About Lynn Castner
Hi, I'm Lynn Castner, owner and broker in charge of Hilton Head Buyers Real Estate, LLC. I was a trial lawyer for 37 years in Minnesota, and I fell in love with Hilton Head Island and the South Carolina Low Country in the early 70's. It wasn't long before my wife and I knew that we wanted to live here and be a part of the exciting communities on Hilton Head Island and the nearby mainland.
We chose Hilton Head Island as our new permanent home because it has a number of vibrant communities with everything you could wish for. It is an enviable golf and tennis destination and a significant cultural and art location. There are outstanding ocean beaches, pristine wilderness in the woodlands, marshes and ACE basin. The ACE basin is a confluence of the Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto Rivers that meet in a great estuary between the Hilton Head Area and Charleston, South Carolina. It has been called the cradle of life for the Atlantic Ocean. The Intracoastal Waterway hugs the entire shoreline.
We live in a great place to work and to retire. On a work free day, walk on the beach or kayak the rivers, creeks and marshes, eat a fresh caught seafood meal, play a round of golf or set of tennis, watch the sun set over tidal salt marsh or river, and take in a play or concert or live jazz combo. Your days can be filled with as much or as little as you wish. We have world class golf, 24 golf courses on Hilton Head Island and 40 more on the nearby mainland. For sport fishing, sailing or power boating, there is the South Carolina Yacht Club on Windmill Harbour with an ocean gate, one private marina in Harbour Town on Sea Pines Plantation, and 14 public marinas, boat ramps and landings on Hilton Head Island and nearby mainland.
There is much to do: Entertainment, music, art, community theater, and organizations devoted to many leisure activities you may be interested in pursuing. There are a myriad of community charities where you might have an interest in contributing volunteer services. Then too, you can visit nearby historic cities of Beaufort, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia, both close 45 minute drives.
In the late 90's, we moved here and became permanent full time Hilton Head Island residents. I retired from my Minnesota law practice, and became licensed as a real estate broker by the South Carolina Real Estate Commission, LLR. I practiced real estate with a large general brokerage, and became informed about the real estate market in Hilton Head and the nearby mainland. I took specialized education and training with the National Association of Realtors in representation of buyers as clients, not customers. This course earned me the designation, Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR). I became licensed as a broker in charge, the highest South Carolina real estate license designation, and founded my firm, Hilton Head Buyers Real Estate, LLC, in 2003. We are an exclusive buyer brokerage, representing only buyers, never sellers. I took additional education with the National Association of Realtors, and earned the professional designation, Accredited Buyer Representative Manager (ABRM).
All my agents and I are SC licensed brokers or sales associates. We all are members of the National Association of Realtors, South Carolina Association of Realtors and the Hilton Head Area Association of Realtors. With these professional memberships we are Realtors © and as such we subscribe to the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Realtors. A Realtor © is a professional designation, and many real estate agents who are licensed by the State of South Carolina are not Realtors © and NOT subject to the Code of Ethics for Realtors ©. The Realtors © Code of Ethics,adopted in 1913, is one of the first Codes of Ethics of a profession in the United States. We endorse and are governed by the National Association Code of Ethics.
I am co-chair of the Professional Standards Committee of the Hilton Head Area Association, which holds hearings in arbitration of real estate financial disputes and hears complaints of ethics violations. I have acted as member and hearing officer in these matters, and I also have conducted mediation of real estate matters. This and my law background have prepared me to be an effective, loyal representative and advocate for buyer clients. I owe a legal duty to get for my buyer clients the best deal and terms in their real estate purchase. An agent who lists property is legally a sellers' agent, and one who shows you other agents' listings without a written buyer client agency agreement is legally a sellers' sub-agent. Both a sellers' agent and sub-agent have the legal duty to get the best deal and terms for the sellers they represent, not you.
The SC Real Estate Commission sets forth in their publication, "Agency Disclosure Brochure, Agency Relationships in South Carolina," the level of services we owe to you as a client, when you enter into a written agency agreement with us: "Obedience, Loyalty, Disclosure, Confidentiality, Accounting and Reasonable Care and Skill. Client level services also include advice, counsel and assistance in negotiations." The brochure concludes, "Remember, however, that until you enter into a representation agreement with the Company, you are considered a customer and the Company cannot be your advocate, cannot advise you on price or terms, and cannot keep your confidences." LLR, South Carolina Real Estate Commission (Rev. 12/04). Why wouldn't you want a buyer agent who can be your advocate, advise you on price and terms and keep your confidences? I will do that for you, and more. I will advise you on all aspects of the transaction: Contract, negotiations, financing, property condition, disclosure and inspection.
Sellers' listing agents and subagents can't represent your interests. Don't search sites where selling agents push their listings. SEARCH ALL PROPERTIES IN AND NEAR HHI on this website where you can find ALL properties in the HHI area Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Just click on the tab above, "Search All HHI MLS Listings," and find all HHI and near mainland listings in Bluffton and other towns.
For more information about buyer agency and becoming our buyer client, click the tab above "Buyers Agency."
Contact me now, and I will send you email links to specific home, villa or lot searches for whatever you are interested in: Investment homes and villas, second home or villa ownership, primary homes or villas, or lots to build on now or later. I DO NOT CHARGE HOURLY OR RETAINER FEES FOR MY CLIENT LEVEL SERVICES. YOU PAY ME NO FEES. I AM PAID ONLY THE COOPERATING BROKER FEE PAID BY THE SELLER WHEN AND IF YOU BUY. Let me help you get to know all the gated and non-gated communities, neighborhoods, and new home developments in Hilton Head Island and the nearby mainland. Call me now, or email me for free consultation and advice.
