Did you know that a low interest rate can save you as much or more than a low purchase price?   With a 30-year fixed rate, each quarter per cent reduction in interest rate per $100,000 makes a difference of about $15/mo in your payment.  For a loan of $300,000 this is a savings of about $135/mo or $1,620/year to the borrower.  The longer you own the property, the more the savings can add up and give you savings that can exceed the original savings of a low purchase price!  

In recent weeks Hilton Head home loan interest rates have drifted down about .75% to the lowest levels in 40 years.  Today’s 30-year conforming rates (less than $417,000) are at about 4.25% with one point and at about 4.5% without.  Rates for fixed rate 30-year jumbo loan (greater than $417,000) are at about 5.25% with one point and about 4.25% for 5 and 7 year adjustable mortgages. 

These low interest rates are a good reason to buy real estate today and another reason why it may not be worth it to be too concerned if you don’t get the absolute bottom price.  We want to buy based on comparables and stay at the low end of the price range but we should not worry about getting or beating the lowest price on record.  To get the very lowest price can only be known later and takes more luck than skill.  The savings in the cost of finance with today’s interest rates can mean as much or more than buying at the lowest price.  A golf analogy might be that to wait only for the lowest price might be wait too long and ending up with nothing or a higher price, like trying too hard for a bird and getting a bogey.  It might be better to play for par; you might get a bird. 

Shop and Compare Bank Programs

Many buyers that I work with know where they will get their loans by the time that they meet me.  Typically buyers have in mind a bank that they have worked with in the past and with whom they already have a mortgage.  Regardless, homes loans have changed and keep changing.  Buyers should not only pre-qualify with their lender of choice but I also recommend that buyers shop and compare Hilton Head lenders because:

• Interest rates, products and services vary from bank to bank.
• Banks do not all loan on all of the same properties. 

Some examples of interest rates offered recently by one Hilton Head lender are given below.  The bank offering these rates does not loan on all Hilton Head properties and these rates change almost daily.

 30year fixed Conforming           4.125% (4.25% w/1pt)
15 year fixed Conforming            3.75% No points
5/1  ARM                                            3.25% No points
7/1 ARM                                             3.5% No Points
5/1 ARM Jumbo                              3.75% (3.625% w/1pt)
30 year fixed Jumbo                     5.25%  (5.0% w/1pt)                         
FHA                                                      4.25% No Points
VA                                                         4.25% No Points
RD                                                          4.75% No Points

Hilton Head Home Buyers Have It All  

These days, buyers of Hilton Head gated communities’ real estate and other properties have it all: 

1. Rock bottom prices
2.  A great selection of properties.
3. Very low interest rates. 

The savings offered by today’s low interest rates for home loans can add up to as much or more than a low purchase price.  This is a great benefit for today’s ready, willing and able buyer.  For help to find the best deal in Hilton Head real estate and the loan you want, call or email me, the Hilton Head Gated Communities Specialist® today!

Richard Kadesch, Owner/Broker-in-Charge The Gated Community Specialist ® Go Gated Realty ® Hilton Head Island, South CarolinaRich@gogated.com www.GoGated.com 1-800-333-5025Cell 843-684-2933 Read Some of My Clients’ Success Stories

      

The Charles Fraser bronze statue ‘Walking the Alligator’ was dedicated at the Compass Rose Park on Hilton Head Island to an audience of about 250 people on Heritage weekend, 10:oo am, April 17, 2010.   Mr. Fraser founded the Sea Pines Company in 1956.  In March,1962 a picture of him at age 26 was published in the Saturday Evening Post walking beside an alligator and the photograph created great publicity for the new development.  In 2002, Mr. Fraser died in a boating accident.    

The statue was produced by the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry and by private donations to the Public Art Fund.  The statue is just over six feet tall and was sculpted by Susie Chisolm of Savannah, Georgia.  The alligator measures ten feet and was sculpted by Darrell Davis of Texas.     

One of several speakers at the dedication worked with Mr. Fraser for ten years as a Senior Manager at Sea Pines Plantation.  Jim Chaffin  is now a Partner of Chaffin/Light, an internationally-recognized community development company.  His comments are presented here in full.     

It was a beautiful morning on Hilton Head Island for the dedication.

“Well, it looks like Charles is still in charge of the weather for Heritage Week, doesn’t it?   

I’ve been asked to share a few reflections on the life and personality of the iconic man whose likeness we will dedicate today.  It is a daunting task….not because of difficulty in finding enough to say…but figuring out what to leave out – so that we are not here at sundown!   

A sampling of descriptive adjectives from former Sea Pines Company associates and friends includes:   

  Larger than life
  Pioneer
  Brilliant
  Inquisitive
  Challenging
  Visionary
  Friend, mentor, advocate
  Innovator, transformer, catalyst
  Dreamer, optimist
  Courageous
  Persistent   

  ……Most newspaper and network obituaries of Charles Fraser described him as a brilliant visionary.   

 Brilliant?  Yes.  But not just intellectual depth and weight, but also breadth – and that voracious appetite for knowledge.  He was a virtual data and idea sponge!   Is there anything he wasn’t curious about….except perhaps small talk?!  You got a taste of Charles’ mind if you were talking about boring, mundane superficial subjects….’cause he flat left you – mentally, and sometimes physically.  Anyone out there have that experience?   

Visionary?  No doubt.  He so often saw what others didn’t see.   

