Using our South Carolina Contract, your agent  will prepare all the paperwork per your instructions and explain your rights and obligations to you.   (Please keep in mind your realtor is not an attorney and his/her explanations are not legal opinions.)

Your Realtor will negotiate strongly for you with the property owner or their Realtor,  and help you evaluate any counter-offers.

After you and the property owner reach an agreement and initial any changes to the contract of sale, your Realtor will assist you in selecting a real estate attorney and a home inspector.

Your Realtor will accompany you to the home inspection and notify the property owner of any discrepancies.

They will follow up with the property owner, lender appraiser, surveyor, attorney, inspector and others to assure that all contract conditions and all deadlines are met.

In the meantime, there are somethings you need to do: Contact your insurance agent to make arrangements for a hazard insurance policy, confirm that you have provided all requested documentation to your lender, notify all utility companies, and obtain a certified or cashier’s check in the amount estimated by your lender.

Your Realtor will accompany you to the closing, review the settlement sheet, and strongly support your position if there are any disagreements. Then, proudly hand you the keys to you new home.

Now you have decided what you would  like in your new home, and the price you will feel comfortable paying for your new home it’s time to get started looking.

Using the MLS data base and other sources your agent will research houses that are available for sale. Together you will choose houses that meet your requirements.

Your agent will make appointments for you to inspect the houses you selected and your agent will point out the pluses and minuses as you go through them.

When you decide on some  house that you like, your agent will estimate your closing cost and monthly payments. Your agent will do the research to determine answers to any questions you may have about the houses  and communities so he/she can  present them to you. If none satisfy your requirements, your agent will then discuss options such as adjusting your wants and needs or simply waiting for other houses to come on the market  Then the agent will show you other house at your convenience, for as many days as it takes to find you the right house.

I know you will have many questions on what to expect, when you buy a house. The following is a guideline I created that will help you in the buying process.

There are four simple steps

Pre-purchase Consulting

Looking for your home

Buying your home

Pre-Purchase Consulting

Today I would like to l address the reasons why taking the time to have a Pre-Purchase consulting meeting is  in your best interest.   It’s important for you and your agent to invest  some time together before you actually go out and look for homes, it will you help you feel confident about the home buying process  and your choice  of the Realtor your going to work with.

It’s important for the agent to really know what you are looking for so he/she will ask you to share information to discover your wants and needs. Your hobbies and special interests will be an important part of this process also what you do not like about the current house you are living in.  For example you may be living in a home that has a very small kitchen and because of this you have discovered you would really like to have a house with more counter space  or an eat in kitchen. We will show you some houses on the computer to see which houses catches your eye, we also will ask  if schools are important to you, which school district you would like to in.

The Financial aspect of buying your home is important, so the Realtor will ask how much you would feel at ease with paying on a monthly basis, for your mortgage payment. You may have already been qualified by a mortgage company, however, many times the bank will say you qualify for a payment that you do not feel comfortable with, therefore, you may become uneasy with the buying process.  We will help you decide how much money you  wish to invest upfront as a down payment, how much you are willing to pay monthly for your mortgage payment and then determine the price range  of the houses to show you.   We will explain financial options that will suit your circumstances and if you would like choose a local lender so you can make application as soon as possible.

We will provide you with our local disclosure forms, plus a copy of the contract we use locally, so you can take the time to read it prior to us finding you a house, if you have any  concerns or questions they can be answered before you make a commitment to buying a house. The Contract also explains the responsibilities of the buyer, the seller, and the agent.

To morrow we will share with the process of showing you homes.

Wednesday, August 25th, South Carolina Acquarium’s Sustainable Seafood Dinner featuring a “Fish for the Future” menu.  Enjoy the local favorites while learning how your choices can today can ensure healthy fish for the future. This will take place at Carolina’s restaurant in downtown Charleston from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.  For more information call (843) 577-FISH (3474) A portion of the proceeds will bo to benefit the South Carolina Aquarium Sustainable Seafood initiative.

Train will be at The Family Circle Cup Tennis Center on Thursday, August 26th. 

Saturday,August 21, at James Island County Park at 8:30 p.m. Enjoy Reggae Nights. Bring your chair and enjoy the outdoors.  Refreshments are available. For more information call (843) 795-4386
Fee: $6 adults, Free: children under 12

These are just a small number of options of things to do in Charleston.  For more information a great place to look is The Charleston City Paper.

Colonial Dorchester County State Park: This park has walking paths, picnic tables and remains of the old town include the brick bell tower of St. George’s Anglican Church, a fort made of the oyster-shell concrete and part of a log wharf visible at low tide.   Admission for children is free.  Adults are $2.  Have a look at this video and see the beauty of the park. ETV Video

Charleston Tea Plantation:  Located on Wadmalaw Island.  It is the home of American Classic Tea, the only tea grown in the United States. Free factory tours. Open 7 days a week. 

Charleston Children’s Museum:  This is a great place for kids to visit.  Children under 12 enter for free, everyone else is $7.

