Real Estate Roundup

Read the HOA legislation, share your opinion

Many people have strong opinions about the proposed homeowners association legislation, which was the subject of a forum in Myrtle Beach Wednesday.

If you want to read what exactly the legislation says, here is a link to the full text of the bill.

Feel free to share your opinions in the comment section after you read it.

What is your opinion on the proposed Homeowners association bill?

Several hundred people attended a forum about the proposed homeowners association bill this morning.

The panel included three lawyers and two representatives from property and HOA management companies, most of who opposed the legislation because they thought it would burden condo associations, add additional fees and create contradictions with legislation that currently governs HOAs. Some of those attending said the legislation is important and will provide homeowners additional ways to deal with problems with HOAs.

The South Carolina Homeowners' Association Act was introduced by the state Senate this year and is expected to be addressed during the next legislative session.

The bill would require associations to make their financial records for the past three years available to members, limit annual increases on assessments and allow the S.C. Department of Consumer Affairs to mediate disputes.

Cindy Bonner, of Ally Management, Inc., a company that mainly manages condo HOAs, said that she doesn't see a need for additional legislation with those organizations and that the new financial rules would limit the board's ability to collect dues.

“I can't see anything positive that this would do,” she said. “I think it would create a lot of confusion.”

She said that it is already difficult in many communities to fill HOA boards, and would be nearly impossible to fill positions on the panels the legislation proposes to help settle disputes.

A key debate was how the legislation would apply to single family homes property owners associations of condo HOAs, which already have more regulations.

Holly Roy of Myrtle Beach said that the discussion should have been more focused on single family home organizations, which would benefit from the legislation. She said the key issue is having a place to go when the HOA board is unresponsive, she said.

“You have no recourse,” she said. “Homeowners have no one else to go to.”

Roy said she'd be willing to pay the $10 a year per property proposed by the legislation if it meant she would have a place to take her complaints.

Brian Kernaghan, a lawyer at the Nexsen Pruet Law Firm, disagrees and called the fee another tax he doesn't think people should have to pay.

“Do we need legislation? I think we really do, to address these types of concerns but I don't believe we need this kind of act,” he said.

Where do you stand on the proposed legislation? Add your comments to the discussion below.

Two Grand Strand real estate companies merge

REMAX Palmetto Properties merged with REMAX Town & Country on Tuesday.

"[The merger was] driven by the market conditions," said Alex Holbert, the broker-in-charge at REMAX Town & Country. "We realized that the piece of the pie had been cut so thinly that we were competing against each other."

The combined company will have 33 agents and 320 listings with a net value of about $65 million, he said.

Holbert said the combined company, which will keep the Town & Country name, will provide broader services, including more new construction listings. The company also plans to add a commercial real estate division by the spring. The added administrative staff will allow the company to be open seven days a week.

The REMAX Palmetto Properties office in Carolina Forest is closed and all of the Realtors will work out of the REMAX Town & Country office on 38th Ave. North in Myrtle Beach.

"We're just thrilled. We're stronger than we were separated," Holbert said.

The two companies signed papers on Tuesday finalizing the agreement.

Myrtle Beach area homes sales up more than originally thought

Single family home sales in July, which posted the first increase in nearly two years, jumped more than officials originally reported.

Sales actually jumped 9 percent, not 4 percent, according to revised statistics by market analyst Tom Maeser.

Realtors have the ability to continuously go back and make changes to their own listings, so information can change significantly even weeks later, Maeser said.

In this case, more Realtors updated listings to indicate that properties had sold.

The revised numbers also show that condominium prices are up 4 percent, not 1 percent, to $197,507.

Local builders prepare for energy code changes

Local home builders are getting ready for some changes in the building code that will require more energy efficiency and documentation.

The Horry Georgetown Home Builders Association hosted an educational workshop Thursday about upcoming changes to the energy code.

The changes include increased documentation of insulation and windows in homes.  Starting Jan. 1 builders must place an energy efficiency certificate on the electrical panel in all single family homes proving that they comply with the energy standards.

David Jacobs, the director of code enforcement in Horry County attended the meeting with several inspectors to ensure that both inspectors and builders are understanding the upcoming changes.

"Any time you change anything you have some challenges until people get used to doing it," he said. "We try to tell them what to expect."

