Charleston and Beaufort are only about 90 minutes apart on Highway 17, but Michaela Burkett calls them "apples and bananas." She's a Lowcountry agent who spent nine years in Charleston and now lives in Beaufort. She explains how she steers relocation buyers between the two: Charleston has the airport, MUSC, the job market and the restaurants, and Beaufort is a quiet military town with a lot of VA buyers. She also shares the short-term rental she bought in Charleston that got hit by new city rules. The regulations changed a few months after she closed, and she had two weeks to get an application in and pass inspection.

Agents will also hear why a South Carolina second home is taxed at 6% instead of the 4% primary-residence rate. Michaela says that gap can mean about three times the tax bill. She talks about managing sellers who are still pricing like it's 2021. And she shares a lead-gen habit most agents skip: sending a DM to every new Instagram follower, starting with an open-ended question.

Michaela Burkett
eXp Realty
South Carolina
https://www.instagram.com/michaelasellssc/

Hosted by:
Jeff Hamm, Real Estate Broker
Ivester Jackson | Christie’s International Real Estate – High Country Office
144 Poplar Grove Rd, Boone, NC 28607
(980) 422-6069
BannerElkLiving.com

Jeff Hamm is an expert real estate broker with Ivester Jackson | Christie's International Real Estate, serving Banner Elk and the greater high country of North Carolina. He specializes in luxury communities including The Lodges at Eagles Nest, Elk River Club, Farm at Banner Elk, Diamond Creek, and Echota. He focuses specifically on buyer representation and short-term rental and investment purchases, where his relationships with the region's top listing brokers, builders, and designers give his clients a measurable edge.

Jeff is also the founder and host of Banner Elk Living, a podcast, newsletter, and media platform that spotlights the Banner Elk area's most admired small businesses, nonprofits, and entrepreneurs every week. He publishes the annual Banner Elk Guide, regular market reports, and hosts the Banner Elk Business Network.