South Hampton & Resort News 2020
It also looks like the bridges that surround the lagoons have been completed.
Posted: November 3, 2020
South Hampton Landscaping
The South Hampton is getting much needed trimming of shrubs and new plants and grasses.
See photos here.
One indoor spray that is recommended for bugs in our area is Ortho Home Defense Insect Killer for indoor & perimeter use. It comes in many sizes and different triggers if you need a little extra protection in your unit. It is sold in many store, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, etc and Amazon. You can check out the different kinds of sprays on Ortho’s website https://www.ortho.com/en-us/products/bugs. Pest Control 2020 Scheduled Dates January 9th Exterior
Posted: October 3, 2020
Lane’s Professional Pest
Lane’s is the company the South Hampton uses to spray the interior and exterior of our building. When we are in the unit they do a good job going all around the perimeter of every room. When we are not there we noticed on our cameras they barely sprayed anything. He walked around and gave a squirt here and there. Lane’s does not record on the sticker in our cabinet the day they are sprayed. I spoke with the guy that is in charge of that and he said he would make sure it was sone. They have never done it since that conversation a year ago. I followed up with him and said it will get done. Never happened.
February 13th Interior
March 12th Exterior
April 9th Interior
May 14th Exterior
June 11th Interior
July 9th Exterior
August 13th Interior
September 10th Exterior
October 8th Interior
November 12th Exterior
December 10th Interior
Posted: September 13, 2020
Contractors List
I have added two new contractors on our list for painting and Locksmiths. Wayne Wall from Wayne Pro Painters and Same Jones from Mel’s Lock & Key. Both came highly recommended from homeowners.
See our Contractor & Referral page.
Posted: August 12, 2020
South Hampton
Palm Trees & Parking Lot
I’m happy to report the palm tree that has been uprooted and on its side for months has been stood up. The 7′ dead palm tree in the same area has been removed. Both palm trees have been in that condition for months. It took owner’s involvement with the KPMA and Starwood to finally get this done. I sent Leslie from the KPMA numerous photos and circled the weeds around our building and in the parking lot planters, they were all in bad shape. Starwood showed up the next day and got the job done. The rocks in the parking lot have been cleaned up also and they need a lot of attention on a weekly basis but don’t think that will happen. We drove around to all the regimes to see what other landscaping looked like and no one was as bad as ours, they didn’t come close. This has been a topic of discussion with Doug Millar for years now. As owners, we need to report problems like this so our building gets the attention like the other buildings and we need to keep on the KPMA. Click For Photos
“The ice machine in the S Hampton Tower does belong to the Embassy Suites…. So my chief engineer and I inspected the unit, no smell or foul odor detected, no mildew around the ice bin or mechanism, the ice was clear and had no taste to it what so ever (I was the taste tester). There is a drain in the in the back right corner which is where the smell may be coming from although no odor detected today. I asked that the machine be serviced to ensure it stays in good working order and that the filter and maintenance are current on the machine. Thank you for bringing this to my attention so it can be fixed.”
Posted: July 21, 2020
South Hampton Ice Machine
There has been complaints about the ice machine in our lobby for months now and in question who owns it, Us or the Embassy. Complaints are that the ice smells, it’s dirty and doesn’t work most of the time. I contacted the Embassy and here is their response…
Posted: July 13, 2020
Painting Projects at the South Hampton
There is lots of work being done in our building. Four of a Kind is draining and working on the pool and the deck has been painted. The planter walls by the pool have also been painted to match the building, and the elevator lobby in the garage has been painted.
