If you’re buying a home this year, you’re going to pay more in property taxes than the previous owner - double in some cases - because of what some are calling an unintended consequence of a tax reform bill passed this year.

• Taxes on homes in Horry County have been calculated based on their 2003 values, but tax bills for homes sold in 2007 and beyond will be based on the current market value - an average increase of about 50 percent in value, but more in some areas. The bigger bills will start going out in October 2008.

• That means your neighbors living in an identical home might be paying $1,884.41 in taxes for their home, but you would pay $2,760.81 if you just bought your home, according to the Horry County assessor’s office. That’s based on two homes valued at about $113,000 in 2003.

• The 2003 values were implemented in 2005, said Rendel Mincey, Horry County assessor.

The tax reform passed this year was focused on helping the permanent homeowner who stays in their home, and keep rising values from taxing them out of their home. It achieved that, by capping increases to 15 percent over five-year periods for permanent owners and by giving permanent residents significant reductions in the school millage part of their tax bill.

• So, if you stay in your home, you’ll see a healthy decrease between about 25 and 48 percent, depending on the value.

• But if you plan to buy, get ready for an increase.

Real estate experts say this is one more burden that will hurt Grand Strand investment purchases, on top of insurance spikes, a tightening mortgage market and a slow real estate market.

Informing the public

Mincey, the county assessor, has just finished learning how to figure these reassessments from the state. He said South Carolina has never before taxed homes based on a current market value. Taxpayers won’t see the big bill until October 2008 for properties sold this year, he said.

• In 2009, the entire county will be reappraised, but current homeowners are protected under the 15 percent cap, Mincey said.

• The Assessor’s Office will start putting examples of the increases on its Web site, www.horrycounty.org, to inform residents about the change, he said, but didn’t say when the examples will be added.

Effect on investors

Realtors are concerned this will discourage people from moving to a new home to upsize or downsize and discourage second-home purchasers.

• “The investors don’t need to be zapped again after the insurance debacle,” Maeser said, adding that investment buyers make up about 60 percent of the Grand Strand market.

• “If Myrtle Beach didn’t have a 60 percent investment market, it wouldn’t be a big deal,” said Steven Neeves, government affairs director for the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors. “It has to affect it somehow and whether that is small or large, we don’t know.”

• Neeves also expects rents to rise after investors who bought properties get their tax bills. CCAR is planning a summit in October to bring brokers and lawmakers together to talk about the issue.

• At a home closing, taxes are usually calculated based on last year, but because that’s no longer the case, Neeves said CCAR is encouraging agents to have their clients call the Assessor’s Office directly to get the exact figure.

What to do now

Clemmons said the full effect of the tax relief isn’t really known yet - as far as how much permanent homeowners will save and how much new buyers will pay extra.

• “We don’t have all the answers yet because we don’t have all the questions yet. We haven’t yet experienced the tax relief. I think there’s likely to be more issues on the table than what we are even aware of now,” he said.

• Clemmons also is concerned about the impact on the investor buyers. “We want South Carolina to be the first place people think of when thinking of buying investment property. We need to keep that in mind as we take a look at changes in tax structure,” he said.

• As Clemmons has started to talk with lawmakers around the state, many didn’t realize the impact that part of the new law would have. “Horry County is on the front end. It’s something that has not yet come to their attention,” he said.

• Kremydas said the state Realtors are keeping close watch.

• “If we see that it’s blocking deals, we have to take action immediately,” he said. “Our markets need all the help they can get, and we don’t need to hurt it.”

Source: Jenny Burns, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

HERE ARE SOME GOOD BUYS ALONG THE OCEANFRONT IN MYRTLE BEACH. It’s a Buyer’s Market - and motivated sellers are lowering their prices. From time to time there are some very good buys. If you are shopping for a deal… take a look.

SEVEN GOOD BUYS ~ These are the lowest priced units in their respect buildings. I’ve included available links to their MLS Info, Virtual Tour, and Map Location. Call me for more information… or to see / make offer.

