have been vacationing in Topsail for over 20 years, and unfortunately this home, rented through…read moreWard Realty, did not meet our expectations. The standard checkout time is 10:00 a.m. and check-in is 3:00 p.m. We received a notification that the home was ready for check-in at noon, which meant there were only about two hours between the previous guests checking out and our arrival. Based on the condition of the home, it appeared the cleaning was rushed. (We did not ask for an earlier check in). There were stains on the walls, carpet, and baseboards. The floors were dusty and sticky in several areas, and the overall cleanliness fell well below what we expected. Outside, the picnic table was unstable, and the front porch railing was noticeably loose. We were uncomfortable using the porch because it did not feel secure. The photos of the listing are also not accurate of the current state of the property. The furniture is not the same. The listing does not reflect what you are truly renting. (Fun n the Sun) Overall, the property appears to be in need of both a thorough deep cleaning and some maintenance and updates. This is now the second time our family has rented from Ward Realty (last February) and the property was dirty and not as advertised. So much so that my parents had to ask for a replacement sofa because of how bad of shape the furniture was in. My parents left a negative review about this property as well but it was not posted on the listing. Which is unethical. We went multiple times throughout the year at Topsail, we will never rent from Ward Realty again. We have always had positive experiences vacationing in Topsail, so this stay was disappointing. Given Ward Realty's reputation, we expected the property to be in much better condition.

There's a reason Ward Realty has such a strong reputation on the island--they are organized,…read moreprofessional, and provide excellent customer service. During our stay, the air conditioner stopped working. While we got a bit of a runaround initially due to the late hour, the service couldn't be completed until the following day. Throughout the process, Ward Realty was attentive, communicative, and accommodating, which made the situation much easier to handle. Aside from that hiccup, we walked into a clean, well-maintained house on our first day, and everything was exactly as described. Booking and check-in were seamless, and the staff made the entire process feel effortless. We look forward to rebooking with Ward Realty in the future--they make island rentals worry-free and enjoyable!

Rented unit 1304 in shipyard condo we paid almost 2k for for 5 nights. The beds feel like they have…read morenot never been replaced, you can feel the springs underneath they make so much noise when moving, I mean all it takes is maybe 300 a bed from Amazon and this wouldn't be a problem. The couch feels about the same age and is really uncomfortable specifically in the middle. The wifi did not work as they had the wrong name and password, the outside light does not work, the showers are super slippery, and you can see rust stains from around the handle. We ended up having to drive to Walmart to buy an air mattress for my daughter to sleep on. I asked if I could check out early and only pay for used nights and I would go book somewhere else and they said no. They did not disclose the condition of the room, if they would I have, I would not have booked. I will contact my credit card company and see if they can help remedy the situation.

SeaShore Realty Group is a complete ripoff. Unit was filthy. Every day something broke. They are in…read morethe business of making excuses, not repairs. Turned parking pass in at check out to a staff person. Months later my bank account was debited for it. Disorganised, incompetent and completely unprofessional. Should be an option for less than one star.

Essentially, Access Realty gets somewhere between a 1.5 to 2 star rating for their customer service…read moreand a 4.5 to 5 star rating for their accommodations, so I reckon that works out to about a 3 star average. Let's start with the positives. They offer relatively decent rental pricing and their properties (or at least the one that my family stayed in) are very well-maintained and clean. You also get a little tote with some "orientation" materials (ie, local brochures and ads, some toilet paper) upon checking in. That was a nice touch. However, checking in can be somewhat of a nightmare when dealing with Access Realty (or at least it was in my experience). Essentially, they do not let you take house keys prior to check in time (even if check in time is approximately 40 minutes away and it's not like you're going to barge into the house), they stress the need for you to present back at their command when your keys are indeed ready, they then neglect to call you when your keys are ready, and all the while they act as though it would be a major inconvenience to them should you pick up your keys any later then 3:30pm (their established check in time) and only very begrudgingly admit that they man the office until 6pm. The bottom line is that I would book a beach house via Access Realty again in the future (as their houses seemingly are very nice), but I would just try to interact as little as possible with the staff.

