Moncks Corner rentals make move from lower income to market rates

Brick siding marks the outside of 64-unit Village Apartments, located on Gulledge Street in Moncks Corner. A breakfast area off the kitchen is one of the features in the one- and two-bedroom rentals at Village Apartments. Tidy, low rent Village Apartments opened 26 years ago in Moncks Corner’s south end, encircled by a handful of established neighborhoods. The 64-unit rental community has had its share of ups and downs since. Then in May, the complex came under new ownership. Units were upfitted, and the complex has started to charge leases in line with other moderately-styled apartment communities. “We are going through a transition phase,” says Shirley Dehay, property manager. Dehay should know: she managed Village Apartments from its opening in 1982 to 2001, left for six years, then returned last January. She and her husband Wayne Dehay own Gold Key Real Estate Services, which is the property management company. Wayne Dehay handles maintenance issues. “We are happy to be back,” she says. “I’ve had a lot of good tenants over the years.” The new owners of Village Apartments are Mark Vallario, who owns a local real estate franchise and Chris Fischer, a businessman in New Jersey. In the past few months, the partners have installed new appliances, painted, put in fresh landscaping and otherwise spruced up the development, located on Gulledge Street. The complex has 16 one-bedroom apartments, each 600 square feet and priced at $575 a month. There are 48 two-bedroom dwellings, which are 800 square feet in size and lease for $650 a month. The units have washer and dryer hookups, and there is a laundry in the complex. Second floor apartments have balconies, and first level units come with patios. “I think the rents are very reasonable for what they are getting,” Dehay says. Even with the switch from low cost housing to more moderate rents, the complex has maintained occupancy rates around 90 percent, she says. Village Apartments has a cross section of mostly working-class tenant types, she says. “We get a lot of single parents with a couple of children. We do have families, we have some retired people.” Shirley and Wayne Dehay live a few miles away in Bonneau, but are on call. “We try to provide as much comfort and safety as we can,” she says, noting that at least one police officer lives in the complex. “We work with the tenants, and are conscientious about the needs of the tenants.” A couple of weeks ago, the couple was at home at night watching TV when a tenant called because the water heater sprung a leak. They rushed down to the property, she says, to take care of the emergency. The rental village is in a central spot, a mile or so from downtown Moncks Corner and from U.S. Highway 52. “It’s very convenient to the Bushy Park (industrial) area. We’ve got Santee Cooper, Berkeley Electric Cooperative, Lake Moultrie,” Shirley Dehay says. For all your real estate needs please visit http://www.sallyandj.com/