My uncle convalesced in Hatteras village in late 1968-1969 recovering from burns he received in Vietnam. He would get a ham sandwich or a egg sandwich from the red and white and go walk in the salt water that helped heal the burns on his lower body.
Two sisters were always in there and asked him one day if he was going to stay on the island. He said he was not sureand it depended on how well he healed up but knew he had another 9 months. They tried to sell him 1/2 acre lots in what would become Brigands Bay on the sound for $3,900 . he said "no way too many bugs back there".
fast forward 10 years and my parents bought a lot there for $16K.
Fast forward to 1999 and my wife and I bought a lot for $72K
A lot now ( on Kings Point Dr) now goes for $225,000.......

My uncle convalesced in Hatteras village in late 1968-1969 recovering from burns he received in Vietnam. He would get a ham sandwich or a egg sandwich from the red and white and go walk in the salt water that helped heal the burns on his lower body.
Two sisters were always in there and asked him one day if he was going to stay on the island. He said he was not sureand it depended on how well he healed up but knew he had another 9 months. They tried to sell him 1/2 acre lots in what would become Brigands Bay on the sound for $3,900 . he said "no way too many bugs back there".
fast forward 10 years and my parents bought a lot there for $16K.
Fast forward to 1999 and my wife and I bought a lot for $72K
A lot now ( on Kings Point Dr) now goes for $225,000.......

Emerald Isle was scrub brush,

My dad always said real estate was a good investment. Even if the building burns to the ground, the land will still be there.

We remember looking at the BD&A commercials for Pine Island when they were first building them,starting in the 400's. Who would buy that we thought.

We remember looking at the BD&A commercials for Pine Island when they were first building them,starting in the 400's. Who would buy that we thought.

I remember those adds...they used to scroll on that access channel. To be honest, we used to make fun of that smarmy voice,..."Bob DeGabrielle and Associates..." I hadn't thought about that in quite a while and thought I would see what old Bob is up to now, since you don't see him 'round here, no more

I was in for a big surprise. If you don't already know the answer, you have to read this. There are other articles but I can't open them here at work, because they are blocked by the server. There's a teaser for you.

Click to follow link...

I was stationed at Camp LeJeune "75-77. Had the opportunity to buy lots on Top Sail for 5K.
Passed on the chance, Navy Lt.s just didn't earn enough. Course I had just worked for 4 yrs while in grad school at a liquor store for $ 1.75 /hr.
Emerald Isle was scrub brush,

Emerald Isle was scrub brush,

Ha! Similar experience...I'm in FL (early '80's) I'm hitting with this guy, we get to talking afterwards; turns out he's a RE developer. Anyway he asks me if I am open to investing in the proverbial "once in a lifetime" opportunity. Uh huh.... just had our first child, I'm still slogging away at the whole work thing and we had just survived a financially challenging decade. He goes on about the perfect weather (Hawaii "like" were his words), that while there are a few properties there already, it is a "ground floor" opportunity. I ask the name of the place...he had to repeat it several times because 1) I'm kinda dense sometimes and 2) it was a Native American name, but different "inflection" than what I was used to. He said some OF lots were still available for under $10k and others for around $5k. May as well have been a zillion and I was not yet comfortable with borrowing any money. It was Kiawah in SC..."ya snooze, ya lose"....

My uncle convalesced in Hatteras village in late 1968-1969 recovering from burns he received in Vietnam. He would get a ham sandwich or a egg sandwich from the red and white and go walk in the salt water that helped heal the burns on his lower body.
Two sisters were always in there and asked him one day if he was going to stay on the island. He said he was not sureand it depended on how well he healed up but knew he had another 9 months. They tried to sell him 1/2 acre lots in what would become Brigands Bay on the sound for $3,900 . he said "no way too many bugs back there".
fast forward 10 years and my parents bought a lot there for $16K.
Fast forward to 1999 and my wife and I bought a lot for $72K
A lot now ( on Kings Point Dr) now goes for $225,000.......

BUGS....LOL A common complaint back then.
I remember my brother in law telling my dad about lots for sale on Hatteras when there was no such thing as vacation homes. Dad said no way. Before the knowledge of BUGS AND WIND DIRECTION. We could not go to South Nags Head or below to stay at a motel or motor lodge.
BITING BUGS! FLIES I THINK.
I dont remember prices.
I do remember my sister saying all the money we spent going down on vacation that dad should have just bought something.
Mon said it was more because Dad had only 1 week a year vacation back then and hurricanes that stopped him. We lived in PA.
After World War II, men worked like dogs with little benefits..

My parents bought their first lot in Salvo in 1972 for $5,000. After closing and on the way back to PA my dad just kept repeating that he had no idea how was ever going to pay it off since he was only making around $7,000/yr. Years later and after a lot of really hard work, they saved enough to build their home.

Prior to having the house, our biggest expense while camping on HI was ice for the coolers!