#morethanhouses | Myrtle Beach Homes

Sep 11 2019

Where Were You? A Reflection On 2001

Today’s post is going to pretty different from your normal stuff on Myrtle Beach Real Estate. So if you are here looking for content on The Golden Mile, Gated Home Communities in Myrtle Beach, or golf course condos, you aren’t going to find it in this post.

Instead, today we are going to reflect on 9/11/2001. They say everyone remembers where they were on the day it happened, and I know I surely do. On 9/11 I woke up early in the morning and had a tremendous nervous energy this Tuesday morning. Why? Today was the day I was going to be officially announced as part of the Blanton Team and joining my father selling real estate.

I remember the morning vividly as I drove from our condo over to the Myrtle Beach Convention center and entered a room full of strangers with my father. My father at the time was with one of the large companies on the beach that had close to 300 agents at the time and today was their quarterly company wide meetings.

The meeting began promptly at 8AM and honestly, I had no idea what 80% of the information was about that was being shared. I had just passed my real estate exams and got my license. They were talking about all this different stuff and I had no clue what it was about.

Halfway through the meeting, they got to the new agent introductions where they called my name and shared “This is Jeremy Blanton, and he will be joining his fathers team.” I stood for a brief second waved to the crowd and then sat down. After the meeting, a few congratulated me on joining his team and then I left to hurry home.

I was still in college and had to hurry home to change out of the dress code shirt & tie into something more comfortable to get to college by 11AM for my first classes of the day. As I walked into the house, the phone was ringing and I answered it to hear my father frantic on the other end saying

Turn on the TV! Tell us what is going on!

In 2001, social media did not really exist yet, so I turned on the TV to see a plane has just crashed into the World Trade Center. I shared the horror with him on the phone and he told me how he had just hung up the phone with someone in NY who saw it happen out the window of his office.

I remember sitting on the sofa in silence and not moving for probably 25 minutes as I was just left speechless. After a few hours I was able to compose myself enough that I got into my car and drove to college to find that all classes had been cancelled the rest of the day.

This was my introduction into real estate. I remember over the next several months as I began to try to help people buy property here how one of the fears was what if another attack came and this time was here in Myrtle Beach and someone decided to fly a plane into one of our oceanfront hotels. Luckily over time those fears subsided.

So today marks 18 years since this tragic event and 18 years since I began in real estate. It’s hard to believe it has been that long ago as I can remember the events so vividly from that day like it was yesterday. It is definitely an event I will never forget. As you go through today, take time to hug someone’s neck, let them know you appreciate them and tell someone you love them.

Oct 17 2017

Why I Support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals

As a real estate agent in Myrtle Beach, I’ve got several choices to pick from when deciding which company to work for. As I’ve shared before, the name on the door, the commission splits, and several other things are not going to make me decide where to work. For me, it’s about the people, what they stand for, and what they are doing to make a difference in others lives. To me, being able to make a difference in others lives is something I strive to do each and every day and when I can combine it with my job, it’s a win-win situation. It’s one of the main reason I chose to work with RE/MAX was because of their involvement with Children’s Miracle Networks. Since 1992, RE/MAX has given over 147 million dollars to local hospitals.

While I always enjoyed helping Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and proudly give to it with every home I sell as well as doing several other fundraisers throughout the year, I never really understood how much CMN effects lives of the patients they treat. Until Now. Last week my daughter had to go down to the Medical University of South Carolina for revision surgery on her face to reduce and fix the scars from a dog bite the previous year.

My wife and I had been dreading the entire process and having to go back through everything again after we knew how traumatic it was the first time around here locally in Myrtle Beach when the accident originally happened. The whole time leading up to the day of surgery I had apprehension towards the prep work for the surgery. When it comes to needles, I’m a bit of a baby and do not like them and well my youngest daughter did not like it either when she had to have them the first time around. I knew once the IV was in and they could give her something to calm down things everything else would be fine, but just that original sticking and setting up had me on edge.

When we arrived at the hospital in the morning, we were greeted almost immediately by staff who was pleasant and ready to do whatever was needed. After getting checked in, they led us into the back waiting room area where all the out patients were for that morning. There were probably around 8-10 beds in this area with all types of people there for all kinds of surgeries. Everyone in this area was rather calm and even cheerful. As we came to the bed where Miriam was to be prepped, the bed was littered with all types of things to keep Miriam occupied.

Immediately into reading the books that were on the bed.

