About Oconee County, SC

You’ve selected what you believe to be the perfect property for building your Lake Keowee home. It has a stunning view, deep water, and, best of all, it’s the right price. So, what comes next?

Building a custom home is both a daunting and exciting proposition. This is even more true, perhaps, when one is building a custom lake home.

On Lake Keowee, there is a wide array of resources from which to draw for those who purchase a lot with plans to build a custom, or even a spec, home. But like any construction project, there are pitfalls to be avoided. KeoweePremier.com offers answers to some of the most-asked questions regarding lot selection and custom building on Lake Keowee:

What is the most desirable location for property on the lake?

One of the best things about Lake Keowee is the diversity it offers in terms of location. There are many desirable places to build or buy on the lake, depending on your lifestyle and the desires of your family. For those who desire to be close to Clemson University, neighborhoods located on the Clemson/Pickens County side of Lake Keowee are ideal. For those who wish to be closer to the metropolitan Atlanta area, there are communities on this side of the lake as well, within a two-hour drive or less to the Georgia hub. And still other communities and lots are located closer to the town of Seneca, which offers shopping aplenty and health care facilities nearby. For those seeking privacy and who don’t mind distance, there are many communities on the lake that are far enough removed from the hub-bub of activity to provide quiet and serenity.

How long does it take to complete a custom construction project on the lake?

The average period of time for a custom build is six to eight months or longer. This includes everything from grading the lot to building, landscaping, and making interior and exterior color selections. Additional time should be allotted to account for shoreline management and dock construction.

Lake Keowee, with its crystal-clear waters and broad mountain views, is widely embraced as an environmental gem in the South. And thanks to the work of advocates and volunteers with the Friends of Lake Keowee Society (FOLKS), lake residents and recreators can rest assured this pristine place will stay that way for years to come.

Lake Keowee is considered one of the cleanest lakes in South Carolina, and since 1993, FOLKS and its legion of dedicated volunteers have been watchdogs for this watershed, lending a voice on behalf of both environmental preservation and economic viability along Keowee’s 300-plus miles of shoreline. From its modest offices along S.C. 188, FOLKS keeps a close check on water quality, monitoring water clarity at 17 different sites around the lake. They also keep an eye on shoreline abuses, such as unprotected construction activity, and the group conducts regular shoreline cleanups, working to keep the lake pollution-free and pristine for future generations of lake lovers.

Did you know that there are more than 60 islands scattered around the lake? Perfect for picnicking on or lounging along for an afternoon or longer, these islands also need some oversight. FOLKS is in charge of Keowee’s Adopt an Island program, and all but a few have been adopted (by scouting troops, boating and fishing clubs, kayakers and homeowners’ associations, among others), ensuring regular cleanups along these popular gathering areas – from the shoreline to the lake floor.

FOLKS provides community outreach opportunities in the form of educational forums, ecology classes, and science demonstrations, making sure that their reach extends well beyond the shores of the lake. Finally, FOLKS-organized public hearings are regularly held to gather community input on any new large-scale developments under proposal – ensuring continuing oversight and awareness of lake activity.

We are so grateful for FOLKS and the volunteers who make up its ranks. They are working to leave a lasting legacy on Lake Keowee’s cool mountain waters and breathtaking shorelines, and their efforts will surely extend many generations into the future and beyond.

For more information about FOLKS, or to volunteer your services, visit their Web site at keoweefolks.org.

Long Creek’s Chattooga Belle Farm is the pinnacle of berry picking

Of all the spots to pick berries near Lake Keowee, Chattooga Belle Farm might be the most distractible. Because finding what’s ripe for the picking amid Chattooga Belle’s seven acres of orchards will require lowering your gaze from some of the best views off the lake.

Chattooga Belle sits a cool 1,700 feet above sea level, and its orchards span a lush slope that offer spectacular 200-degree views of the Appalachian chain—on a clear day, from north Georgia to Brevard, NC. The Long Creek–based U-Pick kicks off its high season in June, beginning with raspberries, and followed in short order by blackberries and blueberries.

As the summer wears on, peaches, muscadines, scuppernongs, grapes, and finally apples will hang heavy from the trees and bushes of this historic orchard, owned, operated, and managed by Oconee County native Ed Land.

“Farming has always been a part of my family, just as it’s always been ingrained in most of America up until about fifty years ago,” Land explains. “Our idea here is to grow it, harvest it, pick it, produce it in the canning kitchen, take it to the store, and send it out the door. We have the whole product here.”

This twenty-first-century farm is also remarkably diverse: an 18-hole disc golf course, lakeside cabin (available for rental), and observatory deck for burgeoning astronomers are all part of its allure. Surrounded by Sumter National Forest, the 137-acre farmstead is just minutes removed from dozens of hiking trails, more than 20 waterfalls, and rafting on the Chattooga River among other outdoorsy exploits.

