The York County Regional Chamber of Commerce with support of local municipalities, launched a year-long campaign asking York County residents to shop within the county. May 26 is the first York County Buy Local Day, where residents are challenged to make their shopping choices in the county. There’s an ongoing challenge for residents to spend $20 on the 20th of each month in York County, which leaders say would have a $4.5 million impact.

The chamber states when you buy locally… every $100 you spend at a corporate chain in York County, $15 is reinvested locally. And for every $100 you spend at a locally owned business in York County, $45 is reinvested in our community. How is it reinvested? Business owners use the money you spend with them to pay taxes that benefit local school districts, police departments and more. They even donate to local charities that benefit the community. AND they pay their employees who can then spend their paychecks with another local business!

The Chamber and the Buy Local Committee are using social media resources to promote Buy Locally! Each month specific business categories are featured based on seasonal shopping occasions! Visit this link to see what’s happening this week! You can also follow @BuyLocalYC or @ycrchamber on Twitter, or “like” the Buy Into It page on Facebook.

We know 5 home owners in the Baxter Village and Tega Cay Lake Shore subdivision that have had water pipe leaks in their homes recently. Some of the home owners have had significant water damage to their home. If you think you may have CPI brand Dura Pex water pipe tubing installed in your home, please listen.

The information we have been able to gather about the water tube leaks are linked to Consolidated Plumbing Industries (CPI) Dura Pex tubing manufactured between 2001 and 2004. NIBCO purchased CPI in 2006 and performed tests on CPI manufactured Dura Pex tubing because of higher than normal reports of water tube failures in the Charlotte metro area.

NIBCO claims the tubing tests showed low gel content and poor oxidative stability. In addition, they claim the water especially in York County SC and Union County NC is considered to be “aggressive” and coupled with high pressures are accelerating material degradation and causing the failures. I am not sure what aggressive water means but several of the reported leaks are occurring near the hot water heater which see higher pressures because of the expanding hot water.

So what should you do if have the terra cotta flex tubing manufactured between 2001 and 2004 installed in your home? I would first inspect the tubing to see if you can see if the CPI manufacture stamp on the tubing especially near your hot water tank.  If you’re not able to determine the manufecturer you can always call your home builder or plumber and speak to them about the type of plumbing pipes installed in your home.

Price Brothers, Inc. is a local plumbing company that many of the builders used in new construction, especially in the Tega Cay Lake Shore subdivision in the early 2000’s. Price Brothers recommend replacing approx 20 foot of pipe leading to your water heater if your home has the CPI made defective tubing. We have found the CPI tubing installed in our DR Horton built home and are having Price Brothers replace the pipe near our water heater as a preventive measure.

I found the following online forum conversation about CPI manufactured tube failures with other home owners in the area if you want to read more.

Online report outlines alternatives to foreclosure for distressed homeowners in Fort Mill, Tega Cay, Lake Wylie, Rock Hill, Ballantyne, South Charlotte.

Fort Mill, SC CDPE-designated agent, Carmen Miller of Century 21 First Choice, has added to her HomesFortMill.com website, information describing several opportunities for homeowners to avoid the negative financial impact of foreclosure.  

This community resource is available at Fort Mill Foreclosure Avoidance defines foreclosure alternatives including short sales, loan modifications, and forbearance.

“It’s a concern to me that so few in our community know their options when they start to fall behind on mortgage payments,” Carmen Miller said.  “If they act quickly and get informed, they can make informed decisions to find financial stability.”

Foreclosure alternatives such as short sales—which now make up over one-third of real estate closings across the nation—are an increasingly popular way for both homeowners and lenders to minimize their losses in this tough economy.

“More lenders are realizing that they can save money in a short sale versus a foreclosure, and are more likely than they were three years ago to approve a short sale offer.” Carmen Miller said.  “This is good news for homeowners because they now have more options than ever.”

The CDPE designation Carmen Miller has provides real estate professionals with specific understanding of the complex issues confronting distressed homeowners.  Through comprehensive training and experience, CDPE-designated agents are able to provide solutions for homeowners facing financial hardship in today’s market.

Have you ever driven by the old Jim and Tammy Bakker built “Hertiage Towers”? The towers are located in Fort Mill SC Regent Park off of US Hwy 21. Is the tower an eyesore for nearby Fort Mill home owners or a diamond in the rough for future senior citizens? If you have not seen Heritage Towers, you’ll find a high rise tower located in what seems to be an odd location for such a tall 21 story structure. There is a fence around the building shielding anyone from falling bricks off of the building. Basically the tower and some areas around the tower look like an un-kept, decaying,  unfinished safety hazard.

