*NEW LISTING* Mount Pleasant for $125,000!!

Cambridge Lakes Condo- Now Under Contract!

We had an offer in 3 days!!

$125,000

2 bedroom, 2 bath 1,227 sq. ft

Fantastic first floor condo at an unbelievable price–even though it’s NOT a short sale!! Owners say SELL!! *** This is a desirable two bedroom, two bath floor plan with open living and dining space and a large, functional kitchen. This home also boasts a large screened-in porch with an outside storage closet. *** Neighborhood amenities include a fantastic club house, a pool, a fitness center, a putting green, and boat storage. *** Ideal location in the heart of Mount Pleasant. Exactly 8 miles from the Isle of Palms beach and 8 miles from downtown Charleston, you couldn’t live in a better spot! And with highway 17 and I-526 both less than a mile away, getting where you need to be has never been easier! *** Similar floor plans rent for $975- $1,200/mo. Cash flow a beach property now!

 

11 Perseverance St in I’On- For Sale!!

3,300 sq. ft 5 bedroms/ 5 baths
One of kind I’On masterpiece! This newly-constructed home was designed by Neal Van Dalen and built by I’On guild builder Spencer Development as a custom home! NOT A SPEC!

***
Walk into this amazing home and you are immediately greeted by the show-stopping front door, 11 ft ceilings, stunning dark Oak floors throughout and clean, bright molding and trim. The dining room is immediately on your left and features a dramatic, modern chandelier that will surely make all of your guests stop in their tracks. The thoughtful floor plan continues with a first-floor bedroom/office, a full bath, a butler’s pantry with Sub Zero wine refrigerator , and a sprawling living room/kitchen that opens itself up into the private covered porch and outdoor living space. The kitchen is a chef’s dream! It boasts double ovens, a 42″ built-in stainless KitchenAid refrigerator, a microwave drawer, a hidden dishwasher, two trash drawers, a Wolf gas cook-top and honed Arabascata Marble counter-tops!! The new Delta “one-touch” faucet will be sure to impress as well! Spacious custom cabinetry and pantry will offer you plenty of space to entertain all who come over!
…
Head upstairs to the large master bedroom with private covered porch. This room was the owner’s pride and joy. Separate his and her master closets are perfectly appointed and spacious enough for the most discriminating of buyers. The master bathroom comes complete with designer lighting, more marble counter tops, an oversized shower with rain shower head, and a free-standing modern eggshell tub! Two additional bedrooms on this floor each have private full bathrooms, large closets, and one even has an additional private covered porch. The carpet in these bedrooms is upgraded and guaranteed against all stains.
The 3rd story boasts a 5th bedroom, 5th full bath, a media room/playroom, and additional storage.

*** EXTRA FEATURES ***
Outdoor shower, grilling patio with gas line, sealed crawl space, privacy fence, irrigation system that includes the custom planters, hidden outlets for optimum organization, pre-wired for surround sound, and still under 1-year warranty!! Home could be sold fully furnished or partially furnished with acceptable offer!

***LOCATION***
Located in the Middle of I’On near Maybank Green Park, Perseverance Fountain Square Garden, Westlake Amphitheater, and Sweet Olive Garden Shop. This home is walking distance to I’On Square Restaurants and Shops and to the boat ramp located within I’On. Also enjoy the walking/biking trails throughout the neighborhood! Membership to I’On Club Pool, Tennis, and Fitness Available as well! You may never want to leave I’On but downtown and the beaches are both only 3-5 miles away!!

Email me at rebeccalinenger@gmail.com or
call me at 843.364.5818
for more information or to set up a private showing!

 

The Holidays Are Coming- What Do I Do With My House?

The air temperature in Charleston has recently dropped below 80 for at least two days in a row and you know what that means…it’s Christmas!! 🙂 Well almost. Our local stores jump immediately from beach chairs and sunscreen to Holiday decorations and craft supplies. I find myself sweating as I down my Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks but, really, I have no choice…it’s “Fall” now!

As a Realtor, this time of year is always interesting because most of the people I come in contact with either want to wait until Spring to sell their home or they are considering pulling their current listing off of the market during the holidays. At first glance, it makes sense. I get it. It may sound like a good idea at first but let me give you a few things to consider when deciding what is right for you and your family.

