Here’s a quick link to the City of Goose Creek Web site for information on this year’s 20th Annual Fabulous Fourth in the Creek: http://www.goosecreekrecreation.com/fireworks.html

It will be held at the Marguerite H. Brown Municipal Center from 7-9 p.m. on Saturday, July 4. There will be a jump castle, food vendors, and of course a fireworks display. The Fabulous Keys will also be playing.

On-site parking is limited, so get there early if you plan to go. There will be a FREE shuttle this year from the Casey Center beginning at 6 p.m., so you may want to plan on that if you’re coming later.

See you there!!

The Charleston Trident Association of Realtors® (CTAR) published a report this week that suggests market conditions are improving – or at least stabilizing, citing three months of growth in the number of sales and median pricing from April to June. Keep reading for the report in its entirety… Call me with questions.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE SALES REACH SEVEN-MONTH HIGH AS MARKET CONTINUES TO STABILIZE CHARLESTON, SC—(June 10, 2009) The residential real estate market continues to show signs of recovery as both sales and median prices increased in May. 678 transactions closed in May, with a median sale price of $187,000.

May’s numbers reflect 31% growth in month-over-month sales and a 3% increase in median price. Consistency in both sales and median prices through the spring suggests continued market stabilization, the first step toward an overall market recovery. “While it is definitely premature to say that the housing market has hit ‘bottom,’ the market appears to have responded positively to recent low interest rates and other economic factors in our community” said Tim Allen, Professor and Director of the Carter Real Estate Center at the College of Charleston.

SPRING MARKET RECAP

MONTH—-TOTAL SALES — MEDIAN SALE PRICE — SHOWINGS
May 2009 ——— 678 ——————- $187,000 —————- 23,915
April 2009 ——– 518 ——————– $181,303 —————- 24,396
March 2009 —— 568 ——————- $185,000 —————- 21,987

The year-over-year sales and price comparisons are beginning to equalize as well—last May, 820 homes sold with a median price of $214,000. A 17% and 13% difference, when compared to this year. “We’re no longer seeing the significant drops in units sold that we saw at the end of last year, and we continue to see the median prices level out—prices have fluctuated just 6% since January” said REALTOR® Ralph Wetherell, CTAR President. Inventory remains steady with 10,057 homes currently listed for sale with the Charleston Trident Multiple Listing Service.

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON HOME VALUE INDEX(SM)
The College of Charleston Monthly Home Value Index(SM) indicates that the value of a typical home in the Charleston Tri-County Area increased by 8.61% in May, 2009. In comparison, the change in the index value was -3.38% in March, and -5.17% in April.

The index tracks the value of a “typical” home in each defined geographic area (tri-county and smaller areas) over time. The index should not be interpreted relative to the value of all homes, but to the value of a “typical” home with the contributions to value from that home’s features evaluated at the average estimated prices of those individual features.

DORCHESTER COUNTY
Sales in Dorchester County hit an 8-month high, with 155 closed transactions. Median prices increased for the third month in a row, climbing to $168,000. The majority of the market activity took place in the southern portion of the county, with 64 homes sold at a median price of $189,860. Blackberry Creek and Legend Oaks showed the most activity among subdivisions.

CHARLESTON COUNTY
Charleston County posted 363 sales in May, the highest number of sales since August of last year. Median sale price continues to hover above $200,000, with May closings coming in at $215,000. Once again, the area south of Highway 41 in Mount Pleasant showed the highest level of sales. Sales on James Island doubled over previous months, with a total of 54 sales resulting in a median price of $204,500.

BERKELEY COUNTY
The Berkeley County market remains stable, with 138 residential properties changing hands at a median sale price of $150,964. The highest volume of sales occurred in Brickhope Greens.

# # #

Contact: Meghan Weinreich Meghan@CharlestonRealtors.com (o) 843.760.9400 (c) 843.270.4393

With approximately 4,000 members, CTAR’s mission is to promote the highest standards of professionalism, ethics, education and technology, and to ensure that its members are the primary source for real estate services in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Only those who are members of the Association of REALTORS® and its parent organizations are called REALTORS®. To learn more, visit www.CharlestonRealtors.com

It sounds so simple. There’s an $8000 tax credit offered to first time home buyers if they purchase a home and close on it before November 30. Why not make it available to home owners prior to closing so they can use the money for their down payment or closing costs? If folks are qualified for a loan but have no cash to put down, and the government has promised to give them $8000 after closing, why not give the buyers access to the money so they can actually buy a house?

