Vacation home feedback (Myrtle Beach, North: for rent, insurance, crime)

[secondhome72]

All,

We are a beach goers, and have been in Caribbean/mexico more than 3 dozen times.
We also have been vacation in Ocean City, MD several occasion (rental rate is expensive and too crowded there at the south end). Due to the air ticket cost (to mexico which we travel there quite often in the past 8 years) in a recently year, we are thinking buying a vacation home here in the States and Myrthle Beach seem to be a good fit, and price look cheaper than some other place (Redington/Mareida Beach, FL, or Destine, FL). Water is not crystal clear like the Caribbean, but definitely better than OC (based on the info and pictures from the web since we never been there, will be visiting in July), and there are a lot activities/boardwalk for the kid. This will be purely family vacation, and not for rental. Here's the requirements:

- Not too far from the beach and easy access to the beach (less than 1 mile)
- 2-3 BR, 2 BA Single family home ( about 200K - 250K budget)

We have been reading through this forum, and seem like I will be stay on the East of Rt 17. There are quite a lot of unknown at this point, and we just want to make a rough estimate all the cost associated with this purchase . Can someone answer some of my questions:

- What's the location for the best beach? Murrels Inlets/MB/North MB
- Which addition insurance required in order to settle? (Flood & Wind&Hail ?) How much is the cost, just an rough estimate? Zillow seem to be very off.
- What's the tax?

Also can someone recommend a buy agent in the area?

Thanks.

[Retire in MB]

I sent you a private message with my realtor's information.
I am east of 17 in Myrtle Beach. My home is 3BR, 3 BA, single family and I spend about $1500 year including flood insurance. I'm not in a flood zone, just protecting my investment.

Vacation properties are taxed at 6% times a millage factor - here's an example from Taxes NC and SC
Non-Resident Property Taxes:

Second home and investment property owners are taxed at 6% with millage rates that include a percentage imposed for school operating purposes and there is no relief available for age or disability. Keep in mind as you look at the example for a second home, vacation home, or investment that the property taxes are still considerably low.

Example based on $200,000 vacation / investment home assessed at 6% in an area where the millage rate is 228 mills. $200,000 x 6% x .228 = $2,736

Hope this helps

[secondhome72]

Thanks, Retire in MB.

It's really help with the number crunched out. I understand this is not a final figure, but it does give us a rough figure what to expect.

I will try to reach out the agent you mentioned. I did a little more research, and North MB might fit us a little better due to crime rate/crowd/proximity to the beach (We are not care too much about the school at this point).

It does not look too bad considering this is second property. Really appreciated.