Kiawah Real Estate Buying and Selling FAQs

Kiawah Island Real Estate (KIRE) listings are exclusive listings that are not shared with MLS listings. These are only shown on KIRE’s website. A qualified buyer can view Multiple Listing Service (MLS) listings with any licensed agent. However, the KIRE listings may only be shown by a KIRE agent.

Read all about Kiawah Island Club Memberships here.

When you sell a property through Kiawah Island Getaways Real Estate, you are working with us, as well as a network of over 6,000 MLS agents in the Charleston area. Your listing will be included in the Kiawah MLS listings. We will work with other agents in the area to ensure that your property is well-marketed. It will be shown to Kiawah buyers by us, and by other MLS agents. On the other hand, KIRE does not allow agents outside of their brokerage to show their properties. This prevents a lot of buyers from seeing private KIRE listings.

Three things separate us from other Kiawah agents:

1. With 20 years of rentals, we’ve acquired a database full of people who love Kiawah and frequent it often. Many reach out to us looking for a place on Kiawah of their own. Through social media and emails, we provide on-going quality marketing to these people.
2. No other real estate agency knows how to make your property shine like we do. With our in-house professional staging, your property will look fantastic for private showings as well as in our photographs and videos. You’ll be impressed and our clients will be anxious to view your property in person.
3.  Integrity – we make sure everything said and done is above-board. Your trust is essential.

KIRE encourages buyers to look at properties they have privately listed – in other words, their agency is representing the buyer as well as the seller. In the real estate world, this is known as a dual agency. One agency that represents both the buyer and seller can be awkward, as it is difficult to provide the best interests of two separate parties. However, at Kiawah Island Getaways Real Estate, we represent your best interests. No gray area. No conflicts.

When you buy through us, you have our 40 years of Kiawah Island experience, 15 years of real estate experience and 20 years of Kiawah rental experience at your fingertips. No one knows the Island like we do! We also know the rental market here inside and out, offering perspectives on investment properties that other agents don’t have. Lastly, our relationships with architects, contractors, decorators, and more offer our buyers a turnkey service they won’t find anywhere else.

No, an MLS agent is not able to show a KIRE listing. If a buyer is interested in a listing that belongs to KIRE, then KIRE requires the buyer work solely with them, not only to see the home, but to handle the purchase. The MLS agent is removed from the negotiation altogether.

If they are licensed agents, yes.

For MLS and KIRE listings on Kiawah, the standard commission paid by the seller to the listing agent is 6% of the purchase price. Half of the 6% commission is given to the buyer’s agent. The buyer pays no commission to the agent.

However, if an MLS agent provides a buyer for a KIRE property, the MLS agent is removed from the negotiations and, provided the buyer has not previously toured with a KIRE agent, the MLS agent is offered a referral fee ranging between 0.9%-1.5% of the sales price. If the buyer has, at any time, toured with a KIRE agent, the MLS agent is given nothing for referring the buyer.

There are two ways to handle this—dual agency, and designated agency. We prefer designated agency. This is when one licensed agent represents the seller, and another licensed agent represents the buyer. Designated agency allows both agents to truly represent their client’s best interests and enables the agents to advise their clients during negotiations, rather than just facilitate the sale.