Sandy's Blog

If you plan to visit the Myrtle Beach, SC area you will quickly notice there are no signs of the wildfire from any of the standard highways you will probably travel.  Yesterday someone ask me why the fire had been on the national news because they had not seen any damage as they traveled south through North Myrtle Beach to Myrtle Beach.  I did show them the burn area on a map I had with me and told them the area was now a hundred percent contained. 

If you come to Myrtle Beach you will also notice it's perfect beach weather with temperatures just about 80 degrees this week.  Today or months from now a day at the beach, keeps the children occupied, or provides you a "you" day of R and R and it is free.    Gas prices are down and many hotels are offering discounts so I hope you get to take advantage of some quality time. 

The wildfire is almost completely under control and if it wasn't for road closings until 9 AM due to smokey fog it might become a memory.  In a few days the smoke too will fade but hopefully we will not forget the families that have lost their homes.

If you live in the area of Myrtle Beach please drop by one of the fund raising areas for the Red Cross.  The parking lot at Myrtle Beach Mall near North Myrtle Beach is one place where you can donate.

Real Estate News: 

Several of my clients who had real estate they needed to sell in Virginia and New Jersey before they bought in Myrtle Beach have had multiple offers on their homes during the past two weeks.  Their properties had been on the market for over a year with little activity and now they are under contract.  Neither property was a short-sale or foreclosure and the offers they accepted were just a few thousand dollars less then the asking price. 

Golfer's Economy News: 

Living on a golf course that has some of the highest fees I had noticed the decline of golfers during the past eighteen months.  Well the golfers are back and they brought their friends.  From dawn to dusk its none-stop golf carts.  The course has always been active even when there was a decline but in four years I have not seen this much action and the fees are up at this time of the year.   

Myrtle Beach SC Real Estate                      www.real-estate-blogs.com/

I'm trying out the slideshow feature from Picasa and it seems to work great plus it's free. Photos seem to draw attention to my web site and blogs so I was happy when I finally figured out how to embed the slideshow. I am trying to dedicate several hours per day on the improvement of my website and blogs so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. www.sandymyrtlebeach.com

According to lenders a condotel is just about any condo that has an on-site short-term rental (daily or weekly) with a check-in / check-out service involved.  Some lenders even consider off-site check-in / check-out for short-term rental as a bad mortgage risk.  For those who are considering the purchase of a condo on the ocean there are some fantastic values available but loans for a mortgage have become a day-to-day event.

When considering an ocean front condo purchase in Myrtle Beach or anywhere else plan ahead.  If planning to obtain a mortgage first ask your Realtor if they know of a lender who is local to the area of interest.  If unable to locate a lender located in the area of the potential condo purchase try the present principal home mortgage company or a company used in the past.  Some may also want to consider a home equity loan if they qualify.

I know of two places where you might try to get a mortgage on a condo in Myrtle Beach:

Investors Mortgage and RBC  

Myrtle Beach SC Real Estate

 

www.real-estate-blogs.com/

During the past year many conversations I've had and even blogged about focused on the fact that many real estate buyers changed their mind about a purchase after they heard the evening news.  Then a few weeks ago I was talking with several people who said they no longer watched the news on TV because they did not want to hear only bad news.  We all agreed that you never hear anything positive on the News.

A couple of days ago I heard something about a TV News Anchor that talked about good things that had happened to his viewers.  I thought I was hearing things wrong but I was not.  Brian Williams deserves a big THANK YOU!

 

 

www.SandyMyrtleBeach.com

Anyone who has had to relocate, purchased a vacation home or investment property knows that it is not easy to find a perfect place when you do not have complete knowledge of the real estate search area. Many times even if we have visited a place for years we really do not know as much as we think we know. I became aware of not really knowing the area several times, once moving to Florida and the second moving to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Both locations were routine vacation favorites but I found out that there was still a need to find someone with more knowledge of the area.

Your search on the internet is only the beginning because the listings you see are usually links or feeds from the actual Multiple Listing Service (MLS) plus they may not contain the information you need for comparisons such as, heated square footage or monthly POA/HOA fees. In most States, if not all, only those who are paid members of their local Board of Realtors have access to the real-time complete information contained in an MLS real estate listing. As you know, every real estate listing is an "advertisement" to entice you to want that property so treat them as your first step in your purchase process.

What should you do when the time comes to physically look at real estate? (Choose A. or B.)

A. Make an appointment with each of the Seller's real estate agents to view a property knowing that by law they must act in the best interest of their client.

B. Find a Realtor who will act in your best interest at no cost to you, who can show you all the properties that you want to see and, if you have made a wise choice, will normally save you time and money on your real estate purchase.