If it was me, and there was a loan program that let me borrow the tax credit up front and pay it back when I received the money after closing, I know I would do it. Who wants that debt hanging over their head? Unfortunately, not everyone thinks that way. If the government fronted the money to home buyers as an unsecured note, how many of those notes would go unpaid? Given the state of our economy, probably a whole lot.

That’s one reason it’s been difficult to pass legislation allowing home buyers to use their $8000 tax credit. But there’s another one as well. There used to be lots of ways for the buyer to skirt around having to come up with a down payment for a house. All that came to a screeching halt last fall. Back on September 30, 2008, all down-payment assistance programs were banned by the government. If they banned the practice last fall, how can they bring it back this spring?

Very carefully, it appears. I received an e-mail update on this from George Hart, one of my lenders. This is what he said:

Here is the latest on the recent discussions concerning using the $8,000 tax credit at closing for the downpayment….

1. HUD has released the actual guidelines and if you want to wade through the letter – just ask and I will send it to you.

2. BUT — there are so many catches, turns, and conditions – it will be difficult if not impossible to implement.

3. The FHA approved lender can advance up to the $8,000 as a personal loan IF the buyer makes the normal 3.5% downpayment from their own resources. What?
Does that mean the tax credit can NOT be used for the actual required downpayment?  Yes it does. The rationale is that the lender, broker, seller can not directly assist the buyer/borrower with the downpayment -a rule that, unfortunately, has a direct affect on the tax credit idea.

4. The loan from the lender – if you can find a lender that will make the loan – can not be secured by the property being purchased or by the future tax credit. It is a personal loan only. Total fees can not exceed 2.5% of the money advanced. If it does, the lender is in danger of losing its FHA approval. Plus- the tax credit refunds can not be sent from IRS to the lender to pay the loan – it can only be released to the buyer/borrower and any back taxes owed, or delinquent student loans would be paid from the tax credit first.

So what can be done?

first — the Federal and State tax credits are real – they are cash – and they are an incentive to buy homes.

second — the idea of having that cash at closing is remote and not feasible unless the government changes their thinking.

third —- if taxes for 2008 have been filed – AFTER THE CLOSING – amend the 2008 return and file for the tax credit this year.

fourth —- have your buyer/borrower talk to a qualified tax preparer to review all their options.

and last —- don’t let this stop or delay you from buying or selling a home.

After the crisis we’ve seen in the mortgage industry these past two years, it’s not surprising the government prefers home buyers have some “skin in the game.” There has been an unprecedented number of folks walk away from their homes in the past few years, and speculation says that if those folks had had to put some money down on their properties, they would have at least thought twice about leaving them.

I know it’s hard to save money, and believe me, I would make more money if every Tom, Dick, and Harry could buy a house today. But home ownership is a privilege, in this country, not a right. I think we lost site of that over the last five years or so. If we can get everyone turned back around and understanding that, we’ll all be better off.

Your feedback and questions are welcome.

Used to be – and I say that with all my two years of real estate experience – use to be that once a buyer and seller agreed on price and terms, closing would follow about 30 days later. However, now that short sales, foreclosures, government assistance programs, and bad credit have become more the norm than the exception, closing dates are getting pushed further and further out. In my own business, for example, three closings scheduled for early June have all been postponed to later in the month.

One of my client couples, more than qualified to purchase the home they found, struggled to get financing for the home because we couldn’t find a bank that offered a loan product to match the timing of their occupancy (18 months after closing). Once we found a lender with the right loan product, the inspection revealed a laundry list of repairs that had to be made on the property. Buyer and seller agreed to extend the closing date four days to accommodate the repair list. This may not sound like a big deal – four days – but when you’ve got everyone making arrangements to meet a specific date and then the date gets changed, it causes a chain reaction that affects just about every aspect of the move for both the buyer and the seller…

Someone’s gotta check with the lender to be sure the rate lock won’t expire, which could cost the buyer a boatload of money they don’t have. Gotta check to make sure the termite letter hasn’t expired, which lasts only 45 days. Gotta call and rearrange the movers, and cross fingers their schedule lines up with the new moving day. Gotta get the attorney’s schedule and make sure they have a time available to close on the new date that also matches up with the buyer’s schedule, the seller’s schedule, the bank’s schedule, and the schedule of two real estate agents. Gotta call the utility companies – again – to reschedule the on and off dates, which may or may not carry a fee. Gotta alert the home owner’s insurance companies on both sides that there’s been a delay. Gotta make sure the seller’s employer – and the seller of the house they’re buying – will wait. Gotta make sure the buyer’s buyer will wait if they had a house to sell, since they too will have to rearrange a million things on their side. Gotta extend leases, extend POD contracts, reschedule friends who said they’d help unload the truck. And on and on.

