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An
Introduction to Hilton Head and Bluffton SC Real Estate
Locations, Styles and Uses
There is no one Hilton Head lifestyle. Not everyone wears loafers
without socks, plays golf and owns a boat. Some people are retired while
others grow their careers and raise families. The real estate you want
depends on your needs.
This article discusses:
1.
How does use and location vary?
2. What is the style of a Hilton Head home?
3. What is the floor plan of a Hilton Head home?
4. What is the architectural review process?
5. What can you learn from a ‘model home’?
6. What are ‘full size’ and ‘patio’ homes?
1. Communities have
different ‘characteristics’.
When you are considering a home or villa for vacation use, relocation or
retirement, the Hilton Head or Bluffton SC area communities have
different features and locations to meet your needs.
A) Hilton Head
vacation rental properties are typically located on or near the
beach in neighborhoods with resort features and services that include
hotels, public restaurants, water sports, bicycle rentals and
available golf, beach and tennis. The most popular of these areas are
Sea Pines, Forest Beach, Shipyard, Palmetto Dunes, Singleton Beach,
Bradley Beach, Folly Field and Daufuskie Island. Together, these areas
comprise a ‘world class’ resort area with a wide variety of
vacation-rental homes with 1-6 bedrooms and priced from $135,000 to
$12,900,000.
B) Primary and second homes can be located in the same beach
and tourist areas already noted with some segregation of tourists and
residents but many communities are for residents only. Sea Pines has
one beach club for owners only and another for owners and visitors.
Leamington in Palmetto Dunes restricts vacation rental to two weeks
per year as does Port Royal Plantation and Hilton Head Plantation.
Vacation rentals are prohibited in Indigo Run, Wexford and Long Cove
and many other communities. Several private communities allow limited
vacation rentals of golf ‘cottages’ located immediately next to their
golf clubs. These communities include Belfair, Berkley Hall, Colleton
River, Hampton Hall, Moss Creek, Oldfield and The Crescent. To
determine the best community for your needs, contact us.
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C) Retirement
residences are located throughout the Hilton Head and Bluffton SC
area for young and many active retirees. Only one community is limited
to seniors-only: Sun City Hilton Head, located in Bluffton 13 miles
from the bridge to Hilton Head Island. This is a community with
outstanding recreational and social amenities for seniors who are 50
years old or whose spouse is at least 50. For a detailed description
and video tour of Sun City Hilton Head,
click here. Read more about
Hilton Head Retirement in the retirement section of this website.
D) Private club and
golf communities are very popular and have varying membership
programs. These are 1) Communities with optional memberships to golf
or tennis clubs that are also open to the public. Membership is
optional and public play makes membership costs low, 2) Communities
with optional private clubs. These clubs are equity or modified equity
clubs that are not open to the public. Initiation fees and dues are
mandatory for members of the community who choose to join the club,
and 3) An equity club that is private and integrated with the
community so that all residents are members and initiation fees and
annual dues are mandatory. These communities have the highest annual
Property Owners’ Association fees because they include full club
memberships for the families of all residents.
Click here to see the
list of all Property Owner’s Association fees for the area. Use the
Compare Communities feature of this section to see which communities
have private golf.
E) Marina communities include Sea Pines with the South Beach
and Harbourtown marinas, Wexford and Windmill Harbour that each have
locks that protect their harbors, Shelter Cove in Palmetto Dunes,
Skull Creek Marina in Hilton Head Plantation and Palmetto Bay Marina
and Broad Creek Marina, both in non-gated areas of Hilton Head Island.
Other communities with shared and private docks and boat ramps include
Long Cove, Spanish Wells, Moss Creek, Colleton River and Spring
Island.
F)Equestrian communities with stables include the Daufuskie
Island Resort and Spa, Moss Creek, Rose Dhu Creek Plantation, Rose
Hill Plantation Sea Pines and Spring Island. There are many private
homes that are not within gated communities that have private horse
barns and have neighborhood horse trails.
