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SHOPPING FOR A MORTGAGE LOAN

Before you start shopping for a home, it is essential to get pre-approved by a lender. This does not mean that you cannot keep “shopping around” for the best loan while you look at homes. Once you have a signed (or “ratified”) contract, you will need to choose a lender, submit a formal application and many times pay a fee (usually the cost of the appraisal) to the lender.

So, how do you choose the right lender?

It is important to choose a reputable lender, but also one that has the right loan program to fit your particular situation. It is important to carefully compare rates, origination and processing fees, terms, conditions and restrictions before making...

LEGAL JARGON OVERLOAD

When you buy a home, the closing attorney (SC is an attorney state for real estate) will make you sign stacks of papers, affidavits and documents filled with legal jargon. Most of these documents relate to establishing your identity (for legal and tax purposes), transferring the deed, making sure you are not a terrorist and formalizing any loans and mortages.

Depending on personality, some buyers are anxious to get out of there and get their keys (so they sign all the paperwork as fast as they can without even reading it) while others are extremely cautious, detail-oriented and want to read every sentence before signing (and find it very frustrating to have to read...

Tips for Buying Fixer-Uppers

1. Avoid homes that need major spending on basics that are expected by buyers (i.e. "unprofitable repairs"): The home you choose needs to be structurally sound, up-to-code in electrical wiring, have sound major plumbing (no polybutilene pipes), and must not need foundation repairs. Correcting these issues may cost you a fortune and do not add value to the buyer.
2. Prefer homes that need only cosmetic or updating ...

HOW TO GET THE HOME YOU WANT (MAKING "CLEAN" OFFERS)

You are in the market to buy a home and you found a house that's ideal for you - it is in the right location and meets all your "needs" and "wants". The price is the only thing that is keeping you from making an offer, because you feel that it is more than you can afford.

How can you improve your odds of the owners accepting an offer that is much lower than their asking price?

In addition to a market justification for a low offer (your Buyer's Agent can provide the comparable sales) an important strategy you should use is to make your offer as "clean" as possible by not ask for special conditions or contingencies.

• Avoid making dem...

Negotiations from the buyers’ perspective:

Traditionally people think of a good negotiator as a person that crushes the competition and gets the last dollar out of the transaction. However, buying a home is just one of the pieces of the life puzzle and a real estate adviser should focus more on the long-term objectives of the clients.

Negotiating skills depend more on market dynamics and the tactics need to be adjusted to fit these dynamics. For example, for a buyer it is very different to negotiate in a buyers’ market (where there are a lot of listings and not a lot of competition) than in a sellers’ market (where there are very few listings and a lot of competition).

In a b...

The Alan Donald Real Estate Team at Keller Williams Realty in Mount Pleasant, SC   closed another sale in Belle Hall Plantation, their specialty neighborhood. The Alan Donald Real Estate Team is the top real estate sales team in Belle Hall, where they are well known for getting their listings under contract within the first week on the market, while selling them at record prices. 

Mount Pleasant, SC, June 18, 2013. --(PR.com)-- Using their market knowledge, professional experience, established systems, active buyer prospect database and comprehensive marketing plan, The Alan Donald Real Estate Team has once again been able to successfully conclude the sale of 168 Historic Drive, in th...

The Appraisal

After a nerve-wrecking negotiation process, the buyers and sellers finally had a "meeting of the minds" and agreed on price and terms for the sales contract.

Whew! All done? - Not quite!

Here comes another hurdle - most contracts with lender financing contain a "Subject to Appraisal" condition. The lender wants to make sure that the price the buyers are paying for the property is a fair market price (or below), to ensure there is sufficient collateral for their loan. 

The Appraiser looks for three "comparable" houses that have sold in the same area within the last few months, and compares their selling prices to the one that is under contract. He/she then makes adj...

Buyers' Corner: 1+1=3 - Why Buy New Construction?

In the last two years we have been advising our buyer clients who are concerned about "getting a good deal" to give consideration to buying a newly built home. Not only they would be getting a brand new home, with all the warranties and upgrades they select to their liking, buyers could be accessing a great opportunity to get some "free equity" in the short term. Let me explain why:

Generally speaking, new homes should be more expensive than pre-owned homes. Although homes do not depreciate as fast as cars or other consumer goods, certain elements of the home (like the roof and the air conditioning system) have a finite life. If you bu...

910 Tupelo Bay Dr Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
Mount Pleasant, SC

$779,000

Residential
MLS# 1312585

Located on a desirable corner lot in Hibben, this BRAND-NEW home has been meticulously executed in its design and structure. Offering over 3,000 square feet of living space this is the perfect home for low country entertaining...

The Alan Donald Real Estate Team, Charleston, SC Short Sale Specialists known for their Charleston SC Real Estate experience in Short Sales, has just closed another Short Sale in South Carolina. Using their experience and established systems, The Alan Donald Real Estate Team is able to handle many short sales and accomplish the goal at hand, to close these short sale transactions.