It had coloring pads, books with sound effect buttons, stuffed animals and many other things to distract Miriam from the fact that she was about to have surgery. In case you are reading this and wondering, Miriam is my youngest and just turned 3 years old. While she knew she was in town for surgery on her cheek, I don’t think she really knew what surgery actually was. All of her other previous trips to Charleston were fun trips to see the doctor and planning for this day. We got her dressed in the gown, got her situated on the bed, and she immediately was into coloring and playing. Several doctors came in to introduce themselves and explain what they were going to do in the process. As time kept creeping closer to the time of surgery, my uneasiness continued to mount as I knew it was almost time for the IV needle and well like any parent, you don’t like seeing your kid cry.

She really liked coloring with the dot ink. It was MESSY!

Which is when the nurse walked in the door and put both my wife and I at ease. She explained to me that most of the patients they see at a Miracle Network Hospital have to come in on a somewhat regular basis for some sort of procedure and so that they try to make the experiences as pleasant as possible for the children. She explained that CMN hospitals in the area have a no stick/poke policy for children. Like any normal parent, I had no clue what that meant and so she explained that what the policy of the hospital is to not stick/poke children with needles while they are still awake. Instead, they give the children a drink of “juice” that starts calming the children down and preparing them for surgery. Then, the child has a small mask where they get to pick a flavor they want to smell as they go to sleep with the laughing gas. Then once the child is asleep, the IV is then started and general anesthesia is given.

Pretending to nap with Polka Dot, Ruff & Scout

Also, to help make the experience easier on the children, they allow for one of the parents to go back with the child into the operating room.

Miriam asked her if she was her new nurse.

What they have learned is that when a young child is separated from their parents, it usually starts a level of anxiety almost immediately as the patient is in an uncommon area surrounded by a bunch of unfamiliar people. In our case, Katherine threw on the scrubs and went along with her into the operating room. She was there to keep her calm as she went to sleep. So when it was time for surgery, Miriam, Polka Dot Puppy, and Katherine all went together as a team into the room.

The other thing that I found very comforting is that as the child is waking up from the anesthesia, they want the family members right there. So that the last thing the child remembers is family, and then the first thing they see/remember when waking is their family right there. Once again, the moment she awoke, the nurses were there showering her with stickers, toys, and gifts. Miriam thought it was her birthday with the amount of attention and gifts she was given during surgery. After monitoring Miriam for a little while post surgery, they then assisted us on heading back to our vehicle and we left and drove back home.

The next morning when Miriam got up, all the meds had worn off and she was back to being her happy self. She was dancing, singing, and playing around the living room as if nothing had happened. The hospital even called to check in on her and make sure that everything was well and that she was not having any types of negative effects from surgery. Overall, it was an amazing experience and could not have gone any better for us. Everyone involved with the surgery was pleasant and helpful with anything we needed. Miriam was treated like royalty throughout the entire procedure and to this day she has yet to make any type of complaint about it hurting or being a bad experience.

This is Why I Give

I’ve given with the sale of every single home that I sell since starting at RE/MAX Southern Shores. I knew that my money went to help Children at the hospital, but now I’ve experienced first hand how this money helps make the entire experience so much better for the children involved. I knew that the money helped provide the services and equipment to children in need, but I’ve now seen how it does so much more. Last year I was recognized by my company as the Children’s Miracle Agent of the year. This award is given to the agent who does the most to help CMN. While I was also recognized for my sales last year, I was by far more proud to be recognized for this award.

As I begin to plan for my 2018 year, I’m looking into ways to give even more back to my local CMN and help even more families have the amazing and awesome type of experience we had at our local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital in Charleston, SC.

Mar 13 2017

We Do More Than Just Sell A Home #MoreThanHouses

As a REALTOR® many think that my only job is to help someone buy or sell a house, but we do much more. As I began my crazy day today, I thought I would give everyone a quick glimpse into what all a REALTOR® does which is beyond just helping someone buy or sell a home. This is all what happened this morning by 9:30 AM.

I started my morning today by discussing with someone how we are active in our community helping preserve the right to home ownership with both local and state governments to make sure your rights to own a home stays affordable and safe. For example, over the past few months we have lobbied with local government in Horry County to not pass any sort of impact fees on property.

The government thought that by adding some sort of impact fee onto the purchase or sale of property it would help to stimulate economy and increase revenues to fund other items in the county. While yes, it would increase the amount of money the county has, the fees that it would impose would make it virtually impossible for many consumers to purchase or sell their homes as the fees could be several thousands of dollars. I shared this on my first call of the morning while speaking with a buyer client.

