Aerial photo of Smythe Lake - new homesites are being developed in the area at the top of this picture, along with homes being built by David Weekley Homes and John Wieland Homes

New homesites being developed in Daniel Island Park along the Ralston Creek Golf Course designed by Rees Jones

New aerial photo of the progress on the expansion at the Daniel Island Club! This new building will house a new family friendly dining area and the men's locker room. It is scheduled to finish this May and work is progressing rapidly!

Charleston's Recent Accolades

We all know that Charleston is a wonderful place to live, but I wanted to highlight some recent recognition the Holy City has received in the national media. Charleston has been listed as:

• One of the Top 25 Housing Markets, by Forbes.com (2009)
  
• Best Performing City: Where America's Jobs are Created by Milliken Institute (2008)
  
• 50 Best Places to Live: The Next Great Adventure Towns by National Geographic Adventure (2008)
• Ranked 6th among mid-size metros in Inc.com's Top US Cities for Business (2008)
  
• One of the nation's Top Arts Destinations by American Style (2008)

These are just some examples of the many reasons to move to Charleston!

Flood Zones on Daniel Island

All properties on Daniel Island and in the Lowcountry are in some type of flood zone which is determined by FEMA, based on studies of statistics, not history. When you drive around Daniel Island you'll observe that all homes are elevated to some degree. The finished first floor of the property is required to be a certain number of feet above sea level based on flood elevation.
We have three different types of flood zones here on Daniel Island: X zone, AE zone, and V zone. You can find out what flood zone a property is in by looking at a plat. If a property is located in an X flood zone the Purchaser will not be required to have flood insurance, though I recommend to my clients to get the minimum amount of coverage anyway. In an A zone or a V zone, FEMA's minimum amount of flood insurance is required which is $250,000 in coverage. Finding coverage over and above that can be difficult and expensive, so I generally advise clients to do what makes them comfortable; however, I think the majority of Purchasers only purchase the minimum amount of coverage. In short, the difference between an A zone property and a V zone property is that the V zone property must be built higher off the ground and the cost for the same amount of insurance coverage for a V zone property will be significantly greater.
You should contact your insurance provider for quotes. In order to give you an accurate quote they will need a copy of an Elevation Certificate on the property which can be obtained from the Seller or the Seller's insurance provider.
Here are some good websites to visit to learn more:
http://www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/pages/about/flood_zones_explained.jsp
http://www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/floodplain/nfipkeywords/flood_zones.shtm

Trading Property

Since times are tough for Sellers, we are all challenging ourselves to come up with creative ways to sell. So many sellers here have their homes listed so they can buy something else here on the Island. They may want to upgrade, or on the opposite end of the spectrum, they may want to downsize. So with all of the available properties to consider today - why not trade?
For example, let's say the Smiths have their home listed for $500K. They have had a third child and have grown out of their home, but they bought in 2001 and need to pull their equity out of their current home before they can pay cash for a homesite to build their dream home. Then we have the Joneses who are a young couple just starting out by renting here after purchasing a lot. They realized it was going to cost them too much to build the house they want. They just can't afford it, so they have their homesite listed for sale. This would be the ideal scenario for a trade. Whatever your goal is in selling - there may be another seller out there who wants your property.
We have clients that want to move from a home to a condo and vice-versa, move from Daniel Island Park to the south end and vice-versa; there are just so many possibilities to consider.
So how does this operate contractually? Write up two contracts and have two closings - contingent on the other property being conveyed to the new owner. An attorney can also help prepare an addendum breaking down how the properties will be purchased and where the proceeds will come from to make sure all parties are protected.
This is just another way to think "outside the box" to be able to take advantage of today's market of incredible opportunities.