A US interior painter and designer was warned that the cliffside house he bought on Cape Cod for $395,000 was going to be swallowed by the ocean one day due to the fast-rate erosion, yet he still went ahead to purchase the house. David Moot acquired a three bedroom house just seven point six metres away from a dying cliff with a view of the Atlantic Ocean.
Due to the inclusiveness of the foundations in the price, the property is generally cheaper than the market offers. Th seepage of water into the land caused by unrelenting water levels and the effects of global warming: “so life is short, and I said, okay, let’s just see what happens,” Said Moot to Blumerg. “It’s going to fall into the water sometime, perhaps in my lifetime, or perhaps not,” he affirmed.
Cape Cod is one such region along the eastern seaboard, which is being battered by severe wave action and is suffering beach recession. There is an average rate of erosion of more than three feet a year in the area, according to Stephen Leatherman, director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University. “On the east coast of the United States, 80% to 90% of the beaches are receding,” emphasizes Leatherman. “This house looks good at the moment because there is an expanse of beach but the wait til that beach cubs in, and the waves are blowing against the base of that bluff beneath the house.”
This choice to purchase the house is reflective of a growing practice where buyers of such homes take drastic discounts for high risk scenic properties due to climate change threats. Moot was identified by Bloomberg as having paid $395 million in 2022 for the house which was 67% less than the original price of $1.195 million set by the seller.
Moot obtained legal advice on the property and evaluated soil erosion of the area before purchasing it. He designed and put into action measures like growing beach grass to fix the sand, in addition to contemplating the moving further back from the beach. With such a line of thought, he felt he could delay the inevitable flooding of the property for some time.
As Massachusetts state geologist Brian Yellen explains, coastlines made up of glacial soils, like those in eastern USA and northern Europe, are even more susceptible to being eroded than what would be expected.
Despite all these and being it’s current occupant, Moot is still positive and wishes that he could also have the fantasy house with a non-terminal ill person. He is keen on permitting sick patients to come in and even sit by the sea and look at the horizon. “This is so fantastic a dream for me which has come to pass and I will really want to do everything possible to inspire others,” he was quoted by Boston Globe.
