Myrtle Beach Real Estate

Myrtle Beach SC welcomes the 2012 GOP Debates

admin — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:00:39 +0000

A sand sculpture will greet the GOP’s presidential candidates when they arrive for the debate in Myrtle Beach SC on Jan. 16. Sand Sculpture Artists built the massive sculpture across from the Myrtle Beach Convention Center on Oak Street and featured all of the candidates.

The debate starts at 9 p.m. Monday at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, five days before South Carolina’s Jan. 21 primary. It will air on FOX News.

South Carolina law change aims to stimulate real estate

admin — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 00:43:11 +0000

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley says a new bill will help revive the state’s real estate market. Monday morning in Charleston she held a ceremonial signing of the bill that changes how much some people have to pay for property tax.

Haley actually approved the law in June, but Monday’s signing gave realtors a chance to celebrate.

Specifically, the new bill changes South Carolina’s Point of Sale law, which set property tax at the point when a property was sold. Some people, particularly realtors, have said it made taxes unfair, they hope the change will boost real estate across South Carolina.

“Let’s get real estate moving in South Carolina,” Haley said after signing the bill.

She said she believes changing the Point of Sale law can do that. The law began in 2006, and it set property tax based on the purchase price rather than the value of the property.

“So we had many situations where you would have two identical houses side by side in a neighborhood where one property owner was paying a drastically higher tax bill than his neighbor,” explained Radha Herring with Watermark Real Estate Group.

Again, that is because the new home buyer was paying tax based on how much he paid for the home, while his neighbor was still paying based on the assessed value from years earlier.

“We actually have had clients during the boom elect not to purchase property in South Carolina because the tax bill would be significantly higher than neighboring states,” Herring said.

So the change aims to make a real estate purchase less financially intimidating because of the high tax based on the purchase price. The new law now gives a 25 percent discount to anyone who buys property taxed at six percent. That does not include the primary home of an owner, but it does include commercial, rental or second-home property. That is a huge percentage of real estate in the Grand Strand Herring said.

“You own a second home, your parents own a second home, your grandparents, your friends, your neighbors, they own a second home, it’s important to them,” Herring said. “It affects you in the pocketbook.

“It’s a win for the real estate community, but more importantly it’s a win for property owners in South Carolina because they can purchase property here on the Grand Strand or anywhere in the state and know that the tax that they’re going to be paying is fair, or at least more fair than it had been with point of sale.”

The new law is retroactive, so it applies to commercial, rental or second-home purchases since the beginning of the year.

Some local governments have opposed the change, saying it means less property tax money going toward public services.

Myrtle Beach HUD Properties

admin — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 03:09:50 +0000

Start You Hud Property Search Here! This is one type of foreclosure property that you should know about if you are a buyer who plans to occupy the home (as opposed to an investor). That category is the HUD foreclosure or “HUD home”. HUD homes are homes that have had an FHA buyer who defaulted on the loan. Remember that FHA is a program that insures the lenders against risk when they participate in this low-down-payment government program. Therefore, when an FHA home is foreclosed, the lender submits a claim to HUD, who pays the claim, takes possession of the property, and puts the home on the market as a HUD home.

Why should you consider a HUD home?

With a HUD home, you stand a better chance, for several reasons. First, it’s a matter of HUD policy to give preference to owner-occupants. If you are prepared to stay in the home for one year or more, you will have the first chance to bid on HUD homes. For the first few days a HUD home is on the market, it’s “No Investors Allowed” — HUD only wants to look at bids from owner-occupants.

Second, if you’re a first time home buyer especially, you should know that HUD offers extremely attractive terms. Some HUD homes are available with FHA financing, and some of these are eligible for FHA 203K rehab loans, meaning you can finance the repair work that needs to be done to bring the home up to FHA standards. On some HUD homes, HUD will pay up to 3% of the price of the home toward your closing costs, and on some, you can bring in a down payment as little as $100. So for $100 and the remainder of your closing costs, you can own a home.

To find out what HUD Homes are available in our area, your best resource is HUD’s official web site, www.HUDHomestore.com. New HUD homes come on the market every day, so be sure to sign up for email updates in the areas you’re interested in. HUD is its own beast, and many folks have found that these email updates will serve you even better than the MLS.

Watermark Real Estate Group is one of the few agency in our area that can work with HUD Properties. If we can answer any questions for you about HUD homes that you see in the MLS or on the HUDHomeStore web site, please send us an email at info@watermarkagents.com or give us a call at 843-314-4284. To learn more about HUD homes and other foreclosures, subscribe to our Bargains at the Beach today.

I73 Corridor to Myrtle Beach

admin — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 02:32:36 +0000

The Myrtle Beach area is the busiest vacation destination in America without interstate access according to the Myrtle Beach Chamber. As Myrtle Beach puts plans in motion to attract an additional 3 million to 4 million visitors per year, traffic congestion will only get worse. I-73 can attract new industries and higher paying jobs, providing an economic lifeline to the Pee Dee and economics diversification to the Grand Strand. In the event of a major hurricane, I-73 will provide an alternative hurricane evacuation route. Widening Highway 501 is a nice gesture but I-73 will provide jobs, create economic growth, boost wages, attract industries and save lives.

Now is the time to voice your opinion concerning I73. You can visit www.i73.com to provide comments and to review alignment plans.

