You can't beat the proximity to the beach and ocean in this 4 bedroom, 3 bath duplex. The upper and lower decks were a nice feature as well. Proximity to dining and entertainment was good. Overall, the house needs updating, though. With some relatively minor effort, it would be an ideal rental and recommendation by those staying there. o Crooked garage door, partially open; not a great first impression o Missing screen doors prevented the luxury of listening to the ocean at night; a true highlight of being oceanside o Bathrooms are very outdated, towel racks loose, hooks non existent for towels, mirror needs replacing in hall bath o Blinds, furniture drawer pulls need overall maintenance o Loose slat on deck railing on top deck; potential safety hazard o Kitchen cooking utenzils need to be refreshed/updated

We love Emerald Isle--beautiful views, great weather, and family oriented environment. It is great not to have rows of fast food resturants, and loud music blasting from passing cars. We have stayed in this house twice. The view from this home is awesome. There is more steps to climb than any home we have stayed in. This home needs more TLC. For example, the grout around the sinks has mold, the kitchen cookware could be better, and only one TV doesn't work well. We liked the new couch and TV. It was nice, but we probably won't stay there again.

Although we generally liked the location and the duplex, we had several structural and service concerns. We are a pretty hardy bunch and we enjoyed our stay anyway, but future renters should know to ask about repairs. First, we found that many of the pickets on the deck railings were very loose and hanging by a single nail. With two children with us under 5, this meant constant supervision of them so they would not fall through the railings. The Deck also has a lot of popped nails and loose boards. We have reported this to the realty company. Many of the wall electrical sockets are loose or do not work. Two of the three bathrooms had sockets that did not work. Other sockets were so loose, it was difficult to plug appliances in or out. The microwave only works if the door is held shut and it took us a few days to figure that out. Finally, the hot water went out suddenly and it took us over 36 hours to get that repaired. Again, all of these issues will hopefully be fixed before the next renter comes along. They have all been reported. The location is great, there is a great view from the upstairs living area and we had a great time.