Hello, stepahnie123, and welcome to the South. It ain't exactly New York, but the South Carolina Lowcountry is a rich and fascinating place, both culturally and horticulturally. Everyone knows about the wonders of Charleston, but I always enjoyed exploring the hinterlands as well. My uncle was an old Navy man who retired to a little piece of land in the old community of Dorchester, SC, which is just up the road from you, so I'm somewhat familiar with the area. It's a terrific place, although there's certainly potential for some culture shock, at least depending on what part of New York you're coming from. From my experience, I think the key wherever you go is to treat people you meet in a way that's simultaneously confident and respectful. If you do that, it's hard for anyone to have too much of a problem with you, anywhere in the country or around the world. If nothing else, it should be an adventure. As far as the garden goes, I've faced a similar learning curve, coming from a zone 5 area up North to a variety of locations in zones 7, 8, and 9 in the South. I think you'll find that gardens here are quite similar in some ways to those in the North, and very different in other ways. Overall, I think that the climate in the South makes gardening both more demanding and more rewarding here. The summer heat and the year-round battle against insects and diseases definitely can be a challenge, and having a nice garden requires a slightly different mindset and level of commitment than up North. But the flipside of that is the opportunity to create a lush, sumptuous landscape with a bewildering range of colors and textures, with something in flower 365 days a year. And for three or four months every year, while our friends in the Frozen Zones are belly-aching on GardenWeb about pining for spring and waiting for their yards to thaw out, you'll be out digging and planting in your garden, enjoying life on a nice 60 January day. It's worth pointing out that classic herbaceous perennials in the Yankee sense are much less essential parts of the landscape here. That's largely because the woody plants that are available here are so fantastic and incredibly diverse, including a fabulous array of broadleaf evergreens of all kinds. Last summer I was back up in the Chicago area visiting family, and one day we went to a high-quality local garden center. I almost laughed out loud, because I had forgotten about how pathetic the selection of shrubs that will grow there is, compared to the South. Around here, there are so many terrific woody plants of all sizes, shapes, and colors, that they can fill most garden niches and they're likely to make up the backbone of your garden. Also, gardens here tend to use a lot more annuals, too, partly because the growing season is so much longer, so it's worth investing in more, larger annual plants, and a lot more of them will either re-seed themselves from year to year, or can be easily overwintered indoors through the relatively short, mild winters. And then there are also a whole second category of "winter annuals" here, too, which are planted in October or November and last through until March or April, providing color and fill right through the depths of winter. As I said, you'll like it here. None of this is to suggest that you can't or shouldn't plant perennials here, though. A lot of the classic perennials from up North will do fairly well for you in Summerville, including daylilies, hostas, hellebores, echinaceas, etc. With a lot of the perennials you're familiar with, you may have to be a little picky about selecting heat-tolerant varieties, and they may need a bit more attention to soil prep and watering, and maybe a little more shade in order to prosper here. And even still, many of them may not be as vigorous here as they were in the shorter summers and colder winters up North. There are a whole range of other perennials, though, that flourish here and wouldn't survive in colder zones. That includes a lot of plants that are thought of as "tropical looking," including bananas, cannas, cast-iron plants, elephant ears, and all manner of gingers, begonias, gesneriads, aroids, and all sorts of other things. Don't worry, not all the plants that grow here are so flamboyant. There are also a lot of excellent perennials here that are more subdued and easier to blend with other plants. One resource I would recommend to get you thinking about perennials for your new home is the catalog and web site of Plant Delights Nursery (I've linked to it below), which focuses on new and unusual perennial plants suited to the South. Their prices are such that you probably can't or shouldn't buy much from them while your "funds are a little low," but the catalog provides a great deal of information and inspiration, and serves a bit of a primer on some of the important categories of ornamental perennials for this part of the country. Plus it's just a fun and entertaining read. Another important thing to do, of course, is to get out and start looking around at gardens and garden centers and see what's there and what appeals to you. And keep asking around, both in your community, and on the internet. For now, what's the condition of your new yard? What are you trying to accomplish first? Is it large or small? Sunny or shady? Is there an existing landscape or is it a blank slate? Do you have deer around you? These are all important considerations in making specific recommendations. I'll be happy to help if I can. And hopefully somebody on here from SC can tell you the best local sources for buying perennials, because I don't really know. Have fun and good luck!

Owning is not always a better deal than renting, especially in the short term. In the long term rents tend to increase while fixed rate mortgages stay the same (payment may change for taxes and insurance, but principal and interest are fixed). No one rents houses for less than the carrying cost, though on a house rented for many years the mortgage payment may be many years old. I often just break even the first few years of ownership in a rental house (before depreciation), but as rents slowly increase my fixed mortgage means the house starts having a positive cash flow, and when the mortgage is aid off becomes very positive. They need to investigate the costs of renting very carefully and then compare it and ownership after taxes. Renters who think they are not paying property taxes, mortgages, etc. are only fooling themselves. It is built into the rent. Even the cost of my insurance policy on the rental gets rolled in. It is less than a full up policy since it does not cover contents, but the renter should still be covering their possessions anyway. My policy will pay me for repairing the house. The renter's policy will pay them for the contents.

Thanks -- great advice all. Pretty much unanimous that painting is a must. No Soccer Mom - you ask good questions! This is a crazy area--it took me a while to get used to the real estate prices. Not particularly hot at the moment, just high cost of living here. This isn't even a house--it's just a 2 bedroom, 1200 sq ft condo! Some people do buy these things and rent them out but I don't want to be a landlady. They get about $1700 a month in rent. I feel like a lot of my neighbors are young families with a small child with some single people thrown in. This town is known for a good school system. I guess you could say it would attract people who don't really have the time or inclination to start doing a bunch of repairs--you could probably say that about condos in general. So.. I see your point--don't want people to walk in and start mentally calculating all the work they'd have to do. Three Pink Trees--Yes! I think that's probably more accurate. It's easy when you're walking through a house to reject it right away based on whatever personal preferences.. I've done that in even just a few minutes. But the house we did end up buying, we made a couple of trips and spent a while in there each time, with hubby looking carefully in the basement, etc. Once I get it cleaned up a bit I'm going to ask you guys your opinions of the kitchen, which is also early 90's builder grade. Too embarrassed to show it to you guys now. Wish I could personally thank every member of Garden Web because you guys are so helpful and I've learned so much at every step of the buying/renovating/selling process from you guys.

Your realtor definitely needs a professional photographer. The green paint itself MAY be fine if say, that bedroom isn't really that drab-ly dark. I think you said the salmon has already been repainted? Good... I wouldn't add an extra laundry in the garage, and from what I see of the garage floor, it doesn't need painting. (Then again, there may be parts I cannot see.) I love your woodwork, especially the kitchen cabs. If you leave any objects over cabinets, make them just a couple of items easily recognizable as to what they are - I spent too much time trying to figure them out while looking at that photo. Agree with others about the nipple lights, too. And that write up!