Posts Tagged ‘Hilton Head Second Homes’
The Controversial 2007 South Carolina Real Property Reform Act
Real estate taxes can be a pretty boring subject but these days it is an emotional one for some people. I have read letters to the local newspaper from buyers who were surprised after they purchased a property that they would pay higher taxes than they expected. Other people say that the new 2007 South Carolina Tax Reform Act is bad for real estate sales. This may or not be true but we should understand what is going on when we purchase real estate on Hilton Head Island so that we eo not get an unwelcome tax surprise. I have discussed this subject with County tax officials and local attorneys so that I can advise my clients and make sure that they know what to expect beforehand. A good buyer’s agent should always inform their client of every important issue of home ownership so that there are no unwelcome surprises.
Hilton Head Island and Bluffton, both in Beaufort County, have always had inequitable property taxes. Primary residences have always been taxed at a lower rate than Hilton Head second homes, rental and commercial properties but the differences are greater than ever now because under the new act, school operating costs have been removed from primary home taxes but not from second home, rental home or commercial property taxes.
The formula for the tax on primary residences has always been: the appraised value x the millage rate x 4%. The tax on second homes, rental and commercial properties has always been: the appraised value x millage x 6%. All taxes included school operating costs and the higher tax paid by non-residents could be summarized as taxation without representation.
Along comes tax reform and the 2007 South Carolina Real Property Reform Act. The centerpiece of the Act is lower taxes on primary homes because the millage for school taxes is removed from primary home taxes and schools are now funded by an increase of the State sales tax from 5% to 6%. Because taxes are lowered for primary homes but not for other properties means that the difference between taxes on primary homes and second home and commercial properties are now greater than ever. Because schools are funded now by the sales tax and consumption is down, my understanding is that an additional consequence of the Reform Act is that schools are now underfunded, but I do not have specific numbers from the State budget to discuss this fact.
A second provision of the South Carolina Real Property Reform Act of 2007 is that properties cannot be appraised for tax purposes at more than 15% of their last tax appraised amount.
A third provision of the Act is that properties sold after 2007 are immediately subject to a reassessment at the full market value at the end of the year in which the property is sold. For properties sold since 2007, the term “point of sale” taxation is often used however the tax for the purchase year is based on the previous owner’s assessment because the tax notices based on assessments made this year will apply to the following year. For subsequent years, the buyer will pay taxes based on the purchase price unless the owner appeals the valuation for their subsequent tax payments.
Beaufort County assesses properties for taxes every five years but sometimes assessments are delayed. This happened for the assessment of 2002 that was not done until 2004 and the assessment of 2007 has been expected to occur in the spring of 2009 but it may be delayed even longer. This means that a buyer today will be taxed at today’s purchase price in the year following the purchase while owners of homes that have not sold are still being taxed at assessed values based for the end of 2002.
Let’s review:
- Buyer’s used to pay the same taxes as sellers until a reassessment was made to everyone at the same time. Now, Buyers the same tax as the seller for the purchase year only, then based on the purchase price in subsequent years.
- Primary home owners pay lower property taxes than ever while second home owners, rental owners and commercial owners still pay more taxes than ever as compared to the lower taxes that primary owners pay. This is because the school tax has been removed from the primary homeowners tax bill, but not the second home, rental home or commercial property owner’s taxes.
- When properties are newly assessed, properties may not be assessed for tax purposes more than 15% of their former tax assessments. This means that owners of properties that have not sold may pay less taxes than their neighbor who just bought the house next door of equal worth, who must pay taxes at the value of the purchase price.
The biggest tax shock is possible for a buyer who purchases a property as a second home or rental property that was used by the seller as a primary home. This will result in the greatest tax increase possible and should not be missed. The more expensive the property, the bigger the potential tax ‘surprise’.
Any Questions?This is a complicated subject. There are special instances and varying interpretations of the new law and it is already being studied for revisions. I believe that the motive of our State lawmakers was to protect primary homeowners from higher property taxes that would accompany rapidly rising real estate prices that became the great real estate bubble of 2005-2006, a bubble that has now burst. Now we have lower prices and the reasons for the protections intended by the act no longer are meaningful, in my view. At the same time, the idea of lower primary home taxes as a trade off for a one percent higher sales tax seems good to me. State lawmakers may respond once again and this time make the law more equitable. Until then, buyers need to know about what property taxes they will pay before they buy real estate on Hilton Head Island and in Beaufort County, South Carolina; it is unfortunate that more agents are not prepared to inform their clients on this subject.
