SC HELP Foreclosure Prevention Program Now Available Statewide

Almost $300 million in funds to keep homeowners in their homes.

[Columbia, SC]           Following a successful pilot program and Treasury’s approval of South Carolina’s readiness assessment, SC Housing Corp. will take its foreclosure prevention program statewide. Starting January 20, the South Carolina Homeownership and Employment Lending Program (SC HELP) will use almost $300 million in federal funds to help responsible but struggling homeowners in the state.

Key components for SC HELP include:

• Monthly Payment Assistance-assisting homeowners with monthly payments for a defined period of time while they seek employment and a return to self sustainability.

• Direct Loan Assistance-for borrowers who have experienced a hardship but have regained the ability to pay. Funds can be used to pay arrearages in order to bring the loan current.
• Property Disposition Assistance-in cases where the mortgage cannot be salvaged, funds may be provided to incentivize short sales, deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure and to help transition families from homeownership to rental housing.

Homeowners applying for Monthly Payment Assistance or Direct Loan Assistance must meet certain threshold requirements in order to apply for help:

1.    Borrower or co-borrower must be able to document that the delinquency was a result of a hardship event beyond his/her control (i.e. unemployment, death of a spouse, catastrophic medical expenses, etc.)

2.    Mortgage payments must have been made on time for 12 months preceding the hardship event with no more than two 30-day late occurrences

3.    The property securing the mortgage must be owner-occupied as a full-time residence

4.    Borrower must provide a financial hardship affidavit

5.    Mortgage can be no more than 120 days delinquent

6.    Loan servicer/investor must be willing to accept payments and provide required data and reporting

Assistance from SC HELP will be provided in the form of a nonrecourse zero-percent interest, non-amortizing, forgivable loan secured by a subordinate lien on the subject property. The loan will be forgiven over a five-year period at a rate of 20% per year. If property is sold or refinanced prior to the loan termination date, funds will be recovered should sufficient equity be available from the transaction. The Property Disposition Assistance Program will provide a one time, lump sum grant to the recipient.

Additional criteria and documentation requirements must be met for final eligibility determination. Homeowners wishing to make an application should apply online at www.SCMortgageHelp.com.  SC HELP officials emphasize that using the online application is the fastest and most efficient way to begin the process. Homeowners without internet access may call toll-free to 855-HELP-4-SC (855 435-7472) to begin the process.

SC HELP is intended to assist responsible borrowers – those borrowers who are facing possible foreclosure due to circumstances beyond their control, i.e. unemployment, death of a spouse, catastrophic medical expenses and/or divorce.  SC HELP is NOT intended to serve borrowers who are facing foreclosure due to poor credit and/or debt management, stripping the equity from their home for non-essential purposes, or overall mismanagement of their personal budget.

Additional information, background and resources are now posted on SC State Housing’s website, as well as www.SCMortgageHelp.com, and will be updated frequently.

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SC Housing Corp. is a nonprofit division of the South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority (SC State Housing).

You ask, I can sell my house immediately?

A lot of people are convinced that properly staging your home is the best way to sell your home quickly and if money is not an issue, you want to consider hiring a professional stager. They will go through your home and analyze what needs to be done and then do it. Sometimes this can just be eliminating clutter. Other times this can entail a fresh coat of paint or redecorating.

In some instances a stager may recommend that you remodel a portion of your home, but the level of staging that you undergo really depends on your budget and the amount of time you have available to put the house on the market.

Another way of selling your house quick is to make sure that it is marketed with lots of quality pictures. With a lot of houses on the market, buyers can find themselves overwhelmed with the amount of property to look at.

Often time is of the essence for the buyer as well. They do not want to waste their time looking at homes that they are not interested in. As a result, hiring a photographer to take quality interior and exterior photographs can ensure that the buyers who come to look at the house are really interested and not there just to get a better look.

Taking several pictures of the exterior as well as shots of all the interior rooms is the best way to go about it. The buyer can have a virtual tour of the house through the pictures. If they are interested it is certain that the level of interest is much higher and can eliminate timely revisits.

If you are thinking about selling your Fort Mill SC home, Sharon Salisbury has the knowledge, experience, and ability to help you get a quick sale for top dollar!

