Vacation Rental FAQs
Apartment: One or more rooms of a building used as a place to live, in a building containing at least one other unit used for the same purpose. Usually has, at least, cooking facilities, a bathroom, and a place to sleep. An apartment building, apartment house, block of flats, or tenement, is a multi-unit dwelling made up of several (generally four or more) apartments (US), or flats (UK). We have included both Apartments and Flats in Apartments.
Cabin: A small, roughly built house usually with a wood exterior and typically found in rural areas. A small dwelling characteristic of the frontier, especially when built from logs (Log Cabin) with simple tools and not constructed by professional builders, but by those who meant to live in it.
Condo: A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate (usually of an apartment house) is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights associated with the individual ownership and controlled by the association of owners that jointly represent ownership of the whole piece. Colloquially, the term is often used to refer to the unit itself in place of the word "apartment". A condominium may be simply defined as an "apartment" that the resident "owns" as opposed to rents.
Condominium is the legal term used in the United States and in most provinces of Canada. In Australia and the Canadian province of British Columbia it is referred to as strata title. In Quebec the term "divided co-property" (French: co-propriété divisée) is used, although the colloquial name remains 'condominium'.
The difference between a condominium and an apartment is purely legal: there is no way to know a condo from an apartment simply by looking at or visiting the building. What defines a condominium is the form of ownership. The same building developed as a condominium (and sold as individual units to different owners) could actually be built someplace else as an apartment building (the developers would retain ownership and rent individual units to different tenants).
Technically, a condominium is a collection of individual home units along with the land upon which they sit. Individual home ownership within a condominium is construed as ownership of only the air space confining the boundaries of the home (Anglo-Saxon law systems; different elsewhere). The boundaries of that space are specified by a legal document known as a Declaration, filed of record with the local governing authority. Typically these boundaries will include the drywall surrounding a room, allowing the homeowner to make some interior modifications without impacting the common area. Anything outside this boundary is held in an undivided ownership interest by a corporation established at the time of the condominium’s creation. The corporation holds this property in trust on behalf of the homeowners as a group–-it may not have ownership itself.
Typically, a condominium consists of multi-unit dwellings (i.e., an apartment or a development) where each unit is individually owned and the common areas, such as hallways and recreational facilities, are jointly owned (usually as "tenants in common") by all the unit owners in the building. It is also possible for condominiums to consist of single family dwellings: so-called "detached condominiums" where homeowners do not maintain the exteriors of the dwellings, yards, etc. or "site condominiums" where the owner has more control and possible ownership (as in a "whole lot" or "lot line" condominium) over the exterior appearance. These structures are preferred by some planned neighborhoods and gated communities.
Cottage: The term "cottage" denotes a small, often cosy dwelling, and small size is integral to the description. Bungalow: a small house with a single story. In modern usage, a cottage is a dwelling, typically in a rural, or semi-rural location (although there are cottage-style dwellings in cities). In North America, most buildings known as cottages are used for weekend or summer getaways by city dwellers.
House: A house is generally a shelter or building or structure that is a dwelling or place for habitation by human beings. The term includes many kinds of dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to high-rise apartment buildings. In some contexts, "house" may mean the same as dwelling, residence, home, abode, lodging, accommodation, or housing, among other meanings.
Townhome:In the United States and Canada, a townhouse has two connotations. The older predates the automobile and denotes a house on a small footprint in a city, but due to having multiple floors (sometimes six or more) it has a large living space, often with servant quarters. The small footprint of the townhouse allows it to be within walking or mass transit distance of business and industrial areas of the city, yet luxurious enough for wealthy residents of the city. In areas so densely built that detached single-family houses are uncommon or almost nonexistent, ownership of a townhouse connotes wealth. Some examples of cities where townhouses are occupied almost exclusively by the wealthy are New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Toronto, and San Francisco.
The name "townhouse" or "townhomes" was later used to describe non-uniform units in suburban areas that are designed to mimic detached or semi-detached homes. The distinction between dwellings called just "apartments" or "condos" is that these townhouses usually consist of multiple families, usually multiple floors. The traditional "townhouse" apartment is a two bedroom unit with the living room in the front on the lower level, kitchen in the back. Two bedrooms are on the front and back of the upper level with a single bathroom between.
