FOLLY BEACH –Ten years ago, after her husband died, Paulette Sigmon bought a beach house with a plan to use it as a short-term rental property to provide income.

But now she is suing her property management company, accusing it of failing to renew her short-term rental license and costing her hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost annual income she most likely will never get back.

Sigmon argues the property manager is to blame for the loss of her STR permit. But the crux of the complaint reflects the ongoing squeeze some Folly Beach homeowners are feeling two years after voters approved a cap on short-term rentals, limiting the available number to 800. The last time there were fewer than 800 active licenses operating on the island was 2019.

Without the coveted permits, homeowners who

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