Myrtle Beach Real Estate Blog

Or the missing City of Atlantis. Or a pot o’ gold.  Or any other elusive idea which seems completely unattainable. This home in Surf Estates satisfies every wish on my list.  An awesome  neighborhood with large wooded lots? Check.  Convenient location in Cherry Grove?  Check.  A home full of charm and style with an amazing floor plan?  CHECK.  This to be built home listed by Elite Realty Group totally epitomizes everything about southern coastal style with every upgrade you can imagine. The perfect wrap around covered porch welcomes you.  Inside, the formal living and dining rooms flank the foyer. A fireplace and built-ins are featured in the family room, which views the rear covered porch.  The gourmet island kitchen offers pantry storage and a breakfast nook. The main-level master bedroom provides a sitting area, private bath and two walk-in closets. A second bedroom is also located on this level, while three additional bedrooms and attic storage reside upstairs. The basement level provides a spacious garage, second kitchen, game room, guest bedroom, second utility room and workshop.

An amazing home only moments from the sand and surf PLUS golf?  I told you….the Holy Grail.

CLICK HERE for more information about this home.  Or call 843-424-6900.

Over the years, the lists of needs for my buyer clients has varied, but they do always have some commonality.  An open floor plan.  A big kitchen.  A large master bed and bathroom.  Walk in closets.  And the latest addition to the “must-have” list:  the Man Cave.  Buyers are now looking for a dedicated space where the man of the house can proudly display his massive flat screen television, hang his beer signs and movie posters, and coasters are not required.   Gone are the days of men only finding their space in the garage.  Never again will our football jerseys, bowling trophies, and sports paraphernalia be boxed up and banished to the attic.  Now we get entire ROOMS.  And we can do whatever we want to make them our own.

Pretty sure you won’t miss a play in this room.

For the lodge dweller, a more rustic Man Cave:

The sports team theme, complete with stadium lights.  Pretty awesome.

Definitely a hole-in-one in my book.

Our weekend was busy and productive. In the short time between working on Friday and church on Sunday, we managed to pack a lot in all over the beach! We started out with a day date (Caryn LOVES day dates) on Friday - a movie and shopping at Coastal Grand Mall, followed by sending off some friends who are moving to New York at The Island Bar & Grill in Surfside Beach Friday evening. Saturday morning we were up early, and I took the fam to The Home Depot for a little research on the new infrared grills and ended up picking up new Christmas decorations. Riley Bean is still out of whack from daylights savings, so she took two naps, leaving plenty of time for Michigan football and pulling out all the holiday décor from the attic. We closed out the day with a long walk around our neighborhood, The Farm at Carolina Forest, with a few stops to pick up “the perfect branches” for Caryn’s holiday centerpiece for the dining room table. Our Sunday Funday started with church then an amazing brunch at the Sea Captain's House for some awesome views and even more awesome made-to-order omelets. After a few hours of work, I left the girls for just a bit to catch the Lions game at Bumstead’s with the boys. Caryn and Riley were back at church Sunday evening and I attended Protecting Second Base which was a fundraiser for a softball teammate’s wife who is stricken with breast cancer at the old Myrtle Beach Train Depot (great turnout, pretty cool venue too).

So there it is. This weekend’s tour of the MB. Hope you all enjoyed your weekend as much as I did!

We've all seen the iconic bridge up and over the Intracoastal Waterway leading to the palatial estates on the other side of Highway 17. The Grande Dunes has long been known for its exclusivity and prestige, with it's beautiful and expansive Mediterranean style homes and amazing amenities. Residents enjoy the finest clubs and golf on the beach, including the Ocean Club, Members Club, Tennis Club, Fitness Center, and two award winning golf courses, plus the Marina and top-notch security. Until now, the Grande Dunes lifestyle was way out of reach for most of us with it's million dollar price tag, but with the introduction of Cipriana Park, a piece of that lifestyle is now available at a more affordable price point.

