Happy August! We hope you are enjoying a terrific Summer so far. Temperatures are in the upper-90’s locally, and the Island is bustling with visitors. Thanks as always for your interest in our newsletter. Have a great day!

253 Stoney Creek Villa
$689,000 Furnished
This is as close to a NEW VILLA as you will find in all of Sea Pines! With its all-new exterior renovations nearing completion, Stoney Creek Villas look and feel brand new – and the new owner will enjoy it all from day-one! This end-location, two-story townhouse features 3 bedrooms and 3 full bathrooms with great bedroom separation (1 down and 2 up). The entry courtyard is expansive and very private, easily able to accommodate a nice setting for an outdoor breakfast table. The villa opens into a foyer hallway that leads left to the main living area and kitchen and right to the first floor bedroom suite. This tiled hallway also leads straight ahead to a large utility closet and 2 opposing coat closets. Just prior to the living room is a built-in wet-bar complete with glass display shelving. And, there is an open stairway leading to the second floor.

As a means of exposing you to different areas of Hilton Head Island / Bluffton, we present this interesting and entertaining section of our email newsletter. Below, you will see photographs taken of a very specific location in our area...and all you have to do is guess where it is! Well, actually, we tell you at THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE NEWSLETTER, so don't get too frustrated if you can't figure it out. Have fun with it...and good guessing!)

Invest Your IRA in Real Estate
While you may not have heard much yet about this approach to buying real estate, it is certain that its popularity is on the rise. We just had a client purchase a $500,000 lot on the Island with his self-directed IRA, and the transaction was as smooth as ever! This program applies to properties held for investment (not primary or vacation homes), and we have all the connections necessary to help you explore this option. Email us today…it’s a GREAT time to buy real estate!
Sea Pines Mid-Year Market Report
If you are interested in learning more about the state of the market in Hilton Head Island’s founding plantation/resort, (click here) to read a comprehensive summary of the market conditions for home, villa and lot sales through the first-half of 2006. Plus, get helpful information about outstanding real estate related professional services as well as tide-charts for the next 3 months!

We hope that you find the following tip on home maintenance, etc. to be helpful. If so, feel free to pass it along to a friend.

This Month's Tip
The high temperatures across the country are driving up electric bills, reminding us about the need to keep our homes operating efficiently. This means it might be time to examine your attic-space insulation to cover any gaps or provide an added layer. It also might be time to build up your tolerance for a slightly higher temperature in your home – adjusting your “comfort” settings by a couple of degrees could put a dent in the monthly cooling bill. Make sure that windows and doors close and seal tightly. Use the “wind chill” effect to keep rooms “cooler” by use of box and ceiling fans as you adapt to a higher in-home temperature. Consider buying a programmable thermostat that automatically changes your in-home temperature settings for different times of day/night. And don’t forget to adjust your settings upward if you plan to be on vacation – no sense in cooling the house to 75-degrees when you won’t be around to enjoy it. Happy savings, and stay cool!

Across the Country
In order to help put our local market into perspective, we have provided some nationwide real estate news that we hope you will find interesting. Just click on the USA map to the right to access this section of our newsletter...and be sure to let us know if you have any questions or comments.


Happy Birthday!
Jeff Prekop, the Team’s Office Manager and Client-Care Specialist, turned 35 this week! Hats off to another great year ahead, Jeff!

Star Power Conference
Team members Chip Collins, Heather Andricain and Juan Andricain have just returned from
the annual Star Power Conference, held this year in New York City at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. This 3-day conference gives us the opportunity to network with top-producing agents throughout the country while sharing ideas about moving our respective businesses forward and upward. Chip presented during 2 days of the conference, and the Team’s Market Reports will be featured in a nationwide newsletter through the Star Power network in its next monthly newsletter, providing terrific exposure for the Team to earn referrals in the Hilton Head Island/Bluffton area.

On-Line Market Reports
The Team has developed an exclusive program on-line to provide people with complimentary access to current market data by neighborhood in our market area. These on-line Market Reports provide detailed information on active, pending and year-to-date sold properties in our MLS, and the data is updated two-times-per-week. This expanded offering goes beyond just what is for sale, and really gives buyers and sellers the opportunity to see what market activity is like by seeing what is under contract and what has recently sold. Check out our Bluffton Market Reports on www.MayerCollinsBluffton.com, and look for the Island Market Reports to soon appear on www.MayerCollins.com.

Waterfun Park May Dry Up
(Story from The Island Packet): The owner of Hilton Head's Waterfun Park -- the only water park in the area and the last spot on the island that resembles an amusement park -- has drawn up plans to tear down the 5.6-acre park and surrounding Comfort Inn and replace them with 42 townhouse-style condominiums. The idea is in its very preliminary stages and is far from getting any approvals, but representatives for the park's owners met with town staff last week to discuss the proposal and work out any kinks before plans are formally submitted. If Silver Spring, Md.-based Sunburst Hospitality Corp., the owner, decides to move forward with the plans, it could mean the end of the 27-year-old South Forest Beach water park that was developed under the watch of Sea Pines founder Charles Fraser and once called "the most sophisticated and aesthetically pleasing water slide ever built anywhere."

Summer Concerts
It’s that time of year again, and Harbour Town will once again be “alive with the sound of music” as the summer concert series kicks off again. The shows this summer include Kenny Rogers, Hootie & the Blowfish, and Blood, Sweat & Tears. For more information, go to www.hightideconcerts.com. Enjoy!

Congratulations are in order for our June E-mail
Newsletter Drawing Winner

Donna Golden of Sewaren, NJ

As a recipient of this e-mail newsletter, you are automatically entered into our drawing for next month's giveaway. Good Luck...and don't forget to pass this along to a friend so they can sign up to be a recipient of the newsletter and an entry in our drawing! Thanks! Simply click here to enter.

The “locks” at Windmill Harbour. One of only 2 locked-harbours, Windmill Harbour marina maintains a consistent water level at all times, with boats access the variable waters of the Intracoastal Waterway via the 2-door, single-phase lock system. This system is operated during the day by marina staff members and is “fail-proof” so that boaters can operate the locks during off-hours by themselves. Boat slips are available for sale and rent in the marina, so email us if you have an interest.