EASTERN SHORE, Va. (Delmarva Now) -- Cape Charles will soon be featured in HGTV's popular series "Beachfront Bargain Hunt."
The series, in its 14th season, highlights potential homebuyers in search of the perfect beachfront home within their budget. It is the second time the beach community has been featured as an ideal location to purchase real estate.
The latest episode, titled "Down by the Chesapeake Bay," is slated to air April 2 at 8 p.m. and will feature Jordan and Phillip Dail of Suffolk, Virginia. Blue Heron Realty Co.'s Eva Noonan will once again take the lead and aid the couple and their three sons in finding a home under a budget of $375,000.
An informal viewing party has been organized for the airing of the episode at Kelly's Gingernut Pub on Mason Avenue.
"All of a sudden I was on the show "
Jim and Jodi Outland, along with their three children, were featured in the first season of the show hunting for a second home on the historic beachfront strip for less than $350,000. The couple, with the help of Noonan, settled on a four-bedroom, two bathroom bungalow-style home on Randolph Avenue. The episode aired Nov. 24, 2013.
Noonan recalls the cold, rainy spring day when she received a call from Magilla Entertainment, a television production company contracted with HGTV to produce "Beachfront Bargain Hunt." The company was inquiring about potential properties that were available in Cape Charles.
"The season wasn't even out yet and it was a big secret back then," said Noonan, who was required to sign a confidentiality agreement. Noonan was under the impression that she would just be providing assistance with properties but found herself in the spotlight, too.
"I thought at that point they just wanted the property and before I knew it they wanted me to send them a bio with pictures, and then all of a sudden we were on Skype," said Noonan, laughing. "All of a sudden I was on the show, which I didn't know at the beginning."
The Outlands eventually made the move to Cape Charles full-time from Richmond.
"It's very unique in that there are very few places, I think, that are left that are truly, true small-town America," said Jodi Outland. "I think that you can't find that very often."
New stars
The Dails vacationed in Cape Charles for years before deciding to begin the hunt for their perfect vacation home — a notion they at first thought impossible. A stop by Noonan's office proved them wrong.
"Cape Charles is really unique," said Jordan Dail. "It really feels like you step back in time. We just love the quaintness of the houses and how they’re all different."
The process of shooting the episode was a "kind of grueling" experience involving four days of nonstop filming, but one their family will never forget, Dail said.
“It was one of those once in a lifetime things that you do," she said.
If you're thinking that owning a beachfront home in quaint, small-town America is impossible for you or your family, Noonan will be happy to confute your assumptions, too.
"Because Cape Charles is one of the last undeveloped destinations, I think that's why they chose Cape Charles the first and even the second time. You can still get a deal here," Noonan said.
Click here for more information on episodes or air dates.
