Home Lost to Erosion on Plum Island

(NECN: Lauren Collins - Newbury, Mass.)  The 1940s beachfront bungalow at 27 Annapolis Way is facing an architectural death sentence

"I actually saw It cave in before my eyes," says next door  neighbor Lauren Filmore

The Plum Island home's bones have been compromised by nor'easter waves, its cinder blocks gave way earlier this week.

"The structure's in danger  of collapse," says Newbury. MA building inspector Sam Joslin.  "With either no storm or a minor storm it could come down so I've ordered it to be razed as soon as possible."

A storm in March first exposed the foundation - the home's longtime residents were forced to evacuate then and sold the property November 30th

"When (the new owner) purchased the house the foundation was exposed the bottom of the footing was beginning to show," says Joslin who adds the new owner intended to tear down the home at some point anyway and already has a permit to rebuild on this lot.

While the home at 27 Annapolis Way has been ordered to be taken down, there are also structural concerns about neighboring homes at 29 and 31 Annapolis Way.

"They both did repairs last spring to decks but there's about six to ten feet of sand left between their foundations and the ocean," says Joslin.

That doesn't concern Filmore.  She and her husband rent one of those houses and she figures, "we'll just leave if anything happens."

And although she knows the risk of living so close to the ocean, she and her husband plan on staying put.

"We're actually buying a house near the marsh," she says, "so we plan to live here for the rest of our lives."

Joslin anticipates this ill-fated cottage will be down by Friday, the second in town to be razed in a little more than two years.  A home further down the beach in Newburyport is also in jeopardy with no way to tell which house will be next.

And while that makes for a very long winter for homeowners, it's not enough to chase them from their idea of paradise.

"I've always loved Plum Island," says Filmore.

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