By Susan Roush:

2017 September / October Issue

Pages 18- 22 –

The Parker family has been involved in land development and construction for over 40 years. R.S. Parker Homes has been in business for over 15 years. Ronnie Parker Jr. gave a quick look back: “My grandfather and my dad were always involved in land development – residential and commercial projects – from the late 70s. Our first construction in Myrtle Beach was in 1984. My dad (Ronnie Parker, Sr.) was involved in the construction of a mid-rise condo in Cherry Grove.” Ronnie got his General Contractor’s license in 1997, and the family made a conscious effort to get into homebuilding in 2003. Ronnie said, “We were doing residential development work and came to the conclusion we needed to build homes as well.”  R.S. Parker Homes was able to grow during the lean years of 2008-2011 by finishing out communities that banks had taken over.

Ronnie Parker Jr. ( middle ) with Jessica Vollmerhausen ( far left ), Cheryl Crary ( 2^nd from left ), Sonya Shaffner ( 2^nd from right ) and Kim Kauffman ( far right ). Jessica manages the model and inventory homes, Cheryl and Sonya are Builder Representative Realtors for R.S. Parker Homes and Kim is the Design Center Coordinator. The five professionals are shown in front of the three new models at R.S. Parker Homes’ newest community, Indigo Bay in Carolina Forest.

Fast forward six years and R.S. Parker proudly introduces its newest community in the popular Carolina Forest area. Indigo Bay is truly an exclusive R.S. Parker community from the ground up. Ronnie said, “The goal is to offer a low country custom-looking home at an affordable price without all the aggravation and heartache of acquiring a lot, interviewing several custom builders, bidding them out, and then starting the process.” Since R.S. Parker is developing Indigo Bay, they are the Architectural Review Board, which eliminates third party input for getting plans approved.

 

Indigo Bay is a natural gas, gated community that will be home to 353 families. This includes a 50 acre lake, allowing for approximately half of the homes to be on lakefront lots. Indigo Bay offers three model homes that are available for tours Monday through Saturday from 10 AM to 5 PM & Sunday from 1 PM to 5 PM. ( From left to right ) The Ashfield, the Willbrook & the Bellefield are shown here.

Ultimately, this natural gas, gated community will be home to 353 families. There is a 50-acre lake, allowing for approximately half of the homes to be on lakefront lots. The clubhouse and pool are under construction with ample land set aside for additional amenities. There is a 9’ walking path around the whole community – wide enough for walking and bicycling. The exterior custom appearance comes in part from the raised brick-skirted slab foundation, 50-year architectural shingle roofs and gutters around the house.  Every plan has a rear-covered porch, and some will have larger covered front porches. Furthermore, homes are constructed to Environments for Living standards. Ronnie explained, “Environments for Living specifies and inspects what we put in. Every homeowner gets a certificate when they purchase their home with an energy guarantee for heating and cooling.”  In 2016, Santee Cooper named R.S. Parker Homes the Smart Energy New Home Builder of the Year.

Lisa Clark, Corporate Director of Sales and Marketing, named several other distinguishing features of Indigo Bay homes. R.S. Parker uses James Hardie ColorPlus® Technology siding, and they are one of the few builders in the area using this product. Lisa explained, “The color is actually done in the factory instead of being painted on site in the elements, so you get the exact color across each board.” This technology results in boards that resist chipping, peeling, cracking and fading. Standard interior features include hardwoods in all main living areas, staggered-height kitchen cabinets with crown molding, granite kitchen counters, tile showers in the master bath with seats, brushed nickel fixtures, lever door handles, bullnose corners, and special trim features.

Jessica Vollmerhausen manages model and inventory homes and assists in the Design Center. Three model homes open for viewing are the Ashfield, Willbrook and Bellefield, and three inventory homes have been built to date.  In total, there are 10 plans to select from, all of which are brand new to Indigo Bay. Square footage runs from 1835 to 4141 and prices start at $304,900.

 

The living room and kitchen in the Ashfield model home @ Indigo Bay.

