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We spent a few days in Charleston house hunting with retirement in mind! We are looking for a one story home or a home with a room upstairs mostly for storage or a guest room. Prior to this trip we spent a lot of time looking in the Summerville area. We like the small town feel.
This trip we stayed in West Ashley. The first night when we drove into Charleston for dinner, we got a totally different vibe crossing the bridge - water, city feel, etc.
In West Ashley we decided we did NOT like the large communities like Bolton's Landing and Carolina Bay - narrow roads with cars parked on both sides, homes on top of each other, etc. We visited friends north of Bees Ferry Road - nice neighborhood, but nothing for sale at this time.
We spent a lot of time exploring Johns Island. We looked at a smaller, new homes community built by Mungo. We liked what we saw. Is anyone familiar with Mungo? Also, would you live in a house on an island? I am very concerned about flooding, hurricanes, etc. I know there is limited roads onto Johns Island, but we did not find the traffic that bad!
If you are retired traffic will be much less of a concern since almost off all Charleston is reasonable 3/4 of the day and horrible at rush hour. That is actually the greatest knock on Summerville, North Mt Pleasant, Johns Island, and the further out portions of West Ashley. So removing rush hour really changes your ability to enjoy the area- Johns Island also becomes much more attractive for someone heading into downtown from 10 to 2 or dinner than someone headed in at &:30 and back at 5. It also gives you two nice beach options- Folly and the county park at Kiawah- since you can head over on weekdays when they are less congested.
Flooding won't be an issue in a newer development that would have had to address both elevation and drainage. You'll have to decide your own comfort level on hurricanes but outer West Ashley will not be significantly better than Johns Island in terms of wind. The initial mile or so of land and marsh takes some speed of the storm but the difference between 1 mile and 5 is not noteworthy. And all local areas have limited roads- in a storm their are really only three bridges and two surface roads to leave West Ashley, 3 bridges and an additional surface road to leave Mount Pleasant. Johns Island will only have two bridges but keep in mind they usually stage an major evacuation over a couple of days. Prior to improved evacuation procedures (making all lanes West on 26) people were as likely to bottleneck on the interstate as they were on a surface road.
I'll let someone else kick in info on that builder.
We spent a few days in Charleston house hunting with retirement in mind! We are looking for a one story home or a home with a room upstairs mostly for storage or a guest room. Prior to this trip we spent a lot of time looking in the Summerville area. We like the small town feel.
This trip we stayed in West Ashley. The first night when we drove into Charleston for dinner, we got a totally different vibe crossing the bridge - water, city feel, etc.
In West Ashley we decided we did NOT like the large communities like Bolton's Landing and Carolina Bay - narrow roads with cars parked on both sides, homes on top of each other, etc. We visited friends north of Bees Ferry Road - nice neighborhood, but nothing for sale at this time.
We spent a lot of time exploring Johns Island. We looked at a smaller, new homes community built by Mungo. We liked what we saw. Is anyone familiar with Mungo? Also, would you live in a house on an island? I am very concerned about flooding, hurricanes, etc. I know there is limited roads onto Johns Island, but we did not find the traffic that bad!
Opinions appreciated! Thank you!
I have sold quite a few Mungo homes and if you're talking about the ones next to the tomato plant I know both their on site agents well and have toured those homes extensively. The model has the cutest little doggie room (don't know if you saw that or not).
They build a quality home.
That area doesn't see much flooding but Main Road is prone to flooding during extreme weather events.
John's Island, like all islands have limited access points on and off the island. The good news is that we only get a hurricane worth evactuating about once every 20 years or so, its not something that us locals even worry about. John's Island is pretty far from the coast and if we did have a major hurricane come through, tidal surge wouldn't be an issue. You would most likely have power issues and tree damage but that's not what's a killer in hurricanes, it's the flooding.
Summerville would naturally be a little safer as it's further from the coast, but they still run the risk of trees falling in a major storm like that. I live in West Ashley, about 100 yards from the Ashley River and it would have to be a Cat 4 or higher direct hit for me to evacuate, maybe a strong 3 if there was evidence the eye would pass over Charleston.
I’ve always heard good things about Mungo, but they seem to have really grown lately.Is that a bad thing? I worked at a bank from 2009-2017, though not a lender. It seemed then that smaller, more custom builder were falling like flies. Are production builder pretty much all that is left?
Giving my age away, but every time I see any add for Mungo, I think about the band Mungo Jerry, and their song Summertime.
I’ve always heard good things about Mungo, but they seem to have really grown lately.Is that a bad thing? I worked at a bank from 2009-2017, though not a lender. It seemed then that smaller, more custom builder were falling like flies. Are production builder pretty much all that is left?
Giving my age away, but every time I see any add for Mungo, I think about the band Mungo Jerry, and their song Summertime.
Lol I remember Mungo Jerry but I, showing my age even more, always think of Alex Karras in Blazing Saddles.
Thank you for the informative replies and private messages! We have a lot to think about. My husband grew up in the low country, and this is home for him. Any other thoughts?
The more upmarket HOA's will ban overnight street parking. Some even ban motorcycles. Mungo builds a good value for your dollar home. Many complianers were 1st time home buyers expecting $300K construction for $250K.
I’ve always heard good things about Mungo, but they seem to have really grown lately.Is that a bad thing? I worked at a bank from 2009-2017, though not a lender. It seemed then that smaller, more custom builder were falling like flies. Are production builder pretty much all that is left?
Giving my age away, but every time I see any add for Mungo, I think about the band Mungo Jerry, and their song Summertime.
They got paid! Berkshire Hathaway bought them a few years ago. Money to burn now.
We’re heading out there at the end of the week for the same kind of trip. Do you mind me asking your price range and whether you are looking at a condo or single family home? I’m not familiar with that area. Thanks.
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