“You would think we were unveiling an new iPhone or something,” said Intracoastal Vacation Rentals operations manager Luke Waddell, looking on the mass of University of North Carolina Wilmington students outside the Wrightsville Beach Intracoastal Rentals office at 605 Causeway Drive.
The students arrived well before dawn, some with beach chairs, some with blankets and some with boxes of bagels, all for a chance to live on Wrightsville Beach.
Every year around Oct. 1, the Wrightsville Beach Intracoastal Vacation Rental opens registration for college rentals on the beach for next year. Students waiting in line Wednesday, Oct. 1, were hoping for one of the 15 student rentals for late August to early May of the
2015-16 school year.
The line started at 4:30 a.m., with a group of three fraternity brothers waking up early to secure their space.
“Getting in line at 4:30 a.m. was pretty rough but it turned out to be the sweet spot because we were the first here,” said Chapel Hill native and UNCW junior Nicholas Alphin. “The older guys in our fraternity told us about it and said it was definitely worth it.”
Alphin was joined by Eduardo Vanegas of Chapel Hill and Ryan Hatfield of California in the early morning hours and said the next group of people arrived about 20 minutes after them. Intracoastal Rentals does not charge a fee for students to sign up and all three students said that was a big factor when choosing which rental agency to use.
Waddell said the crowd of around 60 gathered outside his office Wednesday was the biggest he has seen yet with an additional 140 people signed up from call-ins. The 4:30 a.m. time set by Alphin, Vanegas and Hatfield was also the earliest time he remembers anyone standing in line, Waddell added.
“The word is definitely starting to get out about it,” he said. “We will fill up today and anyone that doesn’t show up this morning doesn’t have a shot.”
A small group of students were also waiting outside the Intracoastal Realty sales office one block west of the rental office but were alerted to their mistake and made a hasty move.
Every year the list of properties available for student rentals fluctuates, but Waddell said the list continues to grow as more property owners realize the value in having a rental tenant secured for the offseason. Waddell said rental company agents also frequently check in on the properties to ensure the students are responsible tenants.
Although some waited more than five hours for the 9 a.m. office opening, all traces of the line were gone by 9:10 a.m., with the last of the line inside the doors to sign up.
email [email protected]
