Jan Chilton - Real Estate Marketing and SEO

I had an epiphany tonight.

Being an ardent Hillary Clinton fan, I had occasion with this past election to become more interested in politics than I ever have been. I have spent more time arguing with hard-core Republicans and conservatives than I like to think about. Arguing politics is probably one of the biggest wastes of time that exists. I don't think anyone will ever convert a person from one way of thinking to the other by discussing it.

And yet we argue. I have tended to look at things through "party" eyes, and tonight I was given a glimpse into just how deeply ingrained particular attitudes really are. The country is not really divided by the political parties as much as by basic beliefs - and it extends to all manner of things outside of running the government.

A couple of years ago, our condo complex had an HOA board turnover. It was a bitter feud between 25-30 of the most active owners. (Out of 212 - many of whom couldn't care less...just like non-voters!)

Our old board had its faults. The bookkeeping was less than it could have been, and funds were assessed for some things and used for others instead. I don't think there was any wrong-doing there...it's like when you are saving for a new sofa and your car breaks down. And it wasn't documented as well as it might have been.

Anyway, our fees had gone way up. Insurance rates had doubled and were part of our HOA fees. We had to redo a jacuzzi and some tennis courts. They were assessing us large amounts of money and it angered everyone. They had fired the property manager and went a year or so without one. Our landscaping was being done by several in-house employees that had little or no supervision, and very little training. The complex looked terrible and morale was very low amongst the home owners.

Several owners banded together, swooped in and got rid of the old board, and took over. They hired a management company, fired the employees, found better insurance, worked harder to get lower bids and manage costs. Our fees went down by a large margin. They've done a great job and our complex has never looked better. So what am I going to talk about finally?

Our old board was comprised of older people, mostly from up north, and here's the surprise - THEY WERE LIKE DEMOCRATS! If a pipe burst in the walls, and someone's unit was damaged, the HOA took money from the funds and usually paid for the damages to that unit. Many people did not have H06 insurance. If someone broke your window and you couldn't catch them, the HOA would probably fix it for you. They clothed the poor and fed the hungry!

The new board is mostly comprised of Southerners in their early to mid 40's. I'm almost 100% sure that they are all Republicans. We've had our political arguments for a year or so...they are all my friends. I've enjoyed some rolicking debates with almost all of them.

Issue at hand: Our complex condo insurance has a $5000 per claim deductible. If we have a fire, and the building burns down, the complex insurance will put the "structure" back. They will not replace cabinets, windows, countertops, etc. The individual unit owner will have to do this - either out of pocket or with their own HO6 insurance. And with 8 units per building, the $5000 deductible would be split 8 ways. Less if only part of a building was damaged. Also, HO6 insurance will not pay for something that is part of the structure...like those windows that we are responsible for.

If we have a storm and a tree falls on a building, crushes 2 condos - those two owners will have to come up with $2500 from somewhere to repair their units.

My SC homeowners insurance agent tells me that most good HOA boards have a special "kitty fund" to cover the deductible and help the owners. I suggested that to one of the new board members, and you'd think I had ignited the frustration of every Republican in town! Did I DARE to suggest we have an assessment to pay for something that would help those who couldn't afford to pay the deductible? If we had a claim on 10 units per year, that would be $50,000 the board would have to pay! (I don't think we've had 10 claims in the last 10 years) And here is an actual quote from the email I received from a board member about it...

"If my unit is one of the units that gets damaged I would love for someone else to pay for it. Isn't that the American way these days?? But if my unit gets damaged I will have to pay my deductible just like anyone else would."

And me? Well, I'm all for paying a small assessment that covers it for everybody. A liberal alone with a conservative HOA government. I have to admit it is funny right now. I just hope if we have a fire in the complex, it happens in the buildings that are happy to pay the deductibles...:-)

What do y'all think?

One good thing about making websites for different businesses is that you are forced to learn about many things due to exposure! Insurance has never interested me much, except how I can get by with as little as possible and as cheaply as possible. Several years ago I bought a TBird convertible and set about to find the cheapest SC car insurance I could find. I ended up moving from 20 years at Nationwide to Allstate, and saving (no kidding) ONE-HALF of the premium.

