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South Carolina Association of REALTORS (SCR's) Form 310 Agreement/Contract: To Buy and Sell Real Estate (Residential) and Form 311 Agreement/Contract: To Buy and Sell Real Estate (Residential/Condo) are expected to be transitioning to a strict Due Diligence contract with regards to repairs effective June 13, 2022.

Changes are expected to be made to Paragraph 8 which is currently entitled “REPAIRS”.  Currently there are 3 selectable repair options: (1) Repair Procedures, (2) Due Diligence and (3) As Is.  Repair Procedures and As Is are expected to be removed – leaving only the Due Diligence clause.  Due Diligence verbiage is not expected to be changed.  Due Diligence Expiration Date and T...

Horry County Officials are having a Grand Opening Ceremony today, Monday May 9, at the Carolina Forest Recreation Center (2254 Carolina Forest Boulevard) to celebrate the completion of the Carolina Forest Boulevard widening project.  The road and multi-use path opened to the public in February of 2022.

The core work on this $50+ million-dollar budgeted project involved the widening of Carolina Forest Boulevard from 2 lanes to 4 lanes between Gateway Drive and River Oaks Drive.

 Visit the Horry County Government site to see the details on this project:

https://www.horrycounty.org/portals/0/Docs/Ride3/maps/CF_Blvd_Widening.pdf

As per Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), mortgage rates increased for the 7th consecutive week.

U.S. weekly averages as of 04/21/2022:

30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage = 5.11% (0.8 fees/points)

15 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage = 4.38% (0.8 fees/points)

5/1 Year Adjustable Rate Mortgage = 3.75% (0.8 fees/points)

Freddie Mac’s PMMS is the longest running weekly survey of mortgage rates in the US.  PMMS is a primary market survey, which means it does not use data on loans purchased or funded by Freddie Mac, but rather surveys originators across the country and across different types of lending institutions and estimates what a typical customer might see if they shopped around f...

Golf Digest had it right – Myrtle Beach truly is the Holy Grail of budget golf trips.

Golf Digest article on Myrtle Beach Golf

Just ask the guys on the Rock and Bowes Golf Tour – celebrating their 39th year this week coming down from Pennsylvania to Myrtle Beach on their annual golf trip.  Says one of the more colorful members of the group, Rob “Hooch” D. - “nothing beats Myrtle Beach for variety – not just in golf but with all of the extracurricular activities in the area – it’s truly a unique spot”.

This group is playing Heritage Club this year.  Heritage Club actually has 2 graveyards.  One graveyard is located on Hole #8 and rests slaves.  Another graveyard is off the tee on Hole #...

New Listing - 979 Annilles Court - The Park Subdivision - $450,000

Lovely, well maintained single level 3 bedroom 2 bath ranch style home located on a private culdesac and just a mile to the beach! This home is in pristine condition and has tile and hardwood floors throughout and is decorated with neutral colors. Mirrored closets in bedrooms and Skylights in both bathrooms to let the sun shine in. Fireplace in the living room . Lovely all season room located just off the living room area, overlooks a beautifully landscaped private backyard with tall white cement wall to give you all the privacy you need to enjoy a quiet life near the beach. Entire property is beautifully landscaped. Atti...

The mission of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is to help people before, during and after disasters.

FEMA - https://www.fema.gov/

The FEMA partners with Tribal nations, States, and communities through the Risk Mapping, Assessment, and Planning (Risk MAP) program to identify flood hazards, assess flood risks, and provide accurate data to guide stakeholders in taking effective mitigation actions that result in safer and more resilient communities. This data is incorporated into flood maps, known as Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), that support the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and provide the basis for community floodplain management regulations and flood insura...

Pulte, Toll Brothers and Saussy Burbank will be the 3 builders in this new home community of SayeBrook in Surfside.

The first phase of this new home community will consist of approximately 155 single family homes.  Building is expected to start in June 2022 and sales will likely start in the fall of 2022.  Pricing will likely start in the $400's.

SayeBrook is a 700-acre traditional neighborhood development incorporating residential housing, office uses, medical uses, civic uses, and a mixed-use area called SayeBrook Town Center.  The SayeBrook Town Center is the ‘heart and soul’ of the SayeBrook project that is the mixed-use center that includes retail, restaurant, office and civic uses...

Berkshire Forest is one of the most popular new home communities in all of Myrtle Beach.  The location of this new home community right off of River Oaks Drive makes it convenient to Highway 501, Highway 31 and many of the main attractions along the Grand Strand.

The main and newly expanded amenity center in the most mature section of the Berkshire Forest community is situated next to the scenic 32 acre Silver Lake and now includes a lazy river (the longest in all of South Carolina) and splash park!

The newest amenity center in Berkshire Village includes a large resort swimming pool, two fenced in dog park areas, 4 pickleball courts and a firepit. 

Vansant Realty Group has extensive ...

Del Webb at Grand Dunes in Myrtle Beach is a Luxury 55+ Active Adult Community.

The ‘home inspection” should be a key activity in all real estate transactions regardless of whether or not financing is involved (bank requiring the inspection), or if the home is being sold “as-is”.  Often times home inspections are conducted as an integral process step in working towards satisfying the contingency component of the real estate agreement.

As of Jan 2021, a current South Carolina license or registration is required to engage in residential building, specialty contracting or home inspection activities in this state, as defined in S.C. Code of Laws Title 40 Chapter 59 – specifically SECTION 40-59-410 - Code of Laws - Title 40 - Chapter 59 - Residential Home Builders (scsta...

