Mr. O’Neil discussed his goals as the head administrator having been on the job for only six months.  There have been numerous physicians added to the permanent staff of this for-profit hospital.  As part of the Tenet Health Care system, Hilton Head Hospital, Coastal Carolina Medical Center, and Okatie Outpatient Center, have a commitment to our area.  Mr. O’Neil mentioned that for such a relatively small population center, the local health care services within the hospital are very extensive.  The cardiology department, gastro-intestinal department, as well as the emergency room is strongly staffed and equipped with all of the latest diagnostic equipment.

There are other ‘well’ options to interact with the hospital as well; community and civic groups are often invited to hold a health fair and there are numerous mobile labs to facilitate. 

Altogether, the Realtors gained much knowledge. It’s just another reason that the lifestyle on Hilton Head Island, Bluffton, and Okatie is so popular.

Come……live!

“The Beaufort County Inspection and Code Enforcement Department is the first building department in South Carolina to earn Building Department Accreditation from the International Accreditation Service (IAS). The accreditation is based on the IAS Accreditation Criteria for Building Departments/Code Enforcement Agencies (AC251). The accreditation verifies that the Beaufort County Inspection and Code EnforcementDepartment is operating at the highest legal, ethical and technical standards.”

What this means for our homebuyers is that any homes constructed in Beaufort County will be inspected at the highest standards. Just another great reason to make the lowcountry your next home!

“ This is a new twist to killing fire ant colonies.For those not familiar with Walter Reeves, he is from the University of
Georgia agriculture department, specializing in home gardening. His television show, ‘Gardening in Georgia’, is on each Saturday.

I know fire ants are picky eaters and any type poison that is effective takes seven feeding steps before the queen receives it. Plus, if the bait is stored in close proximity to any petroleum or fertilizer products they won’t
touch it. Contact poisons that are on the market just cause the colony to move away. A well developed colony can be as deep as 30 feet and spread out some 20 to 50 feet from the mound center… This was documented by studies
done in the early 60’s when they were first sited in South Alabama.

An environmentally friendly cure for fire ants has been announced by Walter Reeves on his Georgia Gardener radio program. Testimonials that it REALLY WORKS are coming in.

Simply pour two cups of CLUB SODA (carbonated water) directly in the center
of a fire ant mound. The carbon dioxide in the water is heavier than air and
displaces the oxygen which suffocates the queen and the other ants. The
whole colony will be dead within about two days.

Besides eliminating the ants, club soda leaves no poisonous residue, does not contaminate the ground water, and does not indiscriminately kill other insects. It is not harmful to your pets, soaks into the ground. Each mound
must be treated individually and a one liter bottle of club soda will kill 2 to 3 mounds.”

So, gardening friends, let’s give it a try! If you have positive results, feel free to write me back and by the way, I’m never too busy to help you with information on our spring real estate market that’s springing up even faster than the crabgrass – Come Live…………..in the lowcountry!

The reason you live on an island!

with one of Hilton Head’s best addresses-ask me about the listing located on S. Beach Lagoon Road. Offered by Carolina Realty Group it’s a stunner with 5 bedrooms, 5 baths 7082 sq ft and a view to die for. Even with angry seas today, the calm and peace felt in this immaculately maintained home could also be a wonderful rental opportunity- ASK ME for the rental projections!

ANOTHER HILTON HEAD ISLAND beauty may be found on Piping Plover – a great use of a site, very beautiful finishes and complete with geo-thermal heating and cooling; this is for the person who wants a very short stroll to the BEACH as well as having their own fabulous space to entertain. Located 4th row from the Atlantic Ocean, this wonderful home is offered by Sea Pines Real Estate, was built in 2009 and has 5BR and 6 and 1/2 baths!

Excellent siting & great features + short walk to the beach

 Saw several other great options! Call me to see great buys in Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island!

HHI Sales 12-07 thru 9/30/09

It’s property re-assessment time on Hilton Head and Realtors’ phones are ringing. Our area performs this property tax re-assessment every five years.  This year, due to the change in the market, lots of folks are up in arms. Though Realtors can’t advise on specific remedies, we can suggest:

Ask for an updated market analysis and general market study; the assessments are based not on 2008 sales but based on what your property was valued at on December, 2007. SC law requires a re-assessment every 5 years and the last one was in 2002; however, the result of that assessment was delayed for one year. Rather than using that additional year – which would have taken us to 2008 sales – the SC legislature passed a law allowing the assessor to use closed sales as of December 2007. Our market in Beaufort County, and Hilton Head in particular, was in a slight decline in 2007 but as evidenced on the above chart, certainly not the dip we experienced in 2008 and the continuing change in 2009.

So what can you do as a property owner? Enclosed with your property tax bill will be the appeal form and briefly you should outline a statement with respect as to why you are appealing providing the tax ID number as well as the tax key for identification purposes.  You must appeal within 90 days from the notice date shown in the upper right hand corner of your tax bill.

The appeal will be reviewed and a conference scheduled. If the issue is not resolved, you may file a formal protest. The form must be mailed to the assessor within 30 days of the conference. The assessor has 30 days to take a final action; but the matter may still be presented to the Beaufort County Tax Equalization Board in the Administrative Law Court in Beaufort.  This is separate from and independent of the Assessor’s office.

There is a tax calculator located on bcgov.net then in the online departments, tax assessor office.

You may also acquire an appraisal. Many of our HHI and Bluffton appraisers can perform this function in an abbreviated format but with applicable comps. If you closed in 2008 or 2009 and the bank performed an appraisal, you may include that information as well. 

Legislation was also enacted in 2008 that capped the increase at 15% from the previous year’s tax assessment-so be aware of the difference between the previous assessed value and the market cap rate.

Bottom line, call me for information, I love doing charts for you and have appraiser contacts that I will be happy to refer to you!