 

1. Everyone else is doing it

If there is one thing we can all agree on from the last 5 years, it’s that the people that made out the best financially were often doing the opposite of what the “masses” were doing. Let me put it like this…if you were one of the ones following the trend and buying at the top of the market, you probably owe more on your home than it is worth today. If you were selling when everyone else was buying, or buying when everyone else was selling, you are most likely in great financial shape! The same is true with our yearly cyclical market. Especially in a resort town like Charleston, we have visitors come year round. Especially during the winter months, we see more and more tourists and second-home buyers travel down from the North East or from less desirable winter climates and decide to settle in Charleston. Every year we see a much more dramatic drop in listings than we do in buyers during these months. What that means is that your ratio of buyers to sellers actually IMPROVES during the holidays. Everyone else is pulling their home off of the market so if yours is there, hold it, and if it’s not, this may very well be the best buyer exposure you are going to get all year long!

 

2. It is beautifully decorated for the holidays

One thing all sellers have in common is that they want their home to look nice for showings. They want it to show well so they can get the highest possible value for their home. In real estate, a higher perception of a home’s condition translates into real dollars in the negotiations. So why in the world do we think it makes sense to pull it off the market when it is decorated more completely than any other time of the year? How beautiful do homes look when they are dripping with twinkling lights, smelling of cinnamon and evergreen trees, and have poinsettias sitting around the hearth. Actually, decorations like these can easily hide some of the cosmetic imperfections with your home without the appearance that you are trying to “cover something up.” It is expected that you would have some decorations and yummy smells around the house so the buyers’ antennas don’t go up.  They can see that a home is loved and lived in and don’t lead with such a critical eye.

 

3. You’re busy

Wait…that is one of the reasons you DON’T want to sell your house right now? It should be one of the reasons that convince you to do it! No matter how you slice it, showing your home is inconvenient when you’re living in it all day every day but, during the holidays, you have more than enough excuses, errands, and grocery store needs to keep you busy when you have to pop out of the house for an hour. Load up the kids and go to the beach for an August showing? No thank you!  That requires 2 hours of prep work and will just load the house full of sand upon the return. But head over to Walmart or Target to pick up a couple of teacher gifts? You had to do that anyway! The busyness of this time of the year actually helps with seller anxiety because there are so many legitimate reasons to be out of the house.

 

4. Buyers like turkey too

When sellers come to me asking about pulling their home off of the market, the most common comment I get is, “I’m not going to be able to show my house while cooking Thanksgiving dinner!” These types of sentiments always make me chuckle a little bit because what in the world would make you think that both a potential buyer AND their Realtor hate their families, turkey and football!? They will be doing their own thing that day, I guarantee you. 🙂 And on the off chance that you do get a showing request, you can easily decline or reschedule to a more convenient time.  The great thing about working with a Realtor is that you don’t even have to field the call if you don’t want to–we’ll do it for you!

 

I would love to help you price your home in our current market and then you can decide if selling makes sense for you! Ask me about completing a competitive market analysis for free and with no obligations!! Just email me at rebeccalinenger@gmail.com or call me at 843.364.5818 to find out more!

 

Downtown Penthouse with 20′ Ceilings Sold for $255,000!

150 Bee Street, Penthouse 809- SOLD!

I had the most successful closing this morning on this gorgeous penthouse! 20 ft ceilings and expansive views of the Ashley River–all for only $255,000 fully furnished!!! Both buyer and seller were thrilled and every detail of the experience was easy and drama-free! I feel like I’ve gone back in time…back to 2006! 🙂 This is how it should be and it’s a great reminder that there are fabulous deals out there if you know where to look! Banks are surprisingly easy to deal with right now so if you’re curious about what you could afford or what you might be able to get for your current house, call me! A move is probably easier than you think!

 

 

10 Contracts Pending…but does that mean recovery?

Many of you have been following me on Facebook or Twitter…or this blog…and you see that my listings are going under contract at an insane rate right now. Some of them have never even made it to the blog because they go under contract too quickly! (I’m not complaining, by the way!) But the posts have raised quite a few questions from my followers and clients.

