. And once you have collected your bounty of agates and jasper, you can crash in one of the fine hotels in Bandon or Newport and enjoy a hot meal at one of the great local restaurants. It makes a creative romantic weekend or family getaway.

Oregon beach agates, jasper and petrified wood are some of the best found anywhere in the world. One of the reasons is that most have been rolled smooth in the surf over time and many look very good picked right off the beach and take only a short time in a polisher to look fabulous. By going at the right time of day, when the tide is receding, you are almost certain to find some great samples for your own collection. If you considering purchasing Central Oregon real estate, rockhounding is just one of the many fun activities you can participate in.