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 ‘New’ Hilton Head Resort
The outdoor swimming pool in building one at the Hilton Head Resort
The Hilton Head Resort is the place to get an economical, two or three bedroom villa near the beach on Hilton Head Island. A few years ago, the owners voted for a mega-renovation and now, after three years and 4.5 million dollars spent, the results have exceeded most people’s expectations. And, the renovation is not quite finished. They still have another year of work and 1.5 million dollars more to spend.
They are not finished with other improvements either. For many owners, these renovations mean more than just a physical makeover. They want the renovations to help them earn a healthy share of the Hilton Head Island vacation rental market in the future. The early results look promising.
The Hilton Head Resort has direct access to the beach via the boardwalk that spans the tidal salt water marsh.
“The Hilton Head Resort does not pretend to be the same as Sea Pines or Palmetto Dunes“, says Donna Brown, the President of the owner-elected Board of Directors. ”For one thing, our villas are much more economical that the other Island resorts. We have our own niche. But, we do want more vacationers to visit our resort and discover what we have to offer. This year, we had more vacationers at the Resort than ever before.”
The indoor heated swimming pool in the Atrium. The building has a spa, kiddie pool, indoor track, sauna and exercise room. The building is a free wi-fi zone.
While contractors have been renovating the Resort, owners have been renovating their individual villas. These days, it is common to see villas there with new kitchens, granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, tiled floors and upscale furnishings – a concept of small, but good.
Many owners use their villas as vacation homes and rent to other vacationers. Others owners use their villas as personal second homes and do not rent them. A third group, traditionally the largest group of owners at the Resort, do not use their villas at all. They rent to tenants for income and tax benefits. However, over the years, more owners have purchased villas there as vacation places and they want to rent their villas to other vacationers. This changing demographic, together with the major renovations, the best management the Resort has ever had and better security than ever before, has combined to make a ‘new’ Hilton Head Resort.
The beach at the Hilton Head Resort is ideal for family fun and relaxation
The Resort Has a Great Location
The Hilton Head Resort is in the right place at a new time. Owners and visitors have always enjoyed direct walking access to the beach but the boardwalk across the tidal marsh is long and it has always been too was narrow. At the same time, many villas at the Resort have breathtaking, world-class views of the marsh, ocean and neighboring Palmetto Dunes golf course. These views are among the best that Hilton Head Island has to offer, including the views from more expensive villas elsewhere. I know well because I used to own a villa there that had a really big ocean and marsh view. When I got married, I sold my villa at the Resort and built a house in Indigo Run. Many people use the Hilton Head Resort as their ‘starter’ property on Hilton Head Island. Others need nothing more.
Next to the Hilton Head Resort’s private beach access is Singleton Beach, Hilton Head’s newest oceanfront community with homes that list in the 1.7-4.8 million dollar range. Before the developer of Singleton Beach bought that land, it was occupied by the old Bombay Club. The Bombay Club used to rock on summer weekend nights and the music would drift across the marsh for Hilton Head Resort owners to ‘enjoy’. When Singleton Beach’s developer bought the land, the last call at the Bombay Club was from the Hilton Head Fire Department that burned it down so that they could practice fighting fires. From the ashes rose Singleton Beach, the Island’s newest ocean front community - a substantial neighborhood upgrade.
Three bedroom villas of the Atrium building facing west toward the sunset.
The south side of the Resort overlooks the Trent Jones golf course of the neighboring Palmetto Dunes Resort. The picture book views from some of the Hilton Head Resort villas of the Palmetto Dunes golf course and lagoons may be better than those from some of the homes in Palmetto Dunes.
On the north side of the Resort is the Singleton Beach Village, a luxury vacation home community with prices from $550,000-1.2 million dollars. It does not have a private beach access or an ocean cabana bar – as does the Hilton Head Resort. Oh, for the good old days when the land where the Village is located was owned by the Malphrus Construction Company. It was as a yard for heavy equipment, storage for concrete pipe and wire and it was a trailer park. ’Industrial’ would describe the view that Resort owners used to have of that property. Thank you, Singleton Beach Village - a mega neighborhood upgrade.
These are some of the plaques on the boardwalk to the beach at the HIlton Head Resort
The plaques describe the naural wonders of Hilton Head Island.
The Town’s Chaplain Park is just north of the Singleton Beach Village and has soccer fields and tennis courts open to the public. A few years ago, the Marriott Corporation built it’s newest timeshare community, Surfwatch, in that relatively undeveloped neighborhood just north of Chaplin Park. Today, luxury homes are replacing the tear-downs throughout that area. Two years ago, I sold a 5th row ocean lot in that neighborhood for $620,000 on a street that had not been built yet! It was built months later.