See More Photos
“Homeowners and guests should contact KPMA security directly at extension 3333 (guard house at the entrance to the resort) or 843-497-3200, to address noise complaints (loud music, arguing, fighting, alarms, etc.) KPMA security will respond to asses and address the issue. If the unit is linked to the onsite Hilton rental program KPMA security will engage hotel security staff to address the noise complaint with the guest, otherwise KPMA can and will handle the situation. Fireworks are handled much in the same manner, however if the fireworks are being set off from the beach, the homeowner/guest is directed to contact HCPD (843) 915-5350 as we do not have any control over issues on the beach. With regards to two security companies being on site, KPMA contracts with a security firm to provide security on the resort for everyone, in addition the Embassy Suites has security personnel that is focused on the Embassy hotel property and will also respond to issues in the Hilton managed units throughout the property. If a guest has a medical emergency, they should call 911 directly and if possible contact KPMA security at ext. 3333 to alert the onsite staff to a medical emergency. All security personnel are trained in first aid and CPR and can often get to the homeowner/guest before emergency personnel arrive in addition it will alert the staff that the fire department or police department is in enroute so we can assure a quick response to the unit. In all cases we encourage homeowners and guest alike that if they see something they should say something and report the situation to the Security team. They track all situations which the security committee reviews daily and monthly to identify trends seeking better ways to keep everyone on the resort safe.”
Posted: July 8, 2020
Kingston Plantation Resort Security
There has been confusing talk concerning our resort security and who to call for problems. I contacted an Embassy employee to get information on the two different security companies in our resort, here is his answer…
Litus & Board Members, “When we were at the beach two weeks ago, we noticed many many towels and swimsuits over the railings. At one point we counted on the north side 10 railings/units with multiple items and 6 on the south side, it looked bad, really bad. Not sure if people renting through the hotel are informed of the South Hampton rule, “The balconies shall not be used for hanging garments or other objects”. I, as an owner who rents privately, have in my contract and printed on a Welcome to Condo paper in our unit that there is to be nothing hung on the railings. Can I suggest we put signs in all elevators or where ever is appropriate to make sure the renters are aware of this. We can also suggest to other homeowners who rent to post it in their units so all guests are aware of this rule. On another subject, I take it the painting project has been completed but the balconies have not been inspected. I had cameras up in the unit and none of our balconies were ever inspected. Are they still going to inspect the balconies? We were informed by Litus in a POA Bulletin that they will be inspecting the balconies by entering our units. Then we heard they will be inspected from the scaffolding but neither of these were confirmed and to the best of my knowledge, never happened. Also, if a homeowner has a problem with anything that was painted, what do we do and who do we contact? None of this has been communicated with the homeowners. I sent an email to board member, Stephanie, and she said if owners have questions, concerns or comments that we should email Chis Millar and copy Lynn Edmonds, and the board members. This also needs to be communicated with owners. I suggested to her that a POA Bulletin can go out to all homeowners with the communication info. It would be great if we can add about hanging items over the railings and suggest owners inform their renters and also about who we contact if we have a problem with our balconies. It would be very helpful for all homeowners to be informed about these subjects since we probably are not having an annual meeting any time soon.” Hello Lynn, “Your email was received and will be discussed by the Board. Actions and email bulletins you have mentioned will be discussed and sent out, if so directed. I think you have already gotten some answers on the towel angle from the hotel but they do make renters aware of the SH rules when they check in by giving them a copy. Respectfully I don’t know that more signs will keep people from doing that on balconies and just clog up the property so I believe we will have to keep owners and the hotel aware of violations in a timely manner to try and curtail it. The balconies had to be inspected using the stages because there were too many access issues with going through units. If you have punch list items please send them to Lynn Edmonds and myself. Finally, nothing has changed on the way you contact the HOA since we (you, Dad and I) sat in the KPMA office with you a few years ago I don’t believe. For South Hampton issues you can send an email or call Lynn Edmonds and myself about issues and in a timely manner (24-48 business hours) we will do our best to let you know it has been received and if necessary passed on to the Board. You can copy the Board on those emails but Lynn and I are important so we can be sure the Board is aware. If it is a KPMA issue you can contact Leslie Styles in the KPMA office (lstyles@litustolet.com) for her help on common area items for the Plantation.” My Response: “I will direct all my emails to you and Lynn but the other homeowners who have not had meetings with you/Litus needs to be aware of this. I was suggesting that an email be sent to all owners so everyone is aware, not just me. With the previous board I sent simple one line questions to Dave Puckett and he answered them. I am not the only one who communicated directly with him. At last year’s annual homeowner’s meeting Dave said to all the owners not to direct their concerns or questions to Me, Lynn Leonti, they are to direct them to the board. Homeowners asked the board members to add their contact info on Litus’s POA website so the owners can contact them as they were directed and all board members refused except Stephanie Baron and Sue added her email shortly after. Our board is different now so I will change the way I communicate