BARBARA CHARTIER, C21 Coastal Lifestyles, Cell 843-902-0204

1 ~ MLS 711100 - # 1013 Bluewater Resort – only $97,900 - north side view 1 BR / 1 BA in fantastic condition. Grossed just under $10K last year and can do up to $13K (renovations last year). Last few closings were at $100K. Virtual Tour, Map Location

2 ~ MLS 724545 - # 552 Pinnacle Oceanfront Tower – $157,900 - DIRECT oceanfront 1 BR / 1 BA north END unit on highly desirable lower floor. Absolutely the best buy in the building with this price, location, and rental income (these gross $23-27K per year). Last 2 closings were at $155K and 157K. Map Location

3 ~ MLS 708791 - # 1035 Landmark Resort - $144,000 – DIRECT oceanfront 1 BR / 1 BA with new ceramic tile in kitchen and bathroom (others have the original carpet). Grossed over $22K last year onsite. Last 2 closings were at $150-152K. Virtual Tour, Map Location

4 ~ MLS 711041 - # 304 Meridian Plaza - $149,900 – DIRECT oceanfront 1 BR / 1BA in fantastic condition (shows exceptionally well). Tied for lowest price in resort and $20,000 less than next lowest priced direct O/F 1/1. Grossed over $13K with onsite rental agency (only charge 32% rental mgmt. fee, not your typical 45-46%). Virtual Tour, Map Location

5 ~ MLS 715531 - # 1034 Grande Shores - $309,000 – North side view (first one back from being O/F) 3 BR / 2 BA in 6 year old building with unobstructed views of ocean, coastline, and N.C. on a clear day. Over $40K GRI in 2005 and $32K in 2006 but owner used extensively last year while on business travel. Last 2 sold for $295K and 300K. Virtual Tour, Map Location

6 ~ MLS 711033 - # 1106 Grand Atlantic - $389,900 (OK, not lowest priced – one other just reduced to $389,800 – but of course 11th floor is perfect location right in the center of the building) – DIRECT O/F 3 BR / 3 BA in 1 year old building with enclosed corridors and all the amenities. Priced AT ORIGINAL pre-construction price from 2004. Last 3 sales were $425K, 405K, 385K. Virtual Tour, Map Location

7 ~ MLS 715809 - # 1204 Seaside Inn Resort - $399,000 – DIRECT O/F double-bay (only 9 in the building out of 68 total condos in resort) 2 BR / 2BA in building only 9 months of age. Pre-construction price was $389,900. Rentals have been super strong. Not many properties with all of these amenities and this brand new in North Myrtle Beach. Excellent buy! Virtual Tour, Map Location

BARBARA CHARTIER, Century 21 Coastal Lifestyles
Call me at 843-902-0204 (I answer my own phone)

The new president of Burroughs & Chapin Co. Inc. - the Grand Strand’s largest local real estate developer - says the company is closely watching the habits and decisions of the baby boomer generation as the company makes plans for future development.

Jim Rosenberg, 54, has taken over as the head of B&C with 30 years of real estate development experience - and the mission of transforming the company to focus specifically on residential and commercial development and broadening it into the Southeast.

And what he’s tracking is the boomers - where they’re going, what they want and how much they’ll pay for it.

• While the market is dipping, Rosenberg expects that boomer relocation - as the oldest of the 78 million of them start retiring in the next few years - will change that.

A study from the National Association of Realtors says 42 percent of them want to retire to the South.

• “Myrtle Beach and South Carolina are going to boom,” he said Aug. 2, his first day on the job. “If you think the last 14 years was high growth, fasten your seat belt.”

• Rosenberg said Tuesday that the long-term market is headed up.

• “You’re always going to have dips, but if you look over a 10-year period, it’s consistently growing. It’ll pick back up. All this loan disaster will straighten out,” he said. “Construction has slowed down. Everybody is kind of holding back. Dips happen, but I think prices have gone about as low as they’re going to go.”

Boomers seen in Myrtle Beach’s future

• Boomers want communities with 500,000 people or less, they represent 70 percent of the nation’s net worth and they buy second homes - all factors that look positive for Myrtle Beach, Rosenberg said.