G) Non-gated communities typically have fewer recreational
amenities, no restricted access and lower annual Property Owner’s
Association fees. These communities are generally away from tourist
areas. Some non-gated communities are new, family friendly and close
to area schools. Examples on Hilton Head Island are Chinaberry
Ridge, Squiresgate and Old Woodlands. Examples in Bluffton SC are the
Farm at Buckwalter, Pine Ridge, Pine Crest, Edgefield and Lake Linden.
Some communities are older and have a mix of new and old properties
valued for their private docks on the May River and other low country
waterways or for their larger acreage.
2. The Style of a
Hilton Head Island Home
Hilton Head homes are a blend of traditional and contemporary
architecture with stucco and cypress wood exteriors of earth tone
colors. Large windows give interiors plenty of light across high, flat
ceilings with detailed crown moldings. Privacy and views of the woods,
golf courses, marshes and ocean are maximized. Kitchens and bathrooms
are large and have are large and floors are wood, tile, stone and
carpet.
3. The Floor Plan of a Hilton Head Island Home
A) In General... Hilton
Head homes typically have one-level floor plans with three bedrooms,
two bathrooms and at least two-car garages. The third bedroom is often
used as a den. There are countless variations to this plan that is
popular with families and retirement couples. Living rooms and master
bedrooms are typically at the back of the house where residents enjoy
views of golf courses, lagoons, marshes and the ocean. Larger homes
have a living room and a family room and some have ‘bonus’ rooms over
the garages for use as bedrooms, game rooms or home theaters. Newer
generation homes have their dining rooms next to the front foyer and
open to the living room to form a grand central living area.
Fireplaces are optional in this climate but are included in most
Hilton Head living rooms. There are no basements in Hilton Head Island
homes because the area water table is only 6-7 feet below ground.
Attics provide most homes with the largest storage areas and water
heaters are often located in attics.
B) The Hilton Head Home Kitchen and Family Room...Most Hilton Head
kitchens have an ‘eat-in’ area. Larger homes have family rooms that
are separated from the kitchen by a breakfast bar to create a large,
informal and open living area. The family room is at the back of the
house so that residents can enjoy the view. Countertops are made of
granite or corian and there is often a large, center island. Some
kitchens have built-in desks. Floors are most often tiled but
sometimes are wood or limestone. Most appliances are electric but some
owners prefer gas or propane ranges. Kitchen commonly have built-in
microwave and double ovens, double stainless steel sinks, large
pantries and sometimes a wine cooler.
C) The Hilton Head Master Bathroom and Bedroom...Master bedrooms are
most often located on the first floor of homes at the back of the
house for privacy and the view. The master bathroom has his and her
vanities with granite, corian or cultured marble countertops, walk-in
shower and separate spa tub. Skylights are featured in many bathrooms.
Floors and shower surrounds are typically tile, limestone or cultured
marble. His and her walk-in closets can be spacious with cabinetry and
serve as dressing areas.
D) Outside Living and Recreation... Residents enjoy outdoor patios,
wood decks, screened porches and Carolina rooms all year long.
Carolina rooms are screened porches with glass panels that open and
close. They typically connect to the family
room and then to the back deck or patio. Many swimming pools have
heated spas and some have screened enclosures. Homes with low country
lanais have enclosed swimming pools, porches and grille areas
combined. Vegetable gardening is prohibited except in communities
where common area garden plots are available for lease: Sea Pines,
Long Cove and Hilton Head Plantation.
4. The Architectural
Review Process
When you buy a home in Hilton Head Island and Bluffton SC area’s best
gated communities, they have been through an architectural review
process for which Hilton Head Island and Sea Pines Founder Charles
Fraser are famous. Homes are reviewed for the pleasing appearance of
their style, color, size, materials, landscape and many other factors.
