Information About Your Reservation

Thank you for reserving your vacation home with Carolina Designs Realty. Please share this information with the rest of your party.

Your keyless code for entry into your vacation home was sent to your email address, as well as your home’s address, local trash schedule, and discount codes for vacation gear rentals. If you do not see it in your inbox, please check your junk folder.

To make sure important emails from Carolina Designs do not go to your junk/spam folder, add us to your contacts and mark our messages as “Not Junk.” Gmail users can move us to Primary, Apple Mail users can add us to VIP, and Outlook users can add us to Safe Senders. (If you use another email platform, your options may be slightly different.)

Check-In Information

Check-in is between 4:00 and 5:00 PM. Your check-in packet is located on the kitchen counter of your vacation home, and your Wi-Fi information is in the check-in packet. You will receive a text and email notification on the day of arrival when your home is ready for occupancy. Others in your party may also receive direct notification when the home is ready by providing their contact information here.

As our housekeeping and maintenance staff are preparing the home for you, we kindly request that you do not access the property, including the driveway and the pool area, until the home is released. If you have a pool or hot tub, they are serviced by a third-party vendor on the day of your arrival, and a chemical check is performed mid-week. Our pool vendors start early in the morning and work late; please note that it is not guaranteed that the pool and hot tub will have been serviced by the time you check in. You don’t need to be present for this work to be completed; guests often don’t run into our pool vendors at all!

If your home is ready prior to the designated check-in time, you will receive an early check-in keyless code via text and email. The early access code is only good until 4:00 PM on the day of check-in. After 4:00 PM, use your assigned keyless access code for the rest of your stay.

Keyless Entry Operation

View an image of our Keyless Entry locks here.

To Unlock:

1. Touch the keypad portion of the lock with the back of your hand to illuminate the keypad.

2. Enter your code followed by the check mark icon (✔) on the bottom left of your keypad.

3. When the code is accepted, the locking mechanism will activate and the lock will open. You must manually lock the door behind you after entering.

To Lock:

1. Shut the door completely.

2. Activate the locking mechanism by touching the keypad with the back of your hand; the lock will then close.

Problems with Keyless Entry?

1. Review the information provided here, and retry the above procedure.

2. Double-check the code you entered with the code provided.

3. If the problem persists, please call 800-368-3825 (For after-hours emergencies only, please call 252-202-4964).

Trash Pick-Up Schedule

Trash service can come very early in the morning, so it is important to roll cans out the night before unless noted that you have roll out service. All trash must be placed in the cans in order to be picked up, and the cans should be placed facing the street. Please roll cans back to the house once collected. You will be notified by text the day before collection.

Check-Out Procedures

If your group departs before 10:00 AM on check-out day, please notify us at checkout.carolinadesigns.com or respond to the check-out text received 48 hours prior to your departure date.

Check-out time is 10:00 AM and your keyless entry code will expire at that time.

Please remember to:

1. Remove your trash from the home. All trash must be placed in cans.

2. Load and start the dishwasher(s).

3. Do not remove sheets; leave beds unmade and towels on bathroom floor.

4. Leave the house and outside areas in a tidy condition, with all trash and personal belongings removed.

5. Close and lock all windows and doors.

Safety Considerations

Please familiarize yourself with the address of the property, the home’s exits, and have a group discussion about an evacuation plan in the event of an emergency. The address is located on your lease, on signs on the exterior of the property, and it will also be listed on your check-in packet.

Pool and Spa – Please observe all posted rules. Please shower before and after using the hot tub. Do not remove the chlorine floater from the hot tub. The pool vendor may ask you to vacate the pool area during the mid-week chemical check. Avoid staying in the hot tub for extended periods (over 15 minutes). Children under 12, elderly persons, and those with health issues should not use the hot tub. Please note that children have an increased risk of skin irritation from hot tub use.

Beach – Follow safety guidelines at the beach. All beach equipment (including canopies and chairs) must be removed each night or may be subject to removal by town.