But that's not what I'm talking about here. I live in a condo about 3 miles from North Myrtle Beach, and we recently had a shake-up in the HOA board. Many things changed, and one of them was an old by-law we had that said if your condo had a problem that damaged another's condo, you had to pay for it. I always felt pretty safe because I was on the ground floor and have a corner unit. Unless I had a tremendous flood or it caught on fire, I wasn't likely to have to pay for somebody else's unit.

Come to find out that South Carolina laws stated that in a condominium project, all units were responsible for their own contents and repairs, regardless of which unit caused the damages. So all of a sudden after 5 years of living here, I felt forced to buy an HO6 Condo policy. I talked to Scott, my Allstate agent, and got a policy...again at half the price most people pay for it. Because of the conversation, I end up making him a website, so it was a good thing. But this is what I learned, and much of it from discussing the website and the content that I needed to write. We're STILL writing, and I'm still learning. But here are some things you might not know as a real estate agent, and might want to!

If a condo is located in an area of any beach that is considered a high hurricane damage probability, states have a separate state-funded wind and hail insurance policy. Regular insurance companies refused to insure oceanfront property, so it was necessary for the government to step in and help out. It's not unreasonable, but it's not cheap, either. South Carolina recently extended the zone about 15 miles outside of the actual beach area, and my condo fell in that zone. So here we go again! I find out that my HO6 policy won't cover any kind of wind or hail damage. Doesn't have to be a hurricane, either. Suddenly my 5 years of being uninsured was a distant and pleasant memory...:-(

I think most people understand that flood insurance is separate from regular homeowner's insurance. Coastal SC homeowners insurance covers fire, theft (and only if you live in it!) liability for someone getting hurt on your property, damage from a tree falling on it, (unless you are in that "zone" and the wind blew the tree down) internal flood damage, such as a washing machine malfunction, and maybe a few other things I've forgotten. It might be a helpful thing to tell your buyer if you're in a coastal town, especially if they are a first-time home buyer. I certainly never knew that I wasn't covered if we had a regular storm and it blew my neighbor's trashcan into my front window.

But there is some good news. Allstate has many ways to get discounts on your premiums. One of the most important is the multiple policy discount. I think I sort of knew this, but have a friend who didn't, and now she's moved her HO6 policy to Allstate too, and saved a big chunk on her car insurance for doing it!

If you have your car insurance at one company, be sure and keep your other policies with the same company. They work together and each gets a discount. Combining all of mine took about $50 off my HO6 policy and over $100 off my car insurance. And also, if you live in one state and buy property at the beach or just another state, you can have your regular insurance at home with Allstate, and get the property insured with an Allstate agent in the other state. It still is counted as a multiple policy discount and really helps with your premiums! That bit of knowledge should impress buyers of oceanfront property.

I won't go into the other discounts that Allstate offers because you see them on TV all the time. But I ended up paying a little extra for that accident forgiveness clause even though I haven't had an accident in 30 years. Now if I do have a wreck that's my fault, they can't cancel me or take away my safe driving discount. And every year I don't have a wreck, my deductible is lowered, down to $500. Pretty good stuff, I thought. I guess it's apparent that I'm impressed with "being in good hands".

As we have been saying, Myrtle Beach real estate has gotten a huge boost since the first of January. Although there were enough "lookers" in 2008, it seemed that they all intended to wait for something before they made the decision to buy a home or condo in Myrtle Beach. Whether it was the election, Christmas, or just their state of mind, it seemed to come together after the new year. Retirees and Canadians seem to be coming out of the woodwork now, and the number of foreclosures is dwindling - a good thing for all concerned.

It seems odd that sales of resort condos and vacation homes would increase with the economy getting worse every day. But perhaps it's because stocks are falling that more people want to invest in real estate instead.