At Surfwatch, Marriott built a beautiful boardwalk to the beach that was approved by the Town. Since the Town approved the new boardwalk for Surfwatch, they had to approve the plans for the new Hilton Head Resort boardwalk that were at the same, high standard. Now, it has been built.
Meet the neighbors: The colorful homes of Singleton Beach Village, just north of the Hilton Head Resort. The Town’s Chaplin Park is just north of the Village.
The Robert Trent Jones golf course is immediately to the south. This is the signature tenth hole, a par five that plays along the Resort property line to the ocean.
The Hilton Head Resort is a relatively inexpensive villa community in a neighborhood of luxury ocean front and beach-oriented homes. The cheerful new colors of the Hilton Head Resort match up well with the multicolored homes the neighboring Village of Singleton Beach, giving the impression that the communities are all part of the same master plan. They are not.
The entrance to the Hilton Head Resort is on William Hilton Parkway at mile marker 7. A bike path crosses the entrance and connect to all Island locations. The Shelter Cove Mall and the Self Community Arts Center are a few hundred yards down the street. Most all Island restaurants and shops are just a short drive from the Resort.
Across the Parkway is a piece of Town-owned land that offers beautiful, unobstructed views of Broad Creek today. The Town bought the land about ten years ago and tore down the No-Name Beer Store (real name) and shoe cobbler’s shop that used to be there. You could smell the cobber’s shoe polish from the gravel parking lot. The cobbler, the only one around replaced a few leather heels on my Bass Weejuns and Cole Hahns that were worn without socks, of course – some things never change.
Behind the No-Name Beer Store was a car repair shop in a metal shed that backed up to the marsh. Today the No-Name, the cobbler’s shop and the repair garage are gone. The Town bought the land, tore them all down and created a park-like setting there, our tax dollars at work and another major neighborhood upgrade.
The outdoor swimming pool next to building four, the tennis building
The Resort Had a Tax Sheltered Life
The Hilton Head Resort was built in 1981 and 1982, before the 1986 tax reform. The developer built and sold the Resort villas in pre-construction, as tax shelters. The amount of tax that the buyer needed to save determined how may villas they bought. Vacation rentals didn’t concern the developer because the villas carried themselves with tax advantages and without any rental at all. Buyers knew that any rental income or personal use was just ’icing on the cake’.
When President Regan reformed the tax code in 1986, he lowered the tax brackets and eliminating many tax loop holes. My clients who were accountants were the first to lower their prices and sell. They knew that the price of tax shelter real estate across the country would plummet, and it did. Suddenly, rental income was important – imagine that!
The Island never needed 468 more villas for the vacation rental market and the Hilton Head Resort could not compete with what Sea Pines and Palmetto Dunes anyway. But, the Island did have a housing shortage and the Resort offered a much needed supply of economical villas where Islanders could live. This became the economic position of strength for the Resort and it has remained that way since then. Now, according to Donna Brown, the Board President, this has changed. She says that vacation rental use is increasing and that long-term tenant occupancy that once was 70% is less than 50% today.
The sun deck of building two is on top of two racket ball courts. The masonry deck surface will be the surface of all the Resort's walkways as they are renovated. All of the railings in this building are aluminum and they are new.
Second home and vacation rental owners at the Resort see the future of the Hilton Head Resort having a more viable vacation rental business. They believe that the Resort should be just that – a resort. The renovations have removed many longstanding problems of poor quality and deferred maintenance. The tenants who live there today must meet higher standards than in the past thanks to background checks required by the Board. More about this later. As more people vacation at the Resort and have a good experience, the reputation of the Resort should improve and vacationers should return. The future of the Resort will likely be an attractive mix of vacation rentals, owner occupants and tenants.
I have more than a passing interest in the progress of the Resort. I used to work in the front office at the Resort for the developer’s first-ever resale company, the Capital Marketing Group. It was a good job because the developer planned to make Capital Marketing a national real estate franchise. As the first on site resales Broker at the Four Seasons Resort (that’s what it was called back then), I sold every resale there for the first two years. Then, the developer scrapped the plans for a resale company and I left to start my own business, with a sales and rental inventory at the Hilton Head Four Seasons Resort. Over the years since then, I have enjoyed selling more villas at that location than I can remember. Low-priced villas near the beach have always been in demand. It is still a pleasure to represent buyers, sellers and rental owners there today.
