North Carolina

It was a 2-bedroom/2-bathroom cottage my wife built and used as a rental business. The house was solidly built and stood on stilts 8-feet above the ground. It was a lovely property and the rental schedules were usually nearly full.

In 2019, Hurricane Dorian, a category 5 storm, swept over the OBX after devastating the Bahamas. We were lucky because the stilts saved our place. Many other homes were destroyed by the 7-foot wall of water that covered Ocracoke which is only 2-feet above sea level. Following the storm, many homeowners had their houses lifted onto stilts to prevent protect their homes from another flood.

We chose a different course and we sold our place. We didn’t want to go through that again!

The OBX is a beautiful but dangerous place. It’s not ideal for homes!