As I hung up my phone, I was greeted by an email from our state director on government affairs, Lindsay Jackson on another issue we are currently battling here in South Carolina. This issue is SC Bill 3886 which is a bill regarding Homeowners Association Legislation. Here are the main points of the bill.

Clarity on disclosure of governing documents ensuring the seller must disclose documents to potential buyers.
Clarity on the obligations of the HOA confirming that the HOA will provide printed copies of the documents for actual cost and electronic copies at no charge.
48-hour notice to homeowners from the HOA before taking any action to add or increase fees.
Creating of an online training course for HOA board members at no cost to the consumer.
Allow magistrate courts to have concurrent civil jurisdiction over certain disputes between associations and homeowners.
Create a Homeowners Association Ombudsman within the Department of Consumer Affairs to assist in dispute resolution and helping homeowners understand their rights and responsibilities.

If you would like to read the entire bill in detail, I’ve uploaded a copy SC Bill 3886 here. Also, I’ve attached a screenshot of my letter to my local state representative that was submitted digitally to her this morning below.

The original laws were put into place back in 1976 and have many amendments over the years. The one area though that has not had a lot of changes over the years is the governing of Homeowners Associations. They have been able to raise fees as they wish, make changes, and do as they wish without really any type of regulation. This new law would help to change that and add a very much needed level of governance to help protect homeowner rights. You can send a letter to SC representatives here.

As you can see, the job of a REALTOR® is more than just selling a home I also like making sure the rights of homeownership are protected and safe for generations to come. Feel free to reach out to me if you would like to learn more about homeownership in Myrtle Beach or more about this upcoming bill.

May 02 2016

Going Beyond Real Estate #morethanhouses

It’s hard to believe that today marks my two year anniversary back in real estate full time. When starting back into real estate after my Father’s passing, I had some serious decisions to make as to where I wanted to hang my license. Since I had over 10+ years experience in the business plus great notoriety as a national speaker to real estate agents, this was a very tough & difficult decision for me to make.

Things that factored into my decision were things like the monthly expenses, commission splits, office locations, the management/staff, the co-workers, and so much more. But, one thing that played another huge factor in my decision was what the company did beyond real estate to help the lives of those in the community and company. I believe strongly that success breeds success and what you sow into others, you will reap.

With my history, I had the opportunity to go work at any company I’d like along the beach. I went and interviewed with several of the top brokerages in town and met with their leadership to see which seemed to be the best fit. I ended up picking the #1 RE/MAX in the area, but the reasons why might surprise you. It wasn’t because of the awesome compensation plans that they offered. If that was the only reason, I would have ended up at a brokerage that was offering me ownership in the company to come work there.

It wasn’t because they offered me a nice corner office with amazing views either. My office is actually one of the smallest in the building and I’m cool with that. It wasn’t because of some amazing lead offering system that was offered to me. I know how to generate my own leads and know how to convert them at a very high rate. While having these things are great, they didn’t have any part in my decision.

What made me choose the place I come and work every day are the people and their willingness to help others and give back. Our brokers, are great understanding people willing to help others at any time with anything they can. When I was in the hospital in December, one of my brokers Tad stepped in to help keep my biggest sale of 2015 together and saw it through to the closing table. I didn’t even have to ask, he volunteered to do anything I needed with no questions asked. During that same time, one of my other brokers stepped in to bring groceries to the house and meals for the family to make things easier on them.

As a whole, RE/MAX is a big donor to the Children’s Miracle Network. Since 1992 RE/MAX has donated more than 140 Million to Children’s Miracle Network. Our office alone donated over $20,000 to CMN in 2015 alone. Every agent in the company donates a portion of each sale to the program. This past month we did a quick fundraiser where I cooked up some BBQ to help raise money. We were able to make close to $400 in one lunch that day just making BBQ plates. It was so successful that we will be doing this again in a few weeks in our Garden City office and then in North Myrtle Beach some time in June. Our company is constantly looking for ways to be involved in the community and ways to give back. In fact, they just recently hired a new position to help us become even more involved in our area.

These are the reasons that helped me decide where I wanted to work each day and the culture in which I want participate in. It’s much more than just selling a house and collecting a check. The culture of working here is something that is often imitated but rarely duplicated. It’s also the reason that our company has remained #1 for the past four years.

If you are planning on buying or selling a home, let me know how I can help. When we close on your home, you too will be giving back to the community and helping the children by the donations I make in your name to the hospital. We’ve heard countless stories about how our donations to the Children’s Miracle Network has helped babies who would not survive without CMN.

Life is so much more than just selling houses.