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Gated Community Profiles |
Compare Gated Communities |
Hilton Head
Island, Bluffton, Okatie and Daufuskie Island
Gated
Communities Features and Benefits
Hilton Head Island’s gated communities
offer residents greater safety, security, social environments, sense of
community, recreational amenities, convenience, property values,
prestige and satisfaction than non-gated communities. For these reasons
and others, The Gated Communities Specialist® recommends that their
clients live and vacation in the area’s fine gated communities.
Safety and Security
Gated communities are safer and more secure than non-gated communities.
Security gates first became useful on Hilton Head Island when modern
residential development began and it became prudent to keep hunters out
of the newly developed residential areas. Today, security gates and
security guards provide many more valued services. They reduce the
traffic and noise from non-residents who would otherwise drive into the
community and solicit, use the private amenities and possibly cause
crimes. Anybody thinking about crime would rather do their business in a
community without security gates. Security guards check your home while
you are away, supervise the entry of contractors and delivery trucks,
give your guests directions, remove rabid animals and alligators, and
perform CPR in case of emergency. The best security is attended by a
guard 24 hours a day but some communities have automatic gates with
security codes or pass cards. To read about what Security Chief Doug
Wilson does, click here. He is Chief of Security for Indigo Run, one of
the best and safest communities anywhere.
Friends and Sense of Community
Residents of gated communities say that good friendships are what they
value most. If you have been a member of a club, you know how this can
be true. Residents of gated communities have a bond with other residents
with whom they share their experience. Their clubs are right within
their communities and provide the perfect social environment to enjoy
life: At the tennis center, golf club, fitness center, swimming pool,
community celebrations, lectures, committee meetings, trips, volunteer
groups and along the walking paths.
Gated Community Clubs, Amenities and Fees
There is a wide range of impressive amenities and membership programs.
You will want to know what amenities are important to you so that you
can select a community that has what you want. You can do this quickly
with our Compare Amenities chart. The most popular amenities are
security gates, private beach access, private and semi-private golf
clubs, clay court tennis clubs, meeting and dining centers, fitness
centers, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, equestrian centers, marinas
and walking paths. Gated communities have distinctive golf courses
created by the biggest name designers. Many of the courses are highly
ranked and even world famous.
Communities have different kinds of membership programs. You can live in
a community where the membership is included and an integral part of the
annual association fee or you can live in a community that has optional
memberships. When you live in a community with optional memberships, you
do not have to join any club or buy any membership that you do not want
or need. With most of these optional memberships, you can terminate your
membership without a continued financial obligation.
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All communities have mandatory property association fees of about $1,000
per year. Fees for lots (unimproved property) are typically less. This
pays for services that benefit all owners: security, maintenance of the
common areas and community management. Higher annual association fees
are typically associated with deluxe amenities like indoor heating
swimming pools, tennis clubs, large fitness centers and clubhouses with
dining, meeting and locker rooms. Golf communities with optional golf
memberships usually offer residents who are not members a discounted
rate for play. For a list of annual community fees,
click here.
The highest community association fees are typically for equity
memberships in all-inclusive private golf communities. The highest
annual community fee in 2007 was $12,500. Another membership plan that
some private clubs offer have an initiation fee of about $7,000-$25,000
and then monthly dues.
Villa owners within gated communities pay a mandatory monthly fee to
their owners’ association called a regime for regularly scheduled
maintenance and services. This fee is about $350 per month and is in
addition to the annual property owners’ association fee. Villa regime
fees pay buildings and grounds maintenance, some utilities, trash
pick-up, pest-control, amenities and insurance, but sometimes insurance
is paid separately. Some villas have their own swim and tennis
amenities.
Capital improvements for both villas and communities may not be
supported by the standard monthly or annual association fee. Owners may
have to pay special assessments as mandated by the Association’s Board
of Directors. Communities have addressed the need for reserves in recent
years by implementing transfer fees that are typically twice the annual
association fee or .025% of the sales price paid by the buyer at
closing.
The Gated Communities Specialist® will help you evaluate the
communities, amenities and clubs you want and revue all fees and costs
when you are ready.
High Property Values
Houses in gated communities command significant price premiums to houses
in non-gated communities and maintain their property values better over
time. High quality amenities alone can account for higher real estate
values as do security gates that provide less traffic, noise, a safer
community and more privacy. But gated communities are typically planned
communities with a design that integrates security, amenities,
convenience and aesthetics. Each of these contributes to the high value
of the community’s real estate and the high quality of the residents’
lifestyle. Hilton Head’s planned and gated communities are among the
best in the world and is why real estate in these communities commands a
premium over real estate in non-gated communities. The building
covenants of gated communities and the architectural review of homes is
the valuable contribution of Hilton Head’s pioneer community planner
Charles Fraser for which he is famous.
Great Convenience
Gated communities are designed for your convenience. You will become
accustomed to having the ocean, your club, your friends and wherever you
want to go close by. Many owners own their own golf carts in communities
that allow it. In their own cart they can start their round of golf at
the hole where they live or pick up a friend on the way to tee off. The
resort communities have restaurants within their gates. Many communities
have stores and services right outside of their entrances. Examples
include the Sea Pines Center, Park Plaza at Sea Pines, the Festival
Center at Indigo Run, the Main Street Village at Hilton Head Plantation,
the Moss Creek Center at Moss Creek and Belfair Village at Belfair.
Hilton Head and Bluffton are decentralized. The hospitals, schools,
restaurants, stores, service vendors and entertainment are all close by
and conveniently located throughout the area. The Hilton Head airport is
mid-Island and the Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport is about a
45 minute drive from the bridge to Hilton Head. Savannah, Georgia is 45
minutes away. Beaufort, SC is only one hour away and beautiful, historic
Charleston is a two hour drive. Atlanta, Georgia is five hours by car
and 45 minutes by air.
Prestige and Satisfaction
The benefits to the residents of gated communities are real and
valuable. Residents have many reasons to feel good about where they live
and it’s typical for residents of every gated community to believe that
their community is the best. Of course, they are correct! The residents
of these fine communities have earned the prestige that comes with their
accomplishments.
Contact the
Hilton Head Gated Communities Specialist®
about which community is best for you. Go Gated!®
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