When longtime Outer Banks real estate professional Brook Sparks started her vacation rental management company in 2021, she knew the perfect person to help her. Heather Cater has been in the vacation rental business since 2002, working her way from reservationist to property manager to accounting to general manager. With 40 years of real estate experience between them, the two women are the powerhouse duo behind Coast Realty, a small but mighty force on the Outer Banks vacation rental landscape.
Managing properties from Corolla to Manteo, Coast Realty offers a wide range of home options. Vacationers can choose from two-bedroom properties to 11-bedroom properties, located from the sound to the ocean, from simple properties for $1,000 a week to lavish properties costing $30,000 a week. They can choose homes with pools, elevators and other popular amenities and homes that welcome pets.
The common denominator for all Coast Realty’s properties is that they are exceptionally well maintained.
“The best way we can serve our partners and our clients is to give the guests a great experience while maintaining the integrity of the client’s investment,” Brook says. “That’s why we personally visit every house every year and make recommendations to help the owner prioritize home improvements that will best benefit our renters and enhance the owners’ return on investment.”
“When something needs to be done, whether it’s a deck repair or painting the house, we set expectations that it gets done,” adds Heather, who as general manager works directly with homeowners and renters. “It’s helpful that we work exclusively with a loyal team of professionals, including landscapers, carpet cleaners, tradesmen, photographers and others, and we don’t deviate from that list so things always get done.”
While Coast Realty is growing due to their extremely satisfied homeowners and renters (check out their Google reviews!), they will always be a small company – “selectively small” is how Brook describes it.
“We are small and hands-on so we can offer an unmatched level of personal service,” Brook says. “We are not outsourcing anything, so it’s much different than working with big-box companies, some of which don’t even have a local service rep.”
This means building relationships and working in partnership with homeowners.
“We meet them for lunch, and they have our cell numbers; it’s different than a normal contractual relationship, it’s more personal,” Heather says.
Being small on purpose also means flexibility. The Coast team can work with homeowners as much or as little as they like.
Coast Realty’s personal service and flexibility mean that renters can trust in overall better properties every time. It means a guaranteed local contact seven days a week and competitive pricing.
“We personally keep up with the market trends and manually make weekly adjustments to stay competitive for both property owners and guests,” Heather says. All this adds up to happy owners and renters. “Our personal relationships with our owners really do lead to better vacations for our renters,” Brook says.
Take a look at Coast Realty’s properties and services at coastrealtync.com.
About the Author Molly Harrison
Molly Harrison is managing editor at OneBoat, publisher of OuterBanksThisWeek.com. She moved to Nags Head in 1994 and since then has made her living writing articles and creating publications about the people, places and culture of the Outer Banks.
