How Does a 2/1 Buydown Work when Buying a Home with a Loan?

What is a 2/1 Buydown?  How does it work?

As this real estate market becomes a little more balanced between buyers and sellers, we all need to shift our focus on the elephant in the room:  High interest rates.  So what is a 2/1 buydown, and how does this not only help buyers, but also sellers in selling their house?

This is actually an amazing tool for sellers (as a home selling marketing plan) to offer buyers when selling their house.  You can take a look at the numbers below, to see how much it would cost a seller, and how much savings the buyers would realize.  It's actually quite astonishing just how much someone saves in the first and second year!

A 2/1 buydown is a type of mortgage financing arrangement where the interest rate on a home…

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Upcoming Problems in the Charleston Real Estate Market?

The selling market in Charleston right now is incredibly good.  We have been on a tear in most of Charleston with available houses for sale (inventory) being really low.  Which of course keeps demand high, and increasing prices.  Coupled with so many folks moving to Charleston in search of a home, things have been fantastic for home sellers.  Fortunately, most lowcountry residents have been able to take advantage of this through the years with your home value skyrocketing!

But...  Are we topping out right now?  We've been talking in the real estate industry about home insurance premiums almost doubling for some homeowners and the Fed raising rates again this year.  I've read potentially 2 more times this year.  Which would of course continue to make…

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What does the Spring 2023 Charleston real estate market hold for us?

Hello clients and friends,

Over the last week Dave Samson (CFO within Carolina One) has looked at what is happening with Charleston home sales levels (surprisingly strong relative to our expectations) and what is happening with house inventory (inventory is low and declining as is normal seasonally before it starts to climb some in the spring).

Today I plan to address pricing and the direction that prices are moving.

What is worth knowing in this estimation:

(1) Prices are holding up very well in Charleston. Median sales prices market wide have held steady inside of a very narrow band since last February (12 months) and appear to be poised to hold this trend.
(2) The rate of price increase, measured year over year, has slowed…

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Website Makeover; Our New Look!

After our first website launch in 2009 here at BuyingCharlestonRealEstate, we've had many different websites/looks over the years.  I'm proud to say I believe this one should be the best for all of those looking to buy or sell a house here in Charleston.

We've added a number of different features for those looking at houses or land, and also have a great sections for those that want to SELL their house in Charleston.  With so much competition now (we were actually one of the top 3 websites in Charleston before Zillow and the big ones came along), we have to constantly change things up to ensure you have the latest technology and tools available at your fingertips.

A few of my favorite items:

• Communities/Areas Page - Shows the communities…

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Buyers are Tired of This Sellers Market- And They Are no Longer Going to Take it!

What an incredible whirlwind the Charleston real estate market has been lately.  Little home inventory on the market, multiple buyers, sellers calling the shots- all of it...loved by sellers, but hated by buyers.  Well I think it's finally time to let you know that...

BUYERS ARE NO LONGER GOING TO TAKE IT.

We are actually seeing a change in the market from as early as 6 weeks ago.  You see, we've been in a sellers market since the onset of Covid.  No surprise there.  And because Covid has hit us so hard- sellers were not showing houses in the spring of 2020.  So there was a lack of available homes for a large portion of 2020.  Not to mention that after Covid- folks from NYC, Ohio, and California were all leaving large cities and coming to…

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Great! You have a real estate contract, now what?

Congratulation on your purchase contract! A job well done on being masters of HGTV staging, landscaping pros, and social media sellers. It is now time to relax and coast to closing. Right?

A lot of buyers and sellers feel it's now okay to ease up, and all that's needed is paperwork for the lender, and frequent communication from your realtor that everything is rolling smoothly. But as any realtor will tell you- now is when the difficulty or success begins (it's all how you look at it).

Whether you're a seller or a buyer, there are a number of items that need to fall into place in order to have a smooth, successful closing.  But what are those items?  I've come up with a list that I've used over the years here in Charleston that I hope you'll find…

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What about Coronavirus and the Charleston Real Estate Market?

If you would have told me last year that the entire world would be shutting down due to a virus in 2020- I would have said you are either delusional, or I would have feared some sort of doomsday apocalypse (or both).  And yet, here we are.

Now that we are past the initial phase/stage of infection, and on to the second stage- let's take a look at where we stand in all of this with Covid 19.

Many of you are wondering how Coronavirus will affect buying or selling a home in this Charleston real estate market.  Short term- things are humming along, and have been.  We are doing much more online marketing, online virtual showings, and of course plenty of online meetings.  It is still an absolute sellers market right now with a low number of available homes…

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The Charleston Economy is Booming!

So we're in the news again! This time it's national news on CBS. South Carolina and more specifically- Charleston, is booming right now.  We are enjoying some of the lowest unemployment rates in the Country! A wonderful climate, plenty of job opportunities, large companies moving to the area, and massive changes in Charleston's infrastructure shows dramatic growth for our Tri-County area.

Take a look at this quick video on how Charleston is truly starting to take shape with the Port of Charleston, and the many large companies setting up shop here. There are still plenty of opportunities to find an investment to double (yes, double) your money within 10-15 years. Make the down payment on rental house (10%), have the renters pay the note down…

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Is the Real Estate Market in Charleston, SC Cooling Off?

"Hey Mike, how's the market been lately?"  I get this question asked almost every day I encounter someone I know out in public. I can equivocally say without a doubt, that "It depends". It depends on which micro-market you're referring to in Charleston, and whether you are a seller, or a buyer.

Hello all, I'd like to post a quick update on our real estate market here in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina. We are seeing some changes, and there are talks of the market cooling off, and I wanted to respond to that.

The real estate market has been on fire for a number of years in Charleston. Year-over-year of increased home values and closings. A low inventory of homes on the market, which equates to less choices for buyers, which increases demand, and…

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The Number 1 Mistake Realtors Make When Selling Your House

Selling your house in Charleston? You have 1 shot to get it right

Looking to sell your house on your own, or looking specifically for a Charleston Realtor?  Regardless of which path you are going to take, you need to have an exceptional plan in place, in order to sell your house.

• Who are you going to hire?
• What's your timeframe?
• What kind of marketing will be done?
• How are you going to stand above all the house-for-sale "noise"?

What I'm going to write about today is only ONE POINT in marketing your house.  And that is, marketing your house online PRIOR to getting the house on the market.  Yes- that's the magic pill.  The pill not taken certainly by MOST realtors.  Why?  I honestly don't know.  It is such a large mistake.  I…

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