Found 49 blog entries tagged as real estate.

Giving up size doesn't mean giving up style or swag! This could make your life so much easier & more streamline. Think... "Tidy house, tidy mind." Maybe 800 square feet is a little too small for you but the topic of downsizing has been floating around social media the past couple weeks. At first thought, it makes you think of getting old. However, it seems to be more of an opportunity to get rid of things that you don't want and need and to move forward with less commitment. 

The tiny house movement has taken over, and we aren't opposed. Moving into a smaller home isn't as big of a sacrifice as you might think. Sure, you're scaling back on physical square footage, but you'll be saving big in other areas. Eight hundred square feet may sound…

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Thank goodness #4 doesn't apply to us here in the Lowcountry! It's one of the main reasons lots of us moved here, but nonetheless make sure you have any tools you need for the few days that you go to your car and there's a layer of frost on the windows. How many of you still have window scrapers? I confess- I just run my car on high heat for a really long time!

It’s the spring cleaning of fall, so to speak.

With THE HOLIDAYS coming at you fast and furious, you want to be sure your home is cozy, but with that fresh-as-spring feel — as opposed to that musty-damp-winter feel.

Here's how to make that happen (along with a few other timely tips):

#1 Wash Bed Pillows








You love your trusty, old, perfectly-snugged-to-your-head…

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Sitting on the fence and trying to time the real estate market in the SC Lowcountry can be tiring. We can say with certainty that the perfect storm is here, and listing your home this Fall is a very wise thing to do to capture buyer fury, low interest rates, and top dollar. Based on history & market activity this is as close to a crystal ball as we can get.

If you’re trying to decide when to sell your house, there may not be a better time to list than right now. The ultimate sellers’ market we’re in today won’t last forever. If you’re thinking of making a move, here are four reasons to put your house up for sale sooner rather than later.

1. Your House Will Likely Sell Quickly

According to the Realtors Confidence Index released by the National…

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One of the best parts about working with a REALTOR to buy a home is all the support and resources you can access after you’ve moved into your new home. While this isn’t a standard part of the REALTOR relationship, if you’ve chosen to work with a great agent – one who prioritizes your relationship over the transaction – you’ll have a great go-to resource for all things related to houses/condos/neighborhood/real estate. 

Here are just some of the questions we regularly get asked by our past clients (and are more than happy to answer):

House/Condo Questions

  • Can you recommend a good handyman/plumber/electrician/roofer/drywaller/pest control company/general contractor/floor installer/cleaner/painter/etc.? Your realtor is intimately…

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It’s the largest investment many people will ever make—and the most emotional one. That can be a bad combination.

When people say they “fell in love with a house,” they would do well to remember another common saying: Love is blind.

Overcome by strong emotions, potential buyers of the biggest investments of their lives overlook things like a lousy view, choppy floor plan or ancient mechanical systems. Likewise, would-be sellers are often so eager to sell—or so in love with the homes they’re leaving—that they are blind to the house’s fixable flaws, or to the need to plan for capital-gains taxes.

And that’s how it goes in normal times. The current frenzied real-estate market is only exacerbating those emotion-driven mistakes—with buyers…

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Lowcountry Real Estate Market Report - July 2021

Posted by Paige Rose on Monday, August 16th, 2021 at 12:18pm

After months of declines, the inventory of homes for sale nationwide is beginning to increase as more sellers come to the market, looking to capitalize on record-high sales prices while providing a much-need boost of supply to America’s epic housing shortage. This is encouraging news for homebuyers, who have struggled with a lack of supply and rocketing sales prices during the pandemic.

Hilton Head & Mainland Real Estate Market Update - July 2021

For the 12- month period spanning August 2020 through July 2021, pending sales in the Hilton Head region were up 38.0 percent overall. Market-wide, inventory levels were down 59.2…

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When you are in the market to buy a house—or need to sell your current home—that is the time to use an experienced real estate agent. An inexperienced agent can cost you time and money, and unfortunately maybe even put you at risk of losing out on your dream home.

Gauging Experience 

Instead of asking how much experience an agent has, ask how many times the agent has renewed their real estate license. In Oklahoma, for example, real estate licenses are issued for three years, New Hampshire's term is two years, and California has four-year terms.

Search your own state's real estate commission—or equivalent office—website to find how long licenses last. Knowing how many times an agent has renewed a license allows you to…

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Ask the next ten real estate agents you meet to tell you the biggest reason why a deal falls through. The odds are every single one will say it’s because of financing, usually because of a low appraisal.

But the fact is, a low appraisal can be good (and bad) for a buyer and there are ways to salvage the transaction and get the property you want. 

In this article, we’ll explain the biggest reasons for a low appraisal, how to get the appraisal that matches the purchase price, and what to do if your home appraisal comes in low.

What is an Appraisal?

One of the common contingencies in a real estate purchase contract is that the property must appraise for the purchase price. A home appraisal is a report provided by a licensed professional that…

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Many people are sitting on the fence trying to decide if now’s the time to buy a home. Some are renters who have a strong desire to become homeowners but are unsure if buying right now makes sense. Others may be homeowners who are realizing that their current home no longer fits their changing needs.

To determine if they should buy now or wait another year, they both need to ask two simple questions:

  1. Do I think home values will be higher a year from now?
  2. Do I think mortgage rates will be higher a year from now?

Let’s shed some light on the answers to these questions.

Where will home prices be a year from now?

If you average the most recent projections from the major industry forecasters, the expectation is home prices will…

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An escalation clause is language inserted into a purchase offer for a home that's intended to make sure a buyer is the highest bidder. It's typically used when a buyer and their real estate agent strongly believe a house will receive multiple offers.

An escalation clause states that the buyer will pay a certain amount of money above the highest offer the seller receives. It generally includes a ceiling cap to make sure the buyer doesn't agree to pay more money than they can afford.

 

Learn more about escalation clauses and how they work.

What Is an Escalation Clause? 

An escalation clause improves the odds that a home buyer will submit the highest offer. It typically includes three parts:

  • Proof of an offer: Sellers can only use the…

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