If "B." was your choice you have done your homework and you will soon be the envy of the real estate know-it-all that has regrets.

Your Realtor will now help you search based on the criteria you provide.  Viewing properties may take days, weeks, or even years but somewhere out there is your perfect piece of real estate at the perfect price.  One thing to remember is stay in contact with your Realtor and tell them your likes and dislikes about the real estate you view.  Without that knowledge you may get bogged down with property listings of no interest.

If you plan to mortgage a property in an area away from your present primary residence you will need a lender with an office in the area of your new purchase.  Ask your Realtor for a list of resources.

Your Realtor should coordinate activity between the lender and (South Carolina) a closing Attorney.  If closing is done in-person your Realtor should also accompany you to carry out their purpose of acting in your best interest.

If you have found yourself a terrific Realtor they remain available to help by accepting deliveries or meeting service people when you are out-of-state or in the process of relocating.

www.sandymyrtlebeach.com                      www.real-estate-blogs.com/

     After talking to other Realtors around the country and here in Myrtle Beach, we all came to the same conclusion, "We've been working with the Vanishing Buyer". 

     The majority of my clients are from states north or west of South Carolina, they take the time and effort to travel to this area with the sole intent of looking for real estate.  We view multiple properties and they find the perfect place.  Then I hear, "We'll call you tomorrow if we decide to make an offer" or "We're going home to work on our finances before we make an offer".  Poof! They vanish without a phone call or email returned.

     In a few minutes I am going to send my "Vanishing Buyer's" an email, not to fuss at them for vanishing but just to let them know that I'm here when they feel comfortable and that not only do I understand their decision to wait I'm glad they made the decision.  My reason for feeling that way is simple, if I can do anything to help detour a purchase that a Buyer would quickly regret that's fine with me.  Since I believe in "What goes around - comes around" not one of my Buyer Clients who made a purchase during the "real estate boom" has serious regrets about their purchase and in the long run that will be to my benefit.   

Several years ago I thought about rolling my IRA into a Self Directed IRA because I had heard you could use your IRA to invest in real estate.   I put that idea on the shelf since my IRA fund was doing fine.  Yesterday I revisited the idea when I found information on the National Association of Financial & Estate Planning (NAFEP) web site that could help some of us who are losing money in our 401(k) and IRA plans.   I suggest you also look at other sources of information about Self Directed investments but NAFEP is a good starting point.

Since the cost of real estate is very low and many retirement plans have suffered losses it may be time to think outside the box:

Self Directed 401(k) offers a wider range of investment choices which includes tax free real estate investing. You become the Trustee of your fund and you self direct investments on behalf of your 401(k);

Self Directed IRA offers a wider range of investment choices which includes income and tax deferral for growth on investments.  Direct ownership and checkbook control of all plan assests and monies plus capital gains deferral;

I also want to mention there is a plan called Self Directed Installment Sale for selling real estate, a business, or assets from a C or S Corporation. 

All of the above plans involve setting up a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) which is really very simple. A search in your State's official web site may bring up an on-line application.  If not look for information where to file the articles of incorporation.  There are also places that will help you get the paperwork done and filed.  On the NAFEP web site for the Self Directed 401(k) they will create an LLC or C-Corp for you.  

Even though you can not simply create an LLC and roll you IRA into or 401(k) into a bank account you've created.  The process does not involve much more effort.  In the case of the IRA you will need to find a company which is approved as a custodian for Self Directed IRA accounts.  Shop around on the web by using "Google" search.

www.sandymyrtlebeach.com                   www.real-estate-blogs.com/  

You may not think this Blog is relevant to real estate but it could be at some point in time.

Anyone who has a bird feeder will thank you for telling them about my simple and low cost squirrel proofing solution.

For many years I have had a bird feeder in my yard.  During those years the squirrels have dumped the seed out, chewed through the feeder to get the seed, and climbed into "squirrel proof" feeders that cost a fortune.  Hanging the feeder from a pole away from the house and trees wasn't the answer, neither was spraying the pole with PAM, nothing worked.  

Four months ago the latest feeder pole was beginning to bend from the weight of the smiling squirrels.   I was in a home improvement store when I walked through the plumbing section and noticed the PVC pipe.  The cost was a fraction of replacing or trying to fix the feeder pole so I just estimated its diameter and found a pre-cut 5' long piece that looked large enough to fit over the existing pole.  Our squirrels now just root around on the ground under the feeder. 

Four months and 100% effective = A squirrel proof bird feeder fix for a couple of dollars.