Contract to closing on that house: 4/15/09 to 6/5/09, or 51 days.

Another closing that’s been delayed is a short sale. (Big surprise.) These typically take some time, so we allowed for that in the purchase contract. Contract date was 4/22/09, original closing date was 6/8/09. Buyer and seller were happy as clams about the deal, they moved forward with inpsections and repairs and the loan, etc. Meanwhile I hired a short sale specialist to negotiate with the bank since I know it takes just about all the energy a person has to harrass them enough to get a response, much less approval on a short sale. I also helped my seller complete his hardship package, and launched an endless campaign of market reports, data analysis, showing trends, solds comparisons, neighborhood traffic, and more to convince the bank the offer we presented was the best they could hope to get. We received approval from the bank last week, which didn’t give the buyer’s lender enough time to complete the loan for closing on the 8th. We are now set to close on June 16. Not bad for a short sale, but we still had to really hold the buyer’s hand to keep him from shopping for another house since his family is out of state and his apartment lease is set to expire next week with the original contract. Here again, moving closing 8 days doesn’t sound like much, but it was.

Contract to closing on that one: 4/22/09 to 6/16/09, or 55 days.

The third closing I’ve managed to hold together involves a foreclosure (so a bank), a first-time home buyer, and a state housing assistance program. The buyer’s budget was low and she was looking for a great deal (who isn’t?). We found a nice house owned by Citigroup and made an offer. This bank has been great. They replaced all the carpet for us, they painted, tore down wallpaper, serviced the HVAC unit, fixed the hot water heater, etc., etc. Because of the state program we knew when we wrote the contract that the closing date needed to be at least 60 days out. We wrote it on March 31,2009 to close on June 1, 2009. We completed our inspections, the lender moved forward with the loan, we completed the state’s list of paperwork to comply with the grant money procedures, and then we waited. May 6 everything was done on our end, including the lender’s appraisal, and we’re still waiting. Similar to a short sale situation I’ve called the program director, I’ve e-mailed her, I’ve called the lender, the attorney, the buyer is a wreck, and there was NO ANSWER as to when the state could complete their inspection so we could get the grant money and close. Closing date came, and finally we learned the inspection will be Thursday morning. We filed an extension (I’m getting real good at that) with the bank, hoping to get them to hang in there with us just a little bit longer. We’re set now to close June 12, but with no response yet from the bank, we’ll see.

Contract to closing on that one: 3/31/09 to 6/12/09, or 73 days.

Funny thing is, none of these three closings have actually happened yet! They could all get delayed again. Let’s hope not, but they could. Good thing I’m still calling and e-mailing everyone like a mad woman. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about this crazy real estate business, Yogi Berra said it best: “It ain’t over til it’s over.”

It’s no secret eco-friendly renovations are the new trend in today’s home décor. These days we’re all looking to save money and save the environment (but we want to look good while we’re doing it). Eco-friendly renovations allow us to do just that.

With so many homes on the market, hopeful home sellers need a fast, easy, and inexpensive upgrade to get them one step closer to the closing table. I have three words for these sellers: Eco-friendly lighting. Why? Lighting is easy to spot and has a dramatic effect on the overall look and feel of a room or yard. It captures buyers instantly.

Green up your yard for a great first impression
Remember that for a perspective buyer, curb appeal is everything. If a buyer doesn’t like your house from the outside, he or she certainly won’t take the time to look at the inside. Let me translate: No showing, no offer, no sale. Here are some eco-friendly lighting ideas that will get the buyers knocking on your door:

• Add solar walkway lights along the path that leads to your house.
• Consider installing outdoor wall sconces and ADA compliant exterior lights.
• Reduce light pollution at night by highlighting your home with dark sky compliant lights.