but other homeowners need to be aware of where they send their concerns and questions. I have reported problems many times in a timely matter in the past but didn’t get a response in a timely matter. So hopefully going forward this will go both ways. And, I did send an email to Randy at the Embassy about a couple questions because Randy always has a straight forward answer to any questions or concerns and it involved the hotel with the towel situation and security. As far as the inspections on the balconies, John Black or any other contractor never did an inspection of our balconies. We have our Ring pointed to all the balconies and there was never an inspections done from the scaffolding/stages. Who we report issues to with our balconies needs to sent out to owners also so they know to send them to you and Lynn. This information has not been discussed in any emails from you/Litus since the project was completed. If these inspections were not a part of what we paid for, then this matter is resolved. Chris, I know you are important as our management company and I know being a board member is a voluntary position. But when a board member is elected, concerns, comments and questions from homeowners come with the job whether you are paid for it or not. I’ve heard we have 6 people running for the board. It’s time to get them elected to share the responsibilities with the 3 existing board members. We need 5 board member, not 3, and all five need to be involved to ease the responsibilities of being a board member. Not sure why informing homeowners of these issues is a problem. I would think sharing this kind of information with all the homeowners would cut down on the confusion and emails to the board and Litus.” Thanks, Lynn All restaurants, and retail establishments including without limitation to grocery stores and pharmacies, and businesses providing personal services including but not limited to hair and/or nail salons, barber shops and tattoo parlors, must require their employees to wear a face covering at all times while work.” Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach have passed similar ordinances. Photo on left was taken before we left with a few items on the railings. Another topic that will be discussed is the owners need to be contacted before anyone enters our units. During the painting project, on three different occasions, workers entered units without prior authorization from the owners. Once when a young female renter was sleeping and woke up to a FOAK member standing in her bedroom and the day before that workers opened her sliding door from the scaffolding and yelled in to her. The third time workers entered the unit from the balcony scaffolding without notice while renters occupied the unit. During the piping project, Four of a Kind entered at least one unit who had cameras up and noticed a FOAK member in their unit. Not sure how many more cases there are of people entering units without the owner being contacted first. Many owners have been told by Litus that no one should be entering their units unless they are notified, this has not been the case. These are two topics that have been discussed numerous times and have not been addressed by the board and Litus. Now that our board manages Four of a Kind, they will need to be a part of these discussions. Litus was informed by the owners of workers entering their units while renters occupied them. It should have never happened again, but it did. We need to come to an agreement between all three parties on how these topics will be addressed in the future. 4/24/2020 Update: A worker on the balcony was caught on camera today trying to enter the unit from the scaffolding. He was there to take up the brown paper on the balcony floor and touch up the railing with a can of spray paint. He pulled and pulled at the door latch and then tried to unlatch it by pulling up and unjam it. The door was locked so he was not able to enter the unit. See Video 6/29/2020 Update: Numerous emails have gone unanswered from owners to Don Matheson concerning the annual meeting and elections. The questions and comments were sent via email to Don and they receive no replay at all. I personally sent two emails to Don and neither one received a replay. This is the lack of communication owners have complained about for years and this is one of the reasons we need to get the two open board positions filled. There were also many emails sent regarding the painting project that went unanswered. One email was referring to the inspections that were suppose to take place from entering our units. Then we heard they were going to inspect the units from the scaffolding, that never happened either. We have been trying to get answers regarding the inspections from Don and Litus, they have gone unanswered once again. Not sure where to go from here….. Please note that there are some changes for the near term which may affect both homeowners and guests. Please note that if at any time occupancy exceeds the established limits noted above, volunteers will be asked to leave. If no one volunteers to depart, the pool and pool deck will be closed for the remainder of the day and everyone will be asked to leave the area. We acknowledge that some owners and guests may be less than pleased with the above established procedures. KPMA is committed to be in full compliance, and continually working within the guidelines, as set forth by SC DHEC for public pools so that the two pools may be opened.” The South Hampton Pool is NOT open at this time. He did not address the inspections’ update but I emailed Lynn Edmonds today and waiting for an update from her. As of 4/28 no update from Lynn or Chris on the inspections. According to an owner all construction related equipment has been removed from the parking lot. Worker’s paint etc remain in the back of the garage. The railing crew is the only crew left. The wall and ceiling painting crew is different than the railing crew. Tower 09 has been under reno for about 4 months now, since January 3rd. The railings in the 07 and 09 lockout rooms are last to be completed. 4/24/2020 Update: Today workers were removing the brown paper on the balcony floors and touching up the railings with cans of spray paint. 3/27/2020 Update from Don Matheson: (His newsletter said ALL DOORS are being painted so I emailed him asking what is the correct painting process.)
