Auston Chase Apartment Homes

'Dive-in' Movie Night - Saturday, August 27th at 6:00pm

Join us at the pool for our end of the summer celebration… food, fun and a movie...yes, a movie by the pool!

We will also be rolling out our new Resident Advantage Program, so don’t miss out!

If you live in a home or apartment in Ridgeland, 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.

With the very hot weather and resulting drought on Hilton Head Island, many people who live in apartments in Ridgeland, SC are wondering how to conserve water and energy in an apartment community. Well, there are a number of ways, and here are a few.

Displace Water in Your Toilet Tank
Find a plastic bottle. Fill it with gravel or water and place it in your toilet tank. This allows your toilet to use less water for each flush.

Insulated Drapes/Blackout Curtains
Covering your windows with insulated drapes, blackout curtains or cellular blinds will significantly reduce your heating bills. These can be moved with you.

Composting Box
You can put a composting box under your sink. This allows you to throw away less trash. They can be moved with you as well. If you don’t have plants, just put the compost in the apartment flower garden.

Draft Stoppers
Put mobile draft stoppers in front of doors and windows.

CFL Bulbs
They save a lot of energy. Put CFL’s in frequently used rooms and lamps. Also, turn off lights when you are not in the room.

Help out Your Fridge
In an apartment building, 25% of your electric bill can go to the fridge. Keep the compressor coils clean to ensure your energy bill stays low. Cover Your Food. Check the fridge's seal. If your fridge is empty, fill some water pitchers or gallon jugs with water to keep it full and colder.

Arrange Furniture
Make sure your furniture isn't blocking vents or baseboards

The beauty of living in an apartment near Hilton Head, SC is that in a state with no professional sports team, the sports bars get very exciting with all the various team fans. When you find someone rooting for your team a bond is automatically forged. With the NFL season about to start up, and the many types of sports fans on Hilton Head Island, from NASCAR to baseball, if you live here you need to check out best local sports bars  in the area. 

Casey's Sports Bar & Grille
Casey's Sports Bar & Grille has been called Hilton Head's #1 sports bar since 1996. If you're a sports-hungry football fan, it's time to goto Casey's Sports Bar. This is where Hilton Head locals and visitors meet to watch the best sports games on over 40 TVs, including high def flat screens and an 8' x 8' high def projection TV.

Casey's family friendly atmosphere broadcasts all NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, all major college sports and more.

Callahan's Sports Bar
Callahan's is the island headquarters for Pittsburgh Steeler fans. They have 27 TVS including a 10 Foot Big screen TV perfect for watching your favorite team. They feature free Buzz Time Trivia all day, great food and drink specials.

They have all of the NFL/College Packages, MLB Package and for race fans they even have the NASCAR Dual Racing Experience! And, there are plenty of pool tables.
 
Wild Wing Cafe
If you’re an NFL fan, you want to go to Wild Wing Café for the big game. There's not a bad seat in the house, 27 flat screen TVs, a big screen out on the patio, 5 outdoor TVs & a huge HD big screen TV inside. Are you ready for some football?

After the 'Blue Jeans Brunch' every Saturday and Sunday it's football all day for the rest of the day with food and drink specials.

Remy's Bar and Grill
Remy's is a favorite island hang out for locals and visitors. Known for its fresh local seafood and large portions, but is also the new football headquarters for Hilton Head. Enjoy Monday Night Football here with Monday Night oysters for $6 a bucket.

Hinchey's Chicago Bar and Grill
This Chicago Family migrated to Hilton Head Island in 1995. This Hilton Head restaurant has the feel of Chicago. It is covered with sports memorabilia from Chicago, and you can get great food here.  They also have a garden deck and 12 TV's, with NFL Sunday Ticket, MLB Extra Innings, ESPN Game Plan & ESPN Full Court. And, they are home to the Notre Dame Club in Hilton Head!

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

Now is the time to consider relocating to the Hilton Head Area. As life in other parts of the country speed up and get more hectic, in South Carolina, we maintain a steady pace. When looking for an apartment in Ridgeland, SC or the Hilton Head area keep in mind how beautiful and relaxing this part of the country is.

There is nothing better than living in a place where your days off feel like vacation days. Hilton Head Island is truly one of the nation's premier resort destinations. Located off the southernmost tip of South Carolina with the Gulf Stream breezes blowing, the Hilton Head area is playground year round.

