Hello Again:
I feel that the best way to really get this blog started is to tell you a little about myself and how I got in to Real Estate in the Myrtle Beach Area. Again, my name is Darren Woodard and I grew up in Socastee. For those of you that do not know Socastee, itis the town just west of Surfside Beach off of Highway 544. I went to Socastee Elementary, Socastee Middle and Socastee High Schools. I finally finished in 1994 and did not know what I wanted to do. I never thought much about going to college and never felt that it was that important. I began to work at AVX off of 17th Avenue South in Myrtle Beach almost immediately after High School. AVX was one of Horry County’s largest employers, and highest paying and benefit offering jobs. In my mind, I thought that this was the job that best suited my need to make money right away. I did not understand that education, will power, a positive attitude and hard work all played a major role in how successful one could be. I lasted at AVX for nearly three years before I began to get interested in the hospitality industry. The Hospitality Industry in Myrtle Beach is like an engine that runs the town. I believe that is was because of the hospitality/entertainment industry that this town has grown as much as it has. I noticed this from the year after year repeat vacationers that I would see. I would ask people all around Myrtle Beach why they kept coming back here, and they would always say that they loved the beach. I knew deep down that it was much more than that. Let’s face it, there are beaches up and down the coast, but very few beaches offer as many restaurants, shops, entertainment shows and golf courses. Our Hospitality anterage is all blended into a 60 mile stretch of real estate called the “Grand Strand” I worked as a chef at Kimbal’s Restaurant in Prestigious Wachesaw Plantation for a few years before I finally felt that I was ready for college.
I started attending classes at Horry Georgetown Technical College in the Summer of 1998. After a few years, I felt that I wasn’t being challenged enough, so I decided to move from Myrtle Beach to Columbia and attend The University of South Carolina. While attended USC, I worked full time as a bartender/server in many restaurants. During the latter part of my “Economics/Finance” degree, I also found time to work a 500 hour Internship at Merrill Lynch. By the time that graduation for me came around in December 2003, a lot of things had gone on in my life. I had fallen deeply in love with Diana Joy Ardis, “Joy”, who lived in Murrells Inlet just South of Myrtle Beach. I also missed my family, friends, surfing, the breeze off of the ocean and all of the people that I grew up with. I started to think about job careers while I was doing some bartending and I kept seeing one thing. All of the people that I would see in the restaurant year after year started buying homes and relocating to Myrtle Beach. I saw a trend in this area and it wasn’t by coincidence; these were the Baby-Boomers moving to this area. What a phenomenon is was to instantly see all of this growth in the small town of Myrtle Beach where I grew up. I decided that it would be best to go ahead and take some more classes and become a real estate professional. In July of 2004 I began to work for Coldwell Banker Chicora in the Surfside Beach Office. I chose Coldwell Banker Chicora, because everyone told me that is where the strategic training is. I chose real estate as a career and I wanted to be successful. I learned all of the fundamentals of real estate very quickly and within my first 4 months, I started listing and selling a few things. I also earned a down payment to buy Joy and myself our first home; by this time we had already gotten engaged. This home was in the Carolina Forest area, where we still live to this day. While I was moving to the Carolina Forest Area, our company was also opening a new office off of Carolina Forest Boulevard. I decided to move over to that office for two reasons: it is close to home and the growth out here is phenomenon. I made the move to the Carolina Forest Area in December of 2005. I have been in the Real Estate business now for nearly three years and have gathered a great understanding of the Myrtle Beach Real Estate Market. From time to time on this blog, I will post thoughts, ideas and opinions of mine in regards to the Myrtle Beach Real Estate Market. I would love to hear some feedback and remember just because I am a Real Estate Professional, that does not make me always correct. I love criticism and I love to learn, so please share your ideas and feelings with me. If you have any questions, I would love to try and answer them. So, with that said, welcome to the “Myrtle Beach Real Estate Blog”. Enjoy!
Oh Yeah… Joy and I got married on October 27, 2006. I am now 31 years of age.