Home sales rise in July

Sales of single family homes rose 4 percent in July when compared with the same month last year, the increase marks the first time house sales increased in about two years.

In June condominium sales rose 2 percent, though they dropped 9 percent in July, when compared with the same month in 2008.

The numbers pulled this week from the Multiple Listing Service also show that the median house price - the price at which half sold for more and half sold for less  - is down 19 percent to $168,425, and the median condo prices are down 14 percent to $127,900, when compared with the same month last year.

Tom Maeser, the market analyst for the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors said he is optimistic that the market is leveling off.

"If this kind of thing continues for a couple more months we can say we can see some kind of stability," he said.

Report says more people moving to SC than leaving

A report released by United Van Lines today said that in the past six months more people have moved to South Carolina than have left.

The mid-year findings from the annual migration study by United Van Lines, one of the nation's largest moving companies, tracked a total of 60, 520 moves in the United States.

South Carolina had a total of 2,086 moves with 1,140 moves into the state and 946 leaving the state. A total of 54.7 percent of those moves were into the state.

Michigan had the largest percentage of moves out of the state with 70 percent leaving compared with 30 percent moving to the state. 

Washington D.C. was the most popular destination to move to with 63.6 percent of the moves arriving rather than leaving.

New amenity center at Season retirement community brings hope

The new amenity center at the Seasons at Prince Creek West has opened and residents are hopeful that a new buyer will be found soon.

Construction resumed in August 2008 in the Murrells Inlet retirement community after it was stalled when the developer Levitt and Sons filed for bankruptcy in 2007.

Wachovia Bank, Levitt and Sons' creditor, is funding the improvements. In 2008, Wachovia financed the construction of homes for people who had already put deposits on houses, but there were no plans to build amenities. Earlier this year they agreed to build the amenity center.

The new 8,000-square-foot amenity center has an indoor pool, an exercise room, card tables, billiards and a media room.

"It adds to the wellness of the community it's an important piece for this community to grow," said Allen DeLuca, who owns a house in the community.

The Litchfield Co. is handling the sales, and the company's development marketing manager, Courtney Koonce, said they sold a house in June and there has been a lot of interest.

Sonnet Kapila, the chief administrator approved by the court to handle the bankruptcy and sale of the development said that he in under contract with a new buyer and an announcement may come in the next few weeks.

Condo sales up 2 percent in June

Condo sales went up 2 percent in June, marking the first time in two years that any Grand Strand real estate sales have increased.

Single-family house sales did not fare as well and dropped 19 percent, when compared with sales in June 2008.

The numbers pulled this week from the Multiple Listing Service also show that the median house price - the price at which half sold for more and half sold for less  - is down 14 percent to $180,630, and the median condo prices are down 19 percent to $130,000, when compared with the same month last year.

Both residential and condo sales dropped overall through the first six months of the year. The decline was not as large as the same period in 2008.

The market has bottomed out and residential sales are not declining as rapidly, said Tom Maeser, the market analyst for the for the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors.

Homeowners facing foreclosure can get help this week

Homeowners facing foreclosure can get free, one-on-one help in Georgetown on Saturday.

Counselors from Housing and Urban Development will be available to go over options with homeowners, as will representatives from Legal Service, Mortgage Advocates, Debt and Consumer Credit Counseling, Family Services Inc. and First Federal. Information about the Obama Administration's new Making Home Affordable Plan also will be available.

The Homeownership Resource Center, a division of Family Services Inc., will have the clinics at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. at the Waccamaw Regional Council of Governments, 1230 Highmarket Street.

Such clinics are becoming more popular as the number of foreclosures continues to grow. 

More than 700 homeowners attended two similar forums in Charleston by the Homeownership Resource Center, and officials had requested the group bring the effort to Georgetown.

Homeowners should bring the following documents:

-- Most recent statement from the lender

-- Legal papers from attorneys related to foreclosure 

-- A recent pay stub from all homeowners on the mortgage

-- Most recent bank statement, tax return and utility bill 

For more information, call The Homeownership Resource Center at 888-320-0350 or visit www.ForeclosureHelpforSC.org.

Foreclosure auction on tap this week

About 15 bank-owned houses in the Myrtle Beach area are going up for auction Thursday.

The foreclosed properties include condos in Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach and houses in Georgetown, Longs and Shallotte, N.C.

The auction will be at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort. Houses will be sold as is.