Tower owners Morningstar Ministries will meet with York County Council on March 5th to discuss the fate of the tower. Moringstar Ministries has been trying to restore the tower to be used as a high rise christian based retirement complex. Unfortunately their restoration plans, which started in 2004, have never been fully implemented or completed. York County has been pressuring on the group to restore or tear the tower down since 2007.

The long battle between York County and Morningstar Ministries is scheduled for a final resolution in March. The public is invited to the March 5th York County Council Meeting to listen to Morningstar Ministries “final” proposal to the County .

What’s your opinion. Should the Towers stay or be taken down?

With the upcoming warmer weather, I thought the following festival information would be interesting to share. I found a website by a publisher with a festival magazine focus for the Carolinas and neighboring states.  Here is a short list of “featured” North and South Carolina Festivals:

March 30-31, 2012 Newport Pig Cooking Contest Newport, NC

April 12-21, 2012 Come-See-Me Festival Rock Hill, SC

April 20-21, 2012 Pickens Azalea Festival Pickens, SC

April 28-29, 2012 Kings Drive Art Walk Charlotte, NC

May 4-6, 2012 Orangeburg Festival of Roses Orangeburg, SC

May 11, 2012 Blue Ridge Fest 2012 Pickens, SC

July 4, 2012 Jacksonville’s Freedom Festival Jacksonville, NC

Here is a link to South Carolina Festivals

Here is a list of upcoming 2011 Christmas parades for cities in York, Chester, and Lancaster Counties SC.

Friday Dec 2nd

Rock Hill SC – starts at 6:30 p.m. starts on on Oakland Avenue in front of Winthrop University and ends downtown.

Saturday Dec 3rd

Fort Mill SC – starts at 11 a.m. at Unity Cemetery and travels down Tom Hall Street to Main Street.

Hickory Grove SC – starts at 3 p.m. near the old Oxford plant and travels down Wylie Avenue to the VFW building.

Sunday Dec 4th

Tirzah SC – starts at 3 p.m. on Tirzah Road between S.C. 4 and S.C. 161 in York.

Clover SC – starts at 3 p.m. at Old North Main Street, travels down Main Street and ends near Ultra Avenue. 

Wednesday Dec. 7th

York SC – starts at 4:30 p.m. and runs along Congress Street through the center of town.

Saturday Dec. 10th

Richburg SC -starts at 11 a.m. at Old Richburg Road, route on Main Street.

Van Wyck SC – starts at noon near the post office and ends at the post office.

Fort Lawn SC – starts at 2 p.m. where U.S. 21 South starts, travels down Main Street and ends at Municipal Drive.

Lancaster SC – starts at 6 p.m. and runs from Main Street.

Lake Wylie SC –  Boat Parade starts at 6:30 p.m. at Buster Boyd Access Area and T-Bones on the Lake.

Saturday Dec. 17th

Lowrys SC –  starts at 1 p.m. at the Community Center, goes into Lowrys and ends at the Community Center.

Tega Cay SC – Santa Claus rides with the Tega Cay Fire Dept down all streets in Tega Cay, starts at 8:00am

Store Opens March 16, 2012 – 2468 Cross Pointe Dr. (at Red River Rd.) Rock Hill, SC 29730. Store Hours Mon-Sat 8am-10pm, Sun 9am-8pm 

Sports fans are you ready for a new sporting goods store in Rock Hill? Development company Warren Norman Co, Inc, announced it has signed a lease for a new 71,829 sq ft Academy Sports + Outdoors. The new sporting goods store will be located at a new shopping center called High Point Crossings at the corner of Dave Lyle Blvd and Red River Road.

The talks and negotiations between the Developer and Academy began over 4 years ago. The lease singing secures a major anchor tenant for the new 40 acre, 225,000 retail square footage development with a projected real estate value when the center is completed at over 35 million dollars.

Academy Sports + Outdoors is a sports, outdoor and lifestyle retailer with a huge assortment of  hunting, fishing and camping equipment and gear along with sports and leisure products, footwear, apparel and more. The Texas-based company operates over 135 stores throughout Southeast and lower Midwest including;

Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

The Rock Hill Academy store will be their first store in the greater Charlotte region. The projected construction completion of the Academy store is estimated to be February 2012.

I am excited for 2 reasons. One, it’s nice to hear about a development project moving forward during this stale economy. Two, I have shopped Academy’s in their home city of Houston and think the stores are great and items are priced to be very competitive in the market.

A job posting for a Manager’s position for this location was posted on the Academy website in early July.

As of June 21 (a month later), the death toll from the Joplin MO May 22 Tornado is approaching 155 and counting. Century 21 First Choice , Stockbridge Commons Shopping Center, and the Crossing Church have been collecting donations for victims of the Joplin devastating tornado.

