Two words sum up Beach Realty service: world-class. From contract through check-out, the team is…read morefriendly, knowledgeable, responsive and helpful. We experienced two issues at our cottage (bugs and pool water level) and they were taken care of posthaste with a smile. These people are the best! We have been vacationing on the Outer Banks for 50 years and have been renting through Beach Realty the past three -- we will not deal with any other company . . . This year we stayed at Beach Road Cottage in KDH. Five stars, as well. Accommodations were clean and comfortable. The property was steps to the beach and close to restaurants (walk to Goombays Grille & Raw Bar) and attractions. As noted above, a couple of issues were taken care of quickly and professionally. We will book again . . .

I wrote a review for Beach Realty, per their request, on Aug. 5, 2026. They have never responded…read more Clearly they don't care. So decided I'd try to help someone else and tell them AVOID BEACH REALTY LIKE THE PLAGUE!! We rented American Dream. More like American Nightmare! Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!! In 2024, 2 of the 3 heat pumps were completely out when we arrived for our week. 90+ degree weather. Management installed temporary window units which were hideous. Several other maintenance items were a disaster. Management promised to repair and offered a discount for 2025. We went back. Second year was much improved. We like the house - lots of room for the family to spread out. Location is super convenient. Kids love the pool. So we decided to go back for summer 2026. When first we reached the 3rd floor it was very hot - the AC was out!!!! I called and it was repaired by 8 pm, but really! AGAIN!!?? Don't they pay any attention to the property and what's working or not?? On Monday morning when we opened the dishwasher, we discovered the bottom was full of gross water. It was Tues afternoon before they got around to sending a maintenance guy. I did not pay the amount of rent they charge for a week to enjoy washing dishes!! One item I have brought to management's attention twice (now it's three times) is the horrible stove. The oven only works halfway. The eyes are so marginal it's ridiculous. My daughter was trying to cook pancakes this year. She set the temp on 4. It got WAY too hot so she cut it to 2. It got HOTTER! Put it on 6 and it cooled off. (The knobs were on correctly.) Surface is a mess. Oven takes more than twice recommended cook time. The large lower drawer does not work and is rusty. Rust inside the microwave as well which is old and not dependable. Again, adjust cooking time by double. The door to the freezer leaks from the ice maker. Every time you open it, water is spread across the floor. Have reported this in prior years. It's actually starting to corrode now. Bins in the refrig are cracked. Several of the lights in the house simply do not work such as 3rd level master bath area, 2nd level closet and most of the exhaust fans make terrible noise and are very marginal. Lamps are missing lightbulbs or have bulbs that do not work. Several of the AC vents are moldy, filthy and rusty. The top glass in the door to the 3rd level deck is gone so you have to keep the door closed. Can't look out to enjoy the ocean and the door itself has such a strong spring on it you risk the health of your heels and toes navigating in and out! Too dangerous to allow the kids to do it on their own. There is a LARGE timber on the back left corner of the pool stockade fence which is broken and appears about ready to collapse completely. Pieces of the broken timber are sticking out and could be the source of a bad injury not to mention disaster for the pool deck with the release of the bank it's holding back. The outside shower under the deck is unusable due to a deep pile of sand which has washed in from the outside. There is some sort of electric box hanging from the north side of the house. I left/sent 3 messages asking for the property manager to contact me and received no response. Hence this review. I repeat - we like the house. LOTS of room and nice layout. Area is great for family excursions. Right on the beach with beautiful views. This year we were there during the hatching of a couple of sea turtle nests which was exciting and educational for all. Bless those turtle volunteers! American Dream...not so much. If Beach Realty is going to charge premium rates, they need to actually inspect and repair the property. I know lots of people come and go and it's difficult to keep on top of every detail. But some of these problems have existed for years. Others are safety concerns. Others are essential to the comfort and well-being of their "guests." Please pay better attention, Beach Realty. I gave it a 3 because of the features and location. But it's barely adequate. Pictures available upon request.  BUT because of their complete lack of response to my calls while in Nags Head and the review (above) I sent them, it's reduced to a 1.

They rented me a house that the pictures showed a beautiful clean pristine house and when we…read morearrived it was dilapidated worn down poor excuse for a $4000 rental for 3 nights. As soon as I arrived and saw how bad of shape it was in I contacted them and sent pictures and was in contact the whole time of staying there. It was an embarrassment for me when my guest arrived. Beach reality didn't do ANYTHING or compensate anything. All they did was tell me that they would not delist this property after the first of the year. I would NEVER recommend or use this company again, due to them, not standing by their customers. Absolutely horrible company!! And you would think by their response to my review that they would have compensated me with something. They knew the property was at a lower standard than they were charging for yet they still will not take care of their client. Complete trash will never recommend this place ever.

Working with Beach Realty beginning last summer and a few more follow up calls during the year has…read morebeen seamless. They were able to answer my questions and the vacation app was also very beneficial. Looking forward to next summer's beach rental.

