“We picked up and moved our house before a hurricane hit”

When Scott Twentyman and Cindy Doughty bought a house in Rodanthe, NC, in 2002, beach erosion wasn’t on their radar. Since then, the Outer Banks has lost about 13 feet of shoreline per year, and at least 17 OBX homes have collapsed into the ocean (six just this week). To avoid the same fate, Twentyman and Doughty moved their house.

When did you realize your house might collapse into the ocean? Doughty: “Around 2017–2018, we noticed the ocean creeping closer. Homes nearby had collapsed into the ocean, and the wreckage slammed into our pilings and broke one. Even after that storm had receded, water was almost washing up under our house. Since we own a double lot, we decided to move our house back by 100 feet.”

What does it take to move a house? Twentyman: “We hired Expert House Movers, the same company that moved the Hatteras, the tallest brick lighthouse in the US. If they could move a structure weighing hundreds of tons, they could move our house. After permits were approved, movers tore down the ground-level laundry room and slid steel beams under the house, and jacked it up onto a wheeled platform.”

Was any other prep involved? Doughty: “The house was sitting on this temporary cribbing, and another hurricane was coming, so we had to move the house before it hit. The actual move itself took only 15 minutes. Inside the house, we didn’t have to pack anything. Pictures stayed on the walls, china stayed in the cabinets. I even left a glass on the counter, and it was still there after the move.”

How much did it cost? Twentyman: “About $200,000. We had to take out a home equity loan on another property we own. Insurance doesn’t pay anything until a home collapses into the ocean.”

What advice do you have for others buying beach homes? Doughty: “Maintain your sand dunes meticulously. Plant seagrass, put up sand fences, and keep people off the dunes. Every grain of sand matters.”