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something that I can't believe I didn't think to ask... What about permanent ramp to the homes. Do HOA's allow them? my brother in law is a quadriplegic and I would absolutely be looking to install something if I were to buy a house that was not exactly at ground level.
Thanks you have all been so great with so much information.
That is a really good question. There is nothing mentioned in my neighborhood HOA rules one way or the other. All the houses here are built on slabs and when I look at mine, all I would need would be one of those small transition things to span the height of one brick (maybe 4 inches?) I haven't seen any ramps, but don't think they would be needed in this development.
Thank you again! I think tonight I will go through all of your responses again and make some notes. I really appreciate all the time you all took. I am sure I will come up with more questions
My situation is a little different, so I am hoping you can all give me some good advice as well. I'm a single, senior moving down from NY (upstate). I expect to move down in September, after I sell my current house. My budget is about $150,000. I was there in May 2016 and my two realtors showed me some townhouses - which is what I am interested in purchasing.
I would like a 2 or 3 bedroom - but the master and laundry (and preferably 1/2 bath) have to be on the first floor. I looked in Summer Wood, Westcott and Coosaw Commons. I like Summer Wood a lot and there seems to be a large range of styles, prices and number of beds and baths. I'm also looking for an end unit, mainly because this will be my first townhouse - I'm used to living in a single family detached house. Since my visit I have kept a log of places for sale that pretty much fit my criteria, noting their sale prices and then their sold prices - to get an idea of how things are selling. I did notice that by the end of last summer, the prices were less, so that might work to my advantage.
I lived in New Orleans for 12 years, and was born in NYC, so hurricanes do not frighten me as much as it would some other folks. Bugs are another story. Growing up in a family owned, small apartment building, we never had any roaches. I never had any in New Orleans. Of course I was super diligent. They don't seem to have any here in the Catskills. I know to some people that is minor, but not to me. I was interested, BSJSAS in your response on another thread re keeping your house bug free.
I don't plan to work, so traffic problems should not effect me a whole lot.
I read another thread by someone who sounds really fed up with Summerville. But, I think it has to do with all the traffic - and I think that is a totally legitimate point if you have to drive from Summerville to Charleston. I also believe that anyone who was born in Summerville and has returned years later must have a real culture shock - but I know that any small town that is charming will never stay undiscovered for very long. I love Charleston and the area - and it pains me to say it - but I prefer to live in the south than the north.
I'm trying to remember what I wrote about pest control, but I don't think it was anything remarkable? We haven't seen even one "palmetto" bug (or any other bugs) in almost 2 years, and I attribute that to good professional quarterly pest control and housekeeping. I'm not sure how that works in attached housing, or when a townhouse development is responsible for pest control. Might want to ask if they do outside only, or inside, or any pest control at all. If your attached neighbor is slack, I'm not sure how that might affect you. Your realtor should be able to get you the HOA information, and you can find crime stats online or call the law enforcement agency for the area.
I don't have any first-hand knowledge of the townhouse communities you mentioned, but Summer Wood is part of my "neighborhood" in another forum. I did a quick search and only saw one concern. It was about a large open area at the back of the development between the townhouses and I26. The poster said that area was being used for skeet shooting. I'll try to watch out for other comments.
As for traffic, yes there are negative comments but I've found that unless you absolutely have to travel in a known busy area at peak times, there are options. I would rather live in an area that is growing (even if the roads aren't keeping up) than one that is declining due to crime, or lack or jobs etc. Summerville makes lists of good places to retire, and industry is coming, thus the influx of people. There is everything I need here, and more a short distance away.
I believe you wrote something about sealing the house. I am a little concerned about being attached to someone else who is not as careful as I am about bug control, but when I weigh all the pros and cons re townhouse or detached house, I still think at this age and stage in my life, I want someone else to do the exterior work. I have someone here who does my lawn and snow removal, but it is more at their convenience than mine.
I have 5 (yes 5) indoor cats - two may not make it to Charleston however, as they are really senior and showing signs of decline. I asked my realtor to send me a copy of the HOA rules and regs for Summer Wood - after about 6 weeks, she sent me a copy, which was dated 2002. I read it and it had nothing about number of animals - just something along the lines of keeping dogs on leashes. I kind of thought it would be odd if they told you how many animals (within reason) you could have in your home - assuming they never go out. However, 15 years later and a heck of a lot of new building, it may well have changed.
I saw in the other thread that you can go online to secure a copy of the HOAs for communities. Do you know how to do that?
Ronee,
You can usually find HOA/POA documents online with a simple google search for the name. In this case it looks like this is the site you're looking for: https://www.gold-crowncommunities.co...odpoa/home.asp
They're often posted publicly but not in this case it seems.
Note that here in SC Townhomes are differentiated from Condos and one important difference to you is that with a townhouse, the exterior maintenance of the building is usually NOT included in your HOA fees. HOA owned areas like a pool, walking trails, etc usually are but not necessarily the buildings themselves. The Summer Wood townhomes are townhouses not condos and I'm pretty sure you would still be responsible for the exterior maintenance.
As far as I know, there is also an active lawsuit between the Summer Wood POA and the builder. I'm not sure of the status of that but I know it was active last year.
The hard thing to find in a townhouse is the ground floor master. To get more sqft on the land, they're usually built as two story with the bedrooms on the second floor. You will want to learn about the flooding history of any property in Summerville too.
I believe you wrote something about sealing the house.
Ahhh, yes I think I said well-sealed doors and windows (or something like that.) What I meant was that the doors and windows close tightly and there are no gaps where bugs can get in.
As for # pets allowed by HOA's--in single family developments we looked at, they did specify a number of pets per lot. Some were 2, and some were 3. I think the rationale was to prevent puppy mills, although it wasn't limited to dogs. Maybe that rule isn't necessary for townhouses, since there is no real yard or space to breed animals? Still, I would be sure to get clarification before I brought 3-5 pets.
Anyone else out there who can give me any information on Summer Wood and/or Wescott Plantation, it would be greatly appreciated.
If I was you, I think I would have heard enough to cross Summer Wood off my list. It doesn't seem to have anything you say you're looking for (exterior maintenance, downstairs bedroom) and there are issues that would make me run away. But, it's your decision.
Good luck with your search!
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Still Want to Move to Summerville