 But, how easy it is to assume that his brilliance and his vision defines the man.  Not to me.  He gave us other gifts.  Few of us can be brilliant…. fewer still, I submit, can be truly visionary.  But we can learn from and try to emulate his courage, persistence, philanthropy, faith, humor, ….and an insatiable thirst for new ideas and the sheer joy of sharing them.   

 • He was a passionate student of human nature and particularly how they pleasured themselves – both historical and contemporary leisure pursuits.  It was not just the master plan and architecture (which he was passionate about) but it was the software, the experience of being in a place…thus the rocking chairs, the treehouse and playground and Greg Russell singing in Harbour Town.
• He loved to say it was smart to be “second, first” or to have the intelligence and “moxy” to copy a great idea – - - 
• He did however dare many times to be first – in what at the time was a cultural and economic “backwater” environment.  Consider:
o protective covenants and deed restrictions that controlled what people could and could not do on their homesites
o approving what trees could and could not be removed
o controlling the size and mass of homes and requiring landscape blending colors
o pushing the main road back (i.e. Sea Pines Drive) 4 or 5 lots deep from the ocean
o walkways every 500 ft of beach to connect all residents to the beach (36 walkway easements at 50 ft each or 1850 cumulative beach front – how much would 20 oceanfront lots in Sea Pines be worth today…..)
o setting aside a “managed” nature preserve
o first condominium regime in South Carolina
o created Camp Sea Pines – so children became a major motivation for vacationing here (or as our marketing tag line proclaimed, “allowing families to take separate vacations together”)
o bike trails in late 60’s – [The property owners thought Charles was irrationally eccentric on this issue – yet today there are three times as many residents and guests riding bikes as there are playing golf!!]
o A major PGA tour stop on this small isolated island? There were less than 3000 people living here that Thanksgiving when the first Heritage Classic was played (It and the lighthouse were labeled Frasers follies by smaller minded detractors)
o Nationally televised tennis tournaments? …same audacity to dream that!
o European chefs and flambe’ carts in Carolina Low Country?  How many of you fellow old-timers had your first bananas foster or cherries jubilee at the Plantation Club?
o First Montessori school in South Carolina (Mary Fraser – you deserve the credit for that idea)
o And who else would have a budget line item labeled “fun and sizzle”?
o on and on..   

….a combination of vision, courage and persistence.   

But, most of all, and especially during the last 18 months of economic challenges, I have remembered Charles’ confidence in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.  His unbridled optimism, no matter what he was going through, particularly in difficult times.   

I never heard him complain about difficulty or set-backs.   

He is the mentor that taught us all the simple Chinese philosophy:  knock down nine times, get up ten.   

And I never heard him gossip about others who may have been more economically successful.   

He simply always had a new idea, a new concept – another dream to follow.   And I would submit that Charles lived as George Bernard Shaw suggested; “ I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live.  I rejoice in life for its own sake.  Life is no “brief candle” to me.  It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”  

 And — hand it on he did!  I would say to you that Charles’ legacy is not just these magnificent human settlements, these natural places that are easy to photograph and document, but rather the future generations he mentored to carry on his vision and his dreams —In fact no one in the land use or development industry – no one – “peopled” the industry more than Charles.  But most of all, it was his challenge – sometimes his cajoling — his fervent hope for us that we create our own visions, and dream our own dreams and have the courage and tenacity to follow them wherever they lead us.  

 May this wonderful statue send the same message to Hilton Head Islanders for generations to come.  Don’t ask what Charles Fraser would want for this community.  Create your own visions, dream your own dreams about what Hilton Head should be and live like today….and 20, 30, 50 years from now…and have the courage, tenacity, and passion to make the vision reality.   

That is the legacy Charles Fraser would cherish! ”

Richard Kadesch, Owner/Broker-in-Charge The Gated Community Specialist ® Go Gated Realty ® Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Rich@gogated.com www.GoGated.com 1-800-333-5025, Cell 843-684-2933 Read Some of My Clients’ Success Stories

And Hilton Head Loves Canadians 

 Hilton Head Island is among the most popular American destinations for Canadians, the largest group of foreign nationals who visit Hilton Head Island each year.  Canadians buy more real estate on Hilton Head Island than any other international buyers.  

This winter, Canadians are expected to visit Hilton Head Island in record numbers and enjoy our average winter temperature of 61 degrees.  (In Canada, the average temperature in winter is below zero degrees).  There are  other good reasons why Canadians like to vacation on Hilton Head Island in winter instead of Florida:

1. low prices for accommodations and golf
2. great golf all winter long
3. great shopping and dining
4. the beach, great for walking in winter
5. rest and relaxation
6. Southern hospitality is always good.
7. Canadians want to avoid issues of living and owning in Florida that Hilton Head Island does not have.  
8. Canadians know other Canadians who own property in Florida and want to move here now.
9. The term ‘half-back’ applies to many Canadians too, not just Americans who prefer a shorter trip south.  
10. The Royal Bank of Canada has a branch on Hilton Head Island. 

Royal Bank of Canada South Carolina Mortgage Manager Charlie Sides told the Go Gated Blog:  ” In 2009 and 2010 the largest segment of international buyers will come from Canada.   With the exchange rate at historical highs vs the dollar, Canadians believe that this is the time to buy”. 

Visitors to Hilton Head Island in winter enjoy off-season prices for accomodations and golf and an average winter temperature of 61 degrees.