Put more money in their wallet
Don’t forget to trade out your incandescent light bulbs for LEDs. LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) are extremely energy efficient when compared to traditional incandescent bulbs. In fact, LED lights can last anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 hours vs. incandescents, which are good for about 10,000 hours on average. They also burn very cool, unlike incandescent bulbs, which emit about 98 percent of their energy as heat. More burn hours with less heat means more money in your wallet, which is music to any buyer’s ears.

By the way, these eco-friendly lighting tips were provided by CSN Lighting, a company that offers thousands of residential lighting solutions. Quoizel Lighting Company, located right here in Goose Creek, is one of many manufacturers featured on the site. Strengthen our local economy by supporting our local businesses. Visit www.csnlighting.com.

Last February when the Obama administration increased the $7500 tax credit for first-time home buyers to $8000 and said the credit no longer had to be repaid to the government, real estate agents and home buyers alike celebrated the promise of  a stronger real estate market. Real estate agents looked forward to dwindling inventory while home buyers saw a real incentive to get off the fence and start writing contracts.

Unfortunately, as the new tax credit was put into practice, real estate agents and home buyers were still hitting a snag in getting to the closing table. Tightened lending practices combined with a nation of non-savers proved to be an obstacle that couldn’t be overcome for a lot of would-be first-time home buyers. The law still required that home buyers have a minimum of 3.5% of a home’s purchase price for a down payment, and the seller was not allowed to contribute or provide that down payment. If only home buyers could have access to the $8000 tax credit prior to closing, they could use that money for their down payment and/or closing costs. This would help many, many more families achieve home ownership.

Was it asking too much?

Maybe not. Last week HUD announced to lenders it would start allowing certain approved agencies to provide borrowers with a second mortgage or a “bridge loan” to be used for the purchase of their homes. Details on this program are still being worked out, but so far it does sound promising.

Here is an excerpt from the Mortgagee Letter sent from HUD dated May 11, 2009:

The Tax Credit: Secondary Financing:

Entities that can offer tax credit advances with second liens:

• Federal, state, and local governmental agencies and nonprofit instrumentalities of government.
• FHA-approved nonprofits.

Additional information about these entities:

• Government agencies and instrumentalities of government are described in handbook HUD-4155.1 REV-5, paragraphs 1-13 A and B.
• FHA-approved nonprofits can be found, per each Homeownership Center jurisdiction, at: http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/np/np_hoc.cfm 

 

How the secondary financing works:

• The tax credit advance, when combined with the FHA-insured first mortgage may not result in cash back to the borrower. The second lien may not exceed the total needed for the downpayment, closing costs and prepaid expenses.
• The tax credit advance must provide that if the borrower does not repay the amount borrowed by the designated deadline, that principal and interest payments begin automatically.
• If payments on the tax credit advance are required, they must be included in qualifying the borrower and, when combined with the first mortgage, cannot exceed the borrower’s reasonable ability to pay.
• If payments on the tax credit are deferred, the deferment must be for a minimum of 36 months in order for the payment to not be included in the qualifying ratios.
• The tax credit advance second mortgage must not provide for a balloon payment before 10 years.

The Tax Credit: Short-Term Loan:

Entities that can offer the tax credit advance with short-term loans:

• Federal, state, and local governmental agencies and nonprofit instrumentalities of government, FHA-approved nonprofits, and FHA-approved mortgagees may provide short-term or “bridge loans” secured only by the anticipated tax credit due the homebuyer as collateral.

How the short-term tax credit advance loan works:

• The amount that may be borrowed in this manner may not exceed the anticipated tax credit due the homebuyer based on the computations of form IRS 5405.
• Fees and charges for the tax credit advance loan are not to exceed a nominal amount necessary for preparing and administering the loan.

If you have any questions regarding this mortgagee letter, please call FHA’s Resource Center at 1-800-CALL-FHA (1-800-225-5342). Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access this number via TDD/TTY by calling 1-877-TDD-2HUD (1-877-833-2483).

 

 

 

 

In this year’s “Report to the People,” City of Goose Creek highlighted several accomplishments for 2008. Even as the economy has continued to decline, our city has continued to grow at a rapid pace, with 500 new households last year. Through obvious hard work and dedication, our city employees and government have worked hard to ensure our city grows gracefully and remains a great place to call home.

