Homes on Hilton Head with Good Bones

It’s What’s On The Inside That Counts Thus, after years of restraint and discipline, property owners (and those seeking to purchase property) are eager to move forward with updating, upgrading and renovating.

We’ve all heard it; it’s an old and familiar adage.  There is another maxim that takes the first one up a twist and to another level. It reads something like this:  What’s On The Inside Always Makes Its Way Out.  Put another way, you can try to cover it up but it will make itself known in the end. 

Homes are much the same way.  A well-designed, quality-built home will stand the test of time regardless of changing styles, decorating fads or the newest building trends.  Construction on Hilton Head, like everything else, moves in cycles.  Currently, the Island is in a building phase that we have not seen for a decade or so as the economic downturn caused many homeowners (second-home owners and vacation rental property owners) to put their plans for remodeling and renovating on hold until a stable recovery was underway.  That’s not to say that the world of real estate stood still during that entire period (though the axis of rotation did wobble a bit); certainly, homes were bought, sold, torn down and fixed up during that period—just not at the pace to which we had become accustomed.  For this article, the term “building” is used to describe remodeling and/or renovation to the extent that, like new construction, requires a building permit to be issued from the Town of Hilton Head Island.

After years of restraint and discipline, property owners (and those seeking to purchase property) are eager to move forward with updating, upgrading and renovating. Communities with remodeled and renovated properties are leading the way in higher property values and sales of existing homes.  And it all goes back to what’s on the inside.  The homes which were designed by talented architects and constructed with quality materials by reputable builders are also the homes that have the greatest resale potential.  Put another way, not every purchaser who wants a home on Hilton Head wants to build a new home.  Most buyers want to purchase an existing home and modify it to their taste and living needs.  A home with “good bones” allows them to do just that.  “Good bones” means that the structure is sound and the general layout lends itself to architectural fixes that bring it up to current code and today’s standard of living with minimal tear-out and replacement of material. Many of the homes with “good bones” are in the enviable and established neighborhoods on some of the most coveted streets on Hilton Head.  Don’t miss out on a fabulous opportunity.

When looking to purchase an existing home on the Island, make sure you work with a Realtor who can identify homes with “good bones.” Find it, love it, fix it up and live out the Island dream!