The Recreational Amenities Are Better Than Ever
The exercise center in the Atrium has been enclosed and has new equipment. It is free for owners and guests.
The developer knew that good recreational amenities sold villas. Therefore, he built two outdoor swimming pools, six tennis courts and two racket ball courts. He enclosed building three and called it the Atrium. In the Atrium, he built an indoor heated swimming pool, indoor track, spa, sauna and an exercise area. He built a boardwalk to the beach and a beach front cabana bar. He provided under-building parking and built a 24-hour, manned security entrance. It was a good sales story then and it is still a good one today – and even better. The amenities have all been renovated and are better than ever today.
Coco’s Ocean Front Cabana Bar
For example, the oceanfront cabana bar was shuttered and unused for many years.
Coco's serves food and drinks at the beach.
It opened with a liquor license as Coco’s in 2007 and now, it’s a big success. Coco’s serves frosted drinks, breakfast and lunch from 10 am-7 pm Memorial Day to Labor Day. The oceanfront location, music and family atmosphere attracts visitors from the Resort and also neighboring Palmetto Dunes and Singleton Beach. It’s a bit of a hide-away. To get there, you have to walk or take the shuttle shuttle from the Resort or walk in from the beach.
”The Glorious, Ecological Boardwalk!”A great feature of the Hilton Head Resort has always been the boardwalk to the beach. Now, the boardwalk has been rebuilt to be wider and shorter. The Resort provides shuttle service to and from the beach by electric carts. On foot, it only takes six minutes to walk.
The Atrium has an indoor heated swimming pool, spa, exercise room and track for year-round use. The entire building is a free wi-fi zone.
Board President Donna Brown says that one day in the early morning, she walked down the “glorious, ecological boardwalk to the beach” and her eyes filled with tears of joy and appreciation for the beauty of Hilton Head Island. She said, “I felt like I was in paradise. I felt very fortunate to be here”.
Whether by foot or by the shuttle, everyone today can access the beach on the new boardwalk faster and easier than ever before. By the way, “ecological” refers to the storyboards about nature that are here and there on the boardwalk.
The beach at the Hilton Head Resort is very similar to rest of Hilton Head Island’s ocean front beach. Beach goers can also rent umbrellas and beach chairs there if they want them, another service not available previously at the Resort.
All Four Buildings are Being RenovatedThe Hilton Head Resort is comprised of four, interconnected quadrangular shaped buildings with 468 two
All villa doors have new number plaques.
and three bedroom villas (condominiums) and four elevators. Each building has a large courtyard where recreational amenities are located that include a swimming pool, tennis courts, sun deck and indoor track. Each building has been painted a cheerful color and is clearly numbered The door of every villa has a new number plate with a sunrise design. The buildings are all interconnected on every floor by walkways that are being reconstructed and surfaced with decorated masonry. This will allow the walkways to be easily cleaned and they will be much more durable than the outdoor carpets that they replace.
Buildings One and TwoBuilding one is closest to the beach and has a large, outdoor swimming pool. It also has the convenience store that serves breakfast, lunch and other convenience items. Every villa in every building has a full kitchen. The walkway and porches of buildings one and two have new, aluminum walkway and balcony railings that give the Resort a clean and modern look. Building two has two racket ball courts with a sun deck on top. The racket ball courts have been closed for six years because of maintenance needs but as part of the renovation, one racket ball court is scheduled to open for play in 2009. The sun deck has been resurfaced and has new aluminum railings too.
Two unused paddle ball courts used to be on either side of the racketball courts and they have been removed. One has been replaced with palm trees and attractive landscape. The other is scheduled to become a shuffleboard or boccie court or both that will open in 2009.
The Hilton Head Resort has six hard tennis courts that have all been resurfaced.
The Atrium and Tennis Buildings Three and Four
Building three is the enclosed Atrium that has the indoor heated swimming pool, one of only six heated, indoor pools on Hilton Head Island that is not a private pool. The Atrium has always been the Resort’s signature feature. It has a kiddie pool, spa, indoor track, exercise room and sauna. The Resort’s full name is the Hilton Head Resort, Four Seasons Centre. About ten years ago, when the Resort erected a new sign on the highway, it dropped ’Four Seasons’ from its name and became just the Hilton Head Resort.
The gravel running track of the Atrium has been paved, the Spa has been resurfaced and the exercise room has been enclosed with tinted casement windows for privacy. The exercise room has a new universal gym, stair stepper, exercise bike and one television.
The new landscape in building two.