Two Century 21 First Choice agents Kim Efird and Kelli Voss have been spearheading the donation drive for weeks. Their main donation event including a band is planned for Saturday June 25th from 10am to 2pm next to the Lowes Food store.

Visit their Facebook page for more info. The page is called Helping Neighbors and Beyond Tornado Disaster Relief.

Here is a list of needed items:

Gatorade (No water)

Single packages different flavors of Crystal Light

Canned Foods, like vegetables, soups etc.

Laundry detergent

Paper Towels

Large Trash Bags

Manual Hand operated Can openers

Flashlights with batteries

Pull Ups

Large Coolers

Ideally all items are in boxes, sorted out preferable on pallets as well and shrink

wrapped.

What is needed more than anything is CASH:

Checks can be made out to:

The Salvation Army

P.O. Box 21787

St. Louis MO 63109

(please designate the gift: “Joplin Tornado”)

Cell Phone users:

Text: “JOPLIN” to 80888 to make a USD $10 donation

The donation will be boxed up and Crossing Church will ship the items to a mission and the Salvation Army collection point in Joplin MO.

You can drop off donations anytime this week during regular business hours at the Century 21 First Choice office located at 206 Rockmount Dr Fort Mill, SC 29708 on Gold Hill Road.

For more info contact

Kim Efird  – kbefird@aol.com
Kelli Voss -  kelli.voss@century21.com

Shortly before 10pm last night, the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for north central York County SC according to the details in a Rock Hill Herald article this morning. We heard the warning sirens go off in the Fort Mill – Tega Cay Area. Fortunately for the Fort Mill area, the storm weakened by the time it approached our area. Folks were not so lucky in the Clover area. So what should you do when you hear the sirens?

York County Office of Emergency Management states on their website to tune into local radio stations for York County which are AM Station WRHI – 1340 and FM Stations WRHM – 107.9 and WRHI – 94.3.  During the regularly scheduled tests, the sirens are activated for one 3-minute cycle. During a real emergency, the sirens will be activated for several 3-minute cycles.

What should you do when there is a tornado warning? Below is information from the FEMA website:

If you are under a tornado WARNING, seek shelter immediately!

If you are in: A structure (e.g. residence, small building, school, nursing home, hospital, factory, shopping center, high-rise building)

Then: Go to a pre-designated shelter area such as a safe room, basement, storm cellar, or the lowest building level. If there is no basement, go to the center of an interior room on the lowest level (closet, interior hallway) away from corners, windows, doors, and outside walls. Put as many walls as possible between you and the outside. Get under a sturdy table and use your arms to protect your head and neck. Do not open windows.

If you are in: a vehicle, trailer, or mobile home

Then: Get out immediately and go to the lowest floor of a sturdy, nearby building or a storm shelter. Mobile homes, even if tied down, offer little protection from tornadoes.

If you are: outside with no shelter

Then: Lie flat in a nearby ditch or depression and cover your head with your hands. Be aware of the potential for flooding. Do not get under an overpass or bridge. You are safer in a low, flat location. Never try to outrun a tornado in urban or congested areas in a car or truck. Instead, leave the vehicle immediately for safe shelter. Watch out for flying debris. Flying debris from tornadoes causes most fatalities and injuries.

To view FEMA’s suggestions go to: What to Do During a Tornado

What did you do last night when you heard the tornado warning sirens?

When you enter The City of Tega Cay, one of the first things you see is a welcome to Tega Cay sign on the left side of Tega Cay Drive.  Soon you’ll also see the Living Memorial Gardens.  A sign marking and announcing the Living Memorial Gardens was posted last week at the entrance of Lakeshore subdivision on Shoreline Parkway.

Tega Cay’s Beautification Committee has planned and is promoting the new city garden. The Living Memorial Gardens will include sidewalks and paths that meander through a variety of picturesque gardens, ornamental trees, shrubs, grasses and structures. Boulders, twenty benches and three bench swings will dot the grounds.

Gardens located in various areas will include a Veteran’s Memorial Garden, Children’s Rock Garden, Butterfly Garden, Shade Garden, Herb Garden, Rain Garden and Rose Garden.

The sidewalks will be lined with approximately 1,500 laser inscribed pavers, which will memorialize people or organizations chosen by their donators. The individual gardens, trees, benches, and bench swings are available for donators to display a bronze plaque or laser inscribed bricks.

The Beautification Committee is soliciting sponsorships and the opportunity to purchase garden elements like laser inscribed bricks, benches with plaques, trees etc. See the brochure and website for more details.

A ground breaking ceremony is planned to kick off Memorial Day weekend Friday May 27, 2011.