Myrtle Beach has a rather mature public transportation system that is safe and affordable.  Known as “Coast RTA”, their Fixed Route bus system has relatively broad coverage, consisting of 10 regularly scheduled routes servicing Horry and Georgetown Counties. The fixed routes include Andrews, Bucksport, Conway, Garden City, Georgetown, Loris, Murrells Inlet, Myrtle Beach, Pawleys Island and Surfside Beach.  The Fixed Route service operates seven days a week, 362 days per year. Coast RTA observes the holidays of New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas so its employees may spend time with their families.

Many area attractions from shopping and restaurants to amusements and accommodations...

The road projects in Horry County are defined as Ride Improvement & Development Effort (RIDE).  There have been two previous “road project phases” (RIDE 1 and RIDE 2) that have already been completed.  Current road projects are included in the RIDE 3 road project phase.  RIDE 3 is being funded by a one cent capital project sales tax.  Horry County maintains a detailed RIDE 3 “Dashboard” such that residents can view the current status of all RIDE 3 road projects.  Plans for a subsequent RIDE 4 are already being discussed.

To see the recently completed, ongoing and planned road projects in Horry County, please visit:

Horry County RIDE 3 Dashboard

The Carolina Forest Community is a popular place to live.  As a result, the new housing market in Carolina Forest is exploding.  There are now over 30 new home communities either (1) in progress or (2) approved whereby ground not yet broken.

Visit New Homes Carolina Forest for a list of all of the new home communities either in progress (19 communities) or planned with approved zoning (15).

Visit the Horry County Planning and Zoning Department for the latest statistics on Carolina Forest new housing.

Visit Vansant Realty Group, a Carolina Forest based real estate company, for the current list of Carolina Forest homes for sale and the list of new home communities available in Carolina F...

The South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority (SC Housing) is a self-sustaining agency committed to ensuring that South Carolinians have the opportunity to live in safe, decent, and affordable housing.  SC Housing is offering up to $8,000 in what they are calling *Forgivable Down Payment Assistance (DPA) to borrowers that meet certain requirements.  This DPA may be used towards a borrower’s down payment, closing costs and/or prepaid items. Borrowers must meet sales price and income limits, in addition to SC Housing’s first mortgage requirements. This offering is available on both new and existing homes. Technically this is considered a second mortgage with either a te...

Property taxes are a factor when deciding where to reside.  The state of South Carolina consistently ranks as a state with one of the lowest property tax “rates”.   There is no single tax “rate” across all of South Carolina, but the tax rate can be deduced for a given property in Horry County by multiplying the fair market value, times the “assessment ratio”, times the millage rate.

Generally speaking, the fair market value is the amount for which the property can reasonably be expected to sell on the open market with a willing buy and a willing seller.

The “assessment ratio” in Horry County is 4% for owner occupied primary residences – 6% for all others.

The millage rate will vary bas...

On January 19, 2022, the government sponsored entity, Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) announced that, effective March 19, 2022, it is implementing an update to their Desktop Underwriter product/process that will provide an option for “Desktop Appraisals”.

Requirements to use this approach are tight (one-unit  principal residence, loan-to-value ratio less than or equal to 90% and several others), but in essence a key component of this change will allow an appraiser to conduct analysis and develop an opinion of value with “no physical inspection of the subject property”, while utilizing data that may be provided by various parties (buyer/seller agent, homeowner, builder,...

The Myrtle Beach area has made such significant progress over the past few years – it’s a beautiful thing to see.  The commitments being made by local government are a key part of this growth and improvement of the area.

Case in point is the recent purchase of land downtown by the city.  They bought this land as much for public safety as they did for any specific redevelopment plan.  They plan on demolishing the buildings in the area of this purchase as quickly as possible to prepare the property for its next life.  This kind of the city commitment and agenda should make newcomers (and existing locals) feel very comfortable about the future of Myrtle Beach and the surrounding area.

Myrt...

Average Mortgage Amounts Top $423,000 (Record High) for New Home Purchases according to December 2021 data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).  The December 2021 MBA Builder Application Survey (BAS) data indicated that the average loan size set another survey record at $423,102.

Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is a leading advocate for the real estate finance industry and is the only association representing all segments of the real estate finance industry.

MBA's Builder Application Survey (BAS) tracks application volume from mortgage subsidiaries of home builders across the country.

For more information visit Mortgage Bankers Association.

There will be 2 new home communities coming to River Oaks Drive that will be developed adjacent to Berkshire Forest. D. R. Horton will be developing “The Villages at Berkshire” and right next door Chesapeake Homes will be developing “The Traditions at Carolina Forest”.  Contact Vansant Realty Group for more information.

2022-01-11 - Marion County Council Unanimously Approved Resolution in support of Interstate 73

Marion County Council Resolution

2021-12-14 - Myrtle Beach City Council voted unanimously to approve a resolution to fund the construction of Interstate 73. Under the resolution, the city would commit $4.2 million annually over 30 years for the project.

Official Statement from S.C. Rep Case Brittain

2021-12-06 - North Myrtle Beach City Council voted unanimously to commit $1.7 million each year to fund the proposed interstate. Other qualifications must be met each year before the city commits the money, but the hospitality tax will be used for the contribution.

News 13 Report

2021-10-04 - G...