Retire in Greenville.
Four seasons, the mountains 30 minutes away, some of the lowest property taxes in the country, and no state tax on Social Security. And a team with the patience to handle a move that is forty years in the making. Carlos holds NAR's Seniors Real Estate Specialist® designation, and this is the work it was earned for.
A downsizing move is not a transaction with a deadline. It is a decision with a house attached.
Selling the family home is rarely about the house. It is about a garage full of forty years, a daughter in Charlotte and a son in Denver who both have opinions, a timeline that depends on a community's waiting list, and paperwork nobody enjoys. Most agents are built for speed. This work needs the opposite.
So we slow down. We meet at your kitchen table, not an office. We talk through what stays, what goes to family, what gets sold and what gets donated, and we bring in an estate-sale company or a senior move manager when that is what the job needs. We time the sale of the house to the day the new place is ready, not the other way round.
Nothing is signed until you understand it, and nothing happens on a timeline you did not choose. If you are working with an attorney on a trust, a power of attorney or an estate, we coordinate with them and stay in our lane. The same agent sees it through from the first conversation to the keys, in English or in Spanish.
The National Association of REALTORS® designation for clients 50 and over.
The Seniors Real Estate Specialist® course trains an agent to counsel clients 50+ through the financial and lifestyle transitions of relocating, refinancing or selling the family home: the range of housing options and what each one costs, how a home can be adapted for aging in place, and the sensitivity the work needs. Carlos Bedoya holds the designation.
Carlos Bedoya, SRES®Source: National Association of REALTORS®, sres.realtor.At 65, South Carolina takes the first $50,000 of your home off the tax bill.
South Carolina's Homestead Exemption removes the first $50,000 of your legal residence's taxable market value from property tax. It sits on top of the 4% owner-occupied rate every primary home gets, and it is one of the reasons the state ranks among the lowest for property taxes on a retiree's home.
Homeowners 65 or older as of December 31 of the year before the tax year, or totally and permanently disabled, or legally blind. You must have been a legal resident of South Carolina for at least one year and already be approved for the 4% legal residence rate on the home.
- 1Close on the home and make it your legal residence: South Carolina driver's licence, vehicle registration and voter registration at that address.
- 2File the 4% legal residence application with Greenville County Real Property Services. Every new owner must; it is not automatic.
- 3After a year of residency, apply for the Homestead Exemption through the county with your birth certificate or South Carolina ID. It is a one-time application; you do not reapply each year unless something changes.
- 4Tell us the address and we will estimate what the two together do to the bill. It depends on your tax district's millage, so we run the real number, not a rule of thumb.
No state income tax on Social Security benefits.
100% of military retirement pay is exempt from state income tax.
Pensions, 401(k) and IRA income qualify for a deduction of up to $10,000, rising to $15,000 at 65.
South Carolina has neither, and no county or city income tax anywhere in the state.
Not tax advice. Thresholds and rates change; the county and the SC Department of Revenue publish the current rules. We are glad to refer you to a local CPA for your own situation, and we walk every client through the 4% and Homestead filings after closing.
Where the lawn is somebody else's job.
Age-restricted 55+ communities in the Upstate: single-story homes, a clubhouse, a pool, and a homeowners association that handles the outside. Four of the better-known ones, described by what they are. Prices change monthly; ask us for what is available this week.
Del Webb Greenville
Greenville, on the Reedy RiverDel Webb's first 55+ community in the Upstate: 434 homes planned on 209 acres with a mile of Reedy River shoreline, a 9,000-square-foot clubhouse, an outdoor pool, pickleball and bocce. Sales opened in 2025.
delwebb.comBlaize Ridge
GreerSingle-story brick patio homes in five floor plans, maintenance-free, with a clubhouse, heated pool and fitness center. Near GSP and Greer Station.
55places.comThe Ravines at Creekside
Simpsonville108 single-story, low-maintenance homes with open plans and main-level primary suites, ten minutes from downtown Simpsonville and twenty from downtown Greenville.
55places.comSugar Creek Villas
GreerAn established age-restricted villa community in Greer, close to Greer Station and Highway 14.
seniorly.comEvery 55+ community sets its own occupancy rules under the federal Housing for Older Persons Act. We confirm the current rules, the HOA fee and what it covers for any home you consider.
Continuing care, assisted living and memory care in Greenville.
A continuing care retirement community, or Life Plan community, offers independent living first and assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing on the same campus if they are ever needed. Three well-established ones in Greenville County. Selling the house is often what funds the entrance fee, and we time the sale to the move-in date.
The Woodlands at Furman
1500 Trailhead Ct, Travelers RestA Life Plan community on the edge of the Furman University campus, with the Swamp Rabbit Trail at the door. Its skilled nursing program carries a Five-Star Medicare rating.
thewoodlandsatfurman.orgRolling Green Village
1 Hoke Smith Blvd, GreenvilleGreenville's first continuing care retirement community, on a large wooded campus off Woodruff Road, with maintenance, housekeeping and scheduled transportation included in independent living.
seniorly.comCascades Verdae
10 Fountainview Terrace, GreenvilleA gated 53-acre campus minutes from downtown, with independent living apartments and homes and the full continuum of care on site.
seniorly.comThese are independent providers. We are not affiliated with any of them and receive nothing for a referral. Licensing and inspection records are public through the South Carolina Department of Public Health.
Six steps, at your pace.
The order matters more than the speed. Here is how the team runs a move from a long-held home.
Tell us where you are. We will tell you what the options really are.
Whether you are a year out or the community just called with an opening, a first conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing. We will come to you.
Helping a parent? You are welcome to make the first call. Many of our downsizing clients are introduced to us by a son or daughter.