A guide to Hilton Head Island and Bluffton area real estate, rentals and lifestyle
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When buying a home, you want to make sure you are getting correct information from the best source. Searching online can be convenient, but are you getting the details you deserve? Choosing a Real Estate Agent or a Realtor® over an internet home search portal like Zillow adds local knowledge and personal touch that simply is not possible on those sites. Only a licensed real estate agent can access a multiple listing service and provide the most accurate information for buying a home. Unlike a public website, strict rules are set up regarding the quality and range of data listings which makes it more useful and reliable. REAL ESTATE IS LOCAL Local real estate agents have direct access to all of the listings available in your preferred area. Home Search Portals may be out-of-date or fall short of what you are looking for because they need for you to ask for more info in order to make money. When you request additional information on a search engine, they are simply selling your data back to a local agent. Start at the source and save yourself the extra work. ACCURATE INFORMATION You may fall in love with a home on a national Search Portal. The layout is perfect, the curb appeal is gorgeous, and it has a yard for your dog to enjoy. But when you contact a licensed agent you fi nd out it went under contract a month ago for well over the asking price. An agent or broker will only show you active inventory homes, so you don't fall in love with the wrong house. Another example is members of a Multiple Listing Service with a public website like HHIMLS. com have the most up-to-date amendments to property deeds, whereas Zillow may be working off older fi les. That alone can skew property value estimates and cause for a bigger headache than what buyers and sellers bargained for. NO SALES CALLS Listing syndication websites acquire your information when you are looking for a home and sell it back to multiple real estate agents. Instead of dealing with one agent, you may receive several calls a day from someone trying to sell you a home, which can make your search unnecessarily stressful. OBJECTIVE INFORMATION AND OPINIONS Realtors® and Licensed agents can provide local knowledge on neighborhoods, schools, churches, and more. They also have detailed information about each property and will help to determine if the property has what you need. You can feel comfortable asking questions and know you will get an honest answer. AGENTS HAVE SUPERIOR NEGOTIATING SKILLS Agents know what typically works and what does not. When you fi nd your dream home, a real estate agent will negotiate for you and make sure the price is reasonable. Don't take the unnecessary fi nancial plunge if you don't have to. YOUR INTERESTS ARE PROTECTED A real estate agent has a fi duciary duty to put their clients' best interests fi rst. Your fi nancial details and personal information are kept private. If any information is misleading, you can report it to the seller agent's professional association. A search engine can't guarantee you are fi nancially protected. LESS STRESS It is true that fi nding a house online can be convenient, but it is also time-consuming. Unless you have a lot of free time, looking for a new house can feel like a part-time job. An agent can match you with your perfect home much faster than scouring the Internet. CODE EXPERTISE Sometimes the home you have your eyes on is almost perfect, if only it had a fenced-in backyard or an additional bedroom. You need to know if the city will allow the changes you want. Your real estate agent will make sure any requirements are disclosed before a deal goes very far. EASILY ACCESSIBLE If you run into a problem on a portal site like Zillow, there is no real live customer support. Customer service is mostly a web form to gather as much data about you as possible and, then, you may get an answer. A real estate agent is only an email or phone call away when you have questions running through your head at 10 p.m. VIEW THE HOUSE IN PERSON A real estate agent will take you to visit the house in person. Photos, in many cases, are not a true representation of the home and can only show you so much about a property. It will not show the true room size, the true view of the back yard, or the stains on the carpet. Many times, the agent shown next to a property on Zillow is not the one with the most knowledge and answers you need. Searching an MLS website or using a local Realtor® or Licensed agent to fi nd your home on Hilton Head Island or any area will expand the possibilities of fi nding the perfect fi t for your lifestyle. Don't settle for the next best thing – rely on an agent who is a member of the HHIMLS to guide you to the home you've been dreaming of! Avoid the unnecessary middleman and 43 Considering a move to the Hilton Head, Beaufort or Jasper area? Our Members access the latest Real Estate data services, inventory, and tracking to help you fi nd your place in the Lowcountry. We enable a smooth and simple process for buyers and sellers. Find an HHIMLS Agent on our APP and