Moving to Pawleys Island (Myrtle Beach, Georgetown: sale, real estate, HOA fees)

[ITD0aec]

Hi,
My husband and I are thinking of moving to Pawleys Island from the Boston area. We would very much appreciate any information about some of the communities that we are looking at. We are both golfers, play tennis, kayak and love the outdoors. We have been looking at some of the gated communities - but that is not a requirement. We also do not have to live on a golf course, since there are so many in the area. We just want a nice, friendly, social neighborhood. I am 55 and my husband is 62 but we don't want an over 55 neighborhood. We like living amoung young families with children. We have looked at Ricefields, Heritage Plantation, Litchfield Country Club, The River Club and Pawleys Plantation. Any information about these communities would be very much appreciated.
Also, we are very 'down to earth' and do not want to live in a 'snooty' neighborhood.
Thanks for any info,
Anne

[baylovers]

All of the communities you have listed are quite nice and upscale. Here is a brief breakdown:

Ricefields: Not gated... My favorite, unfortunately we couldn't find the "right home" there when we were looking. Very family friendly, a ton of kids. Nice pool & shallow access to the ICW/Waccamaw River. Good for kayaking. HOA fees are reasonable.

Heritage Plantation: Gated... very nice, not many kids. Mostly empty nesters. I am not a golfer but I have heard it has a nice course. The community goes up against the river but I am not sure if there is water access.

Litchfield Country Club: Not gated... mixture of families & older people. Tennis & pool available.

River Club: Gated... we have a few friends whose parents live here. Not many children but seems to be a lively community. Nice pool, clubhouse & golf.

Pawleys Plantation: Gated... also quite nice. The golf course runs down to the tidal creek with views of the Town of Pawleys Island. Not a ton of kids but there are a families. I think they have tennis too.

River Club & (I think) Litchfield Country Club have access to Litchfield-By-The-Sea beach house & access. This is a plus because you do not have to deal with the parking issues on Pawleys Island.

We live in Pawleys Retreat which has alot of families/kids and a nice mixture of empty nesters, too. There are not many amenities in this ungated community... nice little lake but no pool or golf. The HOA fees are less than $400 a year and the association rules are fairly laid back unlike some of the others mentioned.

Feel free to ask any other questions.

[ITD0aec]

Thank you so much for all of the information.
The Ricefields was my favorite community too. One of the activities that I forgot to mention, that I enjoy is gardening. I would like to have a little vegetable raised garden wherever I move. Do you know if any of the neighborhoods would have association restrictions prohibiting it?

I haven't been to Pawleys Retreat yet - we are coming for a visit in early June and will hook up with our realtor - I'll suggest that we drive thru Pawleys Retreat.

Also, do you have any information on the property taxes or homeowners insurance? I heard something about HOI going up substantially if you live east of Rt 17. Isn't Pawleys Plantation east of 17?
Any information is greatly appreciated.

[creekgirl4life]

As far as property taxes increasing a 2006 point of sale assesment has impacted property tax rates throughout the state. As a general rule property is reassessed every 5 years and is capped at 15% increases. The 2006 law changed and now when a property is sold it is subject to immediate reassessment so you will not necessarily be able to rely on the current owners property taxes as a basis for what you would pay. There has been a bill introduced to change the law so point of sale assessments do not occur, however you should be aware of this issue and can discuss it with your REALTOR.
Insurance rates depend on several factors and you are correct that some dramatic increases have occured especially in the condo market. If your new home is in a flood area, you will have the added cost of a flood policy.
HOA fees are subject to change and I have heard of homeowners wanting to sell due to some of the increases. Also the restrictions in gated communites should not prohibit your gardening and again your REALTOR can get the information on community restrictions prior to your purchase.
There are also other nice areas in Pawleys that are not subject to HOA, ect.
Hope this helps.