In Canada, The Real Estate Buying Process Is Different

1. Canadians are more debt adverse than Americans.  They like smaller loans of shorter duration.
2. Americans take 3-5 weeks to close; in Canada it takes 3-5 days!
3. Americans are used to 2-3% in closings costs; Canadians typically pay 1-1.5%.
4. Americans rarely pay re-payment penalties; Canadians expect pre-payment penalties.
5. Adjustable mortgages are typically not converted to fixed rate mortgages or assumed in the US; in Canada they can be converted and assumed.
6. Americans are required to submit extensive documentation for loans; Canadians have comparatively simple documentation.
7. Canadians like full service.
8. Canadians don’t like to be sold.  They enjoy using trusted advisers and referrals. 

The Royal Bank of Canada on Hilton Head Island (RBC)

The Royal Bank of Canada on Hilton Head Island is located at the Sea Pines Circle on Pope Avenue, right across the street from Go Gated Realty.

• RBC is a Canadian Bank and an American subsidiary.  They see it as their job to facilitate lending.  RBC has a conduit that goes across the border.
• RBC is one of only two triple A banks operating in the United States today. 
• RBC has 10 branches in the State of South Carolina and 1 of these is on Hilton Head Island. 
• The RBC has a 33% market share and the most recognizable brand in Canada. 
• RBC is consistently voted as the best service company in Canada.  
• Canadians who visit Hilton Head Island have probably already banked with RBC in Canada. 

The Royal Bank of Canada on Hilton Head Island Helps Canadians feel good about buying property here.

• Canadians know that they can secure finance when they come to
• Hilton Head Island. 
• Canadians can use their Canadian credit reports
• The RBC is familiar  with doing business with Canadians
• Provide a referral to lawyers as needed who are familiar with Canadian tax issues. 
• Provide an easy foreign exchange for Canadians on Hilton Head Island.

Richard Kadesch, Your Trusted  Real Estate Advisor On Hilton Head Island

Whether Canadian or American, you want outstanding service from an experienced agent who listens to your needs and has advice that you can rely on.  Please consider me as your trusted real estate advisor here on Hilton Head Island with 34 years of real estate experience and many satisfied clients.   My office, Go Gated Realty is located at the Sea Pines Circle on Hilton Head Island, directly across the street from the Royal Bank of Canada.  Please stop by when you are here this winter.  Even before you visit, please email or call to discuss your real estate needs.   My cell phone is 843-684-2933.

Richard Kadesch, Owner and Broker-in-Charge The Gated Community Specialist ® Go Gated Realty ® Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Rich@gogated.com www.GoGated.com 1-800-333-5025 Read Some of My Clients’ Success Stories

Hilton Head homes are selling well at all prices, like this home in Indigo Run.

Homes Priced Less Than $450,000 Are Most Popular

Several sources tell us what buyers want to pay for a home on Hilton Head:

• Responses to print ads – there are more responses in recent months.
• Responses to on-line listings, also up.
• Calls from buyers - my favorite by far, also up in recent months.  Nothing beats speaking directly with someone to learn about their interests.
• Comments from agents who talk about their experiences. 
• Hilton Head MLS statistics.   
• News articles that combine information from the above, like this article.

Opinions about the market based on personal experience can be like  like blind men who define the elephant by which part of the elephant they touch.   Statistics can be interpreted differently by different people and so all sources of information are significant.  Engineers love numbers; everyone likes anecdotes. 

I already knew that lower-priced homes were selling well based in part on the first-time home buyer stimulus of recent months, now extended.   But, I wasn’t sure about how well higher priced homes were selling.  I was happy to see that homes s in all price ranges are selling well on Hilton Head today.

The direction of prices will be for another article.  This article does not try to define whether prices are going up, down or sideways except indirectly nor do I try to address the  the sale of lots or villas - just houses.    It is understood that most of the homes sold in every price range are bargains compared to what they sold for in recent years and even one year ago. 

The numbers in the chart below are from the Hilton Head Multiple Listing Service and they summarize homes sales from the entire Hilton Head area, not just Hilton Head Island.   Hilton Head  means the entire area and this includes  more than just Hilton Head Island; it also includes Bluffton, Daufuskie Island, Okatie, Hardeeville and additional outlying areas.  For many people today, Hilton Head  means everything from Rt 278 to Sea Pines whereas Hilton Head Island means just the Island itself.  

Hilton Head Homes Sold in the Last Six Months

$ List Price	Listed	Contingent	Pended	Sold	S/L*	C+P/S**
Under 100,000	37	3	17	24	92	59
100,000-150,000	160	6	35	94	59	44
150,000-200,000	275	5	62	134	59	44
200,000-250,000	195	2	33	86	44	41
250,000-300,000	149	2	26	85	57	33
300,000-350,000	138	1	17	74	54	24
350,000-400,000	135	2	22	67	50	36
400,000-450,000	95	1	10	47	49	23
450,000-550,000	216	2	24	85	39	31
550,000-650,000	208	1	22	46	22	49
650,000-750,000	145	2	17	36	25	53
750,000-1 million	285	4	21	52	18	48
1 million – 1.25M	84	0	8	19	23	42
2.25 million-1.5M	124	0	4	16	13	25
1.5 million – 2M	132	2	2	13	10	31
Over 2 million	172	0	10	20	12	50

*S/L is the ratio of how many homes have sold in the last six months compared to the number of homes listed.  The higher the ratio, the more likely that prices will be steady or increase in the future.   A low ratio could mean that few homes are selling and prices may have to come down to achieve sales.  Most every group of properties shows a strong, healthy ratio of number of homes sold to the number of homes listed.

