Tips for spotting a good deal in Charleston real estate
Posted by Mike Ciucci on
Those out there that consistently make good money in real estate know the market. That’s why you see a lot of us Realtors purchasing real estate…simply because it’s what we do, every single day. We know the market. But you can also do most of this work as well. Almost everyone out there right now has access to the same information in the Charleston MLS as real estate agents do. Whether you’re looking on Google, Trulia, or my own Charleston MLS Search website, you have basically the same information that we do. Knowing the market before a good deal comes along is critical. Study it, live it, breathe it…so that you know a great deal when you see one.
Look for changing market conditions. For example, look for new developments that are coming up. …
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An EarthCraft Home is the idea that a healthy, comfortable home can be built that reduces utility bills, while protecting the environment. The idea is to minimize environmental impacts, and to follow a systematic approach to homebuilding that utilizes the importance of understanding how the different components of a home work together. This means that the home performs better, is more economical for the homeowner, but it costs a little more than your normal construction costs.
Yes, good news amid a slurry of seemingly bad news over the last year. It seems that banks were tightening more and more as the year went on, but now we have a some great news.
I haven't written about any of the neighborhoods in the Charleston, SC area so far on this blog, so I thought I'd tell you a little bit about Bayview Farms located on James Island. This is one of the top neighborhoods in all of James Island, and for a number of good reasons. First of all, the homes are of newer construction. Having newer materials and great floor plans makes it a little more modern for the average buyer looking at something other than the typical 60's style brick ranch found on James Island. They have open floor plans, high ceilings, more closet space, larger master bedrooms, and just seem to be more bright with many windows.
Don't forget that the $8,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit expires on December 1st, 2009! This means that you will have to have closed on your property by that November 30th, NO EXCEPTIONS. I would not wait until the last minute. Closings are often delayed, and especially short sales (which I am hesitant to even recommend at this point- you may not have enough time) will be delayed.
I was at our weekly office meeting with Carolina One Real Estate, where we talk about current events and trends in real estate, the latest mortgage and financing issues, and a lot of the pitfalls that some buyers and sellers are experiencing in this difficult market. I have to say, a lot of agents or people in general can complain about mandatory meetings, but I tend to get a whole lot out of the discussions we have. If you have about 120 agents (in our office alone) talking about what’s happening in the real estate market- it’s a great way to bounce ideas off one another for our buyers, sellers, or to take advantage of a great listing that one agent has, that we can show one of our buyers before it hits the market.
Just a quick reminder to all of you buyers out there trying to get a steal on the next short sale deal in Charleston. A lot of the time, there are wonderful deals (read in: steals) that can be made when purchasing real estate via short sales in Charleston. Most of the buyers I’ve encountered fully understand that a short sale is basically a seller that is behind on mortgage payments. They can be 2 months behind, or 7 or more months behind in their monthly mortgage payments. A short sale is when a seller is trying to get the bank to accept a loss on the property, or for the bank to accept a contract for an amount that is less than what the seller owes on the note. The seller basically owes more than the property is worth, or is in financial trouble and…