Well, while a foreclosure is the worst possible scenario for someone that has fallen behind on their mortgage payments and it’s something you want to avoid if all possible, there are other options.  One of those options is something called a ‘short sale’.

As it relates to real estate, a short sale essentially means the lender has agreed to allow the home to be sold for LESS than what is actually owed.  Now, not all homes qualify for a short sale simply because not all lenders will allow the home to be sold for less than what is owed on it.

If you’re in a situation where you feel like you’re about to lose your home, investigating the possibility of selling it via a short sale might be a good option, but as with everything in life you MUST do your own due diligence.

You certainly want to consult with your accountant and an attorney familiar with real estate short sales.  You’ll find a great list of steps you could expect to have to take in order to sell your home via short sale right HERE.

On the buying side, purchasing a home via a short sale is much, much less certain a process than buying an average home listed for sale.  You’d be wise to consult with a qualified real estate agent that has some experience working with real estate short sales.

If you have any questions about either selling your home via a short sale or purchasing a home via a short sale, I have experience in both so please don’t hesitate to CONTACT ME.

You see, even in this challenging economy real estate is still moving.  People are still buying and selling houses so there’s no reason to think your home couldn’t be one of them.  Sure, it’s a little more difficult to sell a house today than it was just a few short years ago, but by making sure you do a few things correctly it’s not unreasonable to expect your home to sell.

So, here are 5 reasons why your home may not be selling:

1. Your home isn’t in top condition. If you want to sell your home fast and for top dollar then it absolutely MUST be in tip top shape.

   While there might be a few people looking to find a home that requires some TLC, most people in today’s marketplace are looking for homes that are move-in ready.  This means no holes in the walls, freshly painted walls, floors that are in good shape, and very little ‘updating’ required.

   If your home leaves buyers feeling like they’d have a lengthy list of chores to do before they moved in then chances are you’ve pinpointed a big reason why your home hasn’t sold yet.

2. Not enough photos OR badly taken photos. Because more than 80% of all house searches begin online, you have just a few seconds to capture the attention of potential buyers.  As a result, it’s absolutely crucial that the first photos they see show your home in it’s best light.

   This means taking the photos at the right time of day so the light is at its best, removing any obstacles that could block a full view of the house, and making sure the driveway is clear of cars, bikes, or other vehicles.

   You also want to make sure you have enough photos to give prospective buyers a good feel for your home, as well as what they can expect to see when they actually do come see it in person.

3. You aren’t doing enough to market your home. Nowadays you simply can’t list a house on the MLS system and expect it to sell.  To sell a home quickly and for top dollar in today’s marketplace you’ve got to employ as many marketing methods as possible.

   This means an extensive listing in the MLS, listing it on real estate websites, sending postcards to neighbors, running ads in the newspaper, holding open houses, networking with other agents, etc.  There are way too many methods available to rely on just one or two to get your home sold.

4. You hired the wrong listing again OR haven’t hired a real estate agent at all. Yes, you can sell your home as a ‘for sale by owner’, but it’s not easy. 

   That being said, if you do decide to hire a real estate agent you definitely want to make sure you’ve hired the right one for the job. Interview a handful of agents and ask them lots of questions. What’s their plan to market your home? How many listings have they sold in the last 6 months? What have their previous clients said about their experience working with them?

   If you don’t get the answers you want to hear, don’t be afraid to interview more agents.  Remember, when it comes to selling your home a quality real estate agent can be more than worth their weight in gold, but you might have to do a little panning to find the right one for you.

   Be sure to learn about why you should hire Sharon Salisbury to help you sell your home!

5. Your home isn’t priced correctly. In most cases, this is the biggest reason why real estate doesn’t sell.  A home that is priced correctly will generate a high amount of interest as well as qualified offers.  If you try to price your home too high hoping to be able to negotiate a final price that’s lower than what it’s listed at, chances are you won’t have much luck.  Home buyers nowadays typically look at the listing price as a starting point and if it’s outside of what they think it should be, they won’t even give it a second look.

   So, price your home competitively and watch as the qualified buyers come running and chances are you’ll very soon be entertaining offers to sell!

Remember, there’s a lot that goes in to selling a home quickly and for top dollar so don’t expect it to happen overnight. However, by avoiding these 5 mistakes there’s really no reason why you shouldn’t expect to sell your home for a dollar amount you’re happy with and in a time frame that makes you jump for joy!