Is the market on the rise? Are we finally looking at recovery? Can I get out of my house what I need to in order to sell it? These are the types of questions I get every day.

It may depend on what news channel you are listening to at the moment but real estate news in general is finally sounding hopeful! Many of us hear that the market is on the rise and we want to know what that means for us–as homeowners and as Charleston residents. Let me give you a few things that I have learned to be completely unchanging over the past few months.

1. Bank-involved properties (REOs, short sales, foreclosures) ARE being used in appraisals.

2. Past sold comps (appraisals) determine your home’s true value.

3. Therefore, transactions are up, prices are NOT.

Even if a buyer wanted to buy your home for higher than market value, their loan is contingent on the appraisal and therefore, they wouldn’t be able to unless they had enough cash to make up the difference. And, let’s be honest, that isn’t happening. No intelligent buyer (especially when represented by an intelligent Realtor) would overpay for a home in today’s market. So the value of our entire market right now is based off of a flood of foreclosures and other bank-involved homes.Appraisals are tied to values set by the banks…and so the wheel turns.

As a seller, you may be thinking that you want to wait this out–not sell now–hold it. That sounds smart and, for a few months last year, it was. But now, all you need to do is to tune into the news, read about the banking crisis, or call your local mortgage officer to find out that this unique problem is only going to get worse. In our Keller Williams office in Mount Pleasant, we have a fantastic Bank of America mortgage officer named JoAnn Terrell. She keeps us up to date with everything that is going on with mortgage rates, new loan offerings, and–most recently–the foreclosure epidemic. I would be more than happy to pass you along to her for the exact specifics but basically the amount of foreclosures  JUST from Bank of America is set to increase in 2011 to FIVE TIMES what it was in 2010. And the forecast for 2012 is even worse. So no matter what happens with people’s personal lives and how strong their desire to move–either to a different state or just a different house– our values over the next several years will be determined by what the banks are willing to take for their properties.

It kind of makes you feel like that Econ-101 class you took Freshman year was a waste,  huh? If supply goes down or demand goes up,prices increase…right?! Well–not in this case.

So really the conclusion is that if you want to sell, need to sell, or think that you might need to sell in the next 3-5 years, DO IT FAST. I mean, really quickly. Get the house on the market and priced to sell in 90 days before we hit our Fall slump. And, if not, stop thinking about it and wondering. Plant a garden, build a deck, bunk up the kids…just know you’re staying put for a while.

 

Island Living only $569k–5 Forest Trail

$569,000

4BR/2.5 BA* 2,504 sq ft

This is a beautiful home on one of the most private lots on the island!! Surrounded by like Oak trees and palms, the fully fenced in back yard will be your perfect beach retreat!! And with an in-ground pool and a Koi pond, your paradise is complete!!

***OPEN FLOOR PLAN***

You walk into this stunning home and the open floor plan feels twice as large as its square footage. Large windows bring in loads of natural light to the great room, dining room and kitchen and a separate formal living room and downstairs bedroom (or office) offer plenty of living space! Also downstairs are two additional bedrooms that share a fantastic bathroom where each room has its own sink and toilet! The Master bedroom is upstairs, making it the perfect escape. It boasts a large walk-in closet and bathroom as well!

***STORAGE***

This home is elevated so the entire first story is an amazing, spacious garage/workshop/workout room/game room…whatever you need! There is plenty of room for multiple cars, boats, or toys in the 3.5+ car garage as well as access directly to the back yard!

***LOCATION***

Tucked away off of Forest Trail, this is the perfect location for anyone that wants a neighborhood feel while still being within walking distance of the beach!! So come and see for yourself why this is your new home!!

Call me for a private showing! 843.364.5818

 

New Listing! Johns Island Gem- only $225,000!

2947 Split Hickory Court * Johns Island, SC 29455

3 Bedrooms * 2.5 Baths * 1,716 sq. ft

**$225,00**

This is a FANTASTIC Charleston-style home that is ready for you and your family to make your home here!