The building industry has a popular website at www.builderonline.com that informs and updates builders about their profession, and they have released a report listing the 15 Healthiest Housing Markets for 2009. Myrtle Beach is number 15, proclaiming our area as "remaining one of the hottest markets in the country". They say our prices last year remained steady, falling only 10 percent, with an average price of $174,800 - very affordable compared to most other resort areas.

Wilmington NC was next, followed by Charlotte, Denver CO, Nashville, Fayetteville and others, with the Texas cities of Austin, Ft Worth, and Houston being the final three.

Myrtle Beach vacation rentals are also booking like wildfire for the summer, and it appears that regardless of jobs and the economy, most people are not willing to forego their vacations. As well, the Myrtle Beach golf industry seems to be thriving and in all, our 2009 looks very promising. Martin Brown, who owns Condolux Vacation Rentals, continues to say this is going to be one of the best years his company has had, both in rentals, property management, and Myrtle Beach home sales.

Check out what our residents say about Living in Myrtle Beach.

Well, this is one blog that I must admit I will enjoy writing.

William Shatner is a hero of mine. I've been a "Trekky", or avid Star Trek fan for 30-plus years, and William Shatner has always been a major crush for me. When he (we) were young, I don't think there was a sexier man alive. As with Davy Jones from the Monkees, also an idol of mine, those of us who have loved these guys since we were kids still see them as the handsome young hunks that they used to be.

Anyway, today's Reuter News had a neat article about Shatner fighting the economic crunch with his Priceline commercials. As the Priceline Negotiator, he comically storms into unsuspecting people's houses and offices as they are preparing to book a vacation and spend more than they have to.

One of the worst industries to suffer with our economic times is travel, and the article says Shatner's job has gotten a little harder.

"But the 77-year old actor best known for playing Captain James T Kirk in the Star Trek movies and television series is hopeful that spending begets spending, and that if enough people loosen their purse strings and venture out for leisure travel, the economy could rebound." says Kyle Peterson, the article's author.

It doesn't hold true everywhere, but those of us in resort areas find that markets such as Myrtle Beach real estate and Florida oceanfront property sales are largely influenced by the vacationers and our seasonal hospitality business. I can't speak too much for Florida, but our Myrtle Beach condo rentals really took off after the new year, and so far look good for this summer. If this carries over into real estate sales, it will definately improve over last year. Not only will it boost sales, but it will help some of the investors hang on to their vacation condos instead of going into foreclosure. At least we can hope so!

"We're in danger of retracting so much that everything will fail," Shatner told Reuters. "We're being fed by fear, and fear feeds on itself. And if we can break that cycle, we might come out of this sooner and better than we expect."

At any rate, it's a cute article about my man and his efforts to boost the economy, so I thought I'd share. Give it a read if you will. Bill Shatner has been around a long time, and has some wisdom to share. And Denny Crane is still fighting for truth, justice, and the conservative way...:-) Again the article can be found HERE.

The National Association of Home Builders reported some news from AARP about Baby Boomers and their home plans.

AARP did a survey that showed one in four upcoming retirees expect to move to a single-level, more convenient home eventually.

79% said they would like to stay in their current home. (I found this surprising.) For the ones with plans to move, many said they would look for a better house, a better climate, or would move closer to family. Half preferred a newer or smaller home.

Men were more 20% more likely than women to want a newer home, or to be in a warmer climate. Women were slightly more likely to find a smaller home.

AARP offered a new 2008 Livable Communities Award to builders of more accessible, livable homes that enhance daily comfort, ease, and safety for its owners. The number of persons age 65 and older is expected grow to 70 million by 2030.

Winners of this year's award were located in California, Tampa Florida, Vermont, and Washington State.

South Carolina is a very popular location for Northern retirees that prefer a more moderate climate, and our Myrtle Beach real estate prices are much lower than Florida. Some of the popular retirement communities in the Grand Strand include Eagle Crest, Brightwater, Beachwood at the Heritage, and Myrtle Trace.

Greenville, SC has also become a favorite retirement stop-off for those who don't favor the beach. Visit our partner's Greenville SC Real Estate website, or see some the retirement homes for sale in Greenville.