As a native New Yorker and the owner of a luxury boutique business specializing in public relations and event planning for 20-plus years, Michelle Almeyda-Wiedemuth has developed a skill set that has been crucial in serving her clients. Those skills coupled with the fact that her husband is a custom homebuilder helped make her decision to pivot into real estate “a no-brainer.”
The fact that she does it along the beaches and marshlands of Charleston is reflective of her passion for coastal communities—and a reason for moving to the area that she understands from a personal standpoint. In fact, when Almeyda-Wiedemuth and her family moved back to the States after spending four years living abroad, Charleston was particularly appealing because it reminded the family of the Hamptons. “We wanted to settle in a place we all loved,” she recalls. “We chose Charleston—Seabrook Island, in particular—because working and living in the Hamptons for so many years had made us realize how much we love coastal communities, and Charleston has so much history and charm.”
After years of heading up the ready-to-build design program at Seabrook Island Real Estate, Almeyda-Wiedemuth chose to make the move to Daniel Ravenel Sotheby’s International. In addition to offering her services as a Realtor, she will be offering custom home design-build services to clients throughout the Charleston county area. “Becoming a real estate agent with a focus on new construction made sense because of my family background in real estate and my husband’s work as a custom homebuilder,” she explains. “All of that gives me a particular level of expertise in the market that enables me to help my clients in the entire process of creating a home that is perfectly suited to their tastes, their needs and their lifestyles.”
Almeyda-Wiedemuth assists her clients by first finding a lot in the neighborhood that is right for them based on their criteria. “From there, the custom home design-build program I run makes building their home a simple process. I have a design-build team with ready-to-build plans, as well as the ability to design my clients a completely custom home should they want that option,” she explains.
Through a team approach, Almeyda-Wiedemuth saves her clients time and money. Pricing includes architectural fees, landscape design and installation, consulting fees to work with an interior designer on exterior and interior selections and, finally, the build. The price is locked in when the contract is signed so there are no financial surprises, and according to Almeyda-Wiedemuth, her clients appreciate the up-front pricing.
Almeyda-Wiedemuth’s team comprises architects, landscape architects, builders and interior designers—all of whom are fully licensed and insured in the state of South Carolina. “We make building simple,” she says. “On top of the time and money saved by having a team in place to design and build a home, my clients don’t have to go through the stresses of having to navigate the process of building a custom home alone. We are knowledgeable, communicative, responsive and able to provide budget-friendly alternatives when they are needed. Our clients benefit from over 30 years of industry experience, and they value that level of knowledge.”
While at her previous brokerage, Almeyda-Wiedemuth and her team have worked with more than 35 clients. “That’s an incredible measure of success, because our clients have been very happy with the process, and many have recommended us to people in their circle,” she says.
For those looking to purchase a home or build in Seabrook, Almeyda-Wiedemuth’s team is a major draw. But added to that are a few simple details that give her an edge. “I live on Seabrook, and my husband and I built a custom home on Seabrook ourselves, so I have personally gone through the process and am working from experience,” she says. “Also, when it comes to buying and building on Seabrook, no one knows this island and The Club better than an agent who is a member and lives on Seabrook Island. I have unrestricted access to The Club and the island’s amenities, and I receive information about new offerings or changes before they’re released to the public. I pass this on to my clients, so they benefit from what I know.”
For clients who want to build in other areas of Charleston, Almeyda-Wiedemuth has a full understanding of the various selling points and attractions each community offers. Before choosing Seabrook, she spent two years getting to know communities throughout Charleston County, and she and her team are very familiar and experienced with the building requirements in all parts of Charleston. “My team has designed and built homes throughout Charleston County,” she adds.
As Almeyda-Wiedemuth looks ahead in 2024 and to the future of her team, she hopes to see a continuation of the success they’ve already experienced as well as a growth trend. “We will, of course, continue to offer the exceptional service to our custom home clients that we’ve become known for, but we also hope to expand our business to work with more individuals throughout the Charleston markets, including Mount Pleasant, Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island and Kiawah Island,” she says. *
Liesel Schmidt lives in Navarre, Florida, and works as a freelance writer for local and regional magazines. She is also a web content writer and book editor. Follow her on X at @laswrites or download her novels, Coming Home to You, The Secret of Us and Life Without You, at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.