**C+P/S is the ratio of contingent and pended homes compared to the number of homes sold in the last six months.  This says whether the number of homes under contract shows an increase, decrease or no change from the sales velocity of the last six months.   Almost all price ranges show an increase in the number of sales and if sustained, could bring higher sales prices.

 ”Contingent” means that a contract of sale has requirements that must be satisfied before the agreement can proceed to closing.  The most common contingencies are a buyer’s satisfactory inspection and that the buyer  must qualify for a loan. 

“Pended” means that there are no contingencies to the contract of sale or that they have been satisfied and the property will proceed to close.  Many agents label “contingent” homes as “pended” but for our purposes, it doesn’t matter.

 To get the bargain home that you want in any price range, or devise a winning strategy to sell a house that you already own, please call me , the Hilton Head Gated Communities Specialist today.  

The Multiple Listing Service of Hilton Head Island that requires this disclaimer:  “The statistical data contained herein has not been verified by the Multiple Listing Service of Hilton Head Island, Inc. and the publication of information hereof is not a representation or warranty of any fact whatsoever.”

Richard Kadesch, Owner and Broker-in-Charge The Gated Community Specialist ® Go Gated Realty ® Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Rich@gogated.com www.GoGated.com 1-800-333-5025 Read Some of My Clients’ Success Stories

 

A villa like this one with two-bedrooms, two-bathrooms, 1,000 SF of living space was just listed at Woodlake Villas for $49,800.  The villa has tile floors, new carpet and a fireplace  Woodlake Villas are popular primary and long-term residences with a security gate, fitness center, swimming pool and tennis court located mid-Island, a short drive from the beach.

Some Beach Villas Cost Less than $75,000! 

Everybody loves bargains and the Hilton Head real estate market has them today in homes, villas, lots and commercial properties.   Bargains are not all at very low prices but did you know that today you can buy a villa near the beach on Hilton Head Island with an ocean view  for less than $100,000  and even $75,000? 

Happy days are here again for buyers.  Consider this inventory of economical villas for sale on Hilton Head Island today:* 

116 villas are for sale for less than $100,000: three of these have three bedrooms; four have one-bedrooms and are located in oceanfront buildings, some with ocean views.  9 of these are two-bedroom villas within walking distance to the beach with a 24-hour security gate, indoor and outdoor swimming, tennis and racketball courts.

68 villas are for sale for less than $75,000: these include four two-bedroom, two-bath villas near the beach and 5 two-bedroom, two-bath furnished villas near the Port Royal Sound beach.

22 villas are for sale for less than $50,000: these include 3 two-bedroom villas with 1,000 square feet in a popular residential villa community with a 24-hour security gate, fitness center, swimming pool and tennis court.  

Some economy villas are suitable as vacation and second home use, but not all.   Buyer motives include personal use only, vacation rental to others, primary home occupancy or lease to someone who lives and works on Hilton Head Island.   Vacation rental owners typically do their own rentals in this price range.  I am happy to teach any owner who would like to know more about how this is done.   ‘Investors’ want cash flow and do not have a personal motive to occupy the property.  If your motive is ‘pure’ investment and not personal occupancy, Go Gated Realty manages long-term rental properties and is ready to help.  Please call about our rental program.  

Generally speaking, vacation rental properties are closer to the beach and tenant-occupied villas are farther from the beach and cost less.   To determine the property that will be best for your needs, please call on me.  I am happy to sort them out and make recommendations based on your needs.    

Whatever your price range or motive to buy, let’s find your super-bargain today! 

*Source: The Hilton Head Multiple Listing Service that requires this disclaimer:  “The statistical data contained herein has not been verified by the Multiple Listing Service of Hilton Head Island, Inc. and the publication of information hereof is not a representation or warranty of any fact whatsoever.”

Richard Kadesch, Owner and Broker-in-Charge The Gated Community Specialist ® Go Gated Realty ® Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Rich@gogated.com www.GoGated.com 1-800-333-5025 Read Some of My Clients’ Success Stories

Foreclosures Continue in the Best Hilton Head Communities 

Sea Pines has two lots and two villas in foreclosure today.

Today most every gated community on Hilton Head Island and Bluffton has at least one home, villa or lot in foreclosure for sale.  The communities include the best: Sea Pines (2 homes, 2 villas), Wexford (2 lots), Long Cove (2 homes, 2 lots), Shipyard (2 villas), Forest Beach (12 villas), Hilton Head Plantation (3 homes, 3 lots) , Indigo Run 2 homes, 3 lots), Palmetto Dunes (1 home, 1 villa), Folly Field (1 villa, 2 lots) and Palmetto Hall (2 lots).  Off-Island, they include  Colleton River, Belfair, Berkeley Hall, Moss Creek, Rose Hill, Hampton Hall, Hampton Lake, Buckwalter communities and more. 