Cipriana Park at Grande Dunes is a perfect family neighborhood located just blocks from the beach just off Grande Dunes Boulevard. Traditional Home Builders Inc., the exclusive builder in the community, has the reputation for having a great eye for detail, using the finest materials, and building a quality home. They will offer five floorplans for homeowners to choose from and will make alterations to accommodate anyone. The all brick homes are 3BR/2BA and will range in size from just over 2000 heated square feet up to almost 2500 heated square feet. Homes will start at $270,000 and range up to $390,000.

I'm very familiar with the Grande Dunes and the expectations of the buyers there. I'm excited to see what Cipriana Park will bring to the community! Stay tuned for updates as Cipriana Park comes together!

Since making our home in Myrtle Beach, SC, my family has been blessed enough (and klutzy enough, ahem) to have both needed and found amazing medical providers in the area.  Caryn is the consummate klutz, as well as hypochondriac, so I suppose it is fitting that she has situated herself smack dab in the middle of Nursing Administration at Waccamaw Community Hospital.  I, on the other hand, am petrified of needles and in the past have avoided going to the doctor unless I was bleeding or something was broken.  Since she began working there, I’ve sent her to work on countless occasions with a list of symptoms with the request to “ask the nurses” (as I so affectionately call them).  All sorts of conditions have been diagnosed from a weird pain in my big toe to sinus headaches to spider bites.  We’ve had the amazing experience of Riley being born at WCH, as well as the not-so-graceful tumble which led to Caryn’s elbow surgery in their Outpatient Surgery Department.   Through all of this, we’ve become very comfortable with our family doctor (Dr. Jasen Rowles,  Waccamaw Community Care), pediatricians office (Inlet Pediatrics), orthopedic surgeon (Dr. Eric Heimburger , Carolina Orthopedic Specialists), and all the nurses at Caryn’s fingertips at work.  We enjoyed the inside track on local healthcare from Waccamaw Community Hospital up to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center.

But when moving to a new area, your focus is to get settled in.  You begin trying out the local businesses. You find your favorite coffee shop, dry cleaners, and lock in a new gym. And sooner or later, you pick a new health care provider.  You may not have someone you know and trust work in a healthcare facility.  How do you know who to choose?  In addition to checking which practices take your insurance and what the office hours are, here are a few more things you’ll want to look into while trying on your new doctor for size.

1. What hospital does the doctor have privileges in? You could be sent there for lab work or diagnostic tests. If the hospital isn’t convenient or you don’t like the hospital, you may want to find a new physician.

2. How many doctors are in the practice? If the practice is large, are you comfortable with all the doctors? Would you prefer seeing the same doctor every visit?

3. Are the nurses and office staff friendly? Many times you need to consult your medical office without needing an appointment. You’ll want an office staff who are familiar with you and your family, and respond to you quickly.

To find a physician you can trust and be comfortable with, be sure to pick a provider BEFORE you or your family need one. Make an appointment to meet with the physician(s) that meet your needs.

One of the draws to living in Myrtle Beach is the mild colder seasons.   This might be the first week it has actually felt like Fall. There is slight chill in the air, and it looks like it’s time to open up the coat closet. Gone are the heat, the humidity, and those long summer days. But the Grand Strand has so much to offer in the off season!

Fall is the perfect season for golf on the Grand Strand. We have fantastic shopping with two Tanger Outlets, two malls, tons of boutiques and specialty stores, plus all the big box store you need. There is a slower pace, less traffic, we get to take our time with a slight respite from the masses of tourists. And thankfully, the weather never hinders your day!

I’m looking forward to another awesome Fall in Myrtle Beach!

Oh, how time can change a man's perspective! Two years ago, our idea of an awesome Halloween looked like this:

And now our idea of a fun filled Halloween looks a lot more like this:

So Sunday evening, Caryn, Juliann, (another member of the Elite Realty Group team), and I set out to take the Riley the Ladybug and Drew the Dragon trick-or-treating. They were ready to get out there!

As we trekked through our neighborhood, The Farm at Carolina Forest, it was awesome to see how much our neighbors are into family fun on Halloween!

Whole families were out in droves, and kids of all ages were so excited to show off their costumes! (Even the teeny tiniest!)

People decorated their homes and yards,

and some even brought laptops and big screen TVs outside to watch Sunday Night football and still enjoy the trick-or-treaters!

