Exclusively oceanfront.

• Position: Eastern

Richard Neal was perusing auction properties on a federal government website when a listing for an abandoned Coast Guard lighthouse caught his eye. "I called my wife and told her I'd found her 25th-anniversary present." Neal, a software salesman from Mint Hill, eventually bought Frying Pan Shoals Light Tower for $85,000 and has invested roughly $25,000 to turn it into a maritime bed-and-breakfast.

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Built in 1966, the modified oil-drilling platform stands in about 50 feet of water 85 feet above the Atlantic 30 miles east of Southport on the southern edge of Frying Pan Shoals, shifting sandbars that have claimed many a passing ship. The station was manned until the light was automated in 1979. The government deactivated it in 2003, and Neal bought the tower about two years ago after two higher bidders failed to find financing. The 5,000 square feet of living space includes eight bedrooms, each with twin beds. The B&B opened in May. Two-night stays run $300, not including the cost of getting there. (There's a helipad if you want to arrive in style.)

Neal, 51, hopes it will become a popular spot for divers and fishermen, but profit wasn't his motivation for this...