Under $5.

Histotric Fort Moultrie   Soak in some history at one of the most Admission is free for children under 16 and $3 for Adults. 

Charles Towne Landing:   Adult $5, SC seniors $3.25, children ages 6 to 15 $3 and under 3 is free. Self-guided audio tour for the historic trail is an extra $5

Hope I’ve given you and your family some good ideas.  Also don’t forget, if you just want to stay outdoors and stay cool you can always visit any of the three waterparks in Charleston or any one of our great beaches.

July 17, 8pm The Smashing Pumpkins with Kill Hannah/Bad City at the Music Farm.

July 17, 8pm If you need to laugh catch The Have Nots at Theatre 99. 

July 17, The first 1,000 fans to attend Saturday nights Charleston Riverdogs game against the Augusta Green Jackets will get a homemade Alvin Greene bobblehead doll.

July 18, The Hot Seats, Weigh Station, play their set of ragtime, bluegrass, old-time, and roots music to the Pour House deck for a free show at 6 pm

Have a great weekend!

Sat, June 10, the Storm Eye Institute and Sun Trust Bank will be conducting free eye screenings for those with diabetes or glaucoma or a family history of these diseases.  To make your appointment call (843) 884-2222.

Sun, July 11, Boz Scaggs will be performing at The North Charleston Performing Arts

For other musical events this weekend check out the Charleston City Paper

If you are looking for something to do with the kids check out the Cypress Gardens . You’ll find a host of things to do such as, swamp boat rides, nature trails and a butterfly house that has over 12 species of butterflies.

You can also take the kiddies to the Charleston Museum which continues its kidstory mini-exhibition series for children with Magnificent Mammals, the second of three new Natural History Exhibits.

As we place ourselves in the seller or Buyer’s shoes we have to acknowledge they may be confused a little frustrated and possibly scared. The information they have accumulated has mostly come from the news reports they have either listened to or read. Some of it will be fact, some may be myth, so we have to educate them on what is really happening and become their expert guide by directing and guiding them with factual information.  First, whether it is buyer or seller it’s important to go over the process of buying and selling, make it detailed,sharing with them exactly what is going to happen including what might go wrong and how you will handle it.

Supply and demand has always been a measure on whether or not it is a buyer’s market or a seller’s market.  In most markets today it is a buyer’s market; inventory is high, we have foreclosures and short sales competing with sellers who have to move for either business reasons or personal reasons. Which means we sometimes have to be the bearer of bad news (the house will not sell at the price the seller was expecting.)  The houses that are selling today are either in perfect condition, or at the best value. Which means price per sq ft, incentives, and how we are planning to market it.  Our goal of course (even though the absorption rate in a particular neighborhood might me 14 to 15 months) is to sell the house at the  highest realistic price.  The seller, even though they might not like what we are telling them, does appreciate the honesty. The goal of the seller is to move, our goal is to sell the house, we are doing the seller and ourselves a disservice if  we do not share the market facts. Yes, that means sometimes they decide not to sell. Which is definitely good for us also as were not in the business of listings houses, we are in the business of selling the houses we list.

Explaining the process of the sale to the buyer means the difference between a smooth transition and possibly a difficult one. They will need to understand the contract, before they decide to buy a house.  Give them a copy of the contact at the first meeting so they can go over it at their leisure, if there  items that they have question about, you can  explain them, so they will know what they are signing when they find the house they want to buy.

When we educate our buyers and sellers it establishes our value to our clients, they want to work with an agent who can recognize the importance of explaining each step of the journey to either buying or selling their investment.

KINDNESS BEATS BLINDNESS RP AUCTION  Sat., June 26, 6 p.m.  Bid on items at the Riverdogsgame to benefit MUSC’s Storm Eye.  Items include tickets to a Broadway show, fine jewelry, spa retreats and much more.

SHAG AWAY AT THE BOONE HALL BEACH BLAST  SAT. JUNE 26 at Boone Hall Plantation. Gates open at 11:00 a.m. Enjoy the music of Tommy Emanual and more.

If you just want to stay cool and have some fun remember there is always fun to be had at any of the Charleston County Parks or you might want to be inside in the air conditioning at the SC Aquarium visiting the Albino Alligator.  Whatever you do stay cool and be safe.

Congress Abandons Critical Housing Programs – Again

Once again, Congress left town without reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the Section 502 Rural Housing programs. The NFIP is now expired. The Section 502 Rural Housing program has exhausted its funding and lenders have stopped accepting applications.

Until Congress extends NFIP, no new or renewal flood policies can be issued. Without the flood insurance coverage provided by NFIP, thousands of residential and commercial transactions are on hold.

Congress has also abandoned the Section 502 Rural Housing Program. The housing program provides zero-down-payment mortgages to eligible families in rural area of every state.  Many of these families signed contracts before April 30th and plan to utilize the home-buyer tax credit.  If this program is not restored soon, they will lose their chance.