(waves rolling)
- Look at these trees, these are beautiful.
I hope we can find a house maybe with some of these trees,
all the Spanish Moss.
Very pretty.
It feels romantic.
- Exactly what I was looking for.
- We’re Amy and Dustin Doerflinger,
and we’re looking for our dream home
in Beaufort, South Carolina.
We have two girls, Julia and Tessa.
They’re six and four
and they’re pretty adventurous like us.
I’m excited for Julia and Tessa
to grow up here if it works out.
It’s just kinda fun to think about the possibilities.
- Yeah, being able to go on the boat all the time with me
and go fishing,
and not have to drive to the marina like we did before.
Being able to just walk out the back door maybe
and get on the body of water on the kayak or a paddle board.
(relaxing music continues)
- Named the South’s Best Small Town in 2022,
Beaufort is south Carolina’s second oldest city,
founded in 1711.
With over 300 years of American history,
this coastal locale has a ton to offer:
the Hunting Island lighthouse, blissful beaches,
and plenty of water activities like boating, fishing,
and paddle boarding.
While most people know Charleston and Hilton Head,
Beaufort and the surrounding sea islands
offer both cultural Southern charm
and some gorgeous ocean views.
To get from town to South Carolina’s islands,
like Fripp and Saint Helena,
folks take the Woods Memorial Bridge,
made famous in the movie "Forest Gump."
Remember when he ran from coast to coast?
And because of this beautiful coveted location,
the real estate market here, it is hot.
Homes have increased 12.5% in value compared to last year,
and 43% of homes are selling above the listing price.
After Amy and Dustin had two children
while living in Washington State,
they yearned for a new place to raise their family.
They decided to head across America to South Carolina,
where Amy went to college
and fell in love with the people and Southern hospitality.
- I’m just really excited now being here
to start our new life down here.
- Yeah, it’s a small town, more low-key.
Live how you wanna live,
and things can’t dictate how that happens.
- Dustin is eager to live on the beach
to take his daughter’s fishing and paddle boarding.
Just being able to afford an oceanfront property
is a dream come true for both of them.
Now, they just need to find that perfect home.
(relaxing music continues)
- I think there’s more golf carts on the road than cars.
(everyone laughing)
Pretty sure I haven’t seen a car in about 10 minutes.
- We’re on island time.
I mean, everybody’s kind of on a permanent vacation.
A lot of people come in here typically just for vacation,
they fall in love,
and they look around Beaufort and Port Royal.
You know, this is a very kind of private, rustic atmosphere,
very kinda country, like coastal country.
There is one home that we’re gonna look at,
it’s the Angel Oak home, and it has a great ocean view.
I mean, it’s paradise, like it really is.
- This is a gorgeous view, Jeremy.
(relaxing music fades)
Angel Oak tree, is this where the house got its name?
- [Jeremy] Yeah, they say when the branches hit the ground
and come back up, they call ’em angel wings.
It’s a four bedroom, five bath,
it’s currently on the market for $1,250,000,
and it’s roughly 3,300 square feet.
- [Dustin] So it’s bit over the budget.
- Mm-hmm.
A lotta people say that we have low inventory,
but the reality is the inventory is relatively the same,
it’s just our buyers are so much more.
So, we don’t have the properties for people.
Now, the Doerflinger’s budget was $900,000.
I believe to get the type of home that they want,
I think we’re probably gonna have to push their budget,
you know, north of $1,000,000.
- I gotta check out the ocean.
- Yeah, let’s go to the water.
- I don’t blame you.
(Dustin laughing happily)
- A nice little patio.
I could see us having a fire,
roasting some hot dogs with the girls.
- A good little spot to hang out by the water.
- Mm-hmm, and we could launch our kayaks right here,
paddle boards.
- Too bad it’s not sand beach.
- Yeah, a little more sand.
- It’s not your typical beach,
this is more of like a rustic beach, yeah.
Now we’ve seen the pretty part, let’s go check out the home.
- Hopefully that’s the pretty part too.
(Amy and Jeremy laughing)
We first met playing softball.
Amy was playing third base,
had some sweet pinstripe pants on.
- And I asked his friend,
"Who’s that cute guy running into the outfield?"
And he said, "Go introduce yourself."
- We started hanging out after that
and it kind of blossomed from there.
- He decided to propose to me doing the same thing,
the thing that we love.
And we were in the middle of a game,
I was playing first base and you were pitching.
And then the game stopped and Dustin walked over to me,
and he got down on one knee, and he asked me to marry him,
and I said yes.
And then we ended up finishing the inning.
And I think I made the last out of that inning.
And I remember trying to fit my glove on my hand
over this newly minted ring.