Homeowners Beware -- My Experience With Access Realty I…read morepurchased a $1.89M beach house in April 2026 with plans to self-manage it as a short-term rental. At the time of purchase, I understood that the previous owner had an existing management that I was required to honor until the reservations already booked were fulfilled. Because of that, I had to work with Access Realty for the upcoming season. I had about one month before the first reservation. During that time, I repeatedly asked Access Realty to come to the property, review the changes I had made, update the amenities, and take new photographs. Instead, someone from the office took unprofessional photos, which I found extremely disappointing. The property was not accurately represented, and it took an excessive amount of time for the photos to be updated on their website. Lack of communication was another major issue. I repeatedly had to ask the same questions and request basic information. I asked whether I could handle the linens myself because homeowners are charged $203 per week reservation for linens, plus $8.50 per bed for making the beds. I was told I could. After the first reservation, I arrived on time to begin the laundry, only to discover that Access Realty had not communicated this arrangement to the cleaning company. The cleaner was visibly upset by my presence, and I was made to feel extremely uncomfortable at my own property. I went to the office to address my concerns right after. I explained that more than a month after purchasing a nearly $2 million property, no one from the company had come to inspect it, discuss expectations from both sides, inventory my home. I left feeling there was very little accountability for the problems or interest in understanding my expectations as the homeowner. I felt that my property was being treated as though it were their investment rather than mine. My property was just a cash cow for the company and I was in the way. I start cleaning the property myself. The cleaning fee is $550, but I was also charged a $30 inspection fee after I cleaned the property myself. I later found that the $550 cleaning fee was actually built into the room rent rather than being charged to the guest as a separate, itemized cleaning fee. This meant that when I cleaned the property, I was cleaning for free. If I hired a cleaner, I would have been paying that cleaner out of my room rent income rather than the guest paying for the cleaning fee. I was also told someone would roll the trash cans to the road, only to discover that this was an additional $20-per-week charge. Access Realty charges 16% commission on room rent and also charges guests a $250 reservation fee per booking, for admin work. I repeatedly requested itemized breakdowns of reservation charges and was told that obtaining basic information about my rental income was a "special request" I eventually hired an attorney regarding the cleaning-fee issue and how the charges were presented. During a conversation involving my attorney, a representative of the company stated that they had dealt with many homeowners who had threatened to sue them and that those homeowners had NEVER WON. I found that statement extremely concerning and unprofessional. Why are so many homeowners unhappy with their payouts? Access Realty's own statement to homeowners:"No Hidden Fees or Charges: We don't charge our homeowners any hidden charges or fees. Our easy to read owner statements will clearly show rental income, our commission, and any other agreed upon services or work orders. We don't charge our homeowners housekeeping fees or convenience charges." LIES I felt there were numerous individual fees for services and that I was being nickel-and-dimed throughout the contract. For perspective, one guest paid $10,497 for a week, while my payout was $6,640. I am extremely relieved that my contract with Access Realty is over and that I no longer have to deal with the company. There's much more context that I can't add for the length of the review. Just avoid hiring this company it's shifty.

I cannot say enough good things about Lewis Realty Associates. From our initial reservation months…read morein advance to the seamless check-in and checkout process, the entire team was professional, helpful, and truly fantastic to work with. As sometimes happens, our trip hit a snag about 24 hours before check in. While on our drive, I received a call from Jesse. There was a maintenance issue at our reserved property which would take several days to be resolved. Not optimal. With family traveling in from all over the country, needless to say, we were concerned. There was no need...Jesse already had a plan. There was a similar property nearby which was open. She sent a link to it's listing, my wife reviewed it while we were driving, and we approved the switch. There was a little snag as it was a home with some twin beds as opposed to the kings and queens we reserved for our all adult group. I ask some furniture be moved to accommodate our group. Jesse ask for some time to work on things...minutes later she called back, she would have maintenance convert some twins to kings, perfect! Check in was a breeze and everyone got busy enjoying the beach. As many rentals have done, the one we were staying in had converted from satellite/cable to all streaming. At no fault of Lewis Realty, the internet service in our rental wasn't adequate to stream video to the supplied Roku's. This wasn't a huge deal, but my wife is a doctor at our hometown hospital and had grand rounds she needed to attend via video conference, on Wednesday. This was a big deal. I contacted Lewis Realty concerning the issue. Jesse and Rylee saved the day again and within hours, everything was taken care of. We usually don't have much interaction with the realtor after the reservation process, but in this case, our family couldn't have been in better hands. I'm not sure what our next Topsail rental will be, but I know for sure our realtor will be Lewis Realty and Associates! Kudos to them!

