Posts by : Scott Vansant

SC Legislature Code of Laws Section 56-2-105 - Golf cart permit and the operation of a golf cart

(A) For the purposes of this section, "gated community" means any homeowners' community with at least one access controlled ingress and egress which includes the presence of a guard house, a mechanical barrier, or another method of controlled conveyance.

(B) An individual or business owner of a vehicle commonly known as a golf cart may obtain a permit decal and registration from the Department of Motor Vehicles upon presenting proof of ownership and liability insurance for the golf cart and upon payment of a five dollar fee.

(C) During daylight hours only:

(1) A permitted golf cart may be ...

• The widening of Carolina Forest Boulevard and the installation of the Shared Use Path along Carolina Forest Boulevard from Gateway Drive to Postal Way projects are complete.
• The extension, widening, and realignment of Postal Way is well underway with Phase I (from a point near Publix to Waccamaw Pines Drive) being complete and Phase II (Carolina Forest Boulevard improvements and improvements on roads North/West of CFB) scheduled for completion by the end of 2022, weather dependent.
• The extension of Middle Ridge Avenue from West Perry Road to William Finlayson Road is underway with a scheduled completion date by the end of 2023, weather dependent.
• The Southbound widening of US 501 fro...

The Omnibus Coastal Property Insurance Reform Act of 2007 provides certain income tax credits for the costs a homeowner incurs in making his home more resistant to losses due to hurricane damage. 

Section 12-6-3660 of this Act provides an income tax credit for the costs incurred to retrofit a structure qualifying as the taxpayer’s legal residence to make it more resistant to loss due to hurricane, rising floodwater, or other catastrophic windstorm event. The tax credit for any taxable year is limited to 25% of the total costs incurred or $1,000, whichever is less.

Section 12-6-3665 of this Act allows an income tax credit of up to $1,500 for state sales or use taxes paid on purchases of ...

Freddie Mac operates in the US secondary mortgage market, buying loans (mostly from smaller banks) that meet certain standards from approved lenders.  Those lenders are then, in turn, able to provide more loans to qualified borrowers.  Freddie Mac then pools the mortgages it buys into securities, which they sell to investors.

Beginning July 10, 2022, Freddie Mac will consider on-time rent payments for first-time homebuyers as part of its loan purchase decisions.

This initiative of factoring in on-time rent payments into loan purchase decisions could help many renters, including some who may lack the credit history or credit score, to qualify for a mortgage.

For more details please visi...

On July 1,2022, the SC Residential Property Condition Disclosure Statement is expected to have a one sentence change.

"Purchaser has sole responsibility for investigating off-site conditions of the property including, but not limited to, adjacent properties being used for agricultural purposes."

This will place the onus on the purchaser to investigate all off site conditions both present and perhaps occurring in the future.   Perhaps, the purchaser’s investigation occurs pre-offer or during due diligence and over distances desired by the purchaser.  The purchaser can always hire a lawyer and/or private investigator to investigate physically and in documents and verbally and observationa...

Kevin O’Brien has joined the team at Vansant Realty Group!  Kevin is a local Carolina Forest resident and is an experienced Realtor serving as both a Buyer Agent and a Seller Agent.   Kevin specializes in residential homes and ocean front condos.

Please feel free to contact Kevin O’Brien directly at:

Phone: (843) 997-9390

Email: ObrienByTheBeach@gmail.com

Kevin O’Brien Bio

SC Housing 2022 Palmetto Heroes Program is intended to honor and include teachers, first responders and community service personnel in the fields of law enforcement, corrections, firefighting, emergency medical services and health care, as well as active-duty military, members of the SC Army National Guard, SC Air National Guard and Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.  This program offers FHA, VA, USDA and Conventional financing with a reduced fixed interest rate and enhanced $10,000 Down Payment Assistance. All approved Lending Partners are eligible to participate. Borrowers must have a fully executed sales contract for the purchase of a home prior to locking the interest rate.

SC Hous...

South Carolina Association of REALTORS (SCR's) Form 310 Agreement/Contract: To Buy and Sell Real Estate (Residential) and Form 311 Agreement/Contract: To Buy and Sell Real Estate (Residential/Condo) are expected to be transitioning to a strict Due Diligence contract with regards to repairs effective June 13, 2022.

Changes are expected to be made to Paragraph 8 which is currently entitled “REPAIRS”.  Currently there are 3 selectable repair options: (1) Repair Procedures, (2) Due Diligence and (3) As Is.  Repair Procedures and As Is are expected to be removed – leaving only the Due Diligence clause.  Due Diligence verbiage is not expected to be changed.  Due Diligence Expiration Date and T...

Horry County Officials are having a Grand Opening Ceremony today, Monday May 9, at the Carolina Forest Recreation Center (2254 Carolina Forest Boulevard) to celebrate the completion of the Carolina Forest Boulevard widening project.  The road and multi-use path opened to the public in February of 2022.

The core work on this $50+ million-dollar budgeted project involved the widening of Carolina Forest Boulevard from 2 lanes to 4 lanes between Gateway Drive and River Oaks Drive.

 Visit the Horry County Government site to see the details on this project:

https://www.horrycounty.org/portals/0/Docs/Ride3/maps/CF_Blvd_Widening.pdf

As per Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), mortgage rates increased for the 7th consecutive week.

U.S. weekly averages as of 04/21/2022:

30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage = 5.11% (0.8 fees/points)

15 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage = 4.38% (0.8 fees/points)

5/1 Year Adjustable Rate Mortgage = 3.75% (0.8 fees/points)

Freddie Mac’s PMMS is the longest running weekly survey of mortgage rates in the US.  PMMS is a primary market survey, which means it does not use data on loans purchased or funded by Freddie Mac, but rather surveys originators across the country and across different types of lending institutions and estimates what a typical customer might see if they shopped around f...