These are the highlights from the report that stood out to me:

1. Eleven annexations totaling 28.42 acres
2. Number of applications for new business licenses increased 9%
3. With 740 construction permits submitted, we saw new developments like Chik-fil-A on St. James Ave. and Stokes Kia coming soon to Hwy 52
4. Average fire response time decreased from 4:59 to 4:02
5. Police response time decreased from 6:06 to 5:12
6. When compared with other areas of the Lowcountry like Downtown, Hanahan, Mount Pleasant, and Summerville, Goose Creek ranks lowest in incidents of violent crime and is second lowest in incidents of property crime (as compared per 5,000 residents)
7. Serious and violent crime overall decreased 9% from 2007 to 2008
8. Crowfield Golf and Country Club membership increased from 175 to 221
9. Highway 52 hiker/biker trail from Sewee to the Municipal Center was completed

Bring your family over to the Carolina One Real Estate office in Crowfield Plantation tomorrow, April 18, at 11 a.m. for Crowfield Appreciation Day.

Crowfield residents as well as all of Goose Creek are invited to enjoy fun, food and local vendors.  Bring your old files and papers with you too, as Shred-it will be there from 11-2 and all shredding will be FREE…with a donation of a non-perishable food item for Helping Hands of Goose Creek.

Activities for kids will include a moon bounce, face painting and games. There will also be music, popcorn, hot dogs, and cold drinks on hand. For anyone wanting the latest information on foreclosures, short sales and the $8,000 tax credit available to first-time home buyers, there will be several classes offered by the real estate experts at Carolina One.

All proceeds for the event will benefit Helping Hands and The Lord’s Ladle Cafe at Goose Creek United Methodist Church. Contact me for more information. See you there!

Agent in the Creek on Facebook

Over the last few months I’ve been evaluating networking technologies and trying to determine which ones will reach and benefit my readers and clients the most. You’ll see that I’ve chosen to join three online communities: Facebook, Twitter, and Dwellicious.

Facebook has been an amazing tool for reaching back in my past to old friends (am I really old enough to have had a friend 30 years ago?!) as well as connecting daily with clients and new acquaintances. Similar to the ActiveRain community, it has also opened opportunities to connect and share ideas with other Realtors® across the country. Yesterday I launched a business page, where I can keep my “fans” up-to-date on the market and share my business activity.

Agent in the Creek on Twitter

Twitter is great for getting a quick read on everything I’m interested in, from a single Web page. By choosing to follow folks from various industries and disciplines, it feels like I’ve got my finger on the pulse of the world. My goal is to share bits of information I pull and learn from people and situations around me. I hope you’ll choose to “follow me” and it will add value to your days.

Dwellicious provides a central location for all your internet finds.  If you’re browsing the Web and see a news article about interest rates at one Web site and then go somewhere else and see another article on design trends you’d like to hold on to, simply click the “Add to Dwellicious” button on your browser window and all the information gets stored in one place. Share your account with friends, family, and your real estate professional to keep the conversation going about what you’re looking for in a house or what’s happening in your local market.

Organize your real estate search on Dwellicious.

You’ll see on the right side of your screen that there are places to click and follow me on Twitter and/or join Dwellicious. I hope you’ll consider one or both, or that you’ll look for me on Facebook. Doing so will allow me to provide you with more information and assistance than ever before.

Call me if you have questions. I look forward to seeing you around the Web!

Buyers today are looking for one thing: A DEAL. While President Obama’s $8000 tax credit for first-time home buyers has caused some buyers to go ahead and buy, many buyers are still waiting for “the bottom” of the market to hit before they make their move.

Enter rock-bottom mortgage rates. This week we saw rates fall below 5% for 30-year fixed mortgages. Should that get buyers moving? Absolutely. If they understand what it means. Let me explain.

Look at the 2nd column of this chart. It shows how the same monthly mortgage payment buys more or less house depending on the interest rate of the loan.

If you look, the gray highlighted row shows that a $200k home purchased with a 6.25% interest rate has the same monthly mortgage payment as a $243k home purchased with a 4.5% interest rate. This is HUGE in terms of housing affordability. Instead of waiting for that $243k home to drop $43k in price (it may not – that is nearly a 20% price reduction), why not purchase the home now while you can get it at a lower interest rate?

No one has a crystal ball, so no one knows what rates are going to do or how long prices will continue to fall. What we do know is that getting more house for your money, having more of your monthly mortgage payment go toward your principle balance and less of it go toward the bank’s profit margin, makes good sense.

Call me with questions: 843.574.3193.