We also specialize in handling foreclosure and short sale homes.
Contact us for new foreclosure listings ...
If you need help buying or selling a new home, foreclosure or short sale home, or just need advice, give us a call today at 843-532-4653, or fill out the contact form below. We'll take the guesswork out of buying and selling your home.
Real estate market environment and how it could effect you...
| Charleston Listed as #8 in America's Strongest Housing Markets! |
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Here is a little ray of sunshine in this cloudy media world we live in....
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| What is a Short Sale? |
 I have received a lot of phone calls in the last several months centered around the same question. What is a "Short Sale" and how does it work?
A Short Sale is a property where the seller owes more on the loan than the selling price or sales price... the proceeds of the sale fall short of what is owed. In the short sale process the bank agrees to accept less than what is owed and in many cases will either discount the original loan amount to satisfy the mortgage or take the difference and have the sellers take a deficiency balance to be paid back over time. A lot of what happens internally at the bank depends on the actual financial hardship of the seller and depending on the circumstances, it can go in either way.
Many times the lender will accept a Short Sale in order to avoid the foreclosure process. In many cases the lender will spend more time and money on foreclosing than it would lose negotiating a short sale. The home also has some small advantages including avoiding a foreclosure on their credit and being able to negotiate what the bank is willing to discount.
The short sale typically happens much faster than a foreclosure and can most times be negotiated within 60-90 days using the help of your Real Estate Professional (that would be me!).
If any of you are interested in locating short sales in the area, always feel free to call me. I have a detailed list of homes that are currently on the market as "Possible short sales"! I am a specialist in negotiating on your behalf as a buyer or a seller.
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| T.A.R.P. Money and You: The trouble with TARP |
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I know a lot of you have heard about all of this Government money the big banks have received in an effort to clear the lines of the credit industry and get the lenders to start lending again. This article identifies many of the problems and hopefully will make you more knowledgeable about how YOUR money is being spent.
Please click the link below to view the article on Business Week.
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If you know someone buying their first home, second home or a great investment in the Charleston area please refer them to me for superior service, integrity and professional guidance...They'll thank you for it!
Dan Lorentz, Realtor- Partner
ERA Tides Realty
Realtor of Distinction- Director's Circle
Agent of the Year
843-532-4653
www.danlorentz.com
Have you looked at your insurance lately?
If you have not reviewed your insurance policies this year you really need to. I know everyone is trying to save some dollars and one place you often don't think of looking is your home owners and car insurance policies. Insurance rates change from month to month and you may be missing out on some significant savings. If you do not have your car insurance and home owners with the same carriers this can cost you several hundred dollars per year. You may also want to look at adjusting deductibles to save money on your premiums. There are actually many ways to save and the savings can be immediate! If you would like a copy of my preferred insurance carriers, please shoot me an email and I'll send it on. I appreciate all of your feedback from my newsletters and hope you all continue to pick up helpful information. Please don't hesitate to call me with questions and a BIG thanks to those of you who have sent over all the referrals this year! Please let me know if I can help someone you know!
The sweet-spot for homes in this market is between 200,000-350,000. Why? Because the majority of homes selling are to first time home buyers and that is the price point they can afford AND they are taking advantage of the $8000 credit from the government AND interest rates are at all time lows! This rash of buyers has been created by the government...that's right, the government has been able to create an environment that is capable of eating up the excess inventory.
How? Well, first this amazing tax credit for $8000 that applies to first time buyers and/or ANYONE who has not owned a home in at least three years AND The Fed has also been buying up tons of Treasuries in an effort to keep interest rates on 30 year loans way down and guess what? It has also worked!
The stats show that of the 892 homes that sold in Charleston county since the beginning of the year that 441 sold between 200-350K, that is over 49% of all homes sold in all price points ($1-8,000,000)!
One more factor to the numbers are the FHA loan limit of 302K for Charleston county and the conventional loan limit of 417K.
Over the next several months we are going to continue to see interest rates on an FHA or Conventional mortgage continue to climb. We have seen a 50 basis point+ hike over the last four weeks and this trend is likely to continue with the threat of inflation sitting on the horizon. As I mentioned in my first article the Fed is buying up Billions of dollars worth of Treasury bonds in an effort to bring the yield on the 10 year bond down and in turn bring mortgage rates down as well. When we are basically just printing money you put more cash into the population and this in turn drives up the cost of goods because more money equals more demand which is an inflationary period. The threat of inflation continues to drive the yield on the bonds up and the traders realize that buying longer term bonds with decent yields now may not look so appealing when the inflationary period hits. Yields at that time could be much higher, which offsets inflation, as will mortgage rates. My job is to make everyone aware of what the future may bring and in this case all points lead to higher rates. So if you are thinking about buying or selling or refinancing, now is the time. If you have any questions or need help please call or email me.
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The Charleston area is located on the coast of South Carolina, midway between Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head Island. It is easily accessible by car...I-26 has its eastern terminus in Charleston and connects with I-20, I-85, I-40, I-77 and I-95 from the north. US Highway 17, the coastal north-south route, runs through Charleston and connects with I-95 from the south.
Charleston International Airport offers jet service from Air Canada, Delta Airlines Inc., Atlantic Southeast Airline/Delta Connection, Northwest Airlines, Comair Inc./Delta Connection, United Express, Continental Airlines, US Airways, and AirTran. Amtrak provides regular passenger service to the Charleston area.
The Dan Lorentz Group serves the following areas: Downtown Charleston, SC- Historic Downtown Charleston, SC- Johns Island, SC - Wadmalaw, SC - Kiawah Island, SC - Seabrook Island, SC - James Island, SC - Folly Beach, SC - Mount Pleasant, SC - Sullivan's Island, SC - Isle of Palms, SC - Wild Dunes, SC - Awendaw, SC- Summerville, SC - Hollywood, SC - Ravanel, SC - Edisto Beach, SC - Charleston, SC and North Charleston, SC .
I hope you find the information helpful and insightful.
I certainly appreciate your continued trust and referrals ... contact us any time!
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