Homes must be in harmony with the environment and with the other homes
nearby. Landscaping must enhance and contribute to the park-like setting
of the home. Trees over six inches in diameter are preserved whenever
possible. All details regarding the utilization of the site for living
purposes are considered.
Charles Fraser’s Sea Pines Plantation has received national recognition
for its superior design and blend of golf, real estate
and the environment. The Urban Land Institute gave its first award for
"Excellence in Large-Scale Recreational Development" to Sea Pines
Plantation in 1985. Charles Fraser’s vision has influenced the design of
many other planned and gated communities in the area and the town
planning of Hilton Head Island for its dedicated open spaces, parks and
forest preserves.
5. What you can learn from a model home.
A) Hilton Head Island is
known for high quality, one of kind custom homes drawn for the site
where they are built and approved by the community’s architectural
review board. Mature communities no longer have the developers’ model
homes but builders and many new communities have models. If you want
to build a house, you can save thousands of dollars in design fees
when you have an architect or a builder modify one of their popular
plans. If you already have your lot, it can take about a year to
design and build a house.
B) Developers provide
two kinds of model homes:
1. Custom homebuilders
build model homes on land they purchased from the developer. You buy
a lot from the developer and it’s your choice of what approved home
to build and when you build it. The builder’s models are there to
make it easy for you and to show their workmanship. The quality of
the models and number of builders who are participating in the model
home program are a good indication of the variety and kinds of homes
the community will have.
2. The developer is the builder. They build the model you choose on
the lot you choose. The developer builds the models again and again
with little or no variation to any model. You save money because the
developer has built the house many times with low profit margins.
You save time because the design process is eliminated except for
your selection of colors, finishes, appliances and fixtures. This is
done at the developer’s design center in just a few hours! Sometimes
construction must begin within six months of purchase. Construction
typically takes 4-6 months after it begins.
C) A model home and new
construction can help you appreciate the value of a resale home.
Building a house can be difficult and time consuming. You can save
hundreds of thousands of dollars when you buy a resale home because
many times it cannot be duplicated at the asking price even if a
comparable building lot could be found. Many homes in good locations
cannot be duplicated because good lots are in short supply.
Your Go Gated Agent™ can represent you in the purchase of any
developer’s property and show you how resale homes compare to new
homes. Broker-in-Charge Richard Kadesch is a former licensed South
Carolina Homebuilder. Call Go Gated Realty™ to find the right home
for you.
6. Full Size, Patio and
Townhouse Homes
A) A home is called
‘full sized’ because it is built on a full sized lot, typically 4/10
of an acre. Sizes of homes vary greatly but a living area of about
2,600 square feet is popular. Full sized homes are not allowed to
cover more than 25% of the total building lot, are restricted to two
livable stories and 35 feet in height. Setbacks from property lines
vary by community and by location within the community but typically
they are a minimum of 15 feet on the sides and a minimum 30 feet at
the front and back. This means that full sized homes are never closer
than 30 feet from one another.
B) Patio homes are called ‘patio’ because they are built on patio
lots, typically 1/5 of an acre. Patio homes typically have about 1,800
living square feet. They are set back 20 feet from the front and rear
lot lines and 3 feet from one sideline and 7-8 feet from the other,
depending on the community. This defines a buildable area for the home
no more than 40% of the lot size. Patio homes are a minimum of 10 feet
apart and so no windows open toward their next door neighbor, the same
side of each house along a street has no windows. In addition, privacy
walls extend front and back from the same, windowless side of the
house.
C) Townhouses are built on lots subdivided for their construction.
They are not restricted to two stories of living space like other
single family homes. The lot of a custom townhouse is wholly owned,
but the land of a townhouse that is part of a regime is a villa. The
land is a common element owned as an undivided interest. The term
‘townhouse’ on Hilton Head Island often refers to a villa with an ‘up
and down’ floor plan as compared to a ‘flat’ that has a one-level
floor plan.
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