Here there are fertile salt marshes and massive live oaks and over 12-miles of spectacular sandy beachfront.  
There is plenty to do when you are not working, 40+ Championship-level golf courses, 50-miles of biking and leisure trails, 300 tennis courts, kayaking, jet skiing, charter fishing, parasailing, dolphin-watching, dinner cruises, historical tours, arts & entertainment, marines & harbors, beach activities, just to name a few. Not to mention the shopping and restaurants. 

If you are moving here to retire, or for business, or just to start over with new scenery, you are sure to be rejuvenated in Ridgeland, South Carolina.

It is important to have renters insurance if you live in an apartment in Ridgeland, SC. Your landlord has insurance, but it probably only covers the building not your belongings. If, during a break-in, your possessions are stolen or if they are damaged by a fire or severe weather, a renter’s insurance policy will allow you to recover their value. Also, if someone is injured during an accident in your home, renters insurance will help protect you in a liability lawsuit.

Renters Insurance covers but is not limited to fire or lightning, windstorm or hail, freezing of the plumbing system, and theft. Renters Insurance doesn't cover bodily injury or property damage caused by the insured, business pursuits, professional services, or the ownership, operation, use, or maintenance of aircraft, motor vehicles, and certain watercraft.

Many believe that the landlord's insurance will cover them. But your landlord's insurance generally only covers the building where you live, not your personal belongings and your liability. Many renters also believe that they don’t need personal liability insurance. Without liability coverage, your current and future earnings could be at risk. Renters insurance coverage may also provide legal defense costs. 

Don’t kid yourself by thinking that you don't own very much. Most of the time, one’s belongings are often worth more than they think.

If you live in an apartment, take stalk of what you own, and if you have items that you value or that are you could not replace easily without incurring debt, consider a renters insurance policy for peace of mind.

Tomorrow is the official start of this year's Beaufort Water Festival. And it is just in time. Some of the hottest weather of the summer has hit South Carolina. If you live in an apartment in Ridgeland, SC, you have probably spent some time in the pool and even more time trying to figure out other ways to stay cool.

Here is a great way to beat the heat this weekend. Tomorrow is the official start of the 56th annual celebration of music, food, art, and “just about anything fun you can do on the water” at The Beaufort Water Festival.

The Opening Ceremony is July 15 at 7, but gates open at 6pm. The ceremony features the Parris Island Marine Band and a spectacular fireworks Show at dusk. Free admission.

Saturday, July 16th is the raft race, bocce tournament, art and craft market, kids toad fishing, all kinds of boat tours, a sailing regatta, ski show, and concert in the park. Plus, much more.

Just some of the fun on Sunday, July 17th offers boat bingo, boat tours, a teen dance, and the continued sailing regatta.

But the fun continues through next Sunday. So be sure to check it out. Come and cool down at the Beaufort Water Festival. The apartment pool will still be there in August!

Hilton Head Island is a wonderful place to live. The climate, scenery activities and proximity to the ocean are just some of the many benefits of living on South Carolina's finest island. The nearby town of Ridgeland, SC  is also an excellent choice for those wishing to move to the area.

Hilton Head and the surrounding area is a rapidly growing community with a wide range of shops, schools, restaurants and golf courses. This part of the country makes you feel as though you are on vacation where you live. Apartments in Ridgeland, SC provide a sense of community and for residents, Ridgeland offers the small-town feel while remaining centered in a growing region ripe for living and business opportunities. Located between two of the busiest deep-water ports in the world, Charleston and Savannah, this area has charm and businesses of all sizes, both of which go along with being a sea- faring port town.

Summer vacation is now upon us in Hilton Head. 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. While children do enjoy the freedom that comes with the summer months, and swimming at the Auston Chase 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 Sandbox
This is a hands-on interactive museum filled with unique entertaining, and educational play areas to explore.  Children can sail away on Captain William Hilton’s ship of discovery or find their passport to the World in the international airport terminal with a plane ready for little pilots to fly.

Island Playground
A HUGE indoor playground features inflatable fun and creative play for kids. Imaginative adventures await in our comfortable, clean and safe play areas. A great activity for a rainy day.

Art Academy of Hilton Head –all ages
This art studio, run by The Hilton Head Art League, offers both adult and children’s art classes. A gallery with featured artists is open Monday – Saturday.

Art Café
Select and paint your own pottery, great activity for a rainy day.

Beach Exploring
There are plenty of beautiful beaches on Hilton Head Island. Exploring the creatures and plants at the beach is loads of fun. See how many different living things you can find, and try and classify them.