This information about the 4WD area (all areas of Currituck County north of Corolla proper) in the Outer Banks of North Carolina is provided to help consumers avoid making a mistake when buying real estate.
Availability of flood insurance
There is no NFIP flood insurance available to homeowners in the 4WD area. NFIP is the public, affordable, easy-to-obtain federal/FEMA flood insurance available to homeowners everywhere else on the Outer Banks, except for a small section of Hatteras Island and also at the far end of the Villages at Ocean Hill subdivision in the Corolla stretch of paved road.
flood zones
The entire 4WD area is a COBRA Zone (Coastal Barrier Resources Act) where the federal government does not want any type of development, but cannot prevent it. The three 4WD areas are Swan Beach, North Swan Beach, and Carova, and each has federal reserve land between it and the next section, hence the lack of paved roads.
Flood insurance status is key because ALL federally backed or insured mortgage lenders require homeowners to carry flood insurance if the home is located in whole or in part within any FEMA flood zone other than the X. Floodplain X is the highest elevation within the entire floodplain. Outer Banks Federally Designated Regional Flood Hazard Area.
There are only varying degrees (zones) within this general flood hazard zone, with Zone X being the highest ground. And ALL waterfront properties, no matter how elevated, must have flood insurance and are in the VE zone. The rest of the area is designated as zone AE.
Some of the properties in the 4×4 areas are in Zone X or have a LOMA (letter of map amendment) on file with a grounds engineer that exempts the property from having to purchase flood insurance, but many cannot obtain a HILL due to wetlands, fill issues, etc. These are the properties that deserve your attention
Distance+More Expensive
It can be tricky, but the general point is that it can be more expensive to own a home in the 4×4 area, even though the asking prices seem lower than in the paved road areas of Corolla.
All buildings and services cost more in a 4×4, of course, since every delivery, renovation, or repair of any kind has to be done in a 4×4 (furniture, appliances, whatever), including labor.
There is no commercial development of any kind and limited emergency services. The only public services available are telephone and electricity. You have to use a well for water, and satellite for TV.
During times of high lunar tide and/or storm activity it can be treacherous getting in and out of the area, the only way from the paved road in Corolla to any of the neighborhoods is directly on the beach side of the dunes. Once you get past the first section of the federal reserve after the paved road ends, the streets return to sound in many places, but the only road in and out is right at the water’s edge.
It takes about a 30 minute drive from the more remote areas of Carova to get to the nearest store, gas, ice, pizza, anything you or your rental guests (if you rent) want at short notice during your stay. Wink’s in Corolla Village is the closest store to 4WD.
This is not to scare you, but to ensure that this is the type of area that would be suitable for your needs before you make a trip just to look at the properties for sale. If you think this kind of rustic “remote woods” feel wouldn’t work for your needs, we should focus your visit on comparable properties located in Corolla’s regular paved areas and let yourselves use the 4WD just for fun and curiosity. at your leisure while you are here.
We often have potential buyers who flatly refuse to consider the area because there is nothing to do but enjoy the house, each other, and the beach (and the flies and mosquitoes). Of course, wild horses roam there and are easy on the eyes, but everyone should be careful not to disturb them.
Basically you can’t go out for coffee or ice cream or shopping or anything at all except the beach and houses and frankly moms tend to ban the area for that reason unless that’s specifically what What does the family like?