New Homeowners Talk Cypress Point

Kiawah’s newest neighborhood, The Cottages at Cypress Point, is nearing completion, and to celebrate, Kiawah Island Real Estate hosted a well-attended open house over Easter weekend. KIRE representatives were on site to answer questions and show three recently completed and furnished model homes. Response was exceptional with more than 600 property owners and visitors previewing the homes. “The event was a tremendous success. The guests and attendees were impressed with the design and quality of the Cottages, as well as with the neighborhood,” says Chris Drury, president of Kiawah Island Real Estate.

Those who already own homes in Cypress Point are excited by the progress being made each day and look forward to spending the next holiday there with friends and family. In their own words, here is what three Cypress Point homeowners—Pamela Menefee, Chris Ferebee, and Lisa Fanelli—had to say about their new homes:  

What attracted you to Kiawah?

Menefee: We have taken family vacations to Kiawah for more than a decade. Though we visited other beaches along the Gulf coast and the Eastern seaboard over the years, we have strong emotional ties to Kiawah. In our view, the beauty of Kiawah is unmatched. We love the change of pace from Atlanta, yet we find the proximity to Charleston a strong plus. 

Ferebee: We started coming to Kiawah for summer beach vacations with our children and golf excursions a number of years back and just grew to appreciate the Island and all it has to offer. We also enjoy the close connection to Charleston.

Fanelli: We came to Kiawah five years ago and purchased property after our very first visit here. We loved the combination of the Island’s stunning natural environment, superb golf, and amazing location.

Why did you choose Cypress Point?

Menefee: After first visiting Kiawah, we quickly found that we prefer the area in and around Turtle Beach Lane and Atlantic Beach Court. We rented various homes over the years and then finally decided to look for property to own. Our real estate agent, Jenny Jackson, actually mentioned Cypress Point in the beginning of our search. She then spent countless hours showing us different properties on the Island. Once we felt educated about the market, we revisited Cypress Point. Though we had a fine experience building our current home, we were initially reluctant to build another, but we really liked the location and the spectacular views. Mitch Laplante was delightful to work with too. We often do business based on a person’s character and we trusted Mitch—we knew he would see the project through and uphold the quality. We also didn’t want a big home to maintain, and Cypress Point provided lock-and-leave convenience. It really was a perfect place for us. For the quality and craftsmanship, we believe that Cypress Point is a tremendous value.

Ferebee: My wife and I have been coming to Kiawah with our children for about 15 years. Over the years we have looked at a number of purchase options, but really didn’t find a product that we felt compelled to pursue. When we heard about Cypress Point, we went down for a visit in late November last year and we both immediately felt that this was what we had been looking for in a family vacation home. We met with Mitch Laplante on site as well as with Robert Phelan with Kiawah Island Real Estate. After our meeting and seeing what the neighborhood evolve into, my wife and I felt very secure with our decision. Cypress Point, with its great location and high-quality development standards—as well as a lock-and-leave program with opportunity to apply to the Kiawah Island Club—made the decision an easy one.

Fanelli: We considered many options before deciding on a Cypress Point cottage. We liked the fact that it was a single-family structure, very high-quality new construction, required limited maintenance, and was a wonderful location with a neighborhood feel. The concept of a smaller, more manageable home that had an incredible level of finish was particularly important in our decision process.

What features drew you to Cypress Point?

Menefee: The size of this home was perfect—not too large, which makes it much easier to maintain. Plus, the natural state of the landscaping keeps the required ground maintenance to a minimum too. You just have to see it to understand that these homes are packed with fine finishes. The copper roof is one of our favorite features, but we also love the ten-foot ceilings, the Ipe floors, and the custom iron handrails up the stairway! And don’t forget, the beach is just down the street. Mitch made this process easy and the quality of the homes in the neighborhood really shows.

   

Ferebee: We both like so many of Cypress Point’s features, including its central location on the Island, proximity to the beach, and the exceptional architectural design and finish packages. We are also impressed with the heavy emphasis on the landscaping throughout the neighborhood and that the neighborhood would have its own pool. An essentially maintenance-free, turnkey lifestyle, while also having your own house and yard is also important to us. The opportunity to apply Kiawah Island Club another draw.

Fanelli: We love the look and feel of the cottages and the neighborhood in general. The living spaces are wonderfully sized, and the volume provided by ten-foot ceilings on the main level make the cottage feel grand and cozy all at the same time.

How will you use your new home?

Menefee: We plan to spend lots of family vacations and holidays at Cypress Point. We have an 11-year age difference between our boys, and this is a place that we can go and simply be together.

Ferebee: We plan to use Cypress Point as a summer vacation home for our family and friends.

Fanelli: Our home will be used by our family and friends to enjoy extended vacations, holidays, and long golf weekends—the perfect mix of entertainment and relaxation!

 

Which floor plan, the Leyland, Vista, or Monterey, did you choose and why?

Menefee: A large tree behind our home dictated the plan that we were able to build on our lot.  The Leyland plan fit perfectly and created a beautiful courtyard in our backyard.

Ferebee: We chose the Vista plan. The layout and design seems to fit our family preferences with its open floor plan and generous storage areas. In addition, we felt it would work the best on the lot we had chosen.

Fanelli: We actually had only the option of the Vista plan, since the other two models were already sold when we were considering a purchase at Cypress Point. In the end, we opted to enclose our screen porch to gain additional year-round conditioned living space. Now that we have walked through all the models, we think they are all beautiful, but feel the Vista is perfectly for our family.

 

If you’d like additional information about the release, please contact your Kiawah Island Real Estate sales representative at 888-658-5274, or request more information here. To learn more about Cypress Point, visit  http://www.Kiawah.com/Real-Estate/Cypress-Point.