The latest statistics about foreclosures from the Hilton Head Multiple Listing Service* are:

• Homes- today 3.3% of all homes in the Hilton Head area for sale are foreclosures, 81 homes of 2,445 total.  In June, there were 2.9% foreclosures for sale, 80 of 2,779.   On Hilton Head Island alone, foreclosures for sale are only 2.2% of the total, just 22 of 1,000 homes.  
• Villas – today 3.2% of all villas for sale are foreclosures, 37 of the 1,146 total for sale.  In June, 4.3% of all villas for sale were foreclosures, 55 of 1,279.  On Hilton Head Island only, excluding Bluffton, Hardeeville and other areas across the bridge from the Island, 3.0% of villas for sale are foreclosures, 31 of 1,030 total.  
• Lots – today3.8% of all lots for sale are foreclosures, 65 of 1,722 for sale.  On Hilton Head Island, 6.3% of all lots for sale are foreclosures, 26 of 412.  I did not report the statistics for lot foreclosures in June.  

Remember that a great deal is not always a foreclosure!  Look at all properties that meet your needs and have good prices.   To find these properties, search them on gogated.com and gather the information that you want, then connect with a good and experience agent who can help you with your search, answer your questions and advise you about your concerns and set you up with the  Buyer’s Advantage™ system, the best way to monitor the market and find a bargain. 

To get a super-bargain, you must know about it right away and that is what a good agent and Buyer’s Advantage™ does.  There is no better way to monitor the market.  To receive the Buyer’s Advantage™ system without cost or obligation and for more information about foreclosures and good deals of all kinds, please contact me, the Hilton Head Gated Communities Specialist® today!

*The MLS of Hilton Head Island requires this disclaimer: “The statistical data contained herein has not been verified by the Multiple Listing Service of Hilton Head Island, Inc. and the publication of information hereof is not a representation or warranty of any fact whatsoever.”

Richard Kadesch, Owner and Broker-in-Charge The Gated Community Specialist ® Go Gated Realty ® Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Rich@gogated.com www.GoGated.com 1-800-333-5025 Read Some of My Clients’ Success Stories

 The State of Our Beaufort County Schools: Part 6

The Hilton Head Christian Academy Junior Varsity Eagles (blue) play the Thomas Heyward Academy Rebels in August, 2009

This is part six in a series “The State of Our Schools” from an event held on August 28, 2008 at the Hilton Oceanfront Hotel.   At this event, sponsored by the Hilton Head Chamber of Commerce, our educators talked about the state of our schools.   In our five previous articles, you can read the comments of: 

1. Fred Washington Jr,  Chairman, Beaufort County School Board.
2. Dr. Valerie Truesdale, Superintendent, Beaufort County Schools.
3. Mike Lindsey, Headmaster, Hilton Head Christian Academy.
4. Peter Cooper, Interim Headmaster, Hilton Head Preparatory School.
5. Questions from the audience and answers from the Panel.

Character and Competition

Director of the Hilton Head Island Chamber of Commerce Bill Miles introduced the coaches.  ”Each of these gentleman have brought out students to great success on, and even more importantly, off of the playing field.”   The sections that follow quote the comments of these attending coaches:

• Ron Peduzzi, Head Football Coach, Hilton Head Preparatory School
• Jerry Faulkner, Assistant Headmaster for Student Development, Hilton Head Christian Academy
• Jeremy West, Head Football Coach, Bluffton High School
• Tim Singleton, Head Football Coach, Hilton Head High School.  

Ron Peduzzi, Head Football Coach, Hilton Head Preparatory School

Any day that I get to talk about football is a good day!  It’s our passion.  Athletics give our students,and for me personally, the foundations for life, life lessons about how to be successful, not only in business but as a husband, father and as a member of society.  Football is the ultimate team sport.  All of the players need to be working together on every play as one or you will not be successful.  Students learn that just like a bad day, a dropped pass or a missed tackle or a bad call by the referee, – if you can believe that –  you have to get up and put it behind you and move on and keep doing your best every day. 

Athletics Build Decision Making Ability And Responsibility

Athletics also teaches us about decisions.  We are constantly talking to our students about decisions.  The decisions that you make now will affect your life forever so as a coach it’s very important about teaching our young people about making the right decisions to be successful in life. 

The classroom and the football field work together to make an all round student-athlete.  We accept nothing but a 100% effort in the classroom.  Athletics builds responsibility, character and time management.   It is evident that every position has responsibilities.   If they are not carried out, there are consequences.   We expect our student-athletes to study and if they do not, their grades will show the results. 

Sports Build Character and Teach Time Management

When the going gets tough your character will be revealed on the field.  When you do not do well on a test, how will you respond to the next one? 

Time Management is very important.  We have 65% of our boys in the top three grades participating in football.   They are also part of the debate team, the performing arts department, student body officers, math team, the quiz bowl and the list goes on.  They have to learn time management to survive.  The lessons of multi-tasking are very important also.  My wife says that I cannot fold laundry and watch the kids at the same time!  So with 30 kids on a team we tell them that they need to know two positions on offense and two on defense.  Maybe their future wives will come back and thank me!

We like to exceed and excel not only in athletics but in the arts, and the most important area of academics.  It creates a well-rounded individual to meet the challenges of the future.  It’s not getting easier.  Our program has developed pretty well compared to the 13 kids that we had five years ago.  We have 30 on the varsity, 25 each on the JV and the ‘B’ squad.  We’re off to a good start with a victory Friday and we expect to be a very competitive team this year.  I know that  all of my fellow coaches are doing a great job and I wish them the best of luck this season.  Best of luck to all of you in your businesses and I hope that you continue to make Hilton Head and Bluffton a great place to live.  