MY PREVIOUS POST FROM 9/2025 DISAPPEARED…read more My friends and I were extremely excited with our choice of The Sandbar for our girl's trip, this year. Two of us arrived on Saturday and the others were due to arrive the following day. We CAREFULLY selected our home due to 2 RELYING on the elevator to get up and down the stairs. We rented The Sandbar from September 13-20th. Upon arrival, one person who RELIED on the elevator due to mobility issues was UNABLE to exit the elevator. The mechanism which unlocks the door upon its arrival to the designated floor WOULD NOT UNLOCK. They rode the elevator up and down trying to exit on each floor but remained STUCK IN THE ELEVATOR. Finally, after 10 minutes and much anguish (they also suffer from heart issues and severe asthma) they were FINALLY able to exit the elevator. I placed a call to the on-call repairman who arrived a few hours later. He stated the elevator mechanism was running as it should but the elevator company would need to come out to repair the door lock because if he did it would affect the warranty for the elevator. I asked him to get in the elevator to test it but he replied he would NOT ENTER IT BECAUSE HE DIDN'T WANT TO GET STUCK INSIDE. He said a work order was submitted the week before we got there and it was SUPPOSEDLY REPAIRED. Guess what, it obviously WAS NOT. He said he'd call in an another work order but since it was September 13th they no longer worked on weekends. They would more than likely be out on Monday. This was UNACCEPTABLE as what would happen in case of an emergency with my friend who was dependent on the elevator? I called Beach Realty and spoke with their office manager on duty on Sunday. She said there was no need to create scenarios that may or may not happen. SERIOUSLY??? She said there was nothing she could do and if something happened just call the fire department. She assured me she'd call with any information from Atlantic Elevators. When it was mid afternoon on Monday, I called Atlantic Elevators and was told they would not be out until sometime on Tuesday, September 16th. The office manager I previously spoke with was NOT happy that I called Atlantic Elevators. Fortunately, we had picked up a limited number of items at Food Lion and a large pizza before entering the house on Saturday. We were STRANDED on the top floor of this home for 3.5 days of our vacation. I would NOT leave my friend alone in that house in the event she experienced a medical emergency. Our other friend who has more severe mobility issues decided NOT to make the trip since they were afraid they'd arrive and not be able to use the elevator. I told the person I had been in contact with at Beach Realty that I was considering contacting an attorney because of the runaround I was getting. Her response was "YOU DON'T WANT TO MESS WITH THIS OWNER." That definitely was a serious threat from her. The weather on Wednesday and Thursday was not conducive for using the pool so we did some souvenir shopping and sightseeing after being STRANDED on the top floor for 3.5 days. Friday arrived with sun and bright blue skies. We made our way to the pool for what we thought would be a relaxing afternoon. Upon getting to the pool steps, we found a HUGE, DEAD RAT off to the side. ( I've included 2 photos). A call was made to BEACH REALTY and someone removed it between Friday night and Saturday morning. Our original check-out date was Saturday, September 20th. I called Beach Realty on Thursday to see if they AND the owner would grant us 3 extra days since the elevator wasn't in operation for 3.5 days and we were stuck on the 3rd floor. (MIND YOU, NO ONE HAD RESERVED THE HOME FOR THE FOLLOWING WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 20-27th). The owner granted ONE EXTRA DAY.... OH WOW!!! I WILL NEVER RENT FROM BEACH REALTY, AGAIN!!! They DO NOT value their customers NOR care about their safety. If you're smart, you'll rent from another company.

My friends and I stayed in the Snead Cottage at Kilmarlic from 8/9 through 8/12, and although the…read morehouse was great, cleanliness wasn't. When we first got in the house and started unpacking, I found straw wrappers under the beds in reachable distance and an old sock in the trash bin in the upstairs loft. And the worst part - LOTS of cockroaches! I asked for pest control on Tue morning, 8/10 and confirmed they put in a work order that morning at 10:08am, but we still had roaches even on the day of departure. I'm very grateful we decided beforehand to not cook in that house. It's obvious that the cleanliness here is only surface level. Additionally, we weren't provided a trash can to take our trash to the street for collection. They advise to bring it to the curb the night before because trash collection most often comes at dawn. We had to put the bags on the lawn and they were ripped open when we left the next morning. The trash was not collected. The house is beautiful, but I didn't plan on making friends with roaches. We will stay somewhere else next time. I do NOT recommend!

This was our first time renting with Southern Shores, after renting with another company for 18…read moreyears. I wasn't sure what to expect regarding cleanliness and the rental property being in good condition. What a pleasant surprise, all exceeded our expectations. Staff was friendly, knowledgeable and quick to answer my questions after checking in. We will definitely be renting with them again! Linda & Gary Woodruff Stokesdale, NC

