Sandy's Blog

Realtors are actually self-employed contractors but it is not easy to change real estate company affiliation.  I have just made a move to SC Beach Real Estate after five years with Coldwell Banker Chicora. I will continue to provide assistance to buyers and sellers of real estate in The Grand Strand coastal area of Myrtle Beach which includes South Carolina and North Carolina.

My new contact information is available at my websites and access to those sites is provided below.

There are numerous public websites designed for people to search for real estate.  There has always been a problem with those sites staying current but now with the foreclosure websites people seem to disbelieve a response that the property is no longer available.

A client of mine has an interest in a house currently for sale.  She saw that same house on the largest well known Foreclosure website listed for much less then the actual current Asking Price.  I immediately pulled up the listing through the live real-time local Association of Realtors MLS and called the listing agent to varify what I thought and see if she knew why the house was listed on the Foreclosure website.  The house had been a foreclosure almost two years ago, was sold, completely renovated, and is now for sale by the present owners.  I had known the house had been sold through foreclosure several years ago and now I had confirmation that the public needs to be aware that listings on the general public real estate search sites may not be up-to-date.

Many real estate companies and real estate agents with their own websites are normally receiving a feed or frame of active real estate for sale listings directly from their local Association of Realtors.  Those with a daily feed or a direct frame provide the public with true live real-time real estate listings.  To see an example of real-time listings visit my website www.SandyMyrtleBeach.com .  

During the past few years I have represented several buyers who were able to purchase foreclosed real estate in the North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area.  When multiple offers were involved the listing agent's made the request of "highest and best".  That was an expected response to the multiple offer situation so I had informed by clients of the possibility.

Recently I represented a buyer who, as required to purchase a short sale or foreclosure, became pre-qualified for a mortgage.  Based on information given by the buyer I knew that real estate within her price point would probably be a distressed property.  Since I am certified through the NAR as a Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource (SFR) I had also registered as an agent with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and frequently search their sites for properties in distress.  I found one for my client that was only a couple of thousand above her price point but it had been on the market long enough to justify an offer if my client wanted to purchase. 

My client met the criteria for a First-Time Home Buyer tax credit and the offer was made with ample time for a response from Fannie Mae on their foreclosed home.  After several weeks I was notified to present my client's "highest and best" within 12 hours.  We responded immediately but days went by with no response from the agent for Fannie Mae.  Then we received a verbal counter offer to our "highest and best".  My client was already stretching her financing to the max but she made a counter offer back to Fannie Mae.  Several weeks passed and the deadline for a ratified contract to qualify for the first-time home buyer tax credit was only two days away when I receive a notice from the Fannie Mae listing agent to make a "highest and best" offer again with no response to our counter offer.  We responded immediately and on April 29, 2010 at 5:00 PM I received notice that my client's offer was rejected. 

I tend to think that Fannie Mae or their listing agent was using the deadline for the first-time buyer tax credit as a way to force my client to make a higher offer even though they clearly knew she could not afford anything above what she had already offered.

To search for Fannie Mae foreclosed property visit Myrtle Beach Real Estate - Foreclosures.

Large luxurious oceanfront 3 BR 3 BA condo at Mar Vista Grande in North Myrtle Beach with some of the lowest POA fees you will find for a condo of this quality.  Beautiful upscale newer concrete and steel building with enclosed corridors, four parking decks below, indoor and outdoor pools and spas.  This Penthouse unit has high ceilings, granite counter-tops, stainless steel appliances and a huge balcony ready for you to enjoy the sites and sounds of the ocean waves as they approach the white sandy beach.  A short walk to the famous Main Street of North Myrtle Beach.  Asking $579,000 

Home for sale just five minutes from North Myrtle Beach with 3 BR 2 BA plus a bonus area loft.  Just about everything is new in and out with this home sitting on a double lot. Now Asking $139,000

The neighborhood of Pinebrook is a hidden gem with its entrance directly off of Hwy 17 which is close to everything North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach has to offer. The town of Little River begins at the state line of North and South Carolina so this home offers location, location, location.  

Community POA fees are only $45 per month and cover the swimming pool and trash pickup.  Cable TV is available in the neighborhood but there is a not easily seen satellite dish in the yard.  The large master suite and one guest bedroom are on the 1st floor.  The third huge bedroom and bonus loft area are upstairs (spiral staircase).  New appliances and a washer/dryer are included with the purchase of this home.   

The White House did announce they were going to do more to prevent foreclosures, but so far I haven't heard anything about their effort helping.

In the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area all the foreclosure prevention programs fail to help those who own a second home or investment property so those facing the loss of their property must try a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.  Those two methods hurt the seller's credit score less and they do not stay on their credit history as long as a foreclosure.

For more information about short sales and foreclosures visit Myrtle Beach Real Estate

The White House is due to make an announcement today about revisions to expand its foreclosure prevention efforts.  Revisions may help reduce mortgage loan balances for some home owners and also may help unemployed home owners. 

Recent statistics show that we will not see positive equity, for those who purchased during the real estate "boom", return to the housing market for about five years in some areas of the country and ten years for other areas.  Since so many people are facing foreclosure do to the value of their home becoming less then the mortgage balance help from lenders to reduce the mortgage principal balance would lower monthly  payments and possibly save home owners from foreclosure. 

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The St. Patrick's Day Parade in North Myrtle Beach, SC was a big success. 

The flowers and trees are blooming.  

Now it is time to get everything rolling for the National Open House weekend April 10th and April 11th.

I'm actually going to try to have an open house for an ocean front condo which is an almost impossible task.  Signs are a not an option unless you sneak around putting them up and rushing to take them down.  I will have to count on the media, newspapers, and the web to advertise the event.   I did have an open house three years ago for an ocean view condo and it was not easy but it was a success so I am hopeful.

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If you happen to be in the North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area on Saturday, March 13th try to come to the St. Patrick's Day Parade on Main Street.  My Colodwell Banker Chicora office has decorated two golf carts and we'll have a table set up at 416 Main in front of our office.  

The St. Patrick's Day Parade is sponsored by the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce and this annual event is loaded with green fun and great food.  

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Someone, without their own Realtor, who lives in another state decided to buy some investment property in the Myrtle Beach area during the real estate "boom".  They found some property in a beautiful new neighborhood and went to their local lender to borrow the money to make the purchase.  The local lender was more then happy to lend this person as much as they wanted to borrow, after all they had done business together for years.

Move forward a couple of years as Someone had to take a cut in salary and requested the help of a Realtor to sell the property he had purchased in the Myrtle Beach area.  The properties did not sell after a year on the market and Someone was unable to keep making the payments, so Someone went to the local Lender to ask about a Short Sale.  The response was that they would accept a short sale price, but when a full short sale asking price offer came in months later on the property no one at Someone's local lender would respond by phone or physically went he went into their building.

As of today the lender has not responded or even tried to make contact, so Someone is sure his friendly neighborhood lender has put his property into foreclousre.