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New real estate agency opens in downtown | Hartsville Messenger | scnow.com – SCNow

HARTSVILLE – Choice Realty has opened an office in downtown Hartsville, owned and operated by Jonathan and Susan Lee.

The real estate office is located at 118 N. Fifth St. in Hartsville.

Jonathan is broker-in-charge, and Susan is vice president of operations and property management. The realty company has been open in Hartsville less than a month. It does commercial, residential, investment property, estate sales and property management.

“This is our second location,” Jonathan Lee said.

The company was established in 2004 in Charleston.

In mid-90s, Jonathan worked at Sonoco in the corporate communications department. He and his wife decided to move back to Hartsville and open a second location of their real estate company.

Lee said his mother grew up in Hartsville, and he has family ties here. He grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. Susan Lee is a native of New York. She moved to Charleston in 2009.

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“Hartsville is a great town,” he said.

There is a very strong real estate market in Hartsville, he said.

Susan Lee said there isactually a shortage of homes to purchase and a serious shortage of rental properties and with the price of materials it isn’t a good time to build.

She said the agency is the only licensed property management company in Hartsville. It specializes in finding investment properties. There are a lot of people who want to invest in multi-family properties, she said, adding they have a client from Charleston who needed to re-invest and purchased 14 properties in Hartsville, which they manage.

“We have also purchased properties of our own,” she said. “We like to own single family homes, but do have duplexes. We are always looking to purchase properties. We have a lot of experience in renovations and working with contractors. My background is in interior design. I can help stage homes for sale.”

She said the agency has received referrals from other Realtors who don’t do property management.

She said her husband is very knowledgeable about investing. He is experienced in helping investors and specializes in commercial properties but has experience in residential properties as well.

“We would like to hire a strong residential agent to add to the company,” she said. But for now it is just the two of them in the office.

She said what sets them apart is their experience in large and smaller markets, and their commitment, trust and connections.

“We have already been engaged in the area for the past year or so,” she said.

They have become involved in the community. Susan Lee has served on the board of Kalmia Gardens for three years. Jonathan Lee is a member of the Kiwanis Club and serves on the Black Creek Arts Board of Directors.

He said Black Creek Arts is one of the things that drew them to the downtown area. He is a potter and uses the potter’s wheel at Black Creek. It is just a few doors down. He said the YMCA pool was another draw, and Susan Lee wanted to feel like a part of the downtown.

The Lees have five children, ranging in age from 18-28.

Hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and after hours by appointments on weekends.

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