Jerry Faulkner, Assistant Headmaster for Student Development, Hilton Head Christian Academy

I think that the guys up here are as nervous as they are before a game.  But as the years have gone by went by, I have come to realize that sometimes, it wasn’t quite as important to the kids as it was to us.  I remember coaching a football game in Sumter one night and I was the defensive coordinator and the game was very close and it was getting down to it.  We were up by 6 but the other team is driving.  I thought that the world was on my shoulders.  I thought that this is the most important thing in the world.  As they got closer and closer, it became 4th and 2.  This guy goes “Coach, coach”.  And I go “what?”.  He said, “Coach” and I said “Wait a minute” and he said “Coach!” and I said “What?”.  He said, “Look!  Their bus is the same color as ours!”  And I had to turn around and say, “You’re right!”. 

Students Must Maintain Their Grade Point Average

The Hilton Head Christian Academy football team has lost 10 Seniors from last year’s team which went to the State Championship game for the second consecutive year.  With the addition of Northwood Academy and Colleton Prep in our region this year, we feel that our region will be one of the toughest in the State and even making the play-offs will be a real chore.  This is Coach Lewis’ s 5th year at Hilton Head Christian and this is probably his most inexperienced team.   However, the team has 25 members that are working very hard and working hard on fundamentals and I am confident that they are going to represent our school well regardless of the score.  We don’t know what those scores are going to be but at Hilton Head Christian, we are sure that they are going to represent our school well, that they are going to understand that the term student-athlete will be strictly adhered to.  For example, in the South Carolina Independent Athletic Association,  eligibility rules states that to remain eligible you only have to pass four core subjects.  However, at Hilton Head Christian, we go further than that.  We say, you must maintain an overall grade of 77 or above and you can’t fail any course to remain eligible. 

We emphasize to our coaches that they are responsible for keeping close tabs on the grades of our student athletes.  For example, Coach Lewis sends around each Thursday to each teacher – he has the boy go to that teacher – and have that teacher fill it out concerning their academics, their attitude, their behavior and so forth.  If they bring back a negative in any of those areas, then for the next week they have a 7 am study hall – and you know how boys like to sleep.  The students and the faculty understand that all extracurricular activity is exactly that - extracurricular.   And it does not take priority over the academic day.  These activities can teach valuable lessons of life and we understand that and we urge our coaches to take every chance to teach those lessons.  Hilton Head Christian has become very successful not only in the athletic regime but in drama and other areas.  But, we also understand, we will not sacrifice our true mission, assisting Christian families to raise children in the Christian faith.  The emphasis on that is during the day, during extra-curricular activities and even off campus.  It’s what makes Hilton Head Christian special, unique.  It was a special privilege to be with you today.  

 Jeremy West, Head Football Coach, Bluffton High School

I ’m a special ed teacher and a football coach.  I’m used to being on the move all day.  I feel more comfortable on the move than standing at a podium talking to you so don’t get dizzy looking at me.  Also, I’m from the country – a little town called Wagner, South Carolina.  If you can’t understand my Wagnerese, please let me know.   I’ll try to slow it down for you.

Coaches Keep Track of Their Athletes’ Academic Grades

First,  I want to talk about academics.  Every two weeks we send out a grade sheet and we keep track of your grades and determine if you get tutored.  Also, with the NCAA requirements a lot of kids think that taking ceramics and stuff like will help increase your GPA and it does.  But, colleges look at your core GPA: math and science and stuff like that.  So we make sure that they have the math, science and social studies that they need.  We also a web site www.BlufftonBobcatfootball.com.  On that, students sent their highlights out instead of sending tapes.  We have their SAT on there, they can sign up for the NCAA.  It shows the sliding scare that shows what their GPA needs to be and their SATs need to be.  

As far as the team, we have 45 kids on the varsity and JV teams this year. We put a lot of work into it but these days, you have to have success.  Once we have success, then the kids will say that the hard work is worth it.   Out of 45 kids, we had 36 kids this summer that made a list and came and worked out.  We did lifting and used an obstacle course.  We pushed my truck.  Every once in awhile I would tap on the brakes.  We had tires and held them over our heads.  We can push them, throw them – kinda like a Rocky Balboa movie!  The kids bought into it and Thursday was beach day.  We all would go to the beach.  At the beach we would do sand drills – running through the high sand – and we would go out into the water – we made sure that they could swim first – and they had to fight the currents and they had the tires in the water with them there.  When the kids started out scrimmaging, each week got better and better. Last week we got down early but then we saw them getting tired and the next thing you know we were ahead 56-6.  Now they know that all the hard work they put in this summer is worth it.  And hopefully we will keep getting better each week.  We’re still a young team with only 8 Seniors our of 45 players.   We’re going to get to the State Championship level eventually and we’re taking one week at a time.   I hope to see you all out there.  I appreciate your having me here today.      

Tim Singleton, Head Football Coach, Hilton Head High School

Going last, these other gentleman have taken care of a lot of information, so I will try and be brief.  If you know me, you know that I have a hard time being brief but I want to make sure that I covered the points.  I want to thank the Hilton Head-Bluffton Chamber for having us today.  They have done a magnificent job. 

It’s always hard coming up after all of these guys and being politically correct and saying the right things and being humble and I’m a humble guy too whether you know it or not.   But I want to tell you that these guys are full of it!  Coach West talked about how we are the favorite.  Everybody knows that we are not the favorite but we are going to take care of business one game at a time.   I want to wish Coach West the best, up until October 31.  I want to briefly respond to our School Board Chairman, Mr. Fred Washington who stopped me in the hallway and said, “Coach, I will you well this season but I hate to tell you that you are going to get shellacked come Friday night!”  Just the same, I want to thank you for having me.