• Boomers also take long trips, he said, so Myrtle Beach’s recent ranking by a national traveler survey as the second-most-popular family summer destination, behind Orlando, Fla., bodes well for the area, too.

The company is doing its own demographic research, and combining it with sources such as The Brookings Institute and the National Tour Association’s Research & Development Council.

• That boomer research will effect what happens at the former Pavilion and Myrtle Square Mall sites, both of which B&C owns. Rosenberg says boomers like self-contained walkable villages offering a mix of residential and commercial. Those preferences will drive plans at those high-profile sites still to be developed.

Source: Jenny Burns, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

BAHAMA ISLAND RESORT, a North Myrtle Beach condominium project, has not been built and it’s unclear where the buyers’ escrow money has gone.

• Buyers who paid to have condos built at Bahama Island Resort don’t know what happened to millions of dollars in down-payment money they gave developers.

• The state’s Labor, Licensing and Regulation department is investigating.

LAWSUIT ~ Two buyers have filed a lawsuit against the developer, claiming the development will not be completed in the two-year time frame that is in the contract, and they want their money back.

• Tommy Brittain, attorney for developer Bahama Island LLC, could not be reached in the past week for comment. Calls to Bahama Island’s developer, T&J Development, and condo seller Oceanfront Real Estate were not returned.

• Randy Mullins, attorney for buyers Davis Fort and Lawrence Brown, said he is suing for breach of contract because construction on the property has not begun except for the dry dock portion of the marina and the contract requires the complex’s completion in two years.

• Fort and Brown signed a contract in April 2006 to buy two units and other buyers signed in summer 2005.

• Given the two-year time frame, Fort’s condo should be completed in April 2008. Attorneys say there is too little time for it to be finished in the time allotted.

WHERE’S THE MONEY?

Mullins said he has repeatedly asked the developer to refund Fort and Brown’s deposit of $60,000, but it has not happened. He also says the developer failed to disclose that the project would not be completed on time.

• The lawsuit says Bank of America was the original escrow agent, but the money was released June 1, 2006, to Oceanfront Real Estate.

• The state real estate commission has received a complaint about the Bahama Island project and an investigation is under way, said Jim Knight, LLR spokesman. He declined to release further information until an investigation is finished.

• Jarrod Ownbey, associate attorney at Mullins Law Firm, said it is unclear where the deposit money is and how many units were sold for the development.

DEVELOPER RESPONDS ~ After Fort’s lawsuit was filed June 19, Oceanfront Real Estate Co.’s broker Steve McIntosh sent a letter July 25 to buyers saying the construction lender “did not fulfill their obligations” for funding and has refused to release requested refunds.

• Mullins said he’s not sure of the meaning of the letter, which says the developer has secured a contract to sell the property to another developer and is continuing to seek construction funding in case the sale falls through.

• The letter also states the developer has filed a lien against the property to protect buyers’ interest while the property is being sold.

• It says the property “cannot be transferred to another party or a new construction loan closed until the lien is satisfied.”

Source: Jenny Burns - The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

Home prices on the Grand Strand are now showing declines for the first time, according to July sales statistics from the Multiple Listing Service.

• Analysts had been baffled for months about why the Strand’s home prices continued to show year-over-year increases.

• An adjustment was inevitable, and some analysts say it could be a sign the bottom is near, while others are less certain.

PRICES & SALES DOWN ~ Good news?

• Average single-family home prices in Horry and Georgetown counties fell more than 9 percent, from $294,135 to $266,926.

• The median price - meaning half sold for more and half for less - dropped about 2 percent to $220,000 from $224,155.

• The good news is that stability in the market wouldn’t happen until this price correction showed up, said Tom Maeser, president of the Fortune Academy of Real Estate.

CREDIT CRUNCH ~ How long it will last?

Maeser isn’t sure how much longer, and Mark Vitner, economist at Wachovia in Charlotte, said the last few weeks of tightening in the lending industry won’t help things.

• “I’d like to think the market is near bottom. We had projected that sales would bottom out this year, but the abrupt lending tightening means we could see more” sales drops, Vitner said.

