Carolina Ocean Living Newsletter

January 25, 2010

Carolina Ocean Living

It continues to be a Buyer’s market and community sales reports indicate that many families are taking advantage of the real estate opportunities available in the area, for homesites, second homes, and primary residences. Many families are acting on the low interest rates, federal tax credit, and unprecedented low prices. Now is a great time to get involved in real estate in any of the quality communities detailed on CarolinaOceanLiving.com.

New Additions

CarolinaOceanLiving.com is pleased to announce the addition of Palmetto Creek, located in Bolivia, North Carolina. Conveniently located between the historic charm of Wilmington, North Carolina and the entertainment of Myrtle Beach. Amenities includes a spacious clubhouse, resort-style pool, fitness center, walking trails and a beautiful wooden trail follows Palmetto Creek through their nature preserve. Spend your day having fun in the sun with your choice of nearby beaches, award-winning golf courses, or a on a short ferry ride to the nearby Oak Island. When you live at Palmetto Creek everyday is an adventure.

Community News and Updates

Grande Dunes , Myrtle Beach, North Carolina

Grande Dunes has been named to Where to Retire Magazine prestigious “America’s 100 Best Master-Planned Communities” list. Where to Retire editors evaluated several hundred communities across the country. Those chosen for the “100 Best” vary in cost, location and the range of lifestyle amenities that contribute to interesting, active and fulfilling lifestyles for retirees. Grande Dunes is the only community in Myrtle Beach named to this list and one of only eight in South Carolina.

Brunswick Forest, Leland, North Carolina

Brunswick Forest will have a Grand Opening Event for Cape fear National through the weekends of April 16-25th. They will be releasing select new golf course home sites for that event. Sales incentives and Discounted Discovery tour packages will be announced shortly.

New Hanover Regional Medical Center has started to occupy their 42,000 square foot facility, which is conveniently located in The Villages Town Center at the entrance to Brunswick Forest.

Ocean Ridge Plantation, Sunset Beach, North Carolina

Ocean Ridge Plantation announces their “I Love The Beach” sales event during the Valentine’s Day holiday, February 12-15. During this special weekend families can take advantage of unprecedented purchase incentives on beautiful golf, nature, and water view properties. Those families fortunate enough to purchase during the sales event will enjoy spectacular discounts and 100% golf course membership paid, a $25,000 value.

Seawatch at Sunset Harbor, Southport, North Carolina

Seawatch at Sunset Harbor announces their February 12-15 sales event in which the will offer a new selection of beautiful homesites, including specially priced waterfront properties. Families attending the special event will enjoy deep discounts on a collection of beautiful properties.

Rourk Woods, Shallotte, North Carolina

Rourk Woods will be hosting the 2nd Annual Brunswick Stew Cook Off held January 30th beginning at 10:00am. Those families attend will enjoy delicious food, live music, children’s rides, cash prices and an opportunity tour their beautiful homes, homesites, town homes, and amenities. Special purchase incentives will available to those families interested in becoming a owner is this well appointed community.

Special Offers

Brunswick Forest is offering a Coastal Discovery visitation package for just $179 per couple. The Coastal Discovery visitation package includes 3 days and 2 nights at the luxurious waterfront Hilton Hotel, round of golf for 2 on their new Cape Fear National, and a VIP tour of the community.

Ocean Ridge Plantation continues to offer real estate guests a $99 visitation package until January 31, 2010. The Ocean Ridge Plantation visitation package includes 3 days and 2 nights of luxury accommodations, golf for two on one of their championship golf courses, and a VIP tour of their beautiful community and surrounding area.

Seawatch at Sunset Harbor is offer their specially priced Coastal Getaway for just $199 per couple. The Seawatch at Sunset Harbor includes 3 days and 2 nights luxury accommodations and a VIP tour of the magnificent community.

Published By: CarolinaOceanLiving.com

Vol. 3, Num 37

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Rising Sales in Brunswick County

September 11, 2009

In recent weeks their has been a significant uptick in sales activity throughout the area. Specifically, the Ocean Ridge Plantation community has scored 5 homes sales and 3 homesite sales in just 10 days!

While some analysts attribute the increase in sales activity to investors returning to the market place, I believe that due to the tight lending guidelines and large down payment requirements by banks, it is more likely that the pent-up demand by retirees is beginning to resurface.

The several transactions that I have been involved with reveal that there is a real resurgence of interest in acquiring real estate and taking advantage of low interest rates and depressed market value.

One large production home developer indicated to me that August proved to be their best sales month since 2oo5, which was the height of the recent real estate boom. I suspect much of their success was due in part to their price points and the first-time home buyer incentives, but it does demonstrate a change in attitudes toward buying real estate.

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10 Questions To Ask When Buying Coastal Property

July 27, 2009

1. What is the elevation of the property and does it require flood insurance? The requirements of flood insurance in low-lying areas and the associated monthly fees can dramatically affect ownership costs. Zone “A” is defined by the 100-year flood plain is common along coastal areas and requires flood insurance when financing with federally insured institutions. Zone “X”, which may be less common in coastal areas of North Carolina may be within the 500-year flood plain and does not require flood insurance.

2. What are the homeowner fees and what do those fees include? Homeowner fees range from one community to another and generally cover the maintenance of community areas, including landscaping, amenity areas, and road maintenance (depending whether they are public or private). Some communities require additional fees in addition to the standard homeowner dues to utilize community centers and belong to clubs and organizations.

3. How strong has the appreciation been over the last year? Over the last 5 years? It is always important to understand what you can expect to gain if you decide to sell your property, whether you are an investor or eventually looking to sell.

4. What is the current population density and future density of the community? Density can drastically affect the convenience in which you can use the community amenities, as well as reserve tee times at golf communities.