Student Athletics and Education is Three-Pronged

Our season is going to be a bit different this year because we are so used to being the under-dog.  The one thing that I promised our parents when I had the privilege to take over the job as Head Football Coach is that we are going to build character.  That’s all that I am going to promise you, that your young men will leave our program better young men.  After the first three seasons, I’m glad that I made that statement!.  But I’m proud to say that in the last 2 years we have won 17 out of 23 games so our kids are really fighting and preparing themselves mentally, physically but more importantly – academically.  I’ve heard everybody talk about the numbers and the academics and what not but at the end of the day, you have to have certain traits to be a successful student-athlete, but I believe that student-athletetics and education is three-pronged:  You must have the academics; you must have the arts and athletics plays a huge part.  

The Four ‘D’s’: Dedication, Discipline, Desire, Defense

There are things that we really instill in our kids, the 4 “D’s as I call it and during football season we add the 5th ‘D’: dedication.  You must be dedicated to your academics, to your work, to your homework – anything that you’re doing in life.  Anything that we teach our young men, we like that to translate over to life. 

Dedication is huge for us because if you are dedicated to the cause it means that you are going to work hard enough to make it happen.  Obviously, the biggest ‘D’ is discipline.  When our kids are taught discipline, kids jump offside the whole team runs.  One kid gets in trouble in school and the whole team runs.  We have our kids probably praying to go to the Principal rather than coming to me!   The other ‘D’ is desire. You must have some type of desire in order to be successful.  That burning feeling inside your stomach is not always hunger!  Most of the time, you have to teach these kids how to want something.  It’s very important.  So you have dedication, determination, you have discipline, you have desire.  The 5th  ‘D’ in our season is defense.  We make sure that our kids are doing the right things and have that hunger. 

The Coach’s Goal Is To Educate

Our goal is to get these kids into post secondary education and we are doing a good job with that.  They are not going to play division one football but there are 600 plus division one football teams.  There are hundreds and hundreds of division two and division three schools.  There is no reason why our kids should not be somewhere in post secondary education regardless of who they are and what their backgrounds are.  I hear a lot of people talk about our socioeconomic numbers and what not; a lot of kids in poverty are on our team.  A lot of them are in school because of athletics.  So please don’t get that twisted and think that it’s all about academics.  Let’ s all keep it in perspective what is motivating that young man to be a productive young citizen.  Not everyone is going to go to Harvard or Yale or Carolina but they can go to the Technical College of the Lowcountry and get a great trade and come back and fix your air conditioning unit, I promise you that. 

Sports Help Teach Us About Expectations

Last but not least is setting expectations.  The community sets the expectations on us to carry ourselves in an upright manner and to go the right things and we set the expectations for our kids.  Without doubt, we don’t ask those kids in a football game to go fumble or to throw an interception or miss a tackle.  We prepare them properly and we ask them to do the same thing with their behavior in the community.  We don’t ask them to go and drink a beer or use drugs.  We are working very diligently to teach them the right way to live.  So, please be patient with us with these student-athletes as we are trying to prepare them to be very young men. 

This season is going to be very, very, very interesting.  I just want you to know that we expect all of you folks to come out.  Don’t miss this train this year because we are going all the way!  Thank you for having me today.

Richard Kadesch, Owner and Broker-in-Charge The Gated Community Specialist ® Go Gated Realty ® Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Rich@gogated.com www.GoGated.com 1-800-333-5025 Read Some of My Clients’ Success Stories

Children play in the new interactive fountain at the Coligny Beach Park

The Coligny Beach Park Redevelopment Project was completed this summer on Hilton Head Island’s most popular public beach access, the 1.5 acre beach park at the Coligny Circle in Forest Beach.  

The wide and beautiful public beach access in Forest Beach

The highlight of the beach park renovation is the new interactive fountain with 26 synchronized water jets at grade level that squirt to varying heights at varying times.  Little children love them!

Foot showers and benches at the beach access

The renovated park is beautiful with a wide, new promenade from the entrance where the fountain is located to the beach.  The promenade has patterned wood and concrete with embedded plaques of sea animals along the way.  Along the promenade are new large restrooms, new showers, a picnic shelter and pergolas with swings on two elevated platforms for viewing across the dunes to the ocean. 

A new restroom at the Coligny Beach Park and in front, an embedded plaque

The 1.43 million dollar renovation is part of the Town of Hilton Head Island’s Bridge to the Beach Redevelopment plan, a strategy of Town-built projects, policies and programs meant to stimulate private redevelopment in the area. 

A family enjoys the Coligny Beach Park

Hilton Head Town Manager Steve Riley wrote about the park  in Our Town, A Newsletter of the Town of Hilton Head Island this summer, “We hope that projects like this will spur or revitalize businesses and pedestrian use.  If you look at the widely successful Pope Avenue pathway improvements, the significantly utilized new Compass Rose Park, Coligny Circle roundabout improvements, coupled with Coligny Beach Park’s re-birth, you will begin to understand that we mean business when if comes to redevelopment.”

The beach is wheelchair accessible at the Coligny Beach Park

The renovation of the Coligny Beach park is a great success and the high quality and beauty of the new park will bring pleasure to both townspeople and visitors for many years.  When you are here to see Hilton Head homes and villas for sale, check it out.

