The buyers: Jacob Wilson, 43, attorney.

The house: An 800-square-foot two-bedroom, 1½ bath bungalow built in 1930 in Wildwood.

The price: Listed for $444,000; purchased for $441,000.

The agent: Marion Rowland, ReMax Surfside.

The ask: Wilson lives in Venice Beach, Calif., but grew up in Wildwood and Atlantic County and missed the East Coast. When he was a toddler, the family lived at the Regency in North Wildwood, where his parents were the offseason managers. “It was around the time The Shining came out, and my aunt used to tease them about living there with my sister and me when the whole of Wildwood was shut down!“ he said.

Wildwood was in his DNA for good. His dream was to buy a second home in Wildwood, a place with some old Shore charm, where he and the family could gather and revive traditions.

The search: Wilson’s aunt is a local real estate agent in Wildwood, and they “combed the market for months,” he said.

He put in an offer on a renovated triplex in Wildwood Crest toward summer’s end in 2024 but was outbid. “It got 12 other offers above the asking price,” Wilson said. “They were asking $575[000] I was willing to pay them $600,000.”

After a day of house hunting in September 2024, the two sat down for lunch at the Dogtooth Bar & Grill. “We saw a listing two blocks away pop up,” he said. “We drove over to the house and started the process.”

The appeal: As soon as he walked in the house, Wilson said he thought, “I know what I need to make this good.”

The house checked a lot of boxes for him: charm, old-school bungalow feel, close to the ocean.

“My mom’s been a Realtor in the area for 40 years,” he said. “She has a 1900 Victorian. I’ve always admired the work my parents did on that home. My cousin had a Craftsman bungalow. It reminds me of houses here in Venice,” California.

Both Wilson and his aunt appreciated being able to buy an original property in Wildwood and not tear it down.

“I have deep ties to Wildwood,” he said. “I really didn’t want to do that.”

A house across from his was recently torn down and a triplex built in its place. Plus, his house has a back yard.

“That just doesn’t exist anymore,” he said. “In the offseason, I can hear the waves from my backyard.”

The deal: Wilson said he put in an offer for the asking price and beat two other offers. “The house sold in three days,” he said. The inspection revealed some termite damage, and the seller reduced the price by $3,000, he said.

“The work to remedy the problem was estimated to be over $10,000,” he said, “and it cost me around $15,000 altogether with foundation work and pest treatment.”

Because of the competitive environment, he said, " I took the $3,000 reduction to make the sale happen."

His aunt was proud of him for buying and preserving a house in Wildwood, he said, the place where two of his grandparents were born.

The money: Wilson did it in a traditional way: 20% down payment, a mortgage with the local Ocean First Bank. “Kudos to Ocean first,” he said. “They don’t sell the mortgage.” His mortgage rate was 7%, higher due to its being an investment property, he said.

Using the property part of the summer as a weekly rental and a longer term winter rental covers his mortgage, he said. “I don’t really have too many out-of-pocket expenses,” he said. “Taxes are $4,000 a year. Utility bills a few hundred a month.”

The move: There were some changes. He liked the way the former owners used gray plank boards to replace the original parquet wood that made it “more like a modern beach house.”

But, Wilson said, “some things inside were a little too country.”

“I wanted to make it more beachy,” he said. There was shelving in the doorways that he got rid of, and some closets that inexplicably had the doors removed and curtains put up. Luckily, he found the original doors in the attic and put them back on. He replaced the door knobs and repainted the entire interior.

“The big thing that showed up was termite damage,” he said. “I had to do a lot of foundation work when I bought the place.” He replaced the old insulation with spray insulation, he said, and installed a dishwasher and new refrigerator.

“A lot of things like that to make it look sharp,” he said.

Life after close: This will be his second summer using the Wildwood bungalow. He’s spending a month there over June and July and expecting a stream of visitors to revive old family traditions. He plans to block out more time for himself in the shoulder seasons.

“It’s all kind of like nostalgia for me because we spent so much time there as a kid,” he said.

“I had a lot of strong feelings about going back,” he said. “As an adult, I appreciate it more.”

About six months after he bought the house, “Someone called me and asked if I was interested in selling it,” he said. No way.

“Keeping it long term is my goal,” he said. “I feel like I made a good investment choice. No regrets.”

Did you recently buy a home in the Philadelphia area or South Jersey? Share the story of how you did it. Email Inquirer real estate reporters at properties@inquirer.com.