We stayed at Flipping Out last week Sept 19. Location is great and we had a good stay but I wanted…read moreto mention a few things that need improvement at the property. Kitchen exhaust fan and light above the oven have been broken since last year when we stayed there. The refrigerator drawers are also broken. The mattresses on both beds are sorely in need of replacement!! Also the kitchen is sparsely equipped. Last year we bought a can opener and left it at the property. Justin to note there are no closets in the small bedroom. That's a bummer The location is what keeps us coming back. But would be great if some improvements could be made.

While my family enjoyed Topsail beach and our time spent on the beach, we will never use Island…read moreReal Estate again nor stay in the property "Eastern Sails" on North Topsail. We arrived on Saturday a quarter before check-in and parked at a public beach access near the rental property to take a walk up the beach to stretch our legs and wait. Walking in front on the property we noticed that the roof was being fixed on the entire property. We had no idea that the rental had received any damage from the recent storm, so we called Island Real Estate to check in with them and to see if this was going to be an issue with our stay. We were told that the construction crew should be about finished and that it wouldn't affect our stay. Shortly after, we received our confirmation to check in at our place. Not only did we not have a place to park, as the construction crew had parked a large dumpster and truck in our designated parking, but we also found our front deck to be completely covered in piles of sand, the trash cans still full of trash, and the construction crew still working on the roof. We again called the rental office to ask for these issues to be taken care of and they said they would have to call the owner. We never heard back from anyone until almost 6:00 pm. (3 hours after checking in) when the owner of the property showed up to clean off the porch. The porch was cleaned off, but we were left with the trash canisters full of trash and when the roofing company did leave for the day, they left their large dumpster and truck in our designated parking under the house. We called the rental office on Sunday and sent an e-mail asking if the roofing company could move the dumpster and truck so we could easily unload our belongings, as I was 30 weeks pregnant during our stay, we did not hear back from anyone until we again had to call on Monday when the roofing company showed back up and continued to work from 9:00 am till 8:00 pm. That day. The construction crew was very loud and it was impossible for us to put our toddler down for a nap. While replacing the roofing the workers threw their trash, shingles, nails, and swept sand and debris from the roof onto our deck/beach access all day. We were unable to safely access to the beach for that day. When they continued to work past 6:00 pm, we found the noise to be so unbearable we had to leave the property to find a quiet place for dinner. Upon returning at 8:00 pm, we found the roofing company still working. At this point, our toddler was beyond ready for bed, so we asked the roofing company to leave immediately and again called Island Real Estate. At this time, we greatly expressed how upset we had been with our stay and how inconvenienced we had been. We asked that the deck/beach access be cleaned up immediately, as it was riddled with nails from the roofing company as was the carport, which they finally removed their dumpster and truck from. We were unable to safely use the parking or the beach access due to the number of nails left behind. We also asked that we be compensated for the many inconveniences we had had since arriving for our vacation. By noon on Tuesday we had not heard back from anyone about the property being cleaned up so we could safely use the driveway and deck. Again, we called the real estate office and were told that they would immediately contact the owners. An hour later, we had not received word from anyone, so we called back. This continued every day of our trip. Eventually, my husband had to spend over an hour sweeping the piles of debris on our deck and picking up nails on the porches and access, so we could safely use them. The real estate office NEVER once reached out to us to take care of any of these issues. Every day, we had to first contact them for them to initiate anything being done. The owner never contacted us, nor cleaned up the rental property during our stay. At this point, we have checked out and no one has reached out to apologize or to offer any compensation for our terrible experience at this rental.

They say they will reimburse for buying a DVD player since the cottage did not have one. Lie number…read moreone. Don't rent near or at "clydes dream" . You will only enjoy noise and no privacy with a local living beside that cottage. Enjoy lawn mower going in your yard daily, when grass does not need cutting. If July 4th week, enjoy big tent put beside cottage with lots of noise and cars coming and going. Then when u check out a day early , expect a call when u r back home asking u to vacate the cottage. Never will rent from then again and will make sure to post this on other sites.