So, no need to pick and choose what to do if you’re looking for a day off the lake. Get out the map, and make plans to make a visit to Chattooga Belle – it’s a vacation from the everyday, bundled into one cool daytrip—baskets optional.

Chattooga Belle Farm
454 Damascus Church Rd
Long Creek, SC 29658
(864) 647-9768
www.chattoogabellefarm.com

Other Places to Pick Your Own Around Lake Keowee:

The Happy Berry – blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, muscadines, and more
510 Gap Hill Road
Six Mile, SC 29682
Phone: (864) 868-2946
Farm: (864) 350-9345
Email: ContactUs@TheHappyBerry.com
www.thehappyberry.com

Hardy Berry Farm – strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries,
muscadines/scuppernogs, peaches
232 Strawberry Road,
Anderson, SC 29626
Phone: (864) 224-5441
Email: info@hardyberryfarm.com
thehardyberryfarm@gmail.com

Strawberry Hill USA – strawberries, peaches, blackberries, and local produce
3097 Highway 11
West Chesnee, SC 29323
Phone: 864-461-7225
info@strawberryhillusa.com
www.strawberryhillusa.com

Photo Credit: www.chattoogabellefarm.com.

Seneca, SC – A new, Web-based company has gone live to help real estate professionals and prospective buyers navigate the cluttered marketplace for Lake Keowee homes and land, just in time for a projected rebound of the national real estate market. Leveraging the most modern Web technologies and an in-depth knowledge of Lake Keowee real estate,KeoweePremier.com is the newest, most effective way for real estate professionals to market their high-end, lake-area properties to buyers nationwide.

As national home sales begin to recover and the foreclosure market thins out, local real estate professionals are poised to start selling more homes, including those on and around Lake Keowee. KeoweePremier.com utilizes a variety of Web platforms and social media avenues including Google+, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest to spread the word about exceptional Lake Keowee properties. By focusing on search returns that curate a carefully filtered set of listings, prospective buyers can rest assured that they are looking at only the most exceptional lakefront homes and lots. Occasionally, this will include higher-end interior homes, as well as properties that feature wide-open lake and mountain views.

Founder Steven Matthews is a nine-year resident of the Upstate and an information technology expert who serves as director of information technology for a Seneca-based national nonprofit that supports 69 state/jurisdictional boards across the U.S. His expertise in new and social media, as well as his in-depth knowledge of technology, provides agents – many with two and three decades of experience – with a new set of tools to help them better market their unique, lakefront listings.

“My expertise compliments their expertise,” Matthews offers.

KeoweePremier.com features large photos and high-definition videos, but it also incorporates a Lake Living Blog and live Twitter feed, to keep buyers, homeowners, and real estate professionals alike in the know – about Lake Keowee, the real estate market in general, and trends in information technology that lend themselves to real estate searches. Along with a clean interface, simple property search, and a full page of listing details with agent profile, buyers and Realtors are provided a seamless and easy-to-navigate online experience.

“Many real estate Web sites are rather cluttered, and they find a small place to stick a complex property search feature,” explains Matthews. “That search ends up netting tiny photos, and the result is that potential buyers never really connect with a home they might otherwise be very interested in.”

Matthews obtained his South Carolina real estate license in 2007 to help friends and himself acquire property on Lake Keowee. The KeoweePremier.com brand is simply the next step in his mission to help potential homebuyers, near and far, filter out the noise and hone in on their dream piece of lake property.

“By featuring premier Lake Keowee real estate listings, premier agents, premier business directories, as well as an informative and frequently updated lake living blog, readers of KeoweePremier.com are assured only the best of what this area has to offer,” says Matthews.

If a real estate video or virtual home tour is the next best thing to an in-person showing of a home, what’s the best way for a real estate agent to make that viewing experience one that will encourage a potential buyer to take the next step? Photo galleries and video tours have made it easier for buyers (especially out-of-town ones) to peruse a high volume of homes and properties in a short period of time. But it’s also made it that much tougher for Realtors to get an audience with their potential customers – to say nothing of the time buyers exhaust trying to wade through the good, bad, and ugly of homes for sale on the Internet.

Bill Koepnick is an EMMY-awarding winning sound editor from Los Angeles who retired to the Upstate six years ago and now produces high-quality real estate videos. He is able to offer unique insight into this creative and highly technical process.

“I try to make the video move through the house the way a Realtor would show it and offer comments about the salient points of each room,” Koepnick offers. “I start by learning what the seller wants to highlight, and then I make sure to get good footage of that and everything else I will need to build the whole tour.”

Continue Reading on my Lake Keowee Real Estate site with a blog section dedicated to helping agents with tech.