Ashton Pointe Blog

If you live in a home or apartment in Beaufort, South Carolina, here's a great hurricane awareness check list  to look at.

Secure Your Home

• Put freestanding objects inside
• Plan for your pets. Make sure you have pet food, collar and leash and crates, if necessary
• Designate a safe room with no widows or exterior walls.

Plan for Your Personal Safety and Security

• Keep emergency phone numbers by the phone; include out-of-state contacts for family members.
• Assemble an emergency preparedness kit (enough supplies for three to five days) with bottled water (one gallon per person per day), battery-operated radio or TV with extra batteries, first aid kit, flashlight and packaged snacks. Remember to include baby supplies and food, manual can opener, hand sanitizer or wipes, and extra house and car keys.
• Gather all necessary prescriptions and medical supplies to take at a moment's notice.
• Place all important documents -- including your insurance policies -- in a waterproof bag to take with you. include documents like wills, deeds, birth and tax records, and marriage certificate, proof of residence, home photos, and driver's license and vehicle registration. Include house and car keys
• Take cash and change
• Listen to media broadcasts, especially paying attention to any calls for evacuation
• Call 311 (Emergency Evacuation Assistance) if a family member needs special care.

Check Your Insurance Coverage

• Flood and windstorm insurance are not automatically covered by renters insurance.
• Take photos of your home before the storm.
• Take camera to take photos of damage.

Nothing beats this time of year in Beaufort, SC. The Low Country is an area with beautiful scenery, architecture, and weather, so get outside. Staying healthy, is easy with such beautiful weather and so many things to see. There is an easy way stay fit, go for a walk. Walking fits into any schedule, and it can be done alone or with a friend.

It is easy to get to know your neighbors better when you walk. When you get outside you meet others who are outside. Start with smiles, and then conversations begin. If you’ve just moved in to your apartment in Beaufort, SC start a walking group with a few of your neighbors. There will certainly be a few others that want to get outside, get walking and get healthy. By walking you can better your health and enjoy your neighbors.

Did you know that a simple 2 mile a day walk can decrease your risk of heart disease by up to 40%? And, walking for 15 minutes a day gets us our daily dose of vitamin D.  Increased health and well being have been proven with any type of daily walking regimen.  

Ashton Pointe Apartments is teaming up with the “Breast Friends” team to support the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure.

On October 15, 2011, “Breast Friends” and Ashton Pointe will be running/walking in the race to help raise money and awareness.

If you are interested in joining or making a donation, please visit our site at http://www.komenlowcountry.org/ and be sure to click on the “Register Online” link and join the existing team, “Breast Friends” or simply click here.

Click here to Download Flyer.

When you live in an apartment in Beaufort, SC it is easy to discover it’s sophisticated charm. Nestled in the curve of a beautiful bay along the Intra-Coastal Waterway, this historic town offers a unique Low country experience that will leave you with lasting memories of southern hospitality. Here are some fun things to do around Beaufort:

Movies in the Park where all the movies are free!

A wonderful experience to watch a movie under the stars withour magnificent Beaufort River as a backdrop!  You bring the chairs and have a wonderful experience under the stars at the Henry C. Chambers Water Front Park.

Beaufort Taste and Toast
Beaufort's Best Chefs come together at the Dataw Island Club for a great evening offFood, wine, and a good cause! Many restaurants like the Breakwater Restaurant & Bar; Dataw Island Club; Maggies' Pub & Eatery are coming together to benefit CODA Citizens Opposed to Domestic Violence.

Sweet Grass Exhbit
Have you ever wondered about our Gullah tradition and culture of sweet grass baskets? Thru August 26th The York W. Bailey Museum at Penn Center is presenting the debut exhibition of "The Beaufort Basket" by sweetgrass basket maker Jery Bennet-Taylor. This will be the first in a series of exhibits celebrating Gullah traditional art in South Carolina.

When deciding whether to rent or buy, you are making the choice to rent an apartment home or renting the capital needed to buy a home. Most Americans don't consider that they are renting equity (from the bank) to buy a home. As you are aware, very little equity is built in the first few years of paying a mortgage. Many people are surprisingly still very unaware of this fact.

This following article explains how renting is financially better than buying in about 75% of cases!

For the Past 30 Years, Renting Was Generally Better Than Buying

If homeownership is the American dream, then the nation had better wake up. That's the message from a new research paper that examines whether buying or renting a home was a better financial decision over the past 30 years. Most would find the result surprising: over the period Americans were better off renting between 65% and 75% of the time, depending on the investment alternative.

The article essentially looks at eight-year periods and assumes that a person invests the money he or she saves by renting. Since buying is generally more expensive than renting, renters have extra money to invest. It also makes a number of assumptions favorable to homeownership, including gains from the mortgage interest tax deduction, the option to refinance, and the ability to walk away -- loss-free -- from an underwater mortgage. Still, renting wins approximately three-quarters of the time.

The staff at economic research organization e21 explains why this result actually shouldn't be so shocking:

Counter-intuitive as the finding may be to some, it is actually quite logical. Unless someone possesses the cash necessary to buy a residence, he or she will be renting one way or another. The choice is between renting the property directly or instead renting the capital necessary to buy the property. The amount of capital to be rented is a function of house prices, while the bulk of a mortgage payment is interest, which is the rental payment on this capital. After 2 years, the typical 30-year amortizing mortgage balance has been reduced by less than 3%. This means that a household that took out a $300,000 mortgage with a 5% interest rate to buy a home has only reduced its mortgage balance by $8,600 after two years despite spending nearly $39,000 in total over this period.

