Thoughts on Dunes West? (Charleston, Mount Pleasant: low income, sales, real estate)

[maltomario]

My wife and I found a house we love and it happens to be in Dunes West. I see lots of developments mentioned on these threads but it seems that rarely do people discuss Dunes West. Most who are looking for homes in that area tend to be steered towards Park West for whatever reason.

What are the pros/cons? I am aware of the about the pretentious "gated" thing (not a fan of that) and also the higher than average HOA fees and how they don't include the amenities (ditto). Both of those are annoyances to me but not a deal-breaker.

If you actually live there, I'd be particularly interested in hearing of your experiences with things like neighborhood "feel" and if its a good place that my young children would feel comfortable making new friends in similar age groups.

Thanks!

[Robynn]

I love it! The more I live here, the more I love it! I love the trails, the peaceful quietness, the ponds, the trees.

I do not use the amenities as I think the price is not worth it. I joined ESAC instead. I'm not a pool person and the little gym they have to work out in really isn't a real gym to me... ESAC is cheaper with more stuff and only a 3-5 minute drive.

I disliked the gate idea at first too. Then I learned it's more about privacy... I tell you I moved from an area where there were solicitors coming to my house every freaking day. I work from home, so it is a big distraction and very annoying. The gate prevents that and it's worth it.

There are tons of kids around here playing together...come around on the weekend and you'll see. There are also plenty of retirees.

Dislikes: I get really tired of driving down 41 behind all the slow people! It takes about 30 minutes to get to the base of the bridge on the other side of Mount Pleasant.

Message me if you have any more questions!

[MichaelNYC]

Originally Posted by Robynn

I disliked the gate idea at first too. Then I learned it's more about privacy... I tell you I moved from an area where there were solicitors coming to my house every freaking day. I work from home, so it is a big distraction and very annoying. The gate prevents that and it's worth it.

I do not live in DW.. I cannot comment on DW... 'cause I cannot get past that damn gate to comment.. my friends who live there refuse to give a pass

The old story is...... word is............... the gate was placed there to keep the riff raff out.
The Park West residents being the riff raff
(all in jest please)

Just wanted to comment on the solicitations the DW gate 'stops'... but evidently we all must have them because we are all outside that gate.

To date.. almost 2 yrs now......... not living in the gate........... we have had *ONE* solicitor ring our bell. That was the young foreign girl riding her bicycle selling books everyone started writing about months ago that was totally harmless.

So *one* solicitation in 2 years........... not a problem living outside of the gate and thus allowing me more friendly HOA convents.

BTW... are you allowed to have garage sales in the gate ?

Again, not commenting on DW negatively or positively ... just the gate stopping solicitations.
I bike in and out of the gate all the time and to drive in and out, just have a golf bag in the seat behind you and you are in.

[accufitgolf]

Like any HOA, read the rules close. I believe Dunes West does not allow motorcycles behind the gate.

[maltomario]

I dont have a motorcycle (wife wont let me lol) and I hate garage sales, so those two things are not an issue. I do agree that it seems way too easily to bypass the gate due to the golf course, which kind of negates the point of the gate in the first place. I brought this point up to the folks at DW and they told me that golfers are only permitted on the main roads, and that security patrols look for this sort of thing regularly.

I have read the covenants and nothing seems too out of the ordinary. Stuff like no clotheslines, no garbage cans in view, no window ACs.. nothing unreasonable IMO. The only thing i found weird was I have to get landscape plans approved. Not sure if this applies to planting little flowers or if they mean more significant landscaping projects.

anyway, thanks for the feedback everyone!

[MichaelNYC]

Originally Posted by maltomario

I do agree that it seems way too easily to bypass the gate due to the golf course, which kind of negates the point of the gate in the first place. I brought this point up to the folks at DW and they told me that golfers are only permitted on the main roads, and that security patrols look for this sort of thing regularly.

There are no golf carts allowed off the main roads then ?
Therefor no one can ride their own golf cart from their house down the block, down the road to visit friends or take them to go to the pool, club house etc. ?
Or maybe you can... but not if you are carrying a golf bag.. albeit your very own golf bag to/fro a tee time ? I must ask my DW friends if they hide their golf bags along with and besides their beer cans in the back.

[maltomario]

Originally Posted by MichaelNYC

There are no golf carts allowed off the main roads then ?
Therefor no one can ride their own golf cart from their house down the block, down the road to visit friends or take them to go to the pool, club house etc. ?
Or maybe you can... but not if you are carrying a golf bag.. albeit your very own golf bag to/fro a tee time ? I must ask my DW friends if they hide their golf bags along with and besides their beer cans in the back.

to clarify my earlier post: non-residents of Dunes West who are visiting specifically for golf are *supposed * to be restricted to the main road that goes from the gate to the clubhouse. This is what I was told when I specifically asked the management about how "gated" this community really is. Technically you (MichaelNYC) should not be able to do this and thus your ability to repeatedly bypass the gates proves my suspicions about lack of adequate enforcement.

As for golf carts, my understanding is that golf carts are not permitted on dunes west grounds, except on the golf course itself. This is in contrast to Park west (and other communities) where I've witnessed people roaming around in carts. I don't own a golf cart for personal transport anyway, so its a non-issue for me.

[IsNull]

Dunes west does have slightly better trails than Park West. When we were looking at homes, we found many were in a shocking state of disrepair for a gated community. In our past experiences, the gated communities were very strict on home and yard upkeep. Now, I'm not saying there were shutters hanging off the windows or anything, but many were in bad need of new paint, shrubs and yards maintained, etc.

As a whole, we didn't feel all the additional fees in maintenance, guards, gates, clubhouse, etc warranted the slight increase in privacy and trails.

We know people that live in the subdivision and love it.

YMMV.

[roxanneself]

I have been behind the gates four times, three with a pass and once without. The time without I told the gate guard that my kid had a performance (JROTC color guard) at the club house. The guard couldn't find any record of a performance, but let us through anyway. Turns out the performance was at Wild Dunes, not Dunes West.
Anyway, Dunes West is beautiful. Each of the houses I visited took me a good ten minutes to get to once I passed the gate, so there is some added commute time to consider.
All you can do is check it out and see if it's for you. It is nice that they don't make the amenities mandatory. In my subdivision we have separate HOA fees for grounds upkeep etc and amenities, but you have to pay both anyway.

[accufitgolf]

Dunes West is a lovely area that many would yearn to live in, yet as I said earlier when dealing with any HOA one must understand the Covenants, Bylaws, Rules and Regulations before one buys.

All want all to be happy versus end up being the HOA or the HOA Member from hell. Best for all (buyer and association) that a buyer understands what they are getting into. As an example, the motorcycle restriction. I do not mean a motorcycle gang but what about the professional type who likes riding his motorcycle for recreation ala the late Malcom Forbes with Liz Taylor hanging off the back......LOL

When one buys on/around a golf course, they best understand the relationship between the HOA and the golf course owners. I have been there (not in SC) and done that. There has been some friction in Dunes West between the two concerning "cluster" housing around the golf course. There have also been issues at Charleston National, Rivertowne, Snee Farm, Daniel Island, etc. based around the golf course. This is not uncommon when a golf course (major real estate) is involved. Your lovely home over looking an idyllic golf course might could end up overlooking a deserted golf course gone wild or some low income housing or even a high rise condo building overlooking you.

Be careful of real estate agents that have no idea what relationships exist in any HOA, multi section HOA's, and especially in an HOA's relationship built around a golf course.

Hope this helps.