River Walk Subdivision

Five Forks, South Carolina near Simpsonville

2018 South Carolina Legislation Means New Requirements for Homeowners Associations

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South Carolina Homeowners Association Act of 2018

After years of proposals and negotiations among South Carolina state legislators, new legislation affecting Homeowners Associations was signed into law by Governor Henry McMasters and took effect May 17th, 2018. Some provisions of the new law won’t apply to HOAs organized as non-profit corporations such as River Walk. Other provisions will apply to River Walk, incorporated as River Walk Recreation Association LLC.

Transparency: Until this year, HOAs have only been required to file covenants with the county for public inspection. This despite the fact that there are other important documents that a prospective homeowner would want to inspect before buying a home governed by an HOA. Going forward, all documents adopted by South Carolina HOA’s must be recorded in county public records by January 10th the year after adoption or they are unenforceable.   River Walk Covenants require an affirmative vote of a majority of homeowners, not just board members, to change and have been in effect unchanged since 1987. River Walk ByLaws can be changed by a majority of property owners present at an annual or special meeting and  River Walk Rules and Regulations can be changed by a simple majority of the board of directors. These documents have been revised multiple times.

Dispute resolution: The SCHA Act says that local magistrate courts will handle monetary disputes between individuals and his or her HOA.

The Department of Consumer Affairs Services for Homeowners and Homeowners Association Act (DCA Act). Another change is that the Department of Consumer Affairs will now handle complaints filed by homeowners concerning the governance of their South Carolina HOA. After receiving a complaint, the Department of Consumer Affairs will provide the complaint to the HOAs board of directors. The board of directors will then submit a response. The Department of Consumer Affairs must file an annual report that informs the South Carolina General Assembly about complaints and responses received.

Full text of the South Carolina Homeowners Association Act

 

Bridgeway Station Construction To Begin As Early As This Summer

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River Walk residents who drive to Greenville via I-385 will see big changes soon, possibly as early as this summer, according to an article (3/20/2018) in Greenville News. BridgeWay Station, a mixed use development, will be built at Center-Pointe. The only current building at the 78-acre CenterPointe Business Park is the Charter Spectrum building.

Center Pointe Blvd. connects to Bridges Rd near I-385. As part of the new development, a pedestrian bridge over I-385 will connect Center-Pointe with the Swamp Rabbit Trail. No traffic study has been completed Mauldin City Administrator Trey Eubanks told the Greenville News.

* Image to the right is a very rough rendering of the approximate development area.

 

 

Santa Visits River Walk

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Clear Springs Fire Rescue will escort Santa to River Walk and these other subdivisions on Thursday December 14th.
Chatham Woods, Waverly Hall, Stonehaven, Avondales Heights, RIVER WALK, Gresham Woods, Gilder Creek Farms, Gresham Park and Townes at Five Forks. Santa begins his rounds at 6:30pm. Important! Many of you will remember when he was able to go down each cul de sac. The number of subdivisions in the area has increased and so to save time, they are asking those on cul de sacs to come down to the the next through street to see Santa.

River Walk 6 Month Sales Report for 2017

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Median house statistics: 11 houses were sold in the first half of this year at a median price of $415,000. The discount from the first asking price was 3.8%, 3.1% of the final asking price. The median size was 3,400 square feet at $120.52 per square feet. It took 47 days from the day the house was listed to the day it was under contract. It took 95 days from first list to close.

There were 12 houses sold in the first half of 2016. The median sales price was $384,500 so the median sales price was up 8.4% in 2017 as compared to the first half of 2016. This was perhaps due to the fact that the median house sold last year was 3,147 Square Feet in the first half of last year and 3,400 Square Feet in 2017 so far. Average cost per square foot this year is down from $123.91 in the first half of 2016 to $120.52 so far this year. Houses sold faster so far this year as compared to the first half of 2016. The median number of days from list to contract was 72 in the first half of 2016. It took 129 days from list to close in the first half of last year.

Methodology

A vacant lot was sold this year at a price of $25,900. We didn’t include that in our statistics.  The median days from list to contract and list to close does not include days houses were For Sale By Owner (FSBO) It’s common for houses to be offered for sale as a FSBO before it is listed with an agent.

If a house was listed with one agent and re-listed with another, we counted the total days on the market as one listing.

If you’d like a detailed report showing each individual house sales in the first half of 2017 and the first half of 2016, send us an email at [email protected] and we’ll email it to you free.

Should Greenville County Approve Woodruff Road and Highway 14 Rezoning?

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Hwy 14 and Woodruff Road land
Image: Google Street View April 2016

Since 1991, there have been five failed attempts at rezoning 10.66 acres at the corner of Highway 14 and Woodruff Road, the most recent was in 2009.

It is now zoned R-S (Residential Suburban District) and it the developers are asking for it to be rezoned PD (Planned Development).

Unsurprisingly, there are lots of opponents. But many of those critics were caught off guard by the large number of supporters at the May 15th public hearing. A Stonehaven II resident in attendance put it at 100 in favor against 15 opponents at the hearing.

The land sits next to Graceland Cemetery, but across the street is Southside Christian School. If rezoning is approved, developers will turn over 4 acres to the school for an early childhood center for 200 or more students. Southside Christian also would be permitted to sell the property. Such donations in exchange for support aren’t uncommon among rezoning requests, but some opponents view it as a slick tactic. One upset Summerwalk Subdivision resident wrote on Neighborhood Bulletin Board NextDoor.com (registration required):

“If you had a vested interest in something, wouldn’t you show up too? If you were being given a piece of property to develop, you would have been there as well.”

Most rezoning requests draw opposition but in this case, the location next to a cemetery adds fuel to the often fiery debate. Opponents see it as disrespectful to the dead. Some with loved ones buried there say they were promised the land next door would never be developed. Supporters say that the wall, which has already been built, will protect it and the store side will be better off than the side just a few feet away from Woodruff Road.

The land will almost surely be developed, if not as a commercial development, then as a new residential subdivision. Supporters of the rezoning say that traffic will be worse if another subdivision is built on that land.

The rezoning proposal calls for a Sprouts Farmer’s Market, an organic and natural grocery store, within a 30,000-square-feet building to allow for offices, restaurants, retail space. 255 parking spaces are planned.

A representative of the developer, RealtyLink, says that not just any business would be allowed. A clause would prevent businesses that would be inappropriate next to a cemetery from being added. Examples cited of businesses not permitted include a bowling alley, dollar store, dry cleaning, manufacturing, nightclub, large thrift stores and adult book stores.

The second reading of the proposed rezoning is schedule for June 20th, 2017. The third and final reading is to be held July 18, 2017. It is identified on the Greenville SC County website as Docket CZ-2017-31.