This past weekend, and the coming weekend, I have been attending a class to further my education for SC Real Estate. The class is taught by Frankie Griffin with the SC Real Estate School for Success. First, if you are thinking of the career in Real Estate this is the school!   Second, if you are looking for the best instructor Frankie Griffin and David Patterson are the ones to do the job.
What I have taken with me from this past weekend, is to educate your self and never stop. No matter how long you have been in the business, and no matter how many closings you have completed you can never stop educating yourself in the business. As a professional in Real Estate, you have to know everything in your niche, and education is the key.
Not only do you have to educate yourself, but it is your duty as a professional to also educate your clients. The press has not been on our side when it comes to the market, but it is our duty to educate the clients on the truths of what is happening in our area. Don’t let the norm determine your business and influence your decisions.
I’m looking forward to the next weekend, and learning from Frankie. He is incredibly knowledgable and I am thankful to learn from his experience.
I will keep you posted…
Filed under Carolina Real Estate by 
As I’m constantly on the lookout for interesting news and tidbits of information about the Rock Hill SC, Fort Mill SC, and Charlotte NC, I’ll occassionally come across articles or blog posts that really jump out at me. The one I came across today is one of them.
This article ranked the top 25 most over-rated ‘things’. There were things like crocs, Donald Trump, owning a car (uuuhhh, they’ve obviously never been to middle America!), and even owning a home. I think that right there should tell you how credible this list is, but the one that really jumped out at me was when they listed ‘Charlotte NC’ and then asked if it was the ‘worst city in America’. Excuse me!?!
Some of the reasons they listed were a rising crime rate, a weakening economy thanks to some big hits some of the local companies have been taking, namely Wachovia, Bank of America, and Lowes, and “driving to the beach or the mountains isn’t as easy as it once was, with rising gas prices, traffic and sprawl.” Uuuuhhh, did they suddenly demolish the interstates that lead to either the beach or the mountains?
Now I may be a bit biased, but I think the Charlotte area’s a fantastic place to live and I believe it will continue to be for many years to come. Are there some issues like rising crime and urban sprawl that need to be dealt with? Absolutely, but what city in America doesn’t have those issues?
Granted, the recent hits taken by Wachovia, Bank of America, and Lowes are certainly downers, but they’re not going anywhere any time soon. They’re all behemoths in their respective industries and there’s no way they’d decline to a point where it totally destroys the Charlotte economy like we’ve seen when local factories decimate small towns. Charlotte’s just too big and diverse for that to happen.
I guess overall I was a bit surprised by the ‘honor’, but when you consider they also listed amongst their things that are over-rated Angelina Jolie and the Nintendo Wii, and they suggest buying a mid-90′s Geo Metro instead of a Toyota Prius, you can draw your own conclusions.
So what’s your take? What do you think about Charlotte being ranked as one of the top 25 most over-rated ‘things’?
Go ahead and leave your comments below.
You can read the whole article on Charlotte HERE.
Filed under Carolina Real Estate, Charlotte NC, Life In the Carolinas, Opinions by
If you’ve been paying attention to the news at all then you saw the big news from the financial markets that Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch agreed to be bought by Bank of America, headquartered here locally in Charlotte NC, for some $50B dollars. On top of that, the stock market tumbled close to 500 points today sparking many to ask the question, is this as bad as it gets?
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 the wake of Hurricane Ike hitting the Texas Gulf coast late last week, we’re still feeling the pinch at the pump here in the Carolinas. Even though there is still plenty of supply flowing into our area, prices in the Rock Hill SC area ranged from $3.87 to $4.15, which is up from last month’s average of $3.50.
Across the state of SC the average price yesterday for a gallon of gas was $4.12 and today, here in the Rock Hill SC area the average price sits at $3.96.
If you missed my previous post about the AAA fuel price finder which helps you find the cheapest gas prices in your area, here’s another link to this fuel price finder:
Filed under Life In the Carolinas, Rock Hill SC by
With all the talking heads screaming bloody murder about the financial markets, it’s enough to make any intelligent home owner think twice about selling a house right now. I mean with all the doom and gloom you’d think the world was coming to an end tomorrow.
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.
Filed under Carolina Real Estate, Charlotte NC, Fort Mill SC, Hiring An Agent, Home Sellers, Market Trends, Rock Hill SC, Sell Your Home by