On the flip side, even though this marks the sixth straight month of declines, the Charlotte NC area remains among the best of 20 major urban markets in the monthly index.  The average decline was considerably higher than our at  17 %.

As much as we’d love to maintain the steady appreciation we’ve seen while the rest of the country has struggled, it’s no surprise that we saw our numbers finally begin to decline.  And as much as I’d love to predict things will turn around soon, with the purchase of Wachovia expected to be completed by the end of this year, I would expect the trend to continue.

Going back to the flip side again though, people are still buying houses so if you’re worried about losing your shirt in this up and down market, have no fear.  With a solid plan in place to ensure your home is properly staged, priced, and marketed you can still sell your Rock Hill SC, Fort Mill SC, or Tega Cay SC for a good price!

Contact me today at 704-576-3826 and let’s figure out what we need to do to make it happen!

Here’s a quick video that gives some fantastic suggestions for injecting some life into your tired, old bathroom:

]]> http://sharonsellscarolina.com/149/revitalize-your-tired-old-bathroom-with-these-simple-tips/feed/ 0 http://sharonsellscarolina.com/139/another-major-internet-player-jumps-into-the-real-estate-game/ http://sharonsellscarolina.com/139/another-major-internet-player-jumps-into-the-real-estate-game/#comments Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:51:51 +0000 SSCadmin http://sharonsellscarolina.com/2008/10/02/another-major-internet-player-jumps-into-the-real-estate-game/ While this may not be news to some, this is the first I’ve seen of it, but Overstock.com, the discount warehouse website that sells everything from books and DVD’s to appliances and flat screen TV’s, is now jumping on the real estate listing bandwagon.  I’m signed up to receive Overstock’s daily specials email and the one they sent today is promoting their real estate portal.

Here’s a screen shot of the emaill:

From what it looks like, you pay a flat fee to have your house listed in their portal.  There are also a few other add on services that might be attractive to someone looking to sell their Rock Hill SC, Fort Mill SC, or Charlotte NC home by themselves, but as always, there are pitfalls to selling your home this way.

Yes, you save money on the real estate commission, but you’re left to your own devices to see that all the paperwork goes through smoothly, that the inspections are done properly, and that at the end of the day you’re protected from any type of negligence or lawsuit.  Real estate can be a complicated game and while it’s definitely possible to navigate alone, it sure is a lot easier when you have a professional working with you.

So, aside from the obvious revenue Overstock generates from the listings, why would they get into the Internet real estate game?

Well, if you didn’t already know this, over 80% of all real estate transactions these days begins on the Internet.  And that percentage is only going to continue to increase.  So, if such a high number of people are online searching for real estate, and with Overstock’s huge online presence, it’s a great way for them to increase their online exposure.

As people are searching for their dream home in Rock Hill SC online, they may stumble upon Overstock’s new real estate website and decide to check it out.  While their on the website searching for their dream home, they’ll be developing a relationship with Overstock.com that, if they didn’t already know who they were, might lead them to check out their primary e-commerce website.

You see, it’s all about exposure and developing a relationship with people.  The more eyeballs you can be exposed to, and the better job you do at developing a relationship with those people, there more chance you have of making  a sale for your product or service.

So, kudos to Overstock.com for jumping into the online real estate game.  If you’re curious, the website is http://realestate.overstock.com

Is it a worthwhile investment for someone hoping to sell their home?  Possibly.  Again, the more people that see what you have to offer, the better your chance of someone that likes it finding it and ultimately making you an offer.

In the game of real estate, or just business in general, it’s about exposure.

If you have a home or property in the Rock Hill SC, Fort Mill SC, Tega Cay SC, Lancaster SC, or South Charlotte NC area you’d like to get increased exposure for, I’d love to share with you how my inovative marketing solutions can help you increase the exposure you get.

Give me a call today and let’s get your home sold!

Not true!!

Yes, we’re definitely going through some rocky times financially.  Just ask Merril Lynch and Lehman Brothers.  But, we’re very fortunate here in the Rock Hill SC, Fort Mill SC, and Charlotte NC area because the housing market remains very strong.

Is it down compared to previous years? Sure.  It’s definitely a buyers market.  Foreclosures are available in almost every neighborhood, which in turn can affect property values and the potential price you might get for your house, but that doesn’t mean you should sit on your hands and not sell.

