Help Me Pick a Neighborhood (Columbia, Charleston: real estate, apartment, rent)

[V65Magnafan]

Hi,

My wife and I are currently living in Toronto, but New York City and Boston have been our homes, too. Our kids are grown, I'm retired and my wife, a teacher, will be retired in a few years. We love the tropical-semi-tropical climate, and we love beaches and the ocean.

I've been thinking about visiting Charleston for a few years, and since my wife saw a TV show about Charleston a week ago, she's excited about visiting it, too.

We will be checking out condos. We would like one with no more than three bedrooms, and we want at least a view of the ocean--certainly an easy walk to the beach--if not directly on the beach.

Also, we would be like to be within an easy drive of downtown--no more than twenty or thirty minutes.

We would prefer a quiet area--but not a retirement facility. Families and kids are fine.

We are looking to spend somewhere around 140-180,000.

Could you suggest some areas we should check out with a realtor?

Many thanks.

[waccamatt]

A condo can certainly be had in the Charleston area for your price-range, but I don't think you'll find the size you're looking for with an ocean view. You may be able to get a marsh view or go inland a bit and get a river view, but even that would be tough at that price as I dont think you could get a condo that size with a river view here in Columbia for that and our prices are lower than Charleston. I would start by searching the yahoo real estate links.

[SCBeaches]

To be honest, the average condo starts in the mid $200,000's in the Charleston area. It will be very hard to find something in a safe area under $250,000 and if it's near the water you won't find anything for less than $350,000. Housing has really skyrocketed here! I bought a 2,450 sq. ft. home on 1.2 acres of land for $98,000 fifteen years ago and it was just appraised last year for $300,000! I borrowed off my equity and have invested in land in the mountains of VA and NC. So....the rising cost of real estate is great for current property owners (except, of course, with the rise in property values comes the rise in property taxes) but not so good for people moving to the area hoping to buy.

You can move an hour or so away from Charleston and get some really good deals though.
Good Luck on your search!

[piper444]

Condos on the Ocean on IOP can run from 400k (tiny modular units) to 1.5 million. Prices fall as soon as you get away from the big water, but 180-200 won't get you real close. Still, even Summerville or Goose Creek are a lot closer to beaches than Toronto.

[baylovers]

You can check the Myrtle Beach, North MB and Surfside areas. The price range may be a bit higher but I know that the Condo market has been real slow this year, so you may get a deal. However, the insurance will be high, so shop around and get alot of quotes before you put a down payment.

[V65Magnafan]

Whoa!

OK how about thirty to forty-five minutes to the ocean and downtown?

Condo, because we will be away for periods of time and we don't need a lot of space.

Quiet community.

What places should we check out?

Thanks for all the help so far.

[piper444]

Summerville may work well for you and there are still condos in Mt. Pleasant, which is 15 minutes from beach & downtown, in low to high 200s

[V65Magnafan]

Whoa! You folks are being helpful and depressing at the same time.

Of course, 200K isn't too bad.


Up here, you get a condo next to a lake that's ice cold in the summer for that price.

Maybe we'll have to go further inland. Can you recommend any places?

The instant you do, I'll Google them and start my research.

Or maybe, we'll rent a small studio/bachelor/1 rm apartment (I don't know what you would call them in S. Carolina.) in or near Charleston.

[baylovers]

If you would be interested in the Myrtle Beach area, check this search. They have over 500 condos in the $200k range.

Like I said earlier, the condo market has been soft, so you may be able to negotiate a decent price

[cutejanelle1]

in myrtle beach they have condos just 10 minute from the beach... they have started to restore some of the old military base housing into condos and they are selling them in the mid 100k range. You can literally walk to the beach and they are in good proximity to the new condo/retail area (condos starting in 213k area and houses 300k and up)... Might be a good move... but if I were you, I'd move fast