**GREAT FLOOR PLAN**

An open floor plan greets you as you walk in with the large living room at the front of the house and a dining area opening up directly onto the private, screened-in porch. A large kitchen with an overhanging counter top sits farther in the back of the downstairs plan. With LOADS of cabinet space and counter top prep space, this layout is perfect for a true cook! The flexible floor plan is perfect for any buyer since the space next to the kitchen can be used for more formal dining or a sitting or keeping room! And hardwood floors tie the whole space together, making it the perfect updated space in which to entertain and raise your family! Upstairs, you will find the large master bedroom with private porch access, a large walk-in closet and master bath as well as two additional bedrooms (much larger than similar homes on the market) and another full bath! And if that’s not enough, enjoy the beautiful Charleston weather in your private, fenced-in back yard! It’s perfect for a summer barbecue, pets or dogs!

**LOCATION**

This Johns Island home is 8.5 miles from downtown and only 12 miles to Folly Beach!! You are also situated within walking distance from Wild Olive and Maria’s Mexican Grill, two fantastic local restaurants! This area of Johns Island is known for great food and a strong support of our local farmers and produce. There are walking and biking paths nearby as well for those that like to be in nature- but close enough to still enjoy the city life of Charleston!! It’s the perfect balance!!

**AFFORDABLE**

This is a fantastically priced Charleston-style home but the community is affordable as well! The taxes on this beautiful home were only $1,247 in 2009 and the yearly insurance premium is only $1,876. Also, the total bills (electricity, gas, water and sewer) average out to only $269/mo! That is incredible–you can’t beat it anywhere else in Charleston!!

 

Gorgeous New Listing- 1824 Hall Point Rd $399,000

Under contract in 10 days!

1824 Hall Point Rd. * Mount Pleasant * 29466
2,836 sq ft

Because of a Corporate Relo, it is listed at only
$399,000

This home is IMMACULATE and ready to move into immediately! This 2-story home features 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths with a fabulous sunroom/office and screened-in porch on the deck. Located on a private homesite with views of the marsh, this home also boasts a large wrap-around front porch, perfect for our South Carolina evenings! The open floor plan feels even more spacious than 2,836 sq ft and includes 10 ft ceilings as well as formal living and dining rooms! Also downstairs is a fantastic eat-in kitchen with stainless steel appliances that opens up to the family room!

**UPGRADES**

This home is loaded with upgrades including beautiful hardwood floors throughout the downstairs and even one room upstairs, crown molding throughout, chair rail in the dining room, ceiling speakers in the living room, built-in bookcases in the formal living room, family room and 4th bedroom, cabinets and counter top in the laundry room, cabinetry in the large 2-car garage, and an additional concrete grilling patio off of the screened-in porch! The owners spared no expense and thought of everything!

**LOCATION**

This fantastic neighborhood in Park West is exactly what you and your family are looking for. From the neighborhood amenities top-rated schools to the proximity to shopping and the beach, this is the prime location in Mount Pleasant!!

Call Rebecca Linenger at 843.364.5818 to schedule a private showing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Price REDUCED- Mt Pleasant- off IOP connector for $269,000!!

1309 Cadence Dr. Mount Pleasant, SC 29466

1,624 sq. ft. * 3 bedrooms * 2.5 baths

$269,000

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! How would you like to live 3.5 miles from the ocean, .5 mile to two different grocery stores, 1.3 miles to the hottest shopping center in town, AND be in one of the top rated school districts in our State!?! This home is a steal with the additions and upgrades added by current owner. The traditional style of the home has an open floor plan on the first floor and all of the bedrooms located upstairs. The Master even has vaulted ceilings! The owners added a beautiful back deck next to the screened in porch, helping to create a private backyard retreat in the heart of this neighborhood! The garage has been finished off as well with paint, carpet, a window AC unit and a space heater. The square footage is not counted in total home sq. ft of 1624 so this is just ADDITIONAL living space! It would be perfect for a gym, home office, workshop and more!! Many things set this home apart from others in the area but on top of all of them, the seller is offering a $4,000 upgrade allowance to a buyer with an acceptable offer! That means YOU get to select your own granite counter top, stainless appliances, new carpet…whatever YOU want!!

