Eye Candy: Neptune Beach, FL

Date:December 9, 2008 | Author:Alison Paoli | Category:Real Estate

The Mission: To find a home for sale that I would immediately drop everything and move to — IF I had the money.

Since I’ve visited Jacksonville Beach in the past and it’s one of my favorite vacation destinations, I started my search there, scanning the coast for a newer oceanfront home with tons of natural light. Jacksonville Beach’s home values — or, more precisely, the Zillow Home Value Index for Jacksonville Beach — is about $287,500, but I knew anything on the water would be much higher than that. Jacksonville Beach has an absence of high-rise hotels and condominiums, and a beautiful beach that spans for miles. The city also has a contagious ‘beach town’ vibe with great seafood joints and a flip-flops and shorts mentality – what could be better?

The only problem I encountered while searching for my dream home is that there were just a few beachfront homes for sale. So, I expanded my search a few miles in each direction from Neptune Beach to Ponte Vedra Beach and there it was… my eye candy, the love of my life, the crown jewel, my perfect dream home.

Not only does the home at 1602 Strand St, Neptune Beach, FL, have so many of the qualities I am looking for — such as a solar-heated pool and floor-to-ceiling windows — it also comes fully furnished. On top of that, it includes all of the wine in the wine cellar AND a 1974 antique Ferrari that my husband would cradle as if it were his first-born child. The price tag is a cool $3.1 million, but remember, this is my dream and in dreams, money is not an object.

I could literally pick up everything and move with no worries about transportation and furnishings, making a beach-front glass of wine from the deck all the more special — fantastic!

To confirm some of this information of my-dream-come-true house, I put in a call to the listing agent, Elizabeth Hudgins. Her assistant, Chris Doyle, helped fill me in on some of the other appealing qualities:

  • 3,200 square feet
  • 3 bedrooms
  • 3.5 baths
  • custom cabinetry
  • granite counter tops
  • bamboo and stone floors
  • gas fireplace
  • several beach-front patios
  • outdoor shower

Now only if I had a few million to spare…  someday.