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Poppy Bilderbeck
A Massachusetts house came on the market for under $400,000 but there was one major catch.
After spotting a beachfront house in Eastham, Cape Cod on the market for just $395,000 David Moot couldn't believe his luck.
The property had originally been placed on the market in 2022 at the price of a whopping $1.195 million, however it was reduced by 67 percent in just two years. But why?
Well, when the house is described as beachfront, it really means beachfront, with the Eastham abode sitting just 25 feet (7.6 meters) away from the shoreline, Bloomberg reports.
What could possibly be wrong with such an up close and personal view of the sea? I hear you cry.
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The fact that the sea may get too up close and personal, so much so, the property may cease to exist anymore. And it could happen quite soon.
Earlier this year a landslide occurred in Dana Point, California, seeing three mansions left teetering at the cliff's edge and the same fate could be headed for Moot's recent purchase too - reportedly within the next 10 years.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warns on its website: "U.S. coastal counties face permanent inundation and flooding threats from sea level rise, intense rains, high tide flooding, and severe storms.
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"[...] More than $1 trillion worth of property is located within 700 feet of the coast. These properties’ proximity to water bodies may put them at risk of extreme weather events, hurricanes, sea level rise, and high tide flooding. These threats can damage or destroy property or make real estate uninhabitable."
Professor and director of the laboratory for coastal research at Florida International University, Stephen Leatherman, told The Guardian around '80 to 90 percent of the beaches' along the east coast are 'eroding' with 'limited areas' actually 'stable'.
He added: "The average [rate of erosion] has been a little over 2ft a year but that’s just an overall average. And Cape Cod [...] is more like [...] about 3ft or more a year, so any rate, it does catch up with you."
Indeed, Moot confirmed to NBC Boston his front yard had lost about five feet of land due to erosion in just around 10 months.
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Despite the actual property's reduced price, Moot will have to pay around $4,000 a year in taxes and reportedly the same in insurance - and the insurance wouldn't cover if the house got damaged as a result of erosion.
However, Moot doesn't seem too fazed about the impending future of his new home and hopes to rent out the property to afford the charges, wanting as many people to 'enjoy it as much as [he] can'.
He resolved to the Boston Globe: "Life’s too short, and I just said to myself, 'Let’s just see what happens'. It’s going to eventually fall into the ocean, and it may or may not be in my lifetime."
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Well, that's one way to look at it, eh?