If you’re thinking about selling your Rock Hill SC or Fort Mill SC home, now’s as good a time as any, believe it or not.  The key to getting the most out of the sale of your home in this market is to do the following:

• Price it correctly.Nothing sinks a solid home sale faster than pricing incorrectly. Price it too high and it’ll sit on the market longer than it should.  Under price it and you end up leaving money on the table.  If you have questions about how you should price your house, I’d love a chance to help you come up with a price that will move your home quickly  for top dollar.
• Make your house stand out.If there’s competition from other houses, you MUST make your property stand out.  A fresh coat of paint, inside or out.  Steam cleaned carpets.  Refinished hardwood floors.  Some simple, inexpensive staging.  A refresh of the landscaping.  All of these are things that can be done to help you house stand out from the crowd and even though it might cost you a little bit of money, it’ll be money well spent.
• Work with a professional that can get your home the exposure it needs.The key to selling your home quickly, for top dollar is to make sure it gets the maximum amount of exposure possible.  Working with an experienced real estate agent that knows the ins and outs of marketing a house effectively in today’s marketplace can do wonders for getting your house sold very quickly.

  Again, I’d love an opportunity to show you what I can do to help you sell your Rock Hill SC or Fort Mill SC home quickly, for top dollar.

Remember, just because all you’re hearing about is the doom and gloom of the economy today, it doesn’t mean you should sit on your property.  Selling your home for top dollar in today’s marketplace is still very much within reach, it just requires a careful plan of attack to making it happen.

Well, I’m certainly no expert when it comes to the financial markets, but just based on what I’ve read and heard, I’d venture a guess that this isn’t rock bottom just yet.  According to an article I read on MSNBC.com,the answer to how many more banks are going to fall flat on their face because of questionable management practices is dependent on 2 questions.

“First: When will home prices stop falling? The value of trillions of dollars of assets held by big investors — both here and around the world — is pegged to the underlying value of the real estate on which those assets are based. Every quarter that home prices fall, those assets have to be marked down further.

Second: When will the foreclosure rate stop rising and stabilize? As of the end of June, some 9 percent of all Americans holding a mortgage were either late on their monthly payments or in foreclosure. Those foreclosures add to the backlog of bank-owned properties that go onto the market, putting further downward pressure on home prices.”

It certainly makes for a precarious situation, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to pack up and move to a cave in the middle of nowhere!

Fortunately for us here in the Rock Hill SC or Fort Mill SC market, the housing market is still strong.  Yes, there are some bargain properties out there, but that doesn’t mean EVERYTHING’S going for rock-bottom prices.

If you’re looking to sell your Rock Hill SC or Fort Mill SC home, you can still get a good price for it.  You just need to be certain you price your home to sell and not simply to negotiate.  Many people make the mistake of thinking if they list their house higher thinking they’ll be able to negotiate it down.  Unfortunately, it rarely happens this way as people see just the ‘too-high’ price and don’t even make an offer.

If you want to sell your home quickly AND for top dollar is this unsteady market, it’s critical that you price your house to move.  If you’re not sure what that price is, I’d be more than happy to provide a Comparative Market Analysis to help you decide if now’s the right time to sell your Rock Hill SC area house or not!

And stay tuned to this blog because this week I’ll be sharing more tips for buying OR selling your dream Rock Hill SC, Fort Mill SC, Tega Cay SC, York SC, or Lancaster SC home in this turbulent financial marketplace.

In analyzing past stats of the Rock Hill SC real estate market, one will notice that most homes go for 97% of asking price.  This means there isn’t a whole lot of negotiation going on.  People want to get it, make an offer, and get on with buying their dream home.  They don’t want to dicker back and forth, trying to settle on an acceptable price.

In many cases, what ends up happening when the price is too high is the home seller ends up with very few, if any offers on their house.

A much better approach to take is to price your home right where the market dictates.  That way, if the home is priced correctly for the neighborhood and condition, you’ll see a flurry of early activity, you’ll receive several offers, and before you know it you’ll be headed to the closing table at a very good price.

So, if you’re not sure what you should list your Rock Hill SC home at, be sure to consult with a knowledgeable real estate agent that can help you identify a price that’ll draw lots of interest and result in a quick sale for you!