Beach houses are different things to different people — retreats, family gathering spots, a base for recreational activities.
Apparently, the one thing they are not is boring.
“You look out the window and see the water. There are beautiful sunsets,” says Roslyn Marett, who lives in a two-story, four-bedroom beach home with her husband, Harry Herz, on Oak Beach. “We go out in our boat two to three times a week. My husband fishes, and I read a book. There is always something to do.”
Margaret Mateyaschuk, a broker with Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty, puts it another way.
“You’re buying a lifestyle with a beach house,” she says.
Being able to afford that lifestyle can be a challenge for people who want to reach the beach. There are some homes under $1 million, however, that can put sand at your doorstep and nature in your yard.
“You’d be fascinated by what’s out here,” says Marianne Conte, an agent with Eric G. Ramsay Jr. Associates who specializes in beach house properties and has a home on Oak Island.
“There are blue herons and all sorts of migratory birds. Each season is different in what wildlife it brings. If you’re a fisherman, you can dig clams in your own back yard.”
The casual, laid-back lifestyle is another attraction.
“Beach houses have that nice chill vibe of being one with the water,” says Sheri W. Clarry, a broker with The Corcoran Group. “That’s what makes a beach house a beach house. Some people go more formal, but it doesn’t have to be fancy. It’s always about the location.”
That chill factor is appreciated by Marett.
“I feel very serene in this house,” she says. “I know that sounds funky, but if I’m in a rush and all tense as soon as I get to this house, I go, ‘Ahhhhhh.’ ”
She and her husband first got a taste of the lifestyle in a house on West Gilgo Beach, which burned to the ground in 2005. They fell in love with their current home on Oak Beach and bought it seven years ago, Marett says.
Now that she is retiring and they are becoming a one-income family, they decided to sell the home to downsize. A return to West Gilgo is in their plans, Marett says. Or, maybe not.
“We’d be happy to stay here for the rest of our lives,” she says.
$925,000– LAUREL
LISTING HISTORY On the market for three months with no price changes.
ANNUAL TAXES $6,993
WHAT’S FOR SALE This is a two-bedroom, one-bath cottage on the Great Peconic Bay with a dining room, a master bedroom, a fireplace, a large deck and beach rights.
LISTING AGENT Sheri Winter Clarry with The Corcoran Group, 631-848-7730
