We live in Tallahassee, FL (60 miles north) and purchased our cottage in the early 90's. We have many wonderful memories of fun times with family & friends! We are so fortunate! Our kids grew up and spent many, many complete summers and hundreds of weekends on the island... SGI (and the BWI) are dear to our heart!
FYI: Although our place is paid for, the insurance has 'exploded' over the past 5 years due to recent hurricanes in the Gulf. Beach homes need 3 separate policies; Homeowners, Wind Storm and Flood. We also have had to add an additional one million dollar liability policy. Maintenance and upkeep costs have also gone up dramatically. The 'twice a week' cleaning of our hot tub has also tripled. Utilities have doubled. Cleaning costs have doubled. We say this to convey that we are not trying to make money on our cottage... just break even (and be able to enjoy it with our family when it's not rented). That being said... although rents have raised substantially on the island (at most other homes), we've tried to hold ours down.
We do want to be very forthcoming. Many guests have been unhappy with our place (mostly seniors). The statement I’ve often heard is “it’s not up to our standards“ or ‘we found many problems with your cottage’. You can, of course read the reviews where there are dozens of people that think the house is fantastic, with a five star review! Please keep this in mind if you decide to book our house. Please understand that it’s not perfect. Please understand that if you’re expecting resort quality pristine accommodations then we’re not for you.
Obviously we feel like our house is wonderful. Opinions, expectations & perceptions differ. Again, many people have been unhappy with our place. I would strongly advise you to look at all the pictures, the video & to reach out personally. I don’t want anyone to be disappointed. I am trying, to the best of my ability, to manage expectations,
Thank you.
-J