We rented Written in Sand (#1361) in Duck through Southern Shores Realty. The location was good and…read morewe enjoyed having the private pool, but unfortunately the condition of the house upon arrival was well below what we expected from a professionally managed vacation rental. The biggest problem was cleanliness. We arrived to a puddle of water on the floor by the refrigerator, dirty dishes, and dishes/water stacked in the pantry area. Kitchen counters and cabinets were sticky and dirty, as were railings and other surfaces throughout the house. Ceiling fans needed cleaning and the gas grill had not been cleaned. The bedding was particularly disappointing. We found blankets on the beds that were visibly dirty/hairy, multiple blankets with stains, and a stack of pillows sitting directly on the floor. One bathroom had a very dirty shower curtain and another was missing a shower curtain altogether. There were also maintenance issues. The exterior sliding doors on the second level were difficult to lock, the kitchen threshold/floor laminate needs repair, and the Wi-Fi was very unreliable and repeatedly went in and out. The house is also very basic in terms of amenities. Even simple things like hand soap weren't provided. The living room could also really use a couple of freestanding lamps, as the lighting is poor. To be fair to Southern Shores, we didn't call about the cleaning issues until Thursday during a Sunday-to-Sunday stay, so we weren't expecting them to send a cleaning crew back at that point. The representative was apologetic and acknowledged that having only one person clean a five-bedroom house was likely inadequate. Our concern is primarily that the property should never have been turned over to arriving guests in this condition. Dirty/stained bedding, dirty dishes and sticky, uncleaned surfaces should have been caught before check-in. Written in Sand has a good location and potential, but it needs substantially more attention to housekeeping, maintenance and basic guest amenities. Based on our experience, we would not rent this particular property again without significant improvements.

Cameron Griggs is excellent in all areas. Unfortunately, we did not do our research when we…read moreinitially listed the property. After that listing expired, we researched other real estate companies in the area as we were determined to make a better choice. We began by calling Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty, and luckily Cameron answered our call that day. She had all the right answers as she displayed a wealth of knowledge coupled with warmth, energy, and professionalism. As the phone call was concluding, I knew that it was not necessary to call any of the other companies. We had found the perfect realtor in Cameron! Beginning with that first phone call, Cameron exceeded our expectations in all areas. We live several hours from the property and actually, we never met Cameron in person, but with her warm personality, she made us feel like we had known her for years. She took care of everything down to the smallest detail. We never had to worry or wonder about anything, and she actually visited the property to check on things for us. She handled all aspects from listing to closing and all variables in between. Cameron's communication is definitely a strength as she kept us informed through emails, text messages, and phone calls. We highly recommend Cameron, and she certainly exemplifies all qualities of a first-class realtor who gets results!

Coldwell Banker agents are absolutely wonderful! Great customer service and professional,…read moreknowledgeable agents.

From the owner: At Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty, we understand that having the latest…read moretechnology is essential to helping our clients find their dream home on the Outer Banks. Couple that technology with personal service and collective decades of experience and it's easy to see why for the last 25 years we've been one of the top producing real estate firms in the area. So whether it's a forever home or a seaside getaway, find what you're looking for - The Seaside Way.

Vacation rental for a week in South Nags Head. The unit owner locked the thermostat down so it…read morecould not be adjusted below 72 degrees. We were not told of this restriction nor was it in the rental agreement. Outer Banks Blue offered up box fans as a resolution. Heat rises and at night 72 was pretty miserable, The manager refused to speak to us, we had to deal with a go between In the office. It took 3 calls to get the owner to allow a lower temperature at night and even then if you touched the thermostat to raise it even a degree it locked you out. The dryer in the house must be 25 years old and a lot ad of beach towels took 3 hours to dry. Called maintenance and their resolution was to tell us to do smaller loads. Just not very renter oriented. If you're an owner they're probably fine.

Terrific rental management company. Pricing and check-in notes were clear. We had some minor…read moreissues, which they addressed right away. They stayed in touch via text and email, letting us know when the plumber was scheduled to come. Super responsive. Half way through our 3 week stay, they gave us the option of getting fresh linens delivered, which was super convenient. Someone maintained the hot tub on a regular basis without being intrusive. This company gave us the feeling that they had our back if anything went awry. We've rented beach houses (VA beach) for many years. The beach environment is very harsh. Rental homes can be in wildly different conditions depending (I think) on the owners and not the rental company. Sometimes a house is old and fraying around the edges, sometimes updated and sparkling. Sometimes renters leave the place a wreck and the cleaners barely have time to put it back in order. If an updated, newer place is important to you, let the rental company guide you to the right homes. P.S. Our house was spanking clean and in excellent condition. I believe the owners take pride in their home, which is well managed by Outer Banks Blue. Great house + great company = great vacation.

Melissa helped us buy our home in Nags Head in Sept of 2019, and while I am late giving this…read morereview, the fact that I am doing it almost a year later should tell you what a terrific agent she is. We had lists, she showed us most on our list and let us know when we should not be bothering. She brainstormed with us, discussed alternatives so that we could imagine more that we initially thought of. In the end, we decided on a few but our favorite by far was out of our price range. Melissa let us know the owner was motivated and so we put out a number we did not think was possible. SHE made it possible. She negotiated on our behalf, worked hard, did more than any agent I have known. This was not my first home purchase, it is my fourth and Melissa is by far the most talented and hard working agent I have known. THANK YOU Melissa! To everyone considering an agent, she is the one, remember, I am doing this review a year after purchase and I am still in awe of her service.