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PLEASE HELP!!! We are looking for a retirement community and stumbled upon Lakeside Crossing in Conway, SC. We were blown away by the wonderful value and great homes there!!! I wanted to purchase one on the spot. However, now that I'm back home in NY (I resisted the urge to make a rash decision), I wonder if Lakeside Crossing is "too good to be true". I've noticed that many of the houses for sale there just sit waiting for a buyer for months on end! It seems that the home sellers often have to keep reducing their listing prices. As the old saying goes, "if it's too good to be true, it probably isn't true". Is Lakeside Crossing a diamond that I have discovered, or a "piece of coal"??? Thanks for any help you can give me!
Lakeside Crossing is a beautiful community. However, the biggest drawback to the community is that you only own the house...not the land that it sits on. You rent/lease the land and the cost is included in your monthly fee that you pay the management company. You are at the mercy of the land owner on how much you pay to rent the land and how often he raises the rent.
There have been protests by residents of the community because the management company is discounting the rent (for the first few years) on the property for people purchasing new homes. This leaves the longer term owners at a disadvantage when they are trying to sell their property and tell the prospective buyer how much their rent is (significantly higher than the discounted rate on new homes). That's why you see so many houses for sale...the current owners cannot compete with the management company on the price of the rent even when they price their homes lower than the new ones the management company is selling.
So, that's the downside of Lakeside Crossing. It is a beautiful community with lots of very nice amenities, but unless you never want to move and don't mind paying rent for your land, you should beware.
Thanks so much for your VERY quick reply!!! We do understand that, and are still willing to proceed. Our very honest realtor advised us of that fact while we were at the community. I even knew about the current homeowner's protests. Is that the only drawback that you are aware of???
I don't live there so can't tell you about anything other than what they told me when I was considering a home there and what I see in the newspaper. I know a new owner took over the community but who can say whether that's good or bad.
The best way to find out the good/bad/ugly is to walk around the community and ask questions of anyone that you see in their yard or out for a walk. But, since you're back in NY, that would be hard to do ;-)
Our very honest realtor advised us of that fact while we were at the community. I even knew about the current homeowner's protests. Is that the only drawback that you are aware of???
I think you should read the lease thoroughly. In many of these communities, the owners can raise that land rent at will, so you have no protection against rising costs. I don't believe I would ever live in a land-lease community. Please investigate other options.
HOA monthly fees of $450 to $600 a month would be a huge for me . You could find many other subdivisions where the HOA fees are 10% of those at Lakeside Crossing . Route 501 , access and egress , not something to look forward to either , JMO .
SC , I would guess you are 100% correct . I wouldn't want that hanging over my head every month until the day I die . We plan on spending just about what we would here , when we move to MB in 5 years or so . Real Estate prices are remarkably similar in my area of NY and MB . A $60 per month HOA fee is almost negligible when you factor in basic cable and trash pick-up (where we are looking) as opposed to +/- $500 per month at Lakeside Crossing . Not that they aren't included there . But really , $700 vs $6000 a year , just isn't doable for the average person . There are so many other and better options all up and down the Grand Strand , simple economics to me .
Retire in MB, thank you for that link. Since we'll be heading down to Myrtle Beach mid July, I am "on overdrive" with my researching and reading. I appreciate your many contributions to this forum and yes, I did find that article interesting. You can never know too much about your retirement location. Thanks.
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I've noticed that many of the houses for sale there just sit waiting for a buyer for months on end! It seems that the home sellers often have to keep reducing their listing prices. As the old saying goes, "if it's too good to be true, it probably isn't true". Is Lakeside Crossing a diamond that I have discovered, or a "piece of coal"??? Thanks for any help you can give me! 
Lakeside Crossing..........