Outer Banks FAQs
The Outer Banks is a major tourist destination and is known for its temperate climate and wide expanse of open beachfront.
Do we find vacation rentals at cheaper rates in the Outer Banks region?
Away.com has named the Outer Banks a Top Ten Budget Beach Vacation! you will find budget vacation rentals available in the destinations of Outer Banks.
Are campers allowed in Outer Banks?
Campers, RVs and mobile units are not allowed in any community of Outer Banks.
Can I take my personalised motozied watercraft?
Southern Shores, Duck and Corolla (including 4x4 beaches) do not allow personal motorized watercraft on the ocean.
Can I drive ATVs on the beach?
Guests are not permitted to drive ATVs on the beach.
Are pets allowed in the vacation rentals of Outer Banks?
Permitted only in homes that list "Pet Friendly". Some pet-friendly homes have specific restrictions such as "No Cats" or "Under 25 lbs.". A violation of the pet policy is cause for termination of tenancy. Southern Shores beaches do not allow pets from Memorial Day to Labor Day. All beaches have leash laws. You won’t find a more pet-friendly beach in America.
What options are avaialble for family fun in the Outer Banks vacation spots?
The Outer Banks are 130 miles long and are home to some of the most wild and natural, undeveloped beaches in the country along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Take your four wheel drive SUV off-road in select areas to access some of the best fishing and scenery on the eastern seaboard. There are literally miles and miles on Hatteras Island you can navigate in the summer that you can’t find anywhere else. Think your kids would like to play in the largest natural sandbox in the south? Try Jockey’s Ridge State Park in Nags Head, a 426 acre sand dune system that’s about 90 feet tall and mecca for kite flying, sunsets or just rolling down the giant sand hills. Incredible panoramic scenery with a bird’s eye view of the island. Visit Bodie Island Lighthouse, Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse and the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse for free. Want to take a boat ride but think it’s too expensive for your group? Take your friends and loved ones to Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge and see one of the most popular stops for birds on the Atlantic Flyway. Hundreds of species of birds have been documented here. It’s free to enter, and the kids will love the turtle pond or looking through the free binoculars at the observation platforms overlooking miles of refuge. America got its start at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, where England’s first colony settled here at Roanoke Island from 1584-1587. The Army Corps of Engineers Field Research Facility in Duck, NC offers free summer tours. See really neat vehicles, buoys and devices that scientists use to measure waves during storms, etc. and engage your kids with a family field trip. The coast of Cape Hatteras is known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, because of the 2000 plus shipwrecks that line the Outer Banks. You can visit the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras, NC for free and see what the sea has thrown back! Learn about the lost Civil War submarine Alligator, see a real Enigma machine recovered from a German U-boat, and learn about the ghost ship Carroll A. Deering.
Is summer season suitable for vacationing Outer Banks?
The Outer Banks offers ideal vacation temperatures in the summer season. Outer Banks weather is a combination of bright sunny days tempered by gentle ocean breezes. The area enjoys around 200 sunny days each year, with a year-round average hovering around 70°F. Wind is an everyday occurrence on the Outer Banks, and can range from gentle southwest breezes to strong northeast storm winds. Otherwise the weather changes rapidly and can be very unpredictable.
What safety checks I must go through generally while visiting Outer Banks?
Upon arrival to your destination:
- Make sure the pull-cord loops on older window blinds and drapes have been eliminated or secured. Cut the loop of the pull cord just above the tassel to result in two cords, or keep the loop taut with a tie-down device that fastens the cord to the floor or wall.
- Hand-test the hot water temperature. A child can suffer third-degree burns in a matter of seconds if exposed to water above 120 degrees F. Most rental homes do not have anti-scald devices or renter access to the water heater thermostat. Hand-test the water upon arrival to avoid accidental scalding in the bath or shower.
- Examine bunk beds for proper installation and support of the mattresses. Bunk bed guardrails, like crib slats, need to be close enough together to avoid head entrapment. Avoid allowing children under the age of 6 to sleep in the top bunk.
- Place all household cleaners and other potentially dangerous chemicals in a locked cabinet or closet.
- Inspect the rental crib to make certain it is sturdy, properly assembled and in good condition.