Housing advocates may respond by pointing out that at least the $8,600 in this scenario went towards home equity rather than simply being squandered on rent. But, as demonstrated in the Real Estate Economics article, the principal component of each mortgage payment - i.e. the portion of the mortgage payment that goes towards reducing the principal mortgage balance instead of interest - is an added expense renters don't have.

This turns the real estate industry's biggest talking point on its head: you aren't throwing rent into the wind each month, you're casting away equity.

Of course, that equity also provides a potential benefit. The analysis's eight-year rolling methodology appears to miss the biggest reward of owning a home: living rent-free once the home is paid off. After that 30-years is up, the longer a family remains in that home rent-free, the more buying pays off. Taking this into account would almost certainly change the result in some, if not all situations. Renting may be a better option initially, but there's no eventual reward.

An important point still needs to be made here: buying a home that you don't plan to live in for an extended period of time probably isn't a great idea. The rent you pay in the form of interest on a 30-year loan for five or even 10 years won't be any better than if you had just rented outright. But if you're planning on living in a home for 30-plus years, then you could potentially get some benefit from buying rather than renting.

Original article by By Daniel Indiviglio, The Atlantic

Did you know it is national grilling month? Well, it may be more challenging to celebrate by grilling out if you live in an apartment. But, electric grills are great for apartment living. If you live in an apartment in Beaufort, SC and you love to grill, an electric grill may be a great option for you. Not to mention the great seafood that is available for grilling in South Carolina!

Many people find, after moving to an apartment, that open flames grills are not convenient.  If giving up grilling is not an option and you love that great summer time feeling of grilling on your deck or patio consider an electric grill.

There are also some tremendous advantages to an electric grill. No lugging charcoal and you won’t run out of propane in the middle of cooking. Also, an electric grill is designed for fat run off, so the Lowcountry food you grill on an electric grill is healthier than traditionally grilled foods. Spark up the grill and celebrate National Grilling Month in Beaufort!

Some of the hottest weather of the summer is heading for South Carolina, the heat is still on! If you live in an apartment in Beaufort, SC, you have probably  spent some time in the pool. But there is a better and more exciting way to beat the heat this week. The Beaufort Water Festival begins this Friday!

The 56th Annual Beaufort Water Festival will continue the great traditions of the past festivals with all of the water and air shows, sporting events and musical entertainment planned for you along with crafts and great food. Even better, this year's festival coincides with Beaufort's 300 Year Tri-centennial Celebration.

Watch the video below to see how we stayed cool at a Water Festival Parade from the past.

 

As you know, excessive heat warnings have been issued for 17 counties. and they are saying it will feel like at least 110 degrees. Actually, they say the heat index could reach 117 along the coast from Charleston south to Beaufort. So stay cool.

Southern Living readers consistently rate Beaufort as one of the “Best Small Towns in the South” in the magazine’s annual survey, and the area also makes a regular appearance on lists of the “best places to retire.” Proud to be a bit off the beaten path, Beaufort is often described as a smaller version of its historic big city sisters, Savannah and Charleston.

Beaufort’s year-round temperature averages about 65 degrees. Coastal residents and visitors alike adore the area’s temperate climate, because it allows outdoor recreation twelve months of the year. With beautiful apartments in  Beaufort, SC, this fun, relaxing and completely southern town can be your home.

And, Beaufort is turning 300! We've had 300 years to perfect the best of everything the Lowcountry has to offer; history, southern cuisine, outdoor adventure, beaches, art, romance and more. Call Ashton Pointe today to find out how to make this your home.

Summer vacation is now upon us in Beaufort, South Carolina. Sometimes it's hard to come up with different activities to keep the kids happy and the parents from going crazy. As much as your kids will tell you they can't wait for summer, the words "I'm bored," inevitably cross their lips – sometimes sooner than you think! While children do enjoy the freedom that comes with the summer months, and playing at the Ashton Pointe pool is a blast, they still like to have a little structure to their fun. This summer, more than ever, families are trying to stick to a budget while still having fun with their kids.

The Beaufort region offers several kid-friendly entertainment options.

This summer, ARTworks is hosting camps for kids of various age groups interested in visual and theater arts.

Rick Hubbard, kazoo master, will be putting on an entertaining musical show every Tuesday beginning June 28th and running through August 2nd. His show, Kazoos on Vacation, features your kids as the stars!
 
As part of the Beaufort County Public Library's "World Tales", Puppeter Hobey Ford will be performing in the ARTworks Black Box theater on June 29th.
 
Fripp Island offers Camp Fripp, a program of crafting, nature trips, beach trips, pool games and much more for kids ages 3-12. Camp Fripp is held from Memorial Day to Labor Day every year.

For your young athlete, Dancing Dogs Yoga offers several classes for kids of all ages.

Your retirement years are a time to improve your golf game, take up a new hobby, or just enjoy a well-deserved break. With gorgeous places to live and endless things to do, retiring in Beaufort, SC is perfect, and you can expand your intellectual horizons too at the University of South Carolina.

When Hollywood movie scouts need the quintessential southern setting, they frequently call on Beaufort. Tucked among South Carolina's Sea Islands, this 300-year-old town with antebellum mansions and moss-covered oaks has been the backdrop for such blockbusters as Forrest Gump, Prince of Tides and The Big Chill. But fame hasn't spoiled it. The town is still far enough off the beaten path that you have to really look for it. In fact, many people find Beaufort by boat because most of the town boarders an estuary leading to the Port Royal Sound.

Of course, newcomers will quickly realize that there's more to the town than just a pretty face. At the University of South Carolina, Beaufort, older learners are privy to dozens of one-day and multi-session classes in history, literature, religion, music and more.

Original article on CNN Money