• Buyers will have a hard time finding interest-only loans and may have to put down at least 20 percent of the purchase price, hurting the price of a home they can qualify for.

• Rates on jumbo loans, which are often used to finance beach properties, have risen dramatically in the last week, he said.

FEWER BUYERS

“The pool of qualified buyers is smaller than it was a month ago and much smaller than a year ago,” Vitner said. “We’ll see sales weaken over the next several months depending on how long this credit shake out takes.”

While Vitner does think we’re “very close” to the bottom - he says that just means that prices will stop falling.

“That doesn’t mean all is well in the housing market,” he said, because some buyers who have contracts on homes may not be able to get the loan they thought they could.

SELLERS CUTTING PRICES ~ Buying opportunity?

Sellers are finally getting the message that they have to cut prices to sell. They’re either doing that or if they don’t have to sell now, they’re taking their homes off the market.

With prices down, now may be a great time to buy.

BOOMER RETIREMENT

In the long term, Vitner says Myrtle Beach’s appeal and retiring boomers will keep the market on the upswing.

“There’s no question the housing market will recover. It’s just a question of when.”

Source: Jenny Burns - The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

If you live in the City of North Myrtle Beach and own a condo, you will be noticing a change in one of you bills. A stormwater drainage fee will be added. It starts in September and is $4.00 per unit, per month

Officials say the money collected from this fee will be used for the construction of additional ocean outfalls in North Myrtle Beach, which will help with drainage of stormwater.

Source: WBTW Staff Reports, SCnow.com

Three courses managed by the Legends Group will be reopening in the next few weeks following renovations that include the installation of new grasses on all greens.

• The Legends Resort Heathland Course is the first to reopen today, and now has Champions ultra-dwarf Bermudagrass greens.

• Heritage Club will reopen Thursday with Champions as well, and the TPC of Myrtle Beach will reopen either later this month or in early September with Mini-Verde ultra-dwarf Bermuda, which is new to the area.

Heathland closed on June 25, and in addition to the green renovations, the tee boxes on the par-3 third and eighth holes were rebuilt to add more teeing ground, work on bunkers included replacing or adding sand and drainage, and drainage work was completed in front of greens.

Beautification work included the trimming and cleaning of underbrush from wax myrtle trees, adding ornamental plants, pinestraw and mulch, and plugging native grasses into bunker faces to create more of a Scottish links look on the Tom Doak design.

Heritage Club closed on June 18 and will reopen with more length and four sets of tees rather than three.

The clubhouse was power washed and received new bathrooms and carpet, and the outdoor bathrooms were renovated.

Ornamental plant beds were added, bulkheads bordering water hazards fronting greens on the par-3 13th and 18th holes were replaced, and the severe greens on holes 4, 6 and 13 had their undulations lessened. “They mellowed those greens out a little bit because going to Champions, you’ll be able to get them faster once they mature and that will make them more playable,” said Heritage superintendent Hans Sapochak.

Source: Alan Blondin, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

The Horry County Council this afternoon reclaimed control of the future of the Myrtle Beach International Airport, voting to work toward a new or expanded terminal on the east side of the runway.

The council also asked Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach to endorse the East side concept and did away with an ad hoc committee comprised of city and business representatives.

With this, the county, which owns and operates the airport, moved away from a failed bid to build a new terminal on the West side of the runway. A city board rejected that plan in April because members felt it was too close to new development on the former Air Force Base.

Source: Lisa Fleisher - The Sun News

Myrtle Beach city leaders unveiled plans for a new $12 million boardwalk Tuesday morning.
The proposal would most likely be taxpayer-funded and would connect the 14th Avenue North pier to the 2nd Avenue North pier, and continue on to 1st Avenue North.

The Downtown Redevelopment Corporation, the lead agency on the project, hopes by adding more family-friendly amenities and better access to the beach, the boardwalk will attract more year-round visitors.

Construction is scheduled to start in October 2008.

See plans: click here

Source: WBTW Staff Reports, SCnow.com