Native family was about to lose their land. Then a Hilton Head gated community did this

The week before Christmas 2017, LeRoy and Stefanie Stevens had less than a month to raise more than $30,000 to stop the sale of the Hilton Head land they live on.

LeRoy, who works in the operations department at Indigo Run, has become a fixture in the community. He does it all. From routine maintenance to jump-starting cars.

Chip Munday, the general manager of the community, said LeRoy is “very visible and very friendly.” He works all their events and has established a relationship with hundreds of residents over the course of his tenure.

He was one of the first people on site to help clear Indigo Run’s roads after Hurricane Matthew hit the island on Oct. 8, 2016, Munday said.

They weren’t going to let him lose his home — a one-acre piece of heirs’ property off of Gum Tree Road.

What is heirs’ property?

The land the Stevens’ live on had been inherited by Stefanie and her brother 22 years ago.

Four people are heirs of the property, making all of them co-owners.

“Heirs’ property is land owned ‘in common’ by multiple heirs who own a percentage of the whole property — regardless of whether they live on the land, pay the taxes ... or have never set foot on the land,” according to the Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation in Charleston.

Heirs’ property in the Lowcountry is often land purchased by freed slaves. At some point, the land was either passed down without a written will or without being probated, according to the center.

Hilton Head had fewer than 200 acres of heirs’ property in 2015 — a dramatic decrease from the 3,500-acres in 1995.

There are few laws governing heirs’ property, according to Tish Lynn, director of communications for the center.

Any heir can force a sale of the property in court or can sell his or her percentage to someone, who could then force the sale of the property, according to the center.

“No matter what percentage they own, they can force a sale,” Lynn said.

Three out-of-state relatives — including Stefanie’s brother — told the family in October they wanted to sell the land.

Despite the Stevens’ home being on the land, they had little recourse. They could either raise enough money to “buy-out” the percentage of land the other relatives owned or find a new place to live.

The only option

Stefanie, LeRoy and their 14-year-old grandson, Trenton Grant, never considered living somewhere else. Raising the money was the only option.

“My father put me on this property 22 years ago,” Stefanie said. “And he told me you stay right there, don’t you let anybody make you move off there.”

But with banks refusing to loan them the amount of money they needed, they weren’t sure where to turn.

Their holiday season was ruined after an already stressful year. They had tragically lost their 30-year-old daughter in a car accident on Hilton Head in February.

“We couldn’t eat, we couldn’t sleep,” Stefanie said. “We didn’t know where we were going to get the money from.”

LeRoy and Stefanie sat down with Munday the week before Christmas to ask what could be done. LeRoy didn’t have enough in his 401(k) to borrow from, Munday said. And the community didn’t think it was a good idea to offer loans to employees.

After some thought, Munday and other community members decided to set up a GoFundMe page, a popular crowdfunding platform.

“LeRoy and his wife Stefanie need our help,” the GoFundMe page created on Dec. 21, 2017 said. “...They need the help of our loving community so LeRoy and his wife can keep their home.”

Munday sent an email blast to all property owners in the 1,700-acre community about LeRoy’s predicament with a link to the fundraising page.

Then they waited.

In the first few days, they had raised more than $20,000 of the $30,000 goal, Munday said.

But donations started slowing. Munday feared the holiday season was interfering with the community’s ability to get the word out and raise more money.

He sent another email blast, and in just 24 hours the campaign raised another $17,000.

Donations poured in from more than 150 people. Fifty-dollars here, $275 there. An anonymous person donated $7,500, according to the page.

In just nine days, the campaign had raised $39,901. After the GoFundMe fee, the Stevens’ kept $38,901 — more than enough to keep their land and pay attorney fees.

Stefanie and LeRoy sent out handwritten thank you notes to each person who donated. They are grateful to the community — especially Munday, LeRoy said.

“They came through for us,” LeRoy said. “I’m never going to forget it. We got through by the Good Lord and Indigo Run.”

This story was originally published March 9, 2018 at 2:30 PM with the headline "Native family was about to lose their land. Then a Hilton Head gated community did this."