1939 Newberry Ln in Tega Cay SC 29708 home for sale in the Lakeshore subdivision has a new sale price of $385,000. You’ll also see new added exterior decor improvements including shutter and door painting.

MOTIVATED SELLER 20K PRICE DROP Great home with room for all, including formals, gourmet kitchen, hardwood flooring, guest suite with full bath on main level, large master suite, generous secondary bedrooms, four full baths, huge third story bonus.Cul-de-sac street within walking distance to parks and lake. Wooded lot backs to park. PRICED 10K below tax value!

York County will begin mailing “Notice of Assessment” letters to York County SC property owners this month. Your property is reassessed every 5 years or sooner if you make improvements or transfer (buy) property. The last County 5 year reassessment was in 2006. There is a good chance your home value in Fort Mill, Rock Hill, Tega Cay, Lake Wylie, Clover, etc will show an increase this year.

What? My property re-assessment notice from York County may show an increase this year? I thought homes have decreased in value in the last couple years! So why the higher property assessment values this year?

Since the last reassessment was done in 2006, property values were based on market and sales activity in 2003 and 2004. The market continued to experience property value increases in years 2006 – 2008. Your reassessment will most likely be higher if not adjusted since 2006. In fact, Herald reporter Jamie Self stated in an article, 77% of York County property values are worth more than they were in the 2006 assessment.

Some relief comes from a 2006 “Real Property Tax Reform Bill” Act 388. There are some guidelines in the bill that may help limit your reassessment increase or tax impact

The bill caps the increase in value on a property at 15% over a five year period unless there is an “Assessable Transfer of Interest” (meaning the home was sold, bought, or transferred) or additions and improvements.

Because of the increase in values during reassessment, state law requires that local government reduce the millage rate to what is called a “rollback millage.”

Here are some tips from the York County Assessor’s office in reviewing your Notice of Assessment

• Is the information correct on your notice?
• If this is you primary residence, is it taxed at an assessment rate of 4% instead of 6%?
• Is it showing the correct number of buildings and acreage?
• Does the value of the land and buildings reflect the properties true market value? (The price that your property would sell for on a fair and open market, with a willing buyer and willing seller.)

When you receive your “Notice of Reassessment” and you disagree with the reassessment, you will have 90 days to file a written notice of objection to the County Assessor’s Office. I provided a copy of the County’s form here. York County Notice Of objection

If you have more questions about your assessment or the reassessment process, I added a handy link to 2 York County help documents:

YC ReAssessment FAQ

York County SC Reassessnent

Or visit the York County Assessor’s Office website.



As you are driving around York County, you may see from time to time a re-zoning hearing sign posted on undeveloped property.  I happened to see a re-zoning hearing sign on the corner of Pleasant road and Carowinds Blvd.  I thought it would be of interest to see what was posted online at the York County govt website about the zoning hearing.

It would appear that QuickTrip, a convenience store/gas station company,  needs to rezone the parcel to be able to build and operate their type of  business on the property. Here is the online information:

On April 4th 2011 The York County Planning Commission will hold a hearing for the following re-zoning request

REZONING APPLICATION OVERVIEW F OR CASE 11-02

APPLICANT: Brandon Forshee (QuikTrip Corporation) 205 Regency Executive Park Drive, Suite 306 Charlotte, NC 28217 PROPERTY OWNER(S): B & C Enterprises 1440 Hwy 55 East Clover, SC 29710

REQUESTED ACTION To rezone approximately 4.522 +/- acres from ID to BD-III

TAX MAP NUMBER 7230000048

LOT SIZE +/- 4.522 acres

LOCATION Intersection of Carowinds Blvd & Pleasant Road in the Fort Mill community

EXISTING SITE CONDITIONS AND LAND USE Vacant Warehouse/Commercial

COUNCIL DISTRICT One (1) David Bowman

Business Development District III General (BD-III). This district is intended to provide for areas within the county where “large scale” commercial and business development may occur. This district is designed to support county-wide or regional shopping centers, and business complexes of greater magnitude than permitted by the BD-I and BD-II Districts. This district is designed to accommodate a wide range of business and commercial uses, generally clustered for “cumulative attraction” and optimum accessibility.

Permitted uses (some of which may require site plan approval) within the BD-III zoning district include: automobile and boat service repair; broadcasting stations; car washes and detail shops; churches; commercial recreation establishments; commercial parking lots; general business services; lodges and civic clubs; marinas; mini-warehouses; motels and hotels; museums, art galleries, and libraries; personal service establishments; professional uses; recreational vehicle parks; convenience, primary, and secondary retail establishments; transportation service and facilities; and multi-family dwellings to include townhouses, apartment buildings, and condominiums. (For more detailed information, please refer to York County Zoning Code §155.161 & §155.162.)