Posted: July 7, 2020
Email Sent to the Board and Litus
There has been a few different subjects that owners are discussing and trying to get answers to. I sent this email today to Litus and board members. I will post a response when I get one. See Response Below
Thanks for your time, Lynn
Thank you,
Chris Millar
Chris,
Posted: July 6, 2020
Horry County Face Masks Update
“All persons entering any retail business, including without limitation grocery stores and pharmacies, and any business where personal services are dispensed including without limitation hair and/or nail salons, barber shops and tattoo parlors must wear a face covering (as described by the CDC) while inside the establishment. In the event the face covering interferes with the personal service provided, such as a haircut, the covering may be removed while the service is being provided. The business shall not have responsibility for enforcing this requirement, but shall post conspicuous signage at all entrances informing its patrons of the requirements of this Section.
Posted: June 30, 2020
Under Building Parking
Parking in our owner’s garage has been another subject brought to light recently with a POA Bulletin that came out from Litus to Let. In our 2015 Rules & Regulations on pages 7 & 16, it states, “Two parking spaces per unit will be allowed while homeowner’s are occupying their unit.” This was discussed a couple years ago at an annual meeting and the owners shared with Litus what it says in the Rules & Regulations. There are limited spaces so we need to come to an agreement.
See 2015 Rules & Regulations
Posted: June 30, 2020
Building Rules For:
Items on Railings, Noise & Disturbance
Owners have reported that guests have been hanging towels and swimwear on the railings of the South Hampton which is against our rules & regulations. When we were there last week we counted 10 balconies on the north side and 6 on the south side that had towels and or swimwear on the railings. It was not a pretty site and there were many guests playing loud music and yelling from the balconies. The issue was addressed last month and reported to the Embassy where those guests rented from. As owners, if we can inform our guests about the rules for our building, it may help. We can post signage in our units, state this in the contracts and post signs in the elevators. Here is the number for the guard shack to report anything we see or hear that does not follow our rules, 843-497-3200. We can make a big difference in our building by being involved owners.
Click on photo for larger image.
See 2015 Rules & Regulations
Posted: June 29, 2020 Update
Annual Homeowner’s Meeting Topics
There are a couple subjects that homeowners plan to discuss at the annual homeowner’s meeting. First is the lack of communication between the board, Litus and owners. This has been discussed numerous times between all three parties on different occasions. The lack of communication that occurred during the piping and exterior painting project has sparked many concerning conversations and the owners plan to discuss it once again at the annual meeting when all three parties are present.
Posted: June 29, 2020
Hilton Bar Remodel Started
The Hilton has been shut down since the end of the season doing a remodel of the inside rooms. They have now started the remodel of the Hilton Tiki Bar. It will be much larger as you can see in the photos. The word is that the Embassy will start their remodel after Labor Dar 2020. Click For More Photos
Posted: June 28, 2020
Walkway Finished
The walkway behind the South Hampton along side of the lagoon has been finished. It looks nice and was much needed for safety and appearance.