The Design Center offers a thoughtful selection of materials. R.S. Parker staff and their trade partners choose the most popular materials, current appliances, colors, fixtures and finishes, and they monitor inventory as trends and tastes change. There is enough selection to satisfy a sense of individuality without being overwhelming.

Within the models offered Lisa explained there are good, better and best versions. “Our good home is 98-percent standard, with minimum upgrades. You can walk into an Indigo Bay home, the smallest home that we offer with standard features, and you know what you’re getting.” The better category offers a mix of upgrades, and the best has all the upgrades. Similarly, there are good, better and best in landscaping packages. Fencing options are on display with the model homes, including DHEC-approved fencing for swimming pools, since pool packages are an option.

The living room in the Bellefield model home in Indigo Bay. 

 

Ronnie said, “We have outdoor living packages that can include anything from paver patios, to fire pits or fireplaces and outdoor kitchens. If you’re on the water we have different dock options.”  Lisa added, “If you’re on a wooded lot we have storage shed options that mirror the home style.”

Beyond choosing the lot, model and options, Lisa listed five in-person touches required when building an R.S. Parker home:

• Writing the contract with the sales agent
• Dedicated time with a design consultant where every exterior and interior choice is addressed
• Pre-construction meeting, after the lot has been prepped, where the builder reviews the home plan and the full home package to make sure he understands the homeowners expectations
• Pre-drywall meeting with the builder and homeowner to go over the energy efficiency program and to find anything that needs to be changed or tweaked
• New-home orientation with the homeowner, the same builder and sales agent to explain all functions

Jessica noted, “We’re a very hands-on company. Ronnie and his dad are here daily, and we make field visits often to make sure houses are coming along as expected. We want to make houses as functional as possible for our buyers; there’s a lot of thought and effort put into everything.”

One future Indigo Bay homeowner who has been the recipient of this thoughtful effort is Randy Ferrante.  He said, “R.S. Parker helped us design what we needed – something that other custom builders didn’t even consider doing. We felt like we were getting personalized service – they cared about what we wanted.”

Randy and his wife Sandra met Sonya Shaffner, their sales representative at Indigo Bay. Randy said, “We liked their base model, but wanted to add some custom changes, and they were very agreeable.” Randy continued, “R.S. Parker’s standard package is very good, but this is my wife’s retirement house and probably the last one that we’ll ever buy. I told her to pick out what she wanted and make it as nice as she wanted it to be, so we did a lot of upgrades.”

Randy added, “The gentleman building the house for us, Fred Gatzke, is very seasoned. He’s been building for a long time. He’s very good at explaining what’s going on, making suggestions without being pushy, listening to what we want.” The Ferrantes have also been impressed with Sonya’s involvement throughout the process.  They expect to move into their lakefront home in October.

Beth and TJ Goff already lived in a Carolina Forest neighborhood when they bought a lot in Waterway Palms Plantation to be closer to the Intracoastal Waterway. They had seen an R.S. Parker home in Waterbridge, and as Beth recalled, “It sealed the deal – we just fell in love with it.”  They were impressed with the quality and custom look of an R.S. Parker home. Beth added, “Their upgrade options were really good for our family, and it was enjoyable working with them; they helped us make the house look amazing within our budget.”

Beth has a list of things she loves about her home, including hardwood flooring that does not show scratches from their dogs. She said, “I love our kitchen, specifically the pot drawers – they’re fantastic – and the butler’s pantry between the dining room and kitchen. My favorite of all features is a laundry shoot; the clothes go straight from the kids’ bathroom to the laundry room.”

Ronnie Parker summed up the R.S. Parker Homes creed of always doing the right thing. “As a builder it’s how you deal with adversity and problems that really reveals your character as an organization. I don’t know any builder our size that has two dedicated warranty people. I think our team of employees and subcontractors care about the customer and want to treat them right.”

You can view Indigo Bay models and inventory homes at 1017 Planters Place, Myrtle Beach, SC 29579 Monday through Saturday 10AM to 5PM and Sundays 1PM to 5PM. This is in the Carolina Forest community. For further information call (843) 293-4445 or visit www.RSParkerHomes.com.