Sandy's Blog

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.     

I can't believe what I'm about to say, "I have become a cold weather wimp".  When we lived in Maryland I thought 50 degrees was Spring and no winter coat weather. After living full-time in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for over five years if the temperature is below 60 degrees I'm putting on the heavy coat.  I have to say that this winter and last were below normal temperatures and I am ready for this weekend when we may hit 70 degrees.  I want to see more winters where my heavy coat never comes out of the closet.

Yesterday I left the house early because the weather report said clouds were moving into the Myrtle Beach area and I wanted sunshine to take pictures of a variety of real estate properties.  

My first stop was a home under construction in a community called Rivers Edge where I had helped my clients find a place for their retirement.  Whenever my clients are out-of-state I periodically take pictures when they are having a home built.

Next I headed for the ocean in North Myrtle Beach to take pictures of a fantastic condo I am getting ready to list on the MLS.  The seller failed to tell me that the condo was rented for the winter months by a family from Canada.  The front desk gained permission for me to come take pictures but the tenants and their belongings were everywhere.  I'll have to go back and take the interior pictures but the ocean front balcony view was worth the trip.

Next I was off to Charleston Landing in North Myrtle Beach to take some pictures of a lot where a builder plans to build a home that is of interest to one of my clients.

Last I had five homes within Tidewater Plantation to preview and take pictures of areas that were not in their MLS listings.

I filled an entire disk with pictures and it was a long day.