September 2016 Folly Beach Real Estate Market and Island Update

Welcome to the September Folly Beach Living Newsletter!

September brings with it the height of hurricane season and a slower pace.  

Hurricane preparedness is a big topic this time of year.  Find resources for preparedness on the City of Folly Beach's website.  The public safety department has been busy preparing the island.  This year was predicted to be a busy year.  Hermine brought with it the closure of the Charleston County Schools and many businesses.  Yet damages were kept at a minimum.  Primarily heavy winds and water levels causing downed limbs and power outages were the effects.  Julia, that passed yesterday, was a nonissue.  A positive side effect is the plants love the rains, we have lower temperatures and less humidity!  September is our busiest hurricane month, followed by October.

This month's newsletter found below will compare this August  to that of last year.  As always, also included in the newsletter are real estate statistics, events, and my featured listing.  Living Easy is an oceanfront contemporary home filled with light and open rooms.  It has been recently updated and includes the furniture.  It is turn key and boasts over $85,000 in rental income to date this year.    Plus, it sits on a fantastic west side lot!

Immediately following are local happenings, articles of interest, and lender tips.

I hope you enjoy!

Ulf

Beach Renourishment Update 

From the City...Over the past three years, the City has quadrupled our annual savings for beach preservation from $250,000/ year to $1 million/year. We are already planning for our next renourishment, which we hope will be in late 2018 or early 2019. We are currently working to identify a new sand source. We are taking samples from the Folly River and Stono Inlet to deter- mine the quality and quantity of sand in this area. We will seek a federal exemption that would allow us to use this sand during the next renourishment.  We have also begun work on our dune management plan to help us build and protect this critical area.  Finally, we are seeking state funding to help us rehabilitate groins on the east end of the island to trap the sand once it’s put there during renourishment. 

Saving the Lighthouse Oct. 1st LIGHT UP

Don't forget...On October 1st at 7pm the Morris Island lighthouse will light up in hopes of inspiring donors to support the lighthouse restoration.  SCE and G is providing a battery powered light for the occasion.  Lighthouse windows and the lantern room will be lit by remote control at 7:30 pm for 4 hours.  The Morris island Lighthouse has stood for 140 years and has not been lit since 1962.  Save the Light must raise $5 Million to restore the interior of the lighthouse to prevent further decay.  The lighthouse has been stabilized.  Read more about the effort HERE.

Beach Sweep/ River Sweep

The 28th annual Beach & River Sweep event will occur Saturday, September 17 from 9 am to noon.  This is the Largest one day volunteer clean up event in the state.  To sign yourself or a group up, email ev.bell@scseagrant.org.  headquarters is underneath the Folly Beach Pier to check in, pick up supplies, and be assigned sections of the beach.

Bricks on Center

The City has raised over $20,000 for bricks on Center Street.  They have been installed int he median between Rita's and the Sand Dollar.  You can still purchase a brick!  Click HERE to read more about the project and/or to purchase a brick.

Plastic Bag Ordinance

The City Council passed the first reading of an ordinance prohibiting businesses in Folly Beach from using or distributing plastic bags, styrofoam coolers, cups and takeout containers.  This includes the Folly Road Harris Teeter and Berts.  If passed, businesses have until January 2017 to comply.

Lender Advice from Lucey Mortgage

What is a Reverse Mortgage?

One way for you to potentially improve your cash flow during retirement is to use a home equity conversion mortgage (also known as a "HECM" or "reverse mortgage").  

The HECM is a mortgage loan made by a private lending institution such as a bank, credit union or mortgage company.  The loan is insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which is a division of the US government.  You are not required to make monthly mortgage payments, and any interest that you owe is simply added to your loan amount.  

Here's how it works:

• Assume you are 62 years old and your home is worth $500,000. You would likely qualify for a loan in the $250,000 range. So you'd still have about $250,000 of equity remaining in the home (see illustration above).  The $250,000 can be used to pay off other debts and eliminate the payments associated with those debts.  Or you could use the funds for any other reason.
• Your home would continue to go up or down in value, taking your equity position right along with it. However, the HECM balance would also be growing over time. So in this example, if the home goes up in value to $600,000, and the HECM balance grows to $350,000, your equity in the home would remain constant at $250,000.  If you use the line of credit version of the HECM, the credit limit on your line of credit would increase every year.  This would give you immediate access to your home equity at any time that you need it (see illustration below).
• In the worst case scenario, let’s assume the home doesn’t go up in value at all, and the HECM balance continues to grow throughout your lifetime. By the time you sell the home, assume the HECM balance is greater than the value of the property. In this example, the home would only be worth $500,000 and the HECM balance is $600,000, which is $100,000 more than the value of the home. The FHA would eat the loss. That’s the entire reason why the FHA charges mortgage insurance on the loan. The FHA mortgage insurance basically covers you and your estate from a potential negative equity scenario in the future.

The bottom line is that a HECM can be used to improve your cash flow and give you more financial options than you previously thought were available.  

PLEASE NOTE: THIS ARTICLE AND OVERVIEW IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE LEGAL, TAX, OR FINANCIAL ADVICE. PLEASE CONSULT WITH A QUALIFIED TAX AND INVESTMENT ADVISOR FOR SPECIFIC ADVICE PERTAINING TO YOUR SITUATION.

Lorcan Lucey
Lucey Mortgage Corporation
861 Coleman Blvd. Mt Pleasant SC 29464

lorcan@luceymortgage.net
http://www.luceymortgage.net

843-224-3650

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