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When we were community hunting we visited the Beaufort area .... Lady's Island, St Helena's & Port Royal. I liked it better than my wife did but what did notice is that it is more spread out than we wanted. Travelling around can be difficult because of the lack of water crossings. The beach areas are very seasonal and we didn't sense much of that "community" feeling.
"Reasonable" & "In Charleston" are not two items that are typically used in one sentence...
The beutiful old houses in Charleston start at around $750K for something small. The closer to the Battery area, the more expensive you get.
There are beautiful old houses outside Downtown Charleston too, say the Old Village in Mount Pleasant, there are three built in the early 1900's that go for over $2 million each.
"Reasonable" & "In Charleston" are not two items that are typically used in one sentence...
The beutiful old houses in Charleston start at around $750K for something small. The closer to the Battery area, the more expensive you get.
There are beautiful old houses outside Downtown Charleston too, say the Old Village in Mount Pleasant, there are three built in the early 1900's that go for over $2 million each.
jim
Well, then....it sounds like Charleston is more expensive than downtown Chicago.....can that be true? You cannot get a 2 to 3 bedroom "home" (which could be a townhome or condo) for less than 750? Or is that just the vintage ones.....
I would be interested in a home or townhome in a completely safe, nice area. Is this not possible there for less than the numbers you posted?
It's definitely possible. Those numbers were for the 'Beautiful Vintage Homes".
2/3 bedroom high end condos close to the downtown area abound.
Small 3 bedroom homes in a town like Summerville may be more up your alley.
Just like Chicago, the closer you get to the epicenter, the more it costs. Where Chicago is huge & more spread out, we have very nice little towns that would fit your budget.
Have a Realtor set up a search for you, there are plenty around! It will give you a better picture of the different areas.
jim
Another thing you can do if after visiting for a few days and still not being able to decide, you can always rent for a while and take your time checking out the area before you buy like I decided to do after visiting for a week.
You can rent a nice quiet 1700 to 2200 sq. ft. 3 bedroom; 2-3 bath townhouse or single family house for $1500 to $2000 per month which might sell for $500k plus, and be five minutes from downtown and walking distance to restaurants and shopping. In the $1500 range you may have to take something musty with an odd layout and dated kitchen and baths (like the places I saw in the Old Village in Mount Pleasant). In the $1650 to $1800 range you can find something newer or updated with a nice lay-out; walk-in closets; patio/screened porch; sun room; laundry room with washer and dryer; fireplace nice kitchen and baths.
Beware of the investors that bought townhouses that are brand new construction and have them listed for rent but won't even buy a fridge, let alone a washer and dryer. After they draw you in with a low teaser rate of $1400/month they spring on you that not only is getting a fridge YOUR responsibility but they want YOU to pay the CONDO FEES IN ADDITION to the rent to the tune of about another $300 or $400 per month.
Then there are the investor landlords that in addition to that want you to pay NON-REFUNDABLE cleaning and pet deposits which are illegal where i came from. (I have one older neutered cat by the way.)
Also you may find that although you eventually want to buy a place here that your realtor may lose interest when you tell them you've decided you want to rent first. I was not impressed with the realtor I was working with who ended up blowing me off (after spending only one afternoon after I flew down for just a day showing me places one of which didn't even meet my basic criteria )when I REALLY NEEDED TO FIND A PLACE as I was closing on my house and needed to be OUT in just a few weeks and had no place to move to.
Using the Prudential Real Estate website, I found a place on my own, spoke to the landlady who happens to be a real estate agent who e-mailed pictures and faxed me the rental agreement and I rented her place site unseen - which turned out to be the biggest, nicest with the most amenities, in the best location, all things considered and has the nicest landlord by far, compared to those the realtor had shown me (that had greedy landlords). I also was not impressed that the realtor didn't try to negotiate on my behalf to get rid of the non-refundable fees and for the owners to put in a fridge at the very least. Needless to say with that kind of lack of initiative on her part, I won't be using her when I find a place I want to buy.
Thanks. The idea of renting first is GREAT, and I wish I'd done that when moving here years ago. It wasn't the city itself (then), it was the specific building and block we'd moved into.....we bought, and promptly put it up for sale about six months later....took a year to sell. We then went to a wonderful place, but who needed to learn the hard way, as a buyer? Definitely a great idea.
As far as using realtors, it's like anything else....some are great, some aren't. I used a realtor for the place I'm in now (rental), and she was wonderful - lives in the building also. But, I've also used others who didn't seem motivated to rent OR sell, which is hard to understand since it IS their livelihood. Just like any other profession.
This info re rental $$ -- it's not clear to me, are you speaking of Charleston? Did you relocate there, then?
Thanks so much.
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