Golf Digest had it right – Myrtle Beach truly is the Holy Grail of budget golf trips.

Golf Digest article on Myrtle Beach Golf

Just ask the guys on the Rock and Bowes Golf Tour – celebrating their 39th year this week coming down from Pennsylvania to Myrtle Beach on their annual golf trip.  Says one of the more colorful members of the group, Rob “Hooch” D. - “nothing beats Myrtle Beach for variety – not just in golf but with all of the extracurricular activities in the area – it’s truly a unique spot”.

This group is playing Heritage Club this year.  Heritage Club actually has 2 graveyards.  One graveyard is located on Hole #8 and rests slaves.  Another graveyard is off the tee on Hole #...

New Listing - 979 Annilles Court - The Park Subdivision - $450,000

Lovely, well maintained single level 3 bedroom 2 bath ranch style home located on a private culdesac and just a mile to the beach! This home is in pristine condition and has tile and hardwood floors throughout and is decorated with neutral colors. Mirrored closets in bedrooms and Skylights in both bathrooms to let the sun shine in. Fireplace in the living room . Lovely all season room located just off the living room area, overlooks a beautifully landscaped private backyard with tall white cement wall to give you all the privacy you need to enjoy a quiet life near the beach. Entire property is beautifully landscaped. Atti...

The mission of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is to help people before, during and after disasters.

FEMA - https://www.fema.gov/

The FEMA partners with Tribal nations, States, and communities through the Risk Mapping, Assessment, and Planning (Risk MAP) program to identify flood hazards, assess flood risks, and provide accurate data to guide stakeholders in taking effective mitigation actions that result in safer and more resilient communities. This data is incorporated into flood maps, known as Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), that support the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and provide the basis for community floodplain management regulations and flood insura...

Pulte, Toll Brothers and Saussy Burbank will be the 3 builders in this new home community of SayeBrook in Surfside.

The first phase of this new home community will consist of approximately 155 single family homes.  Building is expected to start in June 2022 and sales will likely start in the fall of 2022.  Pricing will likely start in the $400's.

SayeBrook is a 700-acre traditional neighborhood development incorporating residential housing, office uses, medical uses, civic uses, and a mixed-use area called SayeBrook Town Center.  The SayeBrook Town Center is the ‘heart and soul’ of the SayeBrook project that is the mixed-use center that includes retail, restaurant, office and civic uses...

Berkshire Forest is one of the most popular new home communities in all of Myrtle Beach.  The location of this new home community right off of River Oaks Drive makes it convenient to Highway 501, Highway 31 and many of the main attractions along the Grand Strand.

The main and newly expanded amenity center in the most mature section of the Berkshire Forest community is situated next to the scenic 32 acre Silver Lake and now includes a lazy river (the longest in all of South Carolina) and splash park!

The newest amenity center in Berkshire Village includes a large resort swimming pool, two fenced in dog park areas, 4 pickleball courts and a firepit. 

Vansant Realty Group has extensive ...

Del Webb at Grand Dunes in Myrtle Beach is a Luxury 55+ Active Adult Community.

The ‘home inspection” should be a key activity in all real estate transactions regardless of whether or not financing is involved (bank requiring the inspection), or if the home is being sold “as-is”.  Often times home inspections are conducted as an integral process step in working towards satisfying the contingency component of the real estate agreement.

As of Jan 2021, a current South Carolina license or registration is required to engage in residential building, specialty contracting or home inspection activities in this state, as defined in S.C. Code of Laws Title 40 Chapter 59 – specifically SECTION 40-59-410 - Code of Laws - Title 40 - Chapter 59 - Residential Home Builders (scsta...

Myrtle Beach has a rather mature public transportation system that is safe and affordable.  Known as “Coast RTA”, their Fixed Route bus system has relatively broad coverage, consisting of 10 regularly scheduled routes servicing Horry and Georgetown Counties. The fixed routes include Andrews, Bucksport, Conway, Garden City, Georgetown, Loris, Murrells Inlet, Myrtle Beach, Pawleys Island and Surfside Beach.  The Fixed Route service operates seven days a week, 362 days per year. Coast RTA observes the holidays of New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas so its employees may spend time with their families.

Many area attractions from shopping and restaurants to amusements and accommodations...

The road projects in Horry County are defined as Ride Improvement & Development Effort (RIDE).  There have been two previous “road project phases” (RIDE 1 and RIDE 2) that have already been completed.  Current road projects are included in the RIDE 3 road project phase.  RIDE 3 is being funded by a one cent capital project sales tax.  Horry County maintains a detailed RIDE 3 “Dashboard” such that residents can view the current status of all RIDE 3 road projects.  Plans for a subsequent RIDE 4 are already being discussed.

To see the recently completed, ongoing and planned road projects in Horry County, please visit:

Horry County RIDE 3 Dashboard

The Carolina Forest Community is a popular place to live.  As a result, the new housing market in Carolina Forest is exploding.  There are now over 30 new home communities either (1) in progress or (2) approved whereby ground not yet broken.

Visit New Homes Carolina Forest for a list of all of the new home communities either in progress (19 communities) or planned with approved zoning (15).

Visit the Horry County Planning and Zoning Department for the latest statistics on Carolina Forest new housing.

Visit Vansant Realty Group, a Carolina Forest based real estate company, for the current list of Carolina Forest homes for sale and the list of new home communities available in Carolina F...