SC State Tree – Sabal Palmetto

admin — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:12:16 +0000

Walk around Myrtle Beach or anywhere along the 40 miles of the Grand Strand and this is pretty much the image you will see. Sun rising over the blue Atlantic, surrounded by the state tree, the palmetto. Sometimes the locals get a little upset when this tree is referred to as a palm. But, in fact, a palmetto tree is merely one variety of over 2000 varieties of palms in the world. But, we locals still like to call it by it’s true name, the Sabal Palmetto. This tree has been a symbol for South Carolina since the American Revolutionary War. There, it was used to build a fort on Sullivan’s Island that withstood British attack. The palmetto tree appears on the first symbol of the state, the seal created in 1777. It was officially named the state tree in 1939.

Prince Resort, Oceans One, and Sandy Beach Resort

admin — Sun, 22 May 2011 18:26:41 +0000

Southern Cuisine & Paula Deen

admin — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 11:56:33 +0000

Coastal Uncorked…Enjoy Wine, Southern Cuisine & Paula Deen!

Coastal Uncorked Food and Wine Festival featuring Paula Deen is the Myrtle Beach, S.C. area’s premier food, wine and spirits festival.

The festival features a restaurant week starting May 8th; a wine tasting trolley tour of Myrtle Beach; Paula Deen featured event; outdoor entertainment at Market Common and the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk and Promenade; the Coastal Uncorked Golf Tournament; and the Coastal Uncorked Food Fight Gala.

All funds raised during the festival will be used for future events and a portion will be donated to the Horry-Georgetown Technical College Culinary Arts School and the Coastal Carolina University’s Clay Brittain Jr. Center for Resort Tourism.

Click Here For Calendar of Events

The Top 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes of All Time

admin — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:51:29 +0000

What’s the Story Behind April Fool’s Day?

Originally, New Year’s Day was April 1. Later, when the Church changed the calendar, they also changed the date for the first of the year. However, some people continued using April 1 as the date of the new year. These people were referred to as “April Fools”.

Over time, the tone of the “unluckiest of days” has evolved from sadness to good-natured trickery.

It’s simply a fun little holiday, but a holiday on which one must remain forever vigilant, for he may be the next April Fool!

The Top 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes of All Time:

#1: The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest

1957: The respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied, “place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.”

#2: Sidd Finch

1985: Sports Illustrated published a story about a new rookie pitcher who planned to play for the Mets. His name was Sidd Finch, and he could reportedly throw a baseball at 168 mph with pinpoint accuracy. This was 65 mph faster than the previous record. Surprisingly, Sidd Finch had never even played the game before. Instead, he had mastered the “art of the pitch” in a Tibetan monastery under the guidance of the “great poet-saint Lama Milaraspa.” Mets fans celebrated their teams’ amazing luck at having found such a gifted player, and Sports Illustrated was flooded with requests for more information. In reality this legendary player only existed in the imagination of the author of the article, George Plimpton.

#3: Instant Color TV

1962: In 1962 there was only one tv channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station’s technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that, thanks to a new technology, viewers could convert their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their tv screen. Stensson proceeded to demonstrate the process. Thousands of people were taken in. Regular color broadcasts only commenced in Sweden on April 1, 1970.

#4: The Taco Liberty Bell

1996: The Taco Bell Corporation announced it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed, a few hours later, that it was all a practical joke. The best line of the day came when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale. Thinking on his feet, he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold. It would now be known, he said, as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.

#5: San Serriffe

1977: The British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven-page supplement devoted to San Serriffe, a small republic said to consist of several semi-colon-shaped islands located in the Indian Ocean. A series of articles affectionately described the geography and culture of this obscure nation. Its two main islands were named Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse. Its capital was Bodoni, and its leader was General Pica. The Guardian‘s phones rang all day as readers sought more information about the idyllic holiday spot. Only a few noticed that everything about the island was named after printer’s terminology. The success of this hoax is widely credited with launching the enthusiasm for April Foolery that gripped the British tabloids in subsequent decades.

Click Here to Read the Entire List.

Article Courtesy of http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/aprilfool/

US Chamber awards Watermark

admin — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 13:17:58 +0000

The U.S. Chamber is proud to announce its 2011 Blue Ribbon Small Business Award^® winners. Seven of these businesses will be chosen as finalists for the DREAM BIG Small Business of the Year Award, sponsored by Sam’s Club^® on Monday, March 14! All award winners will be recognized at America’s Small Business Summit, May 23–25, in Washington, D.C. In addition, 25 Free Enterprise Honorees were commended for their strong business practices and contributions to the economy

Watermark is awarded MBACC ICE Award 2011

admin — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 13:01:46 +0000

For the second year, Radha Herring, Broker-in-Charge of Watermark Real Estate Group, was awarded the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce Incredible Customer Experience Award (ICE Award) for Real Estate; Individual Category.

“The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce recognizes that service must be a top priority when it comes to promoting, protecting and improving business along the Grand Strand,” Brad Dean, President and CEO of the chamber said in the release. We were thrilled to see so many nominations come in this year, and we’re excited to recognize and honor those organizations and individuals who uphold the highest standards of customer service.”

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – Hundreds were in attendance at the Palace Theatre Saturday night for the Myrtle Beach ICE Awards to honor those in the community that display exemplary customer service.

ICE, which stands for incredible customer experience, is organized by the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce.