NEWS

Clear the List 2024 Winners!

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We are thrilled to announce the winners of our Clear The List 2024 drawing! At Ravenel Associates, we are deeply committed to supporting our local educators, and we recognize the significant impact they have on the future of our communities. This year, through the Clear The List initiative, we had the honor of helping six incredible teachers by fulfilling their Amazon Wish Lists.

After carefully reviewing all the submissions from our professionally managed communities, we conducted a random drawing on July 31st, 2024, to select our six winners. Without further ado, please join us in congratulating the following educators:

  1. Kelley Hair from Charleston Charter School for Math and Science, residing in Twelve Oaks at Fenwick Hall
  2. Allyson Brown from Lain Middle School of Science and Technology residing in Planters Pointe
  3. Rachel Conroy from Jennie Moore Elementary, residing in Pointe at Rivertowne
  4. Angel Kochera from Drayton Hall Elementary, residing in Common at Grand Oaks
  5. Julie Anderson from Angel Oak Elementary residing in Summertrees
  6. Sarah Hurst from Stiles Point Elementary residing in Summertrees

Each of these outstanding teachers will receive up to $500 to fulfill their classroom needs through Amazon, directly helping to enhance the learning environment for their students.

We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the educators who participated in this initiative. Your dedication to your students and passion for education inspire us all. While we could only select five winners, please know that your efforts do not go unnoticed, and we are honored to have you as part of our community.



Corporate Transparency Act: Take Action!

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The CAI Board of Trustees approved filing a lawsuit to exempt and protect community associations from burdensome requirements outlined in the Corporate Transparency Act. The lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Treasury challenging the Corporate Transparency Act underscores CAI’s unwavering commitment to protecting the community association housing model and our members’ interests. However, this is not the only approach CAI is taking to seek an exemption for community associations from the Corporate Transparency Act’s filing requirements. We need you to take time today to reach out to your representatives in Congress and help us urge them to tell the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to use its authority to exempt community associations!

Click Here to Contact Your Member of Congress Today

FinCEN has the power to create regulations to implement the Corporate Transparency Act, and critically, review the current list of exemptions and adjust it as needed. Much like any federal agency, FinCEN has an established process for engaging on these kinds of reviews and adjusting regulations as needed. However, FinCEN has been so far unwilling to begin a formal review of the list of exemptions and add community associations. This is why we are asking you and your neighbors reach out to your elected representatives in Congress; funding for FinCEN and other federal agencies must come from Congress, and when Congress asks for something, FinCEN may listen.

CAI believes the Corporate Transparency Act filing requirements places an excessive burden on community associations, which operate differently from traditional corporations and small businesses. Noncompliance of filing could result in civil penalties of $500 per day and criminal penalties of up to $10,000 and up to 24 months (about 2 years) in prison. We need your help to get community associations exempted from the Corporate Transparency Act’s filing requirements!

Want to learn more about the Corporate Transparency Act and CAI’s multipronged approach to seeking an exemption for community associations?

Visit http://caionline.org/CTA to learn more!

Clear the List 2024

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We're excited to announce Ravenel Associates' participation in Clear the List 2024, a nationwide initiative dedicated to supporting local educators by fulfilling classroom needs. We recognize the dedication of our local teachers and the invaluable role they play in shaping young minds. Through Clear the List 2024, we aim to alleviate some of the financial burden on teachers and provide them with essential resources for their classrooms.

We're sponsoring five teachers living in our professionally managed communities with up to $500 each towards their Amazon Wish Lists. If you're a teacher and would like to participate, please submit your Amazon Wish List link by July 30th, including your name, school, and community name to ClearTheList@ravenelassociates.com.

On July 31st, we'll randomly select five teachers and fulfill their Wish Lists directly through Amazon! Those selected will be notified and announced on our website.

In addition to Clear the List, we're hosting a school supply drive at both Ravenel offices to benefit Sanders Clyde Elementary and Angel Oak Elementary. We invite all employees and owners to contribute and make a difference in our local schools.

School Supply Drive Suggestions:

  • Backpacks
  • Notebooks
  • Pencils, markers
  • Glue sticks
  • Crayons, colored pencils
  • Tissues, hand sanitizer
  • Scissors (blunt)

Drop off your donations:

Charleston office

960 Morrison Drive, Suite 100

Charleston 29403

Johns Island office

3730 Betsy Kerrison Parkway, Suite 2

Johns Island, SC 29455

Thank you for joining us in supporting our teachers and students. Together, we can make a positive impact in our community!



Lowcountry Food Bank

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Lowcountry Food Bank

We are proud to announce that again this year, we will be collecting non-perishable food for the Lowcountry Food Bank . The most needed items are canned tuna and meats, low-sugar cereals, peanut butter, whole grain rice, pasta and oats, 100% fruit juice, low-sodium soups and stews, canned fruits and vegetables. Collection boxes will be in place this week in the lobby of both offices. If you are able to donate, we ask that you have everything in by November 21st. Thank you for helping us give back to our community.

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Introduction to Ravenel Associates Team

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We wanted to take a moment to introduce you to our wonderful team of professionals here at Ravenel Associates. Our group of Leaders, Managers, Accountants, Administrators and Building Services make it possible to keep everything running seamlessly. A huge thanks to our current (and still growing) family here at Ravenel.


Lowcountry Orphan Relief

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We would like to thank everyone for all the donations and gifts provided for the Lowcountry Orphan Relief. Also, a special thank you goes to Vickie for incorporating this charity as part of our 30 Days of Giving this year. As a company we pulled together all fifty stockings we were given which will be a wonderful Christmas surprise to the children in need.




30 Days of Giving!

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This year we are sponsoring a new charity for Christmas, Lowcountry Orphan Relief. Lowcountry Orphan Relief, Inc. (LOR) is a non-profit organization that provides goods and services to children who have been abused or neglected. To learn more about this organization, please visit Lowcountry Orphan Relief.

In the lobby of the 960 Morrison office, we will be posting the “stockings” for 50 boys and girls ranging from 3 to 9 years old. The stocking states what size clothes and shoes they need. All donations are due in the downtown office by December 9th.

For every stocking sponsored, Ravenel Associates will donate $50 to One80 Place, another wonderful local organization, working to end homelessness in our community.

Again this year, we will be collecting non-perishable food for the Lowcountry Food Bank . The most needed items are canned tuna and meats, low-sugar cereals, baby food, peanut butter, whole grain rice, pasta and oats, 100% fruit juice, low-sodium soups and stews, canned fruits and vegetables. Collection boxes will be in place this week in the lobby of both offices.

To learn more about the programs we’ve chosen, please click on their link. Please visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ravenel-associates-... to make a donation to the Lowcountry Orphan Relief.



A Message from HomeWise Docs

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New Questions Added to HWD Questionnaires

Condominium/Cooperative Safety, Soundness, and Structural Integrity Announcement

The tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers in Florida has forced lenders and other industry stakeholders to look for clear and standardized guidance on how to analyze ongoing risk in residential buildings with aging infrastructure and significant deferred maintenance. This concern is expected to grow in the future as most of the nation’s stock of condominium and cooperative projects was built more than 20 years ago.

Fannie Mae has already taken the lead in this matter and has established temporary guidelines for all whole loan and MBS pool purchases taking effect on January 1, 2022 which will continue until further notice. Loans secured by units in condo and cooperative projects with significant deferred maintenance or in projects that have received a directive from a regulatory authority or inspection agency to make repairs due to unsafe conditions are not eligible for purchase. In addition, condominium or cooperative projects that do not pass local regulatory inspections or recertifications are not eligible for Fannie Mae financing. Waivers of this policy will not be granted by Fannie Mae.

Not only are projects with deferred maintenance conditions ineligible, Fannie Mae makes it clear that the project is also ineligible simply if a lender can’t make a determination if deferred maintenance or unsafe conditions exist. This is where the real estate community stakeholders must come together to provide information so lenders can make safety and soundness determinations. Obviously, lack of financing options for older condominium and cooperative projects will have a negative effect on marketability and, ultimately, valuations.

Fortunately, Fannie Mae is suggesting a variety of ways for lenders to make project safety and soundness determinations and has not made this a burden for community management companies alone. Fannie Mae is suggesting that detailed reviews of monthly financial documents, budgets, reserve studies, board meeting minutes and special assessments will be critical in their policy. For those management companies that are unwilling, unable or uncomfortable in providing this type of information, Fannie Mae has issued guidance on how lenders may be able to obtain it from other sources.

HomeWiseDocs.com (HWD) is currently reviewing Fannie Mae’s policy regarding project safety and soundness. On October 25th, the following questions that major lenders are now requiring on their forms will be added to the Condominium and Cooperative Lender Questionnaire templates in the Eligibility Questions section for your associations:

Is the HOA and/or management company aware of any conditions or project-wide deferred maintenance within the project that may negatively impact the safety, structural soundness, habitability, or functional use of the project as a whole or any individual units?

If yes, describe and provide supporting documentation, e.g., architect’s and/or engineer’s reports, insurance inspections, notices of pending or active building code violations, fines or liens from local building authority, special assessments levied for repairs related to these issues, reserve study prepared by an independent third party.

Initially, responses to these new questions will be optional. This will give you time to gather and enter this new information without delaying the processing of questionnaire orders. We plan to make the responses required in December 2021. If you need assistance with a default response for these questions, please contact our Level 2 support team.

Additionally, you might want to review and update the following association documents so lenders have all the information they need:

  • Monthly financial documents (Current Unaudited Financials)
  • Budgets
  • Reserve Studies
  • Board Meeting Minutes
  • Special Assessments

We appreciate the privilege of working with you as your “Proven Partner” in all matters of community management success.

HomeWiseDocs

Susan G. Komen- More Than Pink Walk

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On October 2nd, 2021, our Ravenel Associates team participated in the Komen Lowcountry MORE THAN PINK Walk. The 2021 Susan G Komen walk/race event took a virtual spin this year and we were able to participate by tracking our 6,000 steps over the Ravenel bridge through an app. We also exceeded the initial fundraising goal in support of a charity we feel so passionately about. We all know someone affected by this cause on some level, including some of our own team here at Ravenel Associates.


Covid-19: Delta Variant

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Covid-19: Delta Variant

Dear valued clients and friends of Ravenel Associates,

As we continue to monitor Coronavirus (COVID-19) developments closely, the health and well-being of our clients and employees is of utmost importance to us. We would like to share an update on how Ravenel is responding to the rapidly changing environment caused by the continued spreading of coronavirus (COVID-19) - Delta Variant.

Our firm is devoted to the health and safety of our people, clients, and communities we serve. With safety as our primary concern, Ravenel is taking all necessary precautions with each decision oriented around our people and our clients..

As a precautionary measure, Ravenel Associates has implemented the following control measures designed to minimize the risk of impact to our services:

  • Enabling work from home capabilities for essential employees
  • Requesting heightened levels of hygiene. To facilitate, we offer hand sanitizer and liquid soap for handwashing.
  • Restricting office entrance to individuals who have a fever or other flu symptoms or have visited a Coronavirus hotspot in the last 14 days.
  • Mask required to be worn by employees and visitors, vaccinated and non-vaccinated, while in common areas.
  • Limiting all non-essential business travel
  • Implementing additional control measures as events unfold.

We will continue to monitor this fluid situation and will work to ensure essential services remain operable. For decades, Ravenel Associates has demonstrated unwavering support to our clients in past emergency situations, and in dealing with the present circumstances, we will continue to use every effort to deliver uninterrupted essential services to all our clients.

Thank you,

Jules Deas
President

It’s almost Back to School time!

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It’s almost Back to School time!

For some children, the standard supplies needed for a successful school year are hard to come by. We have collected supplies to fill bookbags for 14 HALO children who are in court ordered protective custody due to abuse or neglect. HALOS is a program that helps children in kinship care. Please visit www.charlestonhalos.org to learn more about this wonderful program.

We’ve “adopted” 7 elementary and 7 middle school aged children.

Community Blood Drive-March 5th

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Ravenel Associates will be hosting a community blood drive at our downtown location on Thursday, March 5th from 10AM - 3PM. All donors will receive light refreshments and $20 Visa gift cards provided by The Blood Connection.

Please consider donating blood. Your donation could save three lives.
Click here to schedule your appointment today!


Should anyone choose to donate their gift card to The Lowcountry Food Bank, Ravenel Associates will match your donation dollar for dollar. Since every dollar donated helps provide 6 meals, the difference we can make together is exponential.

Additional Blood Drive Info.pdf

The Top 5 Exterior Areas to Fix up Before Listing Your Home this Fall

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You’ve probably heard that spring and summer are the best times to sell your home, and we’ll be honest: they do have their perks. But with mortgage rates remaining low and motivated buyers steadily flowing into the market, this fall is shaping up to be a pretty profitable selling season.

If you’re gearing up to list your home soon, then you’ll need to pay extra attention to your outdoor areas. Here are the top five spaces to give a little TLC to before you sell!

The Lawn

An old rake leaning against the wall of a home.

Once you’ve raked up the leaves, you might think your lawn is all taken care of. But there’s much more to fall lawn care than bagging up leaves! If temperatures haven’t majorly dropped by the time you list, you’ll need to keep mowing your lawn—it’ll continue growing until the first hard frost.

If you’ve got a few bare spots in your yard, fall is also the perfect time for overseeding! Since the ground is relatively warm but the sun isn’t quite as powerful as in the summer, growing conditions are better than ever. Just be sure you’re providing your lawn with plenty of water, and those sparse spots should start to fill in.

The Garden

Pumpkins and gourds sitting on a table.

Since you’re planning a move, you probably don’t want to start planting new veggies, but there are other ways to give your garden a fresh look. First, you’ll want to make sure all of your leftover plants from spring and summer are cleared out, and your plot is weed-free. Once that’s taken care of, it’s time for the fun part!

Picked up a few pumpkins or gourds from the farmers’ market? Set them out near your doorstep. Need a home for a scarecrow or two? Give them a perch on either side of the garden. You can fill in any blank space with potted plants like mums or sunflowers or a decorative holiday banner!

The Roof

Leaves in a gutter.

With trees shedding leaves and dead branches, you’ve probably got a decent amount of brush and foliage dotting your roof. Now’s the time to pull out the ladder and do a clean sweep. Plus, it’s the perfect chance to get a look at the condition of your shingles and see if any need replacing!

While you’re up there, be sure to sweep out your gutters, as well. There’s a good chance the extra debris has them more clogged up than usual, which could lead to flooding or exterior damage. Clearing them out will prevent any issues, and show buyers that you go the extra mile in maintaining your home.

The Porch

Fall decor including a wreath, potted plants, and gourds, all placed around a small bench.

The crowning glory of your home’s exterior, the porch should act as the first taste of what the inside of the home has to offer. You want to strike the perfect balance between warm and welcoming and clean and clutter-free!

First, take care of spiffing the space up by sweeping the floors, ringing out the welcome mat, and dusting off any outdoor furniture. If you have one too many chairs or a crowded collection of potted plants, you should remove some of the clutter.

Then, add a little character! Put a few pumpkins by door, set out a scented candle or two, swap out your porch light for a warmer wattage, and update your throw pillows—just be careful not to overdo it. Since your porch space is likely relatively small, a little goes a long way.

The Front Door

A welcome sign and a small wreath on a white front door.

It’s only a small portion of your exterior, but if you play your cards right, your front door can be one of the most eye-catching parts of your home. Nothing draws attention like a fresh coat of paint, so you should consider picking a shade that pops and matches your siding—like a warm red or a bold blue. At the very least, you should use furniture wax or dish soap to scrub out the dinginess.

Once you’ve revamped your door, it’s time to accessorize! Since it’s fall, you should be able to easily find a seasonal wreath to hang. If you really want to go the extra mile, think about replacing your house number or knocker with some shiny new hardware.

For more useful tips CLICK HERE to visit RARECharleston.com.

Kicking Clutter to the Curb: Transform Your Home with These 4 Decluttering Tips

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We’ve all been there. One day, you look around your house, and there’s just So. Much. Stuff. Stuff in boxes, stuff on the walls, stuff in the corners—just…stuff. If you’re gearing up to sell your home, you’re going to have to deal with all that accumulated clutter eventually. Luckily, there are plenty of simple strategies for getting the job done!

Arm yourself for the Crusade Against the Clutter, and use these top tips to transform your home before selling.

Start Early

A to-do list.

If you aren’t prepared, things can quickly get overwhelming. After all, you’re not only getting your home ready to sell, but you’re also packing things up, finding a new home, and dealing with your finances. It makes sense that decluttering your home isn’t first on your list, but it’s one of the most important steps!

Before you list your home, you want the space to be ready to wow buyers from the second they walk through the door. If you kick off your decluttering months in advance, you’ll be in much better shape come listing time.

Expand Your Storage

An organized silverware drawer.

For many people, clutter accumulates simply because they don’t know what they actually have. An easy way to fix this issue and make your home more organized is by coming up with an intentional storage solution.

Hit the store and pick up some sliding storage and plastic tubs, then label each unit and keep it stored anyway until needed. That way, you’ll know exactly what you have and where it is. Never worry about misplaced holiday decorations or a surplus of school supplies ever again! Plus, a lot of your stuff will already be neatly packed away come moving time.

Take It Little by Little

A man and woman carrying boxes.

Decluttering can be a long process, filling up nights and weekends and free time—especially if you put it off until the last minute. Luckily, if you start ahead of time, you’ll have the luxury of taking it little by little. And not just one room at a time—we mean really little, like an hour or two hours spent on just the kitchen cabinets or bedroom closets.

You can even make it fun! Get everybody in the house together and play a game of 12-12-12. The rules are simple: walk through the house and find 12 items you want to keep, 12 items you want to get rid of, and 12 items you want to sell/donate. You’d be surprised how quickly you can reduce your clutter after a few rounds, and it only takes a couple of minutes!

Make it FAST

Clutter.

For the last tip, we’ve gotten the inside scoop from professional organizer, Peter Walsh. Walsh says that decluttering is as simple as remembering this short acronym:

Fix a time. Plan ahead, and find a time that works for everyone in the house—and make attendance mandatory!

Anything not used in twelve months. If you haven’t used it in a year, then you probably don’t need it. Ask yourself a few questions: Do I need it? Is it valuable to me? Is it worth the space it’s taking up? If no, then kick it to the curb.

Someone else’s stuff. Still have that borrowed tupperware? Give it back. Holding onto things that family members have left behind? Send it their way. If it’s not yours, find a new home for it!

Trash. It’s easy to get sentimental and hold onto things that are well past their expiration date (metaphorically speaking). Don’t be afraid to take the plunge—and maybe even go overboard—and trash some of your older belongings. If you don’t want to go full in and trash it, then you can always donate it to a good cause.

CLICK HERE to read more or

Don't forget your Fall maintenance!

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Autumn is officially here!


Related imageWith the changing of the leaves come Fall festivals, the Coastal Carolina Fair, pumpkin patches and hay rides. With so many exciting festivities its easy to forget winter is just around the corner. However, its important to complete your fall maintenance checklist now before the days get too short and the weather too cold. Most Fall maintenance items don't take long and you can rest easy this winter knowing your home is prepared. Plus, the sooner you finish the sooner you can get back to the candied apples and Halloween crafts!

If you don't yet have a check list we recommend "Your Fall Home Maintenance Checklist" on Forbes.com to get you started. Happy Fall!