When speaking of real estate, one's first thought is "location, location, location". This should…read morealso be true when one thinks of a real estate agent. When buying or selling property, you must have an agent who knows the local market. For Topsail Island that agent is Andrea Carter of Teresa Batts Real Estate. We recently decided to sell our house in Surf City. Andrea said that she thought we would be able to get an offer within four months at a given price. We had the house sold in less than three months for more than she thought. In addition, Andrea took care of several issues that came up. This was especially helpful because we live two hours from Surf City. Andrea was able to answer all of our questions and concerns in a timely manner. She treated us as if we were her only clients and definitely went above and beyond. We highly recommend calling Andrea Carter for all of your real estate needs on Topsail Island.

When I put a deposit on a vacation rental in good faith that it would be available for my week, I…read moretrusted Century 21 to honor that. When I called this office prior to my stay, they informed me that the home was being handled by a different realty company and that I'd be contacted. I was never contacted so I began calling century 21 looking for answers as to the status of my deposit and future payments toward the rental. I called and called and called. Amazingly, the owner and rental manager were IN MEETINGS FOR TWO STRAIGHT DAYS AND WOULD NOT RETURN MY CALLS. I took matters into my own hands, found that Wards Realty had the listing but were never told about my rental agreement. Wards tried to help us by finding another rental property and absorbing my lost deposit which Century 21 decided to KEEP for office expenses and commission. Have you ever? This company will not last with that lack of customer courtesy, care, or concern. My vacation, my money, my business meant nothing to them. I vowed to warn everyone of their practices. BEWARE **although the owner/broker responded to this review, it's unfortunate that he missed the point. Of course things happen that might interrupt a smootH rental. The real integrity would have shown itself in honest/upfront answers to our queStions beginning in November when we first inquired, and a more immediate response to dozens of calls in December and January, and a refund of all of our deposit since none of the changes were our fault. And please: don't blame No Carolina real estate laws on that because we know that's not the truth either. If you're just another unsavory realtor, what's the point of using your office for anything?? Character and business integrity, and maybe a little fake sincerity mean a heck of a lot more than a silly rental transaction. I hope my experience with you guides others in their realtor choices.

Beware, if you use this company for a winter rental you will be paying a lot to clean the cottage,…read morecarpets and upholstery when you leave. The place we rented was not clean when we got it. pretty sure they did not have it cleaned after being rented out all summer. They did suggest we get estimates from a few cleaning companies so we would know the charges(which I did). At the end of our lease we were told we could only choose from their two approved cleaning companies and only one carpet cleaner. We had to be out of the house before the end of our lease so the cleaners could get in before the weekly rentals started. We ended up paying ~$1000 for cleaning the place.

Century 21 Action, DO NOT RENT FROM THEM! They are crooks! I rented a house early 2020 before the…read morevirus. By June, things were worse. My family has health issues and we had to cancel. These crooks kept 35% of my deposit, with NO REGARD for why I had to cancel. You will not be happy with these bandits...they rent substandard houses. I will never rent from ANY Century 21 realtor. Take my advice, do not give them on red cent...or blue! Read the reviews.....take heed!

Save yourself the arguments, stress, and instability of renting a home from Century 21 on Topsail…read moreBeach. Nothing will be fixed in your home, and you will be told countless times they are "working on it" and three months will go by. Please find another company to rent from, I would never recommend anyone signing a lease with them:(((((

I am a licensed California Realtor that moved to Wilmington. I went on Yelp to find a Realtor and…read moreAllison and her great reviews popped up. I immediately called her and we arranged to have a phone meeting. I never called anyone else. She is the best. I knew nothing about Wilmington and she guided me through all the areas, suggesting where I might like to live and put a plan in action. I bought a great home and Allison negotiated everything. Coming from a different state, we have different rules and she brilliantly navigated through all the twists and turns. I love it here, love my neighborhood and my new home. Don't waste time interviewing a bunch of Broker's.... she is your girl and as a Realtor I have high expectations. She exceeded all of them! Thank you Allison.

It was a long couple of months with the purchase of my home and Allison was there to help all those…read morelong months. I appreciated her taking the time months before hand sending me prospects of houses to check out and waking me through few of them. Even though I had been moved in for some stone she has continued to help answer questions and keep in contact!