How can I say such crazy things?

Here are 5 reasons why I believe it’s such a great time to buy a Fort Mill or Rock Hill SC house:

1. It’s a buyer’s market. I don’t think this one comes as any surprise, but today’s buyers have an opportunity to dictate a lot of the transactions.  While you should still expect to pay a fair market value, given the state of the economy overall today’s fair market value is considerably lower than what it has been. As a result, there are some real gems available for those willing to do the work and find them.Or you could simply hire a savvy Fort Mill real estate agent to do all of the hard work for you.
2. Interest rates are still at all-time lows. I personally don’t remember the days when interest rates where close to 20% so I can’t really speak from personal experience, but I do know that any time interest rates are around the 5% mark we’re dealing with some very inexpensive loans.All of the banks have definitely cracked down on just giving away loans so you’ll need to have good credit and the ability to pay, but that should really go without saying anyway.
3. All of your competition is on vacation. With the summer in full swing a lot of your home buying competition is at the beach, in the mountains, or over the river and through the woods to visit dear old grandma.  As a result, you’re less likely to face competition when bidding on that new home of your dreams.
4. The Fort Mill and Rock Hill SC real estate markets are relatively strong. Unlike other areas of the country, the Charlotte metro area has remained relatively strong, in spite  of the many job losses we’ve experienced.York County has done a great job of bringing in new companies and with some of the highest rated schools in the state of South Carolina, chances are we’ll continue to see an influx of people moving to the Fort Mill and Rock Hill area, either for jobs or simply to escape much of the chaos that is the Charlotte Mecklenburg school system.
5. The school year is rapidly approaching. As summer moves towards the fall season, it means that school will soon be in session.  Whether you’re hoping to get a child enrolled in one of SC’s highest rated school districts or the home seller is looking to be moved out before the school year starts, right now is definitely the time to take action.Remember, it takes 30-45 days to close on a typical residential real estate transaction, which means you’ll need to get moving soon in order to beat the school bus to the corner!

Finally, just keep in mind that any time there is uncertainly and ‘gloom and doom’ talk about the economy it means there are LOTS of great deals available for those willing to put in the time and effort required to uncover them. With a little bit of real estate knowledge and experience (or having someone on your side that has these), you can find that perfect new house that you’ll be able to enjoy for many years to come.

BEWARE! Many times it’s not always readily apparent why a particular house for sale is such a steal of a deal, and as a result you can be mislead into being a difficult buyer rather than a successful one.

Here are some qualities of a successful buyer to be sure you are on track to find the right house, at the right price, at the right time:

• Provide your real estate agent complete and accurate information, whether it be financial, motivations, or time-lines.  The more information they have the more they can help you.
• Set aside consistent time to learn about and to stay abreast of the market inventory.  Ask your real estate professional to send you homes currently on the market and keep track what price ranges are moving and what they might be selling at.  Your real estate professional can help you with statistics as well.
• Be prepared to be competitive and disciplined.
• Give serious consideration to your real estate professional’s advice.  There is probably good reason you hired this professional to work on your behalf so sure before you do hire a real estate agent, make sure they know their facts about the current market.

With these few basic qualities you’ll save yourself time and money, and will not be disappointed by unmet expectations.

Happy Buying!

1. They can’t raise interest rates on debt you’ve already racked up. They can if you are more than 60 days late on these payments.  So pay your cards on time!

2. If your card charges you different interest rates (say, 14% for existing balances, and 2% for balance transfers), they must apply your payments to the debt carrying the highest rates first.  So the faster you pay it off, the more money you save.

3. They can’t raise your rates if they find out you’ve been late on other credit cards or loans.  This doesn’t mean you credit score will not be affected, which can eventually lead to higher interest rates.  Your best bet is just to pay it on time.

4. You can no longer go over your credit limit and be charged the subsequent fees- unless you notify your credit card company in writing that you’d like to spend more than your limit.  So don’t spend more than your limit.

5. They will tell you on your bill how long it will take to pay off your debt and how much it will cost you, including interest, if you pay only the minimum each month.  This will be an eye opener, and a hard lesson for many.  Pay more than the minimum or you could possible pay on this card longer than your house mortgage.

6. Those under 21years old won’t be able to get a credit card unless they show proof of income or get an adult to cosign.  I think this is the smartest law of all!  When I was in college, you would sign your life away for a free t-shirt or can coozie.  All adults over the age of 21 take note…DON’T COSIGN

With unemployment still at near record highs, the fear is that many looking for work won’t be able to keep up with their mortgage payments.

This is definitely an unfortunate situation, but it is by no means indicative of the situation we face here in the Fort Mill SC area. We’re very fortunate in that people are continuing to move to the Charlotte area and when they do, they’re quite frequently deciding to move across the border to Fort Mill.

I certainly expect this trend to continue, which means a strong Fort Mil SC real estate market.

clipped from www.politicsdaily.com With continued high unemployment, fears are growing that jobless Americans won’t be able to keep up with mortgage payments, leading to a new wave of home foreclosures. Those fears are compounded by the fact that a federal program aimed at keeping people in their houses hasn’t been as effective as hoped, the Los Angeles Times reported. The goal of the $75 billion Home Affordable Modification Program, introduced last February, was to help banks make temporarily reduced mortgage payments permanent. But Obama administration officials concede the program has been slow to take off and they are considering revisions to make it more effective. By the end of the year, economists predict 2.4 million borrowers could lose their homes, according to the Times. That would be an increase from 2.1 million foreclosures and short sales in 2009.

