It’s no secret Americans are struggling right now. Lost jobs, failed marriages, and other life situations are causing more and more people to leave their homes behind or split their homes in two. The result is a bulging rental market.
Whether they can’t qualify for a mortgage or don’t want anything to do with a mortgage, the number of tenants out there is increasing. Read the rest of this entry »
Wal-Mart: 4.5 miles one-way
One thing I always wanted was an active lifestyle. Tennis, boating, biking, hiking, didn’t matter, I just wanted enough time in my day/week/month to fit it in. For the last three years or so I’ve been running about three times a week. However, about a month ago severe knee pain caused me to trade running for biking.
Biking Goose Creek has given me a whole new appreciation for this great city. I love that I can get from one end of it to the other on my bike. Already I’ve discovered and become intimate with the many trails in Goose Creek – trails I’ve known about for years but never experienced because they weren’t right by my house. Read the rest of this entry »
When an agreement to buy and sell real estate is made between a buyer and seller, there are usually several contingencies that have to be met before the sale can close. One of those contingencies is that the appraised value of the property is at or above the agreed sales price. Nine times out of ten – or should I say 39 times out of 40 in my case – the appraisal comes in a few dollars more than sales price and everyone is happy. But what if it doesn’t? Read the rest of this entry »
An amazing thing happened this week. My buyer client signed his settlement statement (HUD) at the closing table. Pretty amazing huh? No – but look at this: After the buyer signed the HUD, the seller changed it. Then the seller signed it. What? Can they do that?! Apparently. Let me explain.
This was a CARTUS relocation deal. The seller was moved by his employer so the relocation company (CARTUS) bought the seller’s house. Then CARTUS became the new seller and sold the house to us. Read the rest of this entry »
The folks at zillow.com have been busy compiling data for the Charleston area. They put these charts together March 1, 2010. The charts show home values and home sales in the north area, Berkeley County in particular. The numbers come from closed sales data through 1/31/10.
The first chart shows month-over-month, quarter-over-quarter, and year-over-year comparisons of the “Zillow Home Value Index” for Berkeley County as a whole, and then several cities individually, such as Goose Creek and Summerville. The Zillow Home Value Index is the mid-point of Zestimate valuations for Berkeley County and individual cities. Half the Zestimates are above this number and half are below it. According to this chart, the Zillow Home Value Index in Berkeley County as a whole for January 2010 was $121,500, down 11.6% from last year. Read the rest of this entry »
Many home sales and closings were in jeopardy this week after the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) ended last Friday.
NFIP provides flood insurance to homeowners in participating communities in flood-prone areas, who could not otherwise obtain coverage due to cost or ineligibility. Without insurance provided through NFIP, property owners in federally designated areas across +10,000 communities nationwide could not obtain mortgages (realtor.org). Read the rest of this entry »
If your house is on the market – or if you’re thinking of selling – you know today’s real estate market can be frustrating. Maybe it seems impossible. Maybe you’re wondering: Is anything selling?
It might not look like it from your front yard, but the answer is YES! Houses are selling every day. Even where the outlook seems hopeless, houses are still selling.
In the small city of Goose Creek, SC, which is a northern suburb of Charleston, 35 houses closed in the month of February. Take out the weekends and that’s nearly 2 houses sold every day. Read the rest of this entry »
Is a short sale right for you? While I have limited experience with short sales, I’ve closed the ones I’ve tried and learned quite a bit along the way. These are some of the reasons why short sales have a tendency of NOT making it to the closing table.
The absolute most important element of a short sale is hardship. Home owners and investors cannot wake up one morning and decide they want the bank to take a loss on a house simply because it has lost value. Something negative has to have happened to change the seller’s circumstances since the seller got the loan on the house. Divorce, bankruptcy, job loss or pay cut, illness, and death are some examples of hardships banks will consider for a short sale. Read the rest of this entry »