5. What architectural standards exist and what it the planned minimum home square foot minimums for a given community or neighborhood? Continuity of neighborhoods and communities will help preserve the value of your property.

6. How many entrance(s) does the community have? Being able to come and go freely and with out need to drive through the entire community should not be overlooked. An extra 25 minutes to reach the main access gate of a community can be frustrating.

7. How close is shopping and entertainment? Having easy access to grocery stores, restaurants and entertainment are an obvious convenience issue when dealing with communities that are remotely located.

8. Are you required to build your home in a given time-period? Many developers will require you to begin construction in a specific period of time, which could be as little as 30 days from property closing. Be sure that the requirements, if any, fit into your plans.

9. What are the visible storm water run off systems? Storm water systems include the barriers or curbs, as well as storm drains and retention ponds. Generally, the wider the curbside gutter the better. This not only looks appealing, but also will keep storm water off of your property and channel it into storm drains.

10. Who are the current residents? The demographics and general personality of community members plays a strong part in how comfortable you will feel in the respective community or neighborhood. Make an effort to speak with community members and learn about there experiences within the community.

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Buying Versus Building

May 31, 2009

The decision to buy a pre-existinghome or to build a custom-home can be as challenging as deciding on an area or community. In many cases older homes are being offered for sale at great values because the owner purchased the land for much less than current market price and built at far less expense. 

In more desirable communities, such as Ocean Ridge Plantation, there are relatively few homes to choose from and the demand for  pre-existing homes has kept the existing home market relatively strong. Nonetheless, I have encountered several existing land owners that have expressed an interest in existing homes because they feel they can get more for their money, enjoy the area sooner, and avoid the sometimes arduous process of building.

Some owners are planning  to hold the land for a few years, buy a pre-existing home, and sell their homesite when the market rebounds. In some cases land owners have indicated that the may build down the road on the homesite they already own and use the equity from the home they just bought to subsidize the cost of a home in a few years. Naturally, they are anticipating that by buying in the down market they will see appreciation as the real estate market rebounds.

All of these are good scenarios, but I feel it is important to highlight two challenges I’ve faced with my clients when exploring existing homes.

Changing Design Trends

The current trends for home design seem to revolve around practical space that is open, airy and focused on entertaining. Open floor plans, high volume ceilings and outdoor living areas have become a requisite over the last 2-3 years, which is a great fit for the climate and lifestyle in North Carolina. Unfortunately, many older homes don’t offer these popular floor plans and new owners are asked to remodel or go without.

Someones Headache

The most apparent problem with an older home is the maintenance of a new home. I advise my buyers to request a home warranty and my home sellers to offer one. The average American homeowner owns a home for 7 years, which coincides with replacement and maintenance of some major appliances. If you are looking at a pre-existing home you may be purchasing someones headache.

While buying an existing home can save money based on the sale price,  the cost to update and repair may offset those savings considerably. Also, the sacrifices to design and lifestyle maybe more than many families are willing to make.

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Identify An Area Now

May 7, 2009

With so much uncertainty in the financial and real estate markets I have encountered many families who have put their real estate search on hold. In some cases it is directly due to lost retirement funds and with others it is a result of the uncertainty associated with selling their current residence. I have been encouraging my clients to invest their time during this economic respite to visit our area and decide if it fits their needs.

By identifying an area now families can strategically positioned themselves to take advantage of the down real estate market sooner. The three, six or twelve months it takes you to identify an area can mean lost opportunity for selection and may mean additional costs to purchase. I remind my clients that when their local real estate market improves, then it is likely that other markets are improving and it is probably rebounding in the real estate market where they may want to relocate.

Another benefit of identifying an area now is that it will mean one less thing on their plate and removes the uncertainty, and sometimes paralysis, of what their next step is once they are ready to leave their current location. I have witnessed the psychological relief when a couple makes a decision to own at Ocean Ridge Plantation. Once a family transcends the psychological hurdle of the making a commitment, both financially and emotionally, their whole outlook changes and they are at ease. I believe the same relief is realized when a commitment to an area or community is made. 

By taking advantage of visitation packages that are available from a variety of developments,  families can cost effectively explore many areas and communities now, resulting in significant potential cost savings in the future and reduce the stress associated with relocating.

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The End of the Bottom

April 25, 2009

 For the past 2 years I can recall being “educated” by numerous veteran real estate sales people that the bottom had come and gone, and brighter days lay just on the horizon. Unfortunately, they were wrong in their assessment and things did become worse for the national and county real estate markets. However, today I can openly suggest that the bottom of the real estate market for the Brunswick Islands and Brunswick County, North Carolina occured during the early part of the winter of 2008 and late winter 2009. 

The recent sales success throughout the county and data reported by the Federal Housing Financing Agency support what many of real estate professional have witnessed first- hand, the local real estate market is improving.

Foot traffic, direct mail and Internet inquiries have increased significantly over the last 4-6 weeks. My office has gone from a trickle of new inquires to stream of interest. Generally, those families walking in the door today are looking for a great deal and fortunately for them there are some amazing values out there. 

These bargain shoppers have entered the sales office armed with foreclosure listings, county tax record data and a twinkle in their eye. They are ready to do business and have the financial means to do so. In some cases, their expectations are not in-sync with the local market, while with others they are completely unrealistic.

Fortunately, for Brunswick County and it residents the fall wasn’t as far as many other areas of the country, suggesting that the rise will be sooner. The attractive cost of living, relaxed lifestyle and business opportunities will continue to bring families to the area. I feel strongly that the mechanisms for growth are still very much in tact and the future is bright for Brunswick County and the Brunswick Islands.

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