Posted: May 22, 2020
Pool Opening Updates by The KPMA
“The KPMA maintenance staff has been very busy this week working to get the Beach Club and St. James pools ready to re-open for owners and guests’ enjoyment. That being said, both pools and pool decks are scheduled to re-open at 10 a.m. today (Friday), weather permitting.
Posted: April 23, 2020
Exterior Painting Update
I sent a text to the engineer of the project asking for an update and information about the inspections. Here is his response…
“Scheduled completion is May 1, give or take depending on the weather. The structural remediations and waterproofing is complete with only guardrail completion and touch-up remaining.”
Posted: April 2, 2020
Flood Insurance
It’s that time of year for owner’s who have a mortgage to deal with flood insurance. Anyone with a mortgage needs to show proof that our building has flood insurance to their mortgage company. You will need to fax or scan your documents from your mortgage company and send to Lynn Edmonds from Litus to Let. She will forward to our building’s insurance company.
Lynn’s Phone 843-448-9000 Ext 126
Fax # 843-626-0101
Email ledmonds@litustolet.com
Posted: March 20, 2020
Piping Project Update
As of 11:30am this morning, our building has the all clear to turn their thermostats back on per Lynn Edmonds from Litus to Let.
Click for more photos
Posted: March 17, 2020
Interior Door Painting Update
As of today Four of a Kind is working on floors 9 and 10 painting our interior doors that go into our units. I reached out to Gary, our building manager to get an update and here is his response.
“I am working on doors as they are available. I am working on 10 and 9 and any undone that need it. I am painting all doors that need painting.”
So from his text they are not painting all the interior doors into our units, only the doors that need it. I take it that he is referring to doors that “are available” must have something to do with owner’s who rent their units and who have guests in their units. When I was at the beach, some doors going into the stairs were painted and the paint had a very very strong odor. Before Greg left he painted doors also and I remember how strong the odor was from the paint.
Posted: March 14, 2020New Waste Containers
Our board has approved 5 new waste containers for around the building. Two in the lobby, one in garage by elevator and two in the driveway.
Click for more photos
Posted: March 14, 2020New Walkway Around Lagoon
The KPMA is replacing the walkway behind our building around the lagoon with new wood.
Posted: March 14, 2020Piping Project Update
The piping project has been underway for a couple weeks now. They are set to shut down the HVAC next week for 3 days. That is an estimate since you don’t know what problems they will run into once they go to connect the pipes. We are hoping for the best. Both projects were much needed but very hectic and noisy for homeowners and guests.
Update From Litus 3/12/2020: “The piping contractor will be making the transfer for the new cooling tower pipes starting on Tuesday, March 17th through Thursday, March 19th. This will begin at 9:00 am on Tuesday. There will be no heating or cooling in the building until the work is totally completed. Please make sure your HVAC units are off in the main and lockout units. If the units are left running or cut on there will be no water to cycle through the system and it will damage/ruin your unit.”
Click for more photos
Posted: March 14, 2020Exterior Building Project Update
Photo to the left was taken today, March 14, 2020. Building is looking pretty good. Towers 01, 02, 03, 04, 05 and 06 have been completed. They are working on 07, 08, 09 and 10. In our 09 tower the only balcony completed is our master bedroom. All other balconies are partially done. In our 09 tower we have been under construction since January 3rd. I’m guessing we will be under construction for another 2-4 weeks. For the inspection of the balconies the General Contractor and Engineer will enter the units and the inspection will last about 30 minutes. The inspections will start next week at 9:00am. Some owners have requested that we have 24 hour notice before they enter the units and an estimate of where they will start first. Still waiting for a response and will update at that time.
Click for more photos.
Posted: January 16, 2020Exterior Building Project Update
The photo shows what our building will look like when finished. Our building exterior painting project is moving along and is ahead of schedule, thanks to great weather. Towers 01, 03, 05, 02, 04, 06 have been caulked and painted. Some of the railings are completed on these towers. They have been working on towers 02, 04, 06, 09 and 10 as of January 10th. Click to see more photos.
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