That was definitely an experience.
(relaxing music returns)
Wow, it’s so open, I really like that.
- And the view right when you walk in.
- Mm-hmm.
A nice little sitting area, pretty.
Hey, we don’t have a dining room right now,
a separate dining room, so this would be nice.
- Especially if we have guests over,
like a nice spot for all of us to be able to sit and eat.
- Definitely big enough, a lot of room.
And look, a range and island.
- [Dustin] Yeah, much bigger than our current one for sure.
- Lots of counter space.
The girls could sit right here.
Julia and Tessa could do their homework, cook with me.
A little breakfast table.
What do you think about the carpet?
- Yeah, interesting.
That carpet is probably gonna need to be replaced.
- [Amy] More views.
- [Dustin] Yeah, lots of windows lookin’ to the water.
- Let’s go see what the bedrooms look like.
- Before we met, I had a bankruptcy
due to my addiction in the past.
I was an OxyContin kid, turned heroin addict.
At the time when we met, I’d been sober for a few years.
And we didn’t think financially
that we’d ever be able to buy a house,
we’d be lifelong renters.
- Dustin was really open about his past with addictions.
And just to put it all out there, "Hey, this is who I am,"
and I really appreciated that about him.
I think it drew me to you even more,
just the trustworthiness, the honesty,
and overcoming adversity.
Throughout the years, when there’s been any hardship,
Dustin’s always been like,
"Hey, we’re going to get through this," and we always do.
So I think family, staying together,
and also just not being afraid to take chances,
that’s a key element of how we work through things together.
- [Jeremy] Alright, this is gonna be your master suite.
- Nice and big.
- Quite the color.
- Very blue.
(everyone laughing)
Definitely leaned into the coastal colors,
I kinda like it.
Bigger than our current bedroom now.
- Yeah, much bigger.
- Yeah.
And a large bathroom.
Both the girls could fit in there.
Two sinks.
Could you maybe tear this down?
- Nope.
This is my side, that’s your side. (laughing)
- You don’t wanna see me brushing my teeth?
- Nope.
- We could negotiate-
- Your stuff stays on that side.
- If we chose.
- And you have your own private porch.
- Wow, this is a great view. (laughing)
- [Dustin] Yeah, especially off a master
and having a screened in porch.
- Mm-hmm.
Wanna just stay here, and ditch Jeremy?
- Yup.
You got another tee time?
- (laughing) I’ll see you guys in a little bit.
- I am in the wealth management industry
and had the opportunity to work from home full time
over the last year and a half,
and that’s been a huge blessing
because we could really live wherever we want to
because I can work from anywhere.
- My business is Doerflinger Athletics, and I was doing it
after my job as a drug and alcohol counselor.
I’d come home and do it at night.
It ended up growing
and becoming something that was feasible as a regular job.
And my plan was, as soon as we had Julia,
was to be a stay-at-home dad and do that as I could.
- [Amy] Can we check out where maybe the girls would sleep?
- [Jeremy] Let’s go.
- [Dustin] This would be a good spot for the girls.
- Nice and big.
They could share or maybe this could be one of ’em.
- Yeah.
- And a Jack and Jill, two sinks.
Awesome.
A second bedroom.
It’s nice and bright up here.
- And they can each have their own bed.
- Yup.
- Yeah, this room would definitely need new carpet
like the downstairs did.
- Definitely something you can easily replace, right?
- Yeah, it’s always easy if you don’t have to do it.
Add it to my list.
- It’s not my job.
(Jeremy laughing)
- I do wanna show you the workshop downstairs.
(rhythmic music)
Obviously, unfinished.
- Yeah, this could work,
it has a good workspace or shop to work at.
- How do you feel about this?
- I wouldn’t want my office down here.
You’re more than welcome to work in the humidity.
- (laughing) It is a little warm.
- Yes.
- [Dustin] Basically, I just need like an open space
so I can kind of build some storage,
a counter space, and shelf space.
And I’m just gonna have to endure the heat.
(relaxing music returns)
- What do you guys think?
How do you feel about the Angel Oak home?
- I really like it.
I really like the ocean view, the breeze from the ocean,
the trees driving in, the kitchen.
- Well,
I think it’s also got a great workspace potential for me,
which is key.
I’m not looking forward
to having to redo floors and carpet,
or everything else ’cause that’s gonna be on-
- So, there’s some things you could change.
- [Dustin] Right.
- (laughing) Okay.
Well it’s a very, very competitive market.
These homes do not stay on the market very long,
like if at all, even a day.
- [Amy] Okay, well let’s see the other ones.
- [Jeremy] Alright.
(relaxing music fades)