Myrtle Beach-area apartment residents being ‘forced out’ of current homes
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — Some residents at Myrtle Beach apartment complex say they’re being kicked out of their current homes by the property’s new owners.
Ivystone Apartment residents said they received a letter from Brookside Properties on April 11, welcoming them as their new management company, along with office hours and information on when rent is due. The apartments are located off Palmetto Pointe Boulevard.
Residents claim they were never notified about having to move out of their current home until an anonymous Facebook post, which Kyle Orr said has been deleted.
Orr said he’s lived in his apartment for more than five years, and his mother has been there for more than 10 years. He said the person who runs the apartment’s Facebook page is a family member of someone who works in the leasing office.
“Our only source of where this is coming from is a Facebook group chat called ‘Residents of Ivystone Apartments,'” Orr said. He’s now blocked from that chat.
Residents will be given a 30-day notice that they can either move into a newly renovated apartment or go elsewhere.
“They are raising rent, and they’re basically forcing us to move out into new apartments that are partially or newly renovated and it’s going to be about double what most people pay here now,” Orr said.
The post said the company confirmed that the apartments will become available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
“There’s going to be no exact time frame,” Orr said. “We’re not going to have an option to stay in our current apartment, that we pay rent to now.”
News13 reached out to Brookside Properties and is waiting to hear back, but employees at the leasing office say they have no comment at this time.
“We’re basically going to have to move anyway when this goes down,” Orr said. “This is one of the last holdouts of the lower middle class in Myrtle Beach. I mean, just ask anyone, any of the newer residents who move in here, this is the only thing they can afford.”
Power Properties formerly managed the apartments. An employee said it’s “supply and demand.”
Ivystone Apartment leases are 12 months. During that timeframe, rent is locked in. Power Properties said the apartment complex, every year, was well below market rate.
The former owners said they understand the residents’ frustrations, but it’s a business. They said they assume the new company wants to have competitive real estate.
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Jackie LiBrizzi is a multimedia journalist at News13. Jackie is originally from Hamilton, New Jersey, and was raised in Piedmont, South Carolina. Jackie joined the News13 team in June 2023 after she graduated as a student-athlete from the University of South Carolina in May 2023. Follow Jackie on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, and read more of her work here.
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