October 2014

When selling your Island home or villa, it pays to think like a buyer. Ask yourself this question and answer it honestly: Would I want to purchase this property as it is? Before listing with a Realtor, make the time to take a candid look at your home (interior and exterior). Truly, this is one of the wisest actions a seller can perform. It allows you to see what others will be seeing and to be the Best in Show when the property is on the market. Regardless of price point, curb appeal plays a big role in whether or not buyers want to stop and look inside or keep driving to the next property.
Here are some tried-and-true tips for sellers who want to outshine the competition:
1. Price it right. Your Realtor will provide you with comparable sales information.

It’s hard to explain…but I’ll know it when I see it. Let’s keep looking.”
I get that a lot. Having been in the real estate business on Hilton Head Island for nearly 30 years, that is an oft-used phrase by my clients. It is not unusual for a client to have firm requirements prior to embarking on a real estate search—we all have our personal likes and dislikes, preferences and visions of what we want in a home or villa—but resort property is unique. It’s as much about the destination as the property itself.

By virtue of the fact that you are even looking to purchase real estate here, you have already been sold on the destination. Yes, Hilton Head is a destination…an objective, a goal, a target of desire. You didn’t just “end up” on this island much as

For many months now, the construction activity in Sea Pines has been abuzz. Residential construction has picked up substantially for both new homes and remodeling ventures. Completion of these properties serves to boost desirability and pricepoints for existing homes since construction brings not only a new and beautiful structure, but also fresh landscaping and handsome hardscapes. Owning real estate in Sea Pines is a smart choice considering the improvements that have already been made and anticipating the ones currently in progress.
In addition to the residential side of the building activity, major construction projects with recent completions include the Plantation Golf Club, a 23,000-square-foot clubhouse which serves both Heron Point (having

The Island scene is a welcome contrast to the hustle and bustle and goings-on elsewhere. Quite often, clients will ask how long I have lived on Hilton Head and what brought me here. It’s been 30 years—I was in my mid-20s—since I made the move, and it was the water, the way of life, that made me fall in love with the island. I knew I wanted to sell real estate because I wanted the opportunity to sell others on this life; I wanted others to experience the dream. Much has changed about Hilton Head since the 1980s—more people, more development, certainly, but the core of the Island is timeless. It’s a world within a world; the natural beauty will never change and pretty never goes out of style.
Back then, it was the parents of the Boomers that were buying

Transform the dated home into a dream home– it’s not as difficult as you may think. All it takes is time, patience, a reputable architect and a quality builder (BillTrue.com can give you references and you can interview until you find just the right ones); everything else falls into place with the ones in the know at the helm. There are many ways to reduce costs and save money when remodeling or rebuilding—the architect and the builder are not where you want to cut corners. A good architect will be able to remedy deficiencies and flaws in the existing structure, some of which were mainstream and quite modern when the home was built (i.e., an 8-foot ceiling plate, narrow hallways, small kitchens, tiny bathrooms), but which are unacceptable to today’s