Buyers, who are encouraged to check out the property in person before the auction, must have $2,500, in cash or certified check to make a purchase. The sales are expected to close in 30 to 45 days, said Crystal Wright, a spokeswoman for the firm organizing the auction.

Hudson & Marshall, a Dallas, Texas-based auction firm, is sponsoring the auction as part of a massive effort in the Carolinas this week. In all, about 120 foreclosed homes will go to auction this week, including 26 in Charlotte, N.C. - the most of any city - followed by the Raleigh-Durham area with 24 homes.

Also up for grabs: seven homes in Charleston, 15 in Hilton Head Island and others in Columbia, Greenville and the Winston-Salem, N.C. area.

This is the first foreclosure auction Hudson & Marshall has done along the Grand Strand, Wright said.

``It's just reflecting the foreclosure numbers,'' she said.

Potential buyers can get details about the properties up for grabs in the Myrtle Beach area by clicking here.

About 15 bank-owned houses in the Myrtle Beach area are going up for auction Thursday.

The foreclosed properties include condos in Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach and houses in Georgetown, Longs and Shallotte, N.C.

The auction will be at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort. Houses will be sold as is.

Buyers, who are encouraged to check out the property in person before the auction, must have $2,500, in cash or certified check to make a purchase. The sales are expected to close in 30 to 45 days, said Crystal Wright, a spokeswoman for the firm organizing the auction.

Hudson & Marshall, a Dallas, Texas-based auction firm, is sponsoring the auction as part of a massive effort in the Carolinas this week. In all, about 120 foreclosed homes will go to auction this week, including 26 in Charlotte, N.C. - the most of any city - followed by the Raleigh-Durham area with 24 homes.

Also up for grabs: seven homes in Charleston, 15 in Hilton Head Island and others in Columbia, Greenville and the Winston-Salem, N.C. area.

This is the first foreclosure auction Hudson & Marshall has done along the Grand Strand, Wright said.

``It's just reflecting the foreclosure numbers,'' she said.

Potential buyers can get details about the properties up for grabs in the Myrtle Beach area by clicking here.

Litchfield development getting new owners

A company that has developed and marketed parts of Litchfield Plantation for the past few years has a contract to buy the 600-acre development and plans to add amenities and more than a hundred houses.

Litchfield Plantation Development Co., which is owned by The Scott Trotter Co. and The Logan Trotter Co., plans to buy the former rice plantation property for an undisclosed amount. The Litchfield Plantation Co., a family-owned business, has owned the upscale property for more than 30 years.

Read more in Friday's print edition of The Sun News.

Magazine names best master-planned communities

When it comes to finding a place to retire, the Grand Strand and Brunswick County, N.C., have some good options, according to ``Where to Retire'' magazine.

The publication released its pick of the best 100 master-planned communities in the nation in its July/August edition, and six local developments were among them - Grande Dunes in Myrtle Beach;
Lakeside Crossing in Conway; Brunswick Forest and Waterford of the Carolinas in Leland, N.C.; St. James Plantation in Southport, N.C.; and Ocean Ridge Plantation in Sunset Beach, N.C.

They were chosen from more than 200 neighborhoods based on criteria such as amenities, financial health of the developers, and the number of homes they have, said magazine spokeswoman Katie Davies.

Island auction part of growing trend

Ever wanted to own piece of an island?

Well, here's your chance if you have enough cash.

Iron Horse Auction Co. is scheduled to sell five lots that make up about a third of Monk's Island, N.C. - and the only developable part of it - at an auction this month. The island is at the Shallotte Inlet between Holden Beach and Ocean Isle Beach on the Intracoastal Waterway.

Auctions like this are becoming increasingly common in a market where buyers are hunting for bargains and developers are trying to unload units.

``These markets don't occur very frequently, but maybe every 15 years or so you get a situation where there's hesitancy in the marketplace and developers have inventory they want to move,'' said Gordon Greene, manager of the real estate auction division of the Chartwell Group.

His company, a Cleveland firm that does real estate auctions in many states, has seen residential auctions increase by about 250 percent to 300 percent this year, he said.

``What caused it was a huge number of planned projects came on stream in 2007, 2008 and 2009, projects that might have gotten 50 to 60 percent sold out when markets were better,'' Greene said. ``Then sales slowed down and people started losing jobs,'' leaving developers with too many homes on their hands.