[baylovers]

Creekgirl pretty much summed it up... there has been articles in the local paper everyday this week about the new legislation & its impact on local governments. Here is today's:
MyrtleBeachOnline.com | 04/10/2008 | Tax bill's delay aids Horry's coffers (broken link)

Here is a website that allows you to search a property in Georgetown County for taxes:
http://secure.georgetowncountysc.org...4F6190984FA7AD

Pawleys Plantation is east of Hwy 17 but it doesn't matter much anymore... they have extended the insurance line to the river. So anything in Pawleys is effected by the new zoning. This is only for the wind & hail insurance... many insurance companies have dropped the wind/hail coverage and we are stuck getting the coverage through the state . I pay $3000 a year for a 2 story 5 b/r house (3700sqft)... taxes were reduced to $1080 for 2007.

Pawleys Retreat is not as crisp as Ricefields. They have left much of the natural landscaping in tact and the architecture of the homes is not as strict as they are in most of the other communities. But we have been very lucky as far as neighbors go, we have made some great friends. Having kids help you get to know the other familes.

There are some really nice areas that are not in communities, like creekgirl mentioned. I really like the area down in Lower Waverly & River Oaks. I wish I had known about this section when I was looking.... has some real southern charm. There is also the area known as Hagley Estates... not as impressive as Lower Waverly but there are some nice houses back in there. Hagley has remained a mostly natural & wooded area and is close to the river where there is a large boat landing at the foot of Hagley Drive.

[baylovers]

I meant to add in a previous post that there are a couple of local weekly newspapers that you may want to check out. Before I decided to move here I subscribed to the Coastal Observer (basically serves PI & Murrells Inlet) to get a feel for the politics, crime & community. They also have a decent real estate section.

The other paper is the Georgetown & the new Waccamaw Times.

Then there is the daily Myrtle Beach Sun News.

I found them all helpful in different ways.

A couple of other useful websites that you may want to bookmark:
Page 1
Brookgreen Gardens -- Ever Changing. Simply Amazing.
Georgetown County South Carolina Sheriff's Office
Georgetown County South Carolina
FlyMyrtleBeach.com | MYR | Official Site of Myrtle Beach International Airport
Pawleys Island, Georgetown, Murrells Inlet, Litchfield, Hotels, Shopping, Entertainment, Attractions, Real Estate, Dining, and Golf Information By Elowcountry.com
Pawleys Island, South Carolina WebCam
http://www.townofpawleysisland.com/
PIPD
Seaport Georgetown

[locallady]

I am new to this forum. I just wanted to say that I live in the same neighborhood as baylovers, Pawleys Retreat. I love my house, my street and my neighbors. I am sad because my husband wants to move back to the neighboring town that we moved from. He works there and wants to be near his work. Our children are grown and gone, so I enjoy watching all of the little ones go by my window in the morning as they head for school.....some walk with their parents, some ride in golf carts and some ride bikes. I am also a retired teacher as well as an empty-nester so it brings back sweet memories. Pawleys Retreat sounds perfect for what you are looking for.

[ITD0aec]

Thank you so much for responding.

[lgavrich]

Originally Posted by ITD0aec

Thank you so much for responding.

Hi,
My wife and I own a condo in Pawleys Plantation and purchased a lot there two years ago. Clearly we like it. Although prices will generally be lower at Pawleys Retreat and some of the the other un-gated communities you are contemplating, there are some properties in Pawleys Plantation that might fill the bill. Patio homes (3 BR, 2 BA) seem to be priced under $400K (you probably know this from your search). I would add that many of our neighbors do not play golf but enjoy the green space and the landscaped nature of the place. For my job, I also have visited and reviewed some of the other golf communities in the area (Debordieu, Wachesaw) and I am quite familiar with the others. Regardless of where you finally settle, you will enjoy the area (although you are not likely to run into too many Red Sox fans). By the way, my wife, children and I live in Connecticut. Best off luck.

Larry Gavrich

[baylovers]

although you are not likely to run into too many Red Sox fans

There are more than I care to mention! Go Yankees.