Fireworks – All fireworks are strictly prohibited in or around homes managed by Carolina Designs Realty. North Carolina prohibits the possession of any pyrotechnics which launch or propel into the air.

Security – Just as you would at home, please remember to lock your cars when unattended and secure your vacation house when going out or before retiring in the evenings.

Parking – There is NO street or overnight public parking on the Outer Banks, so always park in the driveway and not on the grass or the side of the road. Please observe all posted subdivision parking rules. Towing is enforced. Many restrictions exist for trailers and golf carts, so please check with our office for specifics prior to arrival.

Elevators – For safety reasons, children must be accompanied by an adult when on elevators and should not be left unattended near elevators. Elevators are mainly used to assist guests unable to climb stairs. For the elevator to operate, interior and exterior doors on all levels must be firmly shut.

Home Care

Thank you in advance for caring for this home. Smoking/vaping of any kind is prohibited inside the house and on decks at all properties. Please dispose of cigarette butts properly and safely. You will be responsible for the smoke remediation expenses if smoking or vaping of any kind occurs in the home during your stay.

We ask that you please pick up after your pets, park only in your rental home’s driveway, and please do not tamper with electronic wiring. Most homes in this area are on fragile septic systems, and for that reason, most do not have garbage disposals. Please be careful not to allow food down the drains, and please flush only toilet paper.

Over occupying the property is strictly forbidden — no cots or air mattresses are allowed.

Please obey all local ordinances and be advised that excessive noise or abuse to your vacation home may result in termination of your rental contract. Most towns restrict noise levels after 11:00 PM.

Each of Our Homes Provide

Keyless entry

Freshly made beds and bath towels

Signature welcome package (containing starter supplies)

Wi-fi and access to cable, satellite TV, or streaming capability

Fully-equipped kitchen (Keurig and coffee maker provided)

Washer and dryer

Outdoor grill

Outdoor shower (some not enclosed)

Suggested Packing List

Beach chairs and umbrellas

Beach towels

Pool toys and beach toys

Garbage bags

Cleaning supplies

Salt, pepper, and spices

Toiletries and hair dryer

Paper towels

Toilet tissue

Relax and enjoy more beach time by scheduling a daily tent set-up on the beach in front of your vacation house. Please note: Cabana services may not be available in certain areas.

Traffic

In the summer, Outer Banks traffic can be very heavy on Saturdays and Sundays. Saturday traffic can be extremely heavy from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Traffic lights favor the bypass (U.S. Route 158) and the beach road (NC Highway 12, also named Duck Road in the town of Duck). Please avoid side streets and neighborhoods. For those renting homes in Kill Devil Hills or Nags Head, you might want to consider the alternate route through Edenton, NC.

For More Information on the Outer Banks

Visit our website for additional area information from Carolina Designs. The Outer Banks Visitor’s Bureau is another great resource for Outer Banks events and activities.

Cleaning & Service

Please help us help you. We ask that you designate one point of contact from your party to communicate with our office for your service needs during your stay. If you require maintenance services, please email service@carolinadesigns.com or call 800-368-3825. Our office is open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily, and we have an after-hours emergency service number, 252-202-4964, for use in extreme emergencies only.

House Tips

Refrigerators – The refrigerator in your rental home may require a period of 24 hours after your arrival to reach and maintain a normal temperature. This is due to temperature destabilization which occurs from unloading, cleaning, and reloading the unit with groceries on changeover day, especially on hot days. To ensure proper operation, please keep doors closed as much as possible, set all temperature dials on ‘medium’, and do not block the vent which provides cold air from the freezer to the refrigerator. Setting the dials above ‘medium’ could cause the unit to enter auto-defrost mode and shut down.

Air Conditioning – Did you know that a perfectly functioning air conditioning unit can only keep the top level of a home approximately 20 degrees cooler than the outside heat index? To best maintain temperatures in your home, please keep doors and windows closed, and close blinds or curtains on the top level during the hottest part of the day. Please do not turn the air conditioning units down below 68 degrees as this could cause the units to freeze and stop working altogether.