]]> http://sharonsellscarolina.com/654/foreclosure-rates-still-a-big-concern/feed/ 0 http://sharonsellscarolina.com/650/lakeside-housing-market-highly-competitive/ http://sharonsellscarolina.com/650/lakeside-housing-market-highly-competitive/#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:12:48 +0000 SSCadmin http://sharonsellscarolina.com/?p=650 If you’re looking to buy a lakeside home at a huge discount, right now might just be the time to act!  Of course, that’s if you don’t mind living in north Charlotte NC on Lake Norman.

A recent story run by WCNC news station talked about the glut of lakeside homes that are available in Lake Norman, and many of them are listed at steep discounts. For example and as quoted in the Charlotte Observer,

“It’s 7,000 square-feet,” said broker Jason Noblitt as he looked at pictures of a waterfront foreclosure in Mooresville. “It was on the market for approximately $1.7 million.”

The 5-bedroom, 4 1/2-bath house is under contract now and Noblitt thinks it’ll sell for under $1 million. That’s a $700,000 discount.

“In our current market you absolutely are not going to get what you did in 2006 or even 2007. We need to look at where prices were in 2004 and 2005,” he said.”

And it’s not as if there isn’t competition either.  An MLS search showed 470 lakeside homes listed in the Lake Norman area, which means it’s a highly competitive housing market.

Of course on the flip side, if you’re looking to purchase a lakeside home, now is certainly a great time to act!

Down here in the Fort Mill SC area, it’s still most definitely a buyer’s market, but as I’ve always said, if your home is marketed and priced correctly, there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t expect to get a fair value for your home.

To learn more about the Fort Mill SC or Rock Hill SC housing market, contact me today and I’d be more than happy to show you exactly what the Fort Mill SC real estate market looks like.

Now, although this is certainly some encouraging news, home prices overall are still down roughly 33% from the numbers from mid-July 2006. So while we are starting to see some improvements in the housing market overall, there’s still a very long way to go before things are completely back.

The report shows that with the exception of the Las Vegas, Detroit, and Seattle areas home prices are rising across the country and I would say that that’s the trend I’m seeing here in the Fort Mill SC and Rock Hill SC area.

Yes, it’s still very much a buyer’s market, but you can slowly see home prices starting to increase ever so slightly.  We’ve been very fortunate in that home prices never really took the nose dive experienced by other markets, but home buyer confidence is certainly returning which in turn means homes are selling closer to asking price than previously.

Hopefully this trend will continue, not just in the Fort Mill SC area, but nationwide as well.  Home sales has always been a bit of a barometer of how well the economy is doing so the better the home market is, the better off our economy is!

According to Bloomberg,

“Sales of existing U.S. homes jumped more than forecast in July to the highest level in almost two years. Purchases climbed 7.2 percent to a 5.24 million annual rate, the most since August 2007, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. The gain was the biggest since records began in 1999. The median price fell 15 percent.”

As I’ve said all along, the Rock Hill SC and Fort Mill SC housing markets haven’t been hit as badly as other areas of the country, but we’ve certainly felt the reprocutions.  Now with the national housing market appearing to rebound, I would expect that we’ll continue to see an increase in existing home sales.

There’s still quite a lot of homes for sale, but the pace at which homes are selling has slowly picked up the past few months.  And now with the $8K tax credit coming to it’s end on November 1st many home buyers are scrambling around, trying to find their dream home in order to take advantage of this credit.

So, if you’ve been thinking about selling your home, now’s a GREAT time to put it on the market!

If you’re on the fence about whether or not you should go ahead and purchase your new dream home in spite of the current economic conditions, here are 3 reasons why it might just be the perfect time to buy a home:

1. You want to move up to a more expensive home. We’re most definitely in a buyer’s market right now here in the Rock Hill SC and Fort Mill SC area, so if you’ve had your eye on a more expensive home, now is definitely the time to act.  I wouldn’t expect home prices to come up any time soon, but I also wouldn’t expect them to drop much more than where they’re at.  That being said, you might not be able to get that dream home of yours at such a steal-of-a-price ever again!
2. It’s a buyer’s market, plain and simple. If you’re not currently tied to a property or don’t have to worry about unloading your current home, then you’re definitely in the driver’s seat.  Many home sellers are concerned about even getting a ‘fair’ offer for their homes, which plays to your advantage.  This kind of market allows you to dictate more of the terms of the sale and in many cases, the seller is much more willing to listen.
3. Interest rates are still relatively low. There’s been a lot made about how tough the loan market is these days, but in reality, if you have decent credit, can put down a solid down payment, and are serious about buying a home there’s absolutely NO REASON why you shouldn’t expect to get a good loan.  In fact, rates are still extremely low when compared to historical averages and when you can lock in a good rate, you’ll be able to enjoy it for the life of the loan, no matter what rates do.

So, if you’ve considered making the leap and purchasing a new house in the Rock Hill SC or Fort Mill SC area, now is definitely a great time to act.  We’ve been fortunate in that the real estate market has stayed relatively strong when compared to other areas of the country and with the advantages you hold as a home buyer, the time couldn’t be any better to take action and buy your dream home!

You probably already know that over 85% of all real estate searches begin online these days.  And of those searches, studies suggest that websites or MLS home listings that offer a video walk-through have higher numbers of views AND those that visit the listing or site tend to stay longer.

So, I’ve debated the last few weeks as to how best to utilize this to help market my client’s home listings here in the Rock Hill SC and Fort Mill SC area.  What I’d like to know from you is do you think having a video walk-through is helpful?  Do you look at listings online longer if there’s a nice video walk-through that accompanies all the home’s specifics and standard pictures?

If you will, do me a favor and leave a quick comment below and let me know what you think about all of this.

Also, here’s a video from ABC News talking about video home tours that’s makes some great points I’m already taking into consideration to help YOU sell your Rock Hill SC or Fort Mill SC home faster!

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