We all had a great night with the kids and seeing and meeting our neighbors. It's a great feeling to know that my family is part of such a fantastic community. Can't wait to see all the Christmas decorations soon!

?

Overwhelming Design Dilemma? No Problem!

As a first time home buyer, my wife Caryn and I solved our decorating questions for our townhouse with a one-stop-shopping solution. We walked into the big box furniture store, Caryn saw a dining room table she loved, and literally bought every piece that was offered. Oh, the matchy-matchyness of it all. the end tables being the same as the coffee table being the same as the dining room table being the same as the buffet being the same as the entertainment center, do you get the picture? We both quickly came to hate the sight of palm trees and the coordinating pieces of furniture.

Having learned our lesson, we set off to design our new home in a very mis-matchy, but still cohesive way. Caryn sat pregnant on the sofa for hours, pouring over Coastal Living and Southern Accent magazines, ripping out pages of rooms she wanted my opinion on. We spent every weekend perusing the furniture stores from Pawleys Island to Cherry Grove. We subscribed to every possible home furniture and decor magazine and catalog we could think of. Yet here we are 13 months later, and we have only made minimal progress, making a home look effortlessly put together takes a lot of effort. It turns out, all we need is a jumping off point, a direction, a CONCEPT.

Enter our new friends Blair Frazier of Studio 13 and Sarah Norkum of SCSD in Charlotte, NC. Caryn has made it her mission to use and abuse our new friendships with these talented and amazingly of-the-moment interior designers. But the good news is, anyone can take advantage of their amazing services and skills! Studio 13 is giving away for FREE (yes, FREE) your choice of 3D renderings of either a current e-design that a designer like Sarah may have already provided for you Interior Decorating Virtual Home Design, OR Blair can create a custom design project for you based on your vision for the space, like this:

Here's how to enter:

1. Become a follower of the Studio 13 Blog and leave a comment on this post Giveaway to let Blair know. (If you're already a follower, leave a comment!) = 1 entry

2. Become a Facebook fan of Studio 13, and leave a comment on the Facebook wall = 1 entry

3. Blog about this giveaway, and comment on this post with a link to your post = 2 entries

That's a total of up to four entries per person! (Caryn's already entered twice, this blog ties me up.)

Enter by midnight on Friday, November 19^th. Winner will be chosen at random, and announced on Monday, November 22^nd.

This 3 bedroom/3 bath to be built home in the highly sought after Grande Dunes is offered for sale by Elite Realty Group.  It features all the luxuries you would expect in a Grande Dunes home at an unbelievable price!   $599,000!   Grande Dunes is the most coveted community in Myrtle Beach because the amenities and lifestyle are unmatched!  Security, gated entry, 2 golf courses, swim & tennis club, Ocean Club, marina, dining, and much more.

Features include:

• 3 car garage
• pool
• office
• fireplace
• open floor plan
• large master suite with his and hers closets
• 3000+ heated square feet
• 3/4 acre cul-de-sac lot
• membership to Grande Dunes Ocean Club and Swim & Tennis Club
• approximate 4 month build time
• and much more

For more information and a floorplan please click here or call 843-424-6900.

Based on the current combination of extremely low lot and land pricing, low building costs, and low interest rates, I anticipate new construction will continue to be the hot trend in Myrtle Beach for the next several years.   While foreclosure and short sale properties are receiving a lot of attention with high volumes and low list prices in this current market, there are definite drawbacks to both processes.  When purchasing a foreclosure, you don’t know all the details and history of the property.  It could have been mistreated or it could have title issues.  When purchasing a short sale, there is prolonged uncertainty as to if it will ever close, and you don’t know if the bank will even accept the listing price the real estate agent put on the property.  In this market, new construction costs are less than foreclosures or short sales in many instances.  If you are considering relocating to the Myrtle Beach area you should seriously consider talking to a builder.  With thousands of lots available in the area right now at dirt cheap prices new construction will be a trend that will be here to stay for a while.

As the RISMedia article titled “Single Family Housing Starts Rise in September 2010” shows this could be a trend nationwide.

For more information on building your dream home or distressed properties in the Myrtle Beach area contact us today!  843-424-6900 or email us.