The Atrium has new Washingtonian Palms and synthetic pine straw. This softens the area visually and creates a more restful, tropical setting. The entire building is a wi-fi zone, meaning free Internet service. Several porch-style swinging benches have been suspended from arched trellises.
The Tennis building four has four tennis courts within the quadrangle and two others next to the building, outside. All of the tennis courts have been resurfaced in the last year and they have new wind screens. There is a swimming pool next to building surrounded by a new aluminum fence. Buildings three and four have under-building parking that is unreserved for use by all owners and guests.
Better Security, Management and TenantsHistorically, most rental demand has come from tenants. Today, the Resort has better tenants than in teh past. To achieve this, the Board installed a standardized lease application with tenant screening that included mandatory background checks. ”Just that knowledge that a background check will be done has deterred some tenants from applying”, according to the Chief of Security A.T. Wilcox.
The Hilton Head Resort is a gated beach community with a 24-hour guarded security entrance.
Chief Wilcox, a former Marine who has worked security at the Resort since 1993 credits the Board of Directors with better security. ”The biggest improvements in security have come because the Board is allowing us to enforce the master deed and all the rules and regulations”, he says. He sites great teamwork between Allied Management, the regime management company and security guards as another reason for improvement. Still another is the security position the Board has created specifically to communicate with owners and rental agents about any misbehavior from tenants such as noise, parking or registration issues. The Resort uses picture IDs and keeps a copy of all leases on file.
And, the Resort has a serious menu of fines for rule violations that Security enforces. “Things are definitely better than they used to be”, says Chief Wilcox. ”These days, we mostly spend our time enforcing regulations about window blinds, doors and balconies and not behavior problems”. He says that next year the Board will focus more on villa inspections so that owners maintain a minimum standard of quality, as allowed by the Master Deed.
The sun reflects off of the ocean in winter at the Hilton Head Resort
The Owners Get Their Money’s Worth
David Howard is the owner of Allied Management, the Resort’s regime management company. He says that the Hilton Head Resort is in good financial condition and that there will not be any increase to the regime fee in 2009. He expects the insurance costs which are part of the regime fees to be lower next year.
Most owners pay $363/mo for a ‘standard’ two-bedroom villa but owners of a few larger two-bedroom villas and three bedroom villas pay more. The regime fee includes insurance for hurrican, fire and flood, water and sewer, basic cable TV, buildings and grounds maintenance, trash pick-up, pest control, security and use of all amenities by owners and guests.
To fund the renovation, owners have paid three years of special assessments with the forth and last to be paid in 2009. Owners of the standard two bedroom villas paid $6,640 in 2006 and the same again in 2007. They paid $3,320 in 2008 and will pay $3,320 in 2009. Owners of larger two-bedroom and three bedroom villas paid more in special assessments.
David Howard says that the most expensive renovations were done first, that the work has been on schedule and that the work is under budget by about $180,000. Many of the renovation items have already been mentioned but others include the new coal tar pitched roofs on all four buildings, major improvements to the stairwells, new walkway and balcony railings, new masonry surfaces to all outside balconies, rebuilt sub floors of the walkways and many new signs. The buildings have been completely painted and numbered and all villas have attractive new number plaques.
Buyers at the Resort will benefit from this marvelous renovation with the cost of the work built into every purchase price.
Sunset on the beach at the Hilton Head Resort
The Story Continues with a New Chapter Every Year
The story will hopefully never end and always improve. The Hilton Head Resort remains the lowest-priced location along the beach on Hilton Head Island with two and three bedroom villas. Did I mention that the Resort is better than ever?
As good changes continue, I think that the Hilton Head Resort will become more of a vacation resort than it has been in the past. But I also believe that it will improve as a residential community too. There will be more second home owners, snow birds and baby boomers (like me) in retirement or pre-retirement who will want to own a place near the beach but not pay a high price for it. Boomers may want more than one residence but not for more money than it takes to live in one large and expensive house. The Hilton Head Resort may be part of this trend and these boomers will want to just pay a regime fee and avoid exterior maintenance whether in residence or while they are away – just like retirees today and forever more. They will want convenience to all Island locations and good recreational amenities and the Resort has them.
The Hilton Head Resort is at 663 William Hilton Parkway near mile marker 7.
Vacationers want convenience and good recreational amenities too. As more vacationers are comfortable at the Resort, they will return for their vacation and buy a villa there.
As the Resort becomes a more attractive place to live, better tenants will want to own and live there. If they move away, they may keep the villa as a rental property or second home.
The Hilton Head Resort has come a long way and the story continues. To talk about your story and whether this property or another one is the best for you, please call or email 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