Richard Kadesch, Owner and Broker-in-Charge The Gated Community Specialist ® Go Gated Realty ® Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Rich@gogated.com www.GoGated.com 1-800-333-5025 Read Some of My Clients’ Success Stories

Sold Unfurnished Near The Beach For $72,500

Bargains seem to be everywhere today and at all prices.  Of course, we all want a luxury bargain on Hilton Head Island and to get one, why not buy an inexpensive property and fix it up to be as luxurious as you want?  You can buy a one-bedroom ocean view condo on Hilton Head Island today from about $100,000 and a two-bedroom ocean view condo from about $140,000.  Others near the beach and without ocean views cost less than $100,000.

I have fixed up an inexpensive condo myself and this is one reason that I can recommend it to you.  Years ago, I bought a bargain ocean view condo at the Hilton Head Resort, fixed it up, rented it out and even moved into it for awhile.   When I built the house where I live now, I sold the villa and made a good profit.  I made and saved money on that inexpensive villa and when I lived there beneath my means and invested the money that I saved elsewhere.   You may not want to rule out this option because it is there if you want it:  small but good, inexpensive, practical, comfortable - and fun!  

Use The Go Gated Buyer’s Advantage™ 

One of my buyer-clients went this economy route recently and bought a super-bargain at the Hilton Head Resort with the help of The Go Gated Buyer’s Advantage™ system.  I highly recommend this system to any serious buyer and to get it, please contact me.  There’s no cost or obligation and it can be worth thousands of dollars to you. 

After my client visited Hilton Head Island and saw the villas that he wanted to see, he went home and monitored the market – for months.  He wanted an economy villa near the beach with two bedrooms.  While he was here, he saw one at the Hilton Head Resort for $99,000 that he liked a lot, a short sale that had been purchased for about $155,000 by the seller at the top of the market in 2006. 

Then one day my buyer called to say that the villa that he saw when he was here had been re-listed as a foreclosure @ $65,000.  We agreed that it was priced very low and we immediately made an offer.  My client out-bid five other buyers and he got the villa for $72,500, cash.   The buyer used funds from his retirement account to make this purchase and the villa is now in his retirement account.  Very cool!

Three Reasons Why This Villa Was Under-Priced

• The location within the Hilton Head Resort is close to the beach.
• The floor plan has a private balcony that some other villas at the Hilton Head Resort do not have.
• The villa had many expensive upgrades like a tiled floors, tiled showers, new bathroom cabinets and fixtures, new kitchen cabinets, stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops and a clothes washer and dryer.  

 Teamwork With Buyer And Agent Means Success

My buyer did his homework and took the time to get a focus on what he wanted.  His determination and my help combined for our success.  This is an example of another super-bargain that will be hard to beat anytime soon and maybe never, despite the fact that the market continues sideways to down and even as other foreclosures come available – and others are still available.  Some deals are just this good. 

Have Fun and Save Money: Fix Up An Inexpensive Condo Near The Beach

At closing, the buyer came to Hilton Head Island, bought great rental furniture locally and made this  economy villa into a comfortable second home.  I don’t know what they paid for the furniture but it was surely less than $5,000 total and so their total cost including furniture must be less than $80,000! 

I took pictures of the newly furnished villa just a few days ago.  This is clearly a super-bargain.  It’s not in Sea Pines but it is next to Palmetto Dunes and with direct walking access to the beach.  The recreational amenities at the Hilton Head Resort where this villa is located include indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, racketball courts, spa, exercise center and indoor track.  There is under-building parking, a wi-fi zone in indoor building three and a 24-hour manned security gate. 

For A Super-Bargain, Call Go Gated Realty® 

You don’t have to break the bank to have a second home or vacation villa on Hilton Head Island.   Good ones are for sale for less than $100,000 right now and am happy to show them to you by email or in person at any time.  For more information about the Hilton Head lifestyle on a economy budget and to discuss your real estate plans for Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, please call me, the Hilton Head Gated Communities Specialist® today!  My cell number is 843-684-2933.

Richard Kadesch, Owner and Broker-in-Charge The Gated Community Specialist ® Go Gated Realty ® Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Rich@gogated.com www.GoGated.com 1-800-333-5025 Read Some of My Clients’ Success Stories

Go Gated Realty Helps You Find Your Best Mortgage Product

Go Gated Realty is all about service and expertise in all areas of Hilton Head real estate and this includes knowing which lenders have the best loans for the real estate that you want.  We work regularly with many Hilton Head area mortgage lenders so that our clients get the best Hilton Head loan products and rates available and no one lender is right for all borrowers.   While most all Hilton Head lenders offer low and competitive interest rates, these same lenders will be more or less attractive depending on what you buy.   Buyers who have specific needs catered to by different lenders include:

• Hilton Head first-time home buyers 
• Hilton Head Jumbo loan borrowers
• Hilton Head non-conforming property buyers
• Hilton Head Canadian home buyers
• Hilton Head commercial property buyers
• Hilton Head ‘investment’ property buyers
• Hilton Head building site (lot) buyers

A good Hilton Head Buyer’s Agent knows how to save your time and help you find the mortgage that you want.  To find the property you want and help with the best loan, call me, the Hilton Head Gated Communities Specialist® today!  My cell number is 843-684-2933 and my email is below.

Richard Kadesch, Owner and Broker-in-Charge The Gated Community Specialist ® Go Gated Realty ® Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Rich@gogated.com www.GoGated.com 1-800-333-5025 Read Some of My Clients’ Success Stories