 

“If you don’t own a home, buy one…”

Read this article from “The Daily Reckoning” that was posted this past week. It’s an interview with John Paulson and it is DEFINITELY worth reading! He made a billion dollars in 2007 by betting AGAINST the housing market. Today, he is one of the richest men in America and it’s amazing how much he has changed his tune! Today he says “If you don’t own a home, buy one. If you own one home, buy another one, and if you own two homes, buy a third and lend your relatives the money to buy a home.” Read below…

********************************************************************************************************************************************

Buy a House… Then Buy Another

By Chris Mayer • January 11th, 2011 • Related Articles • Filed Under

Investment ideas are cyclical. They go dormant for a while, then revive, like fashions or cicadas – obeying their own curious rhythms. During the past few years, rare was the investment thinker who said you should buy a house. Housing was in a bubble that was deflating.

But the investment seasons turn. Today some smart investors are once again saying you should a buy house. John Paulson is one of them.

You may know him as the man who turned the greatest trade of all time. Betting against the housing market, he netted a cool billion dollars for himself in 2007. One fund he managed rose 590% that year. Today, he is one of the richest men in America.

His advice today is very different. “If you don’t own a home, buy one,” Paulson said. “If you own one home, buy another one, and if you own two homes, buy a third and lend your relatives the money to buy a home.”

That’s a strong endorsement. It sounds similar to the advice another investor gave his audience in 1971, at the dawn of one of America’s biggest housing bull markets. The investor was Adam Smith (George Goodman) on The Dick Cavett Show. Here is a snippet from that conversation:

Smith: The best investment you can make is a house. That one is easy.

Cavett: A house? We were talking about the stock market. Investments…

Smith: You asked me the best investment. There are always individual stocks that will go up more, but you don’t want to give tips on a television show. For most people, the best investment is a house.

Cavett: I already own a house. Now what?

Smith: Buy another one.

It was good advice. In the 1970s, US stocks returned about 5% annually, which failed to keep pace with inflation. Still, it was an up-and-down ride. In 1974, the stock market fell 49%. But here are the average selling prices for existing homes in the 1970s as inflation heated up:

1972 – $30,000

1973 – $32,900

1974 – $35,800

1975 – $39,000

1976 – $42,200

1977 – $47,900

1978 – $55,500

1979 – $64,200

You can see that housing held up pretty well. And think about the effect of a mortgage on 80% of that house in 1972. That would mean $6,000 in equity, a sum that went up fivefold in eight years. It’s hard to find a better inflation fighter than that. Granted, today’s market is different, but still.

Apart from this, you might also reflect on the fact that it is quite absurd today to think that anyone can buy an average house for any of these prices – and that, too, is the point. The average price today is $257,500 – even after the great collapse in the last few years.

“If you have a 7% mortgage and your house is worth half a million dollars,” Adam Smith writes, “you may gripe about shoes and lamb chops and tuitions like everybody else, but your heart isn’t in it.” Your heart won’t be in it because you’ll be in fine fettle with your house.

Of course, you can do a lot better than 7% today. For the first time, the rate on 30-year mortgages slipped below that on the 30-year Treasury bond. You can get a 30-year mortgage at little more than 4% today.

Factoring in mortgage rates, housing affordability is back to where it was in September 1996. Then mortgage rates were 8% and the average price of a home was $171,600. As Murray Stahl writes: “One can actually buy a home for a monthly payment that is not very many dollars different from the monthly payment one would have needed in September 1996, when rates were significantly higher.”

Adjusted for inflation, Stahl points out that the payment for an average-priced home today is about 30% lower than it was 14 years ago.

The advice of Paulson and Smith starts to make sense now, doesn’t it?

Essentially, real estate is a way to buy now and pay later. And the case for housing extends to other property types, too. Owners of quality real estate are getting deals on mortgages that we are unlikely to see for a generation.

In my investment letter, Capital & Crisis, I haven’t recommended a real estate stock since 2006. That may soon change. I’ve spent quite a bit of time looking over blue chip real estate stocks. Real estate, after a long absence from the menu, is back on.

Regards,

Chris Mayer,
For Daily Reckoning Australia

Editor’s Notes: Chris Mayer studied finance at the University of Maryland, graduating magna cum laude. He went on to earn his MBA while embarking on a decade-long career in corporate banking. Chris has been quoted over a dozen times by MarketWatch, and has spoken on Forbes on Fox.