make South Carolina your home today! WWW.HHIMLS.COM Colette Stevenson, CEO MLS of Hilton Head Island, Inc. and CMLX3 Certifi ed Council of MLS Leader HHIMLS serves Agents & Realtors® representing properties in SC and GA How you search for a home could cost you! The popular website "Only In Your State" (www.onlyinyourstate.com/south-carolina/sc-is-best-state-in-the-us/) gave South Carolina some love with a feature en tled "13 Ways South Carolina Has Quietly Become The Coolest State In America." The ar cle noted things we enjoy like great scenery, stunning beaches, an endless variety of outdoor ac vi es, friendly pe ople, 5 FARMER'S MARKETS In South Carolina fresh foods and flowers are available during months when cold weather is se ng in up north. Through December 28, Farmers Market of Blu on features local produce, plants, nuts, herbs, flowers, honey, cheese, milk, eggs, beef, pork, lamb, seafood and more. 6 WE SPECIALIZE IN THE UNIQUE The longer you're in Hilton Head, the more you'll discover unusual and intriguing experiences. Foot golf requires you to kick a soccer ball into a 21-inch cup in as few kicks as possible. Players of all ages can enjoy the 9-hole, foot golf course on Planter's Row at the Port Royal Golf Club. Or take the alligator, wine and cheese tour with H2O sports in a riverboat in the freshwater lakes of the Sea Pines Resort Forest Preserve. Visit the King Neptune Sundial standing guard at the Shelter Cove Harbour and enjoy the sunset and breezes off the marina. We have restaurants that you won't find anywhere else like Claude & Uli's Bistro, where the escargot and other fare is made with European flair, and Hudson's Seafood House where seafood is prepared fresh from the boat each day. 7 HISTORY IS ON DISPLAY Hilton Head is full of history. There are Gullah heritage tours that show how enslaved people preserved their rich culture and express it today. Visit Mitchelville, the first freedmen's town in America, and take a drive down Beach City Road, past the original churches, homes and a school building s ll standing there today. Stop at Mitchelville Freedom Park on your way for a view of the site of the Ba le of Port Royal and visit historical markers spotligh ng area history. Four forts were built on Hilton Head during the Civil War, and the remains of two earthen embankment forts, Fort Mitchel and Fort Howell, s ll fascinate Civil War buffs. Fort Walker was one of the targets of the largest naval ba le ever in U.S. waters. Cole e Stevenson is the CEO of MLS of Hilton Head Island, Inc. and a CMLX3 Cer fied Council of MLS Leader. HHIMLS Serves Licensed Agents & Realtors® from the en re state of SC, as well as GA and If you're considering a move to the Hilton Head area, contact an HHIMLS agent. We have access to the latest data, inventory, and tracking trends to help you find your perfect piece of the Lowcountry. With the most advanced pla orms to make the process smooth and sim- ple, we're ready to help buy- ers and sellers. Turn to HHIMLS to make Hilton Head your home today. www.HiltonHeadMLS.com 1 AN ABUNDANCE OF NATURE If random sigh ngs of deer, birds, and an alligator or two aren't enough to thrill you, we have Pinckney Na onal Wildlife Refuge, a great place to view some of the thousands of migratory birds that have Hilton Head in their flight path. The Refuge is a nes ng habitat for birds like ibis, egrets, and herons. If you love horses, check out the Sea Pines Forest Preserve with Lawton Stables. 2 THE ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Hilton Head is full of museums and theaters. Learn about the natural history and cultural heritage of the Lowcountry at the Coastal Discovery Museum. Take in a professional show at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina. Find representa onal drawings, pain ngs and sculpture by the na on's leading ar sts at the Red Piano Art Gallery, South Carolina's oldest professional gallery of fine art. At the Jazz Corner, an old-school nightclub, modern southern food and live jazz combine to keep you coming back. 3 SEASONAL FESTIVALS Star ng October 19, each Thursday there's the Shelter Cove Music & Taste on the Harbour fall outdoor concert series. Local restaurants offer specially priced light appe zers, wine, beer, and cocktails. The annual Italian Heritage Fes val (Nov 18), honors the Feast of San Gennaro with food and booths featuring Italian arts, cra s, and merchandise. The Winter Wonderland Fes val (Dec 1) provides a great environment to start your Holiday. Celebrate with carnival games, a children's parade, a golden candy cane hunt, and a visit from Santa, all at Shelter Cove Community Park. 4 ENDLESS FUN ON THE WATER From deep sea fishing to sailing, you'll never run out of op ons for making the most of coastal life. Creek Cat tours offer small outboard motor boats that cruise among the wildlife. Flying Circus go straight to the source that will benefi t you the most. Choosing your forever home can be a daunting experience, but with the right help, it can be an exciting process. You can trust a local Realtor® to know the area, understand the market, and to serve you. Face-to-face interaction makes home-buying a smoother process.