Muschamp buys second Midlands home, this one in-town

University of South Carolina football coach Will Muschamp is going to be a part-time resident of the Cross Hill neighborhood off Devine Street.

The Muschamps have purchased a second Midlands home, the latest one in a middle-class neighborhood a short punt from the Cross Hill Whole Foods shopping complex.

“Having a place in town makes it easier to keep up with his kids’ schedule during the week if he has to work late,” said USC athletics department spokesman Steve Fink.

Muschamp’s children attend Hammond School, near the Dorn Veterans Hospital. One son plays football and lacrosse for the Skyhawks.

County records show the coach purchased the 1,631-square-foot, three-bedroom, one-bath house for $175,263. That’s less than the $185,000 assessed value of the home, according to county records.

 

Neighborhood leaders said they’ve known about the sale for a couple of months.

“I think its wonderful,” said Jennifer Suber, president of the Cross Hill Neighborhood Association. “We love our Gamecocks and we’re glad to have him.

“But we want to make sure he has his privacy,” she said. “When you’re on stage, you’re on stage, and when you’re home, you’re home.”

In 2016, the 45-year-old Muschamp purchased a 9,417-square-foot executive home on a Lake Murray island, connected to the mainland by a short causeway. The purchase price was $1.85 million.

The lake house sits on a 1.74-acre island near Irmo. The property also includes a 2,644-square-foot guest house, a swimming pool and a boat dock.

The second home sits just on the edge of the area that suffered severe flooding in 2015, sometimes called “lower” Lake Katherine.

The disaster caused home prices to plummet for a while, but they have come back with a vengeance, as investors have bought older, flooded properties and built much bigger, flood-proof homes. Some homeowners have also upgraded.

The median price of a home in the area dropped to $180,000 in the six months after the flood, a figure that includes homes not damaged by water. Today it is $347,000, with homes staying on the market for less than three months.

Karen Yip, of Yip Premier Real Estate, said it might seem odd for a millionaire coach to buy a one-bathroom house in a middle-class neighborhood, but “It’s a good investment in a hot area.”

Fink said the location just makes it “more convenient” for Muschamp.

In April 2016, Muschamp bought a 796-square-foot, one-bedroom condo at Carolina Walk for $130,000 from his predecessor, Steve Spurrier.

This story was originally published May 2, 2017 at 3:38 PM with the headline "Muschamp buys second Midlands home, this one in-town."