Posts by : Alan Donald

The $25 Billion Settlement With Mortgage Lenders: What Does It Mean To Homeowners?

On Thursday the five major mortgage lenders reached a $25 Billion settlement deal with the federal government to compensate homeowners for their abuses in the mortgage lending industry. The settlement with  Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Financial (formerly GMAC) has three components that may help borrowers in distress:

1. Former Borrowers Who Lost Their Home to Foreclosure

These people may get $1500 to $2000 each as compensation for "improper" foreclosure proceedings.

Who is eligible? Borrowers whose mortgages were serviced by one of these five banks (notes could have ...

HUD ANNOUNCES NEW REVERSE MORTGAGE OPTION

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced a new modified version of its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) product. The HECM loan is a reverse mortgage insured by the federal government.

It allows seniors (one of the home owners needs to be 62 or older) to tap into their equity of their home to BUY ANOTHER HOME, cover living expenses and health care costs or have spending money while continuing to live in their home without having to make the mortgage payments that are required with a traditional mortgage or equity loan. 

Up until now, BB&T's CHIP loan has been one of the few options that still provides the ability to borrow 100% loan-to-value for certain geographic areas that included Cainhoy, Hanahan and parts of Ladson, Summerville and Goose Creek. Therefore, buyers who were able to negotiate for seller-paid closing costs can purchase a home with no money down, provided (they and the property) are eligible. 

On December 5th, BB&T changed the eligibility parameters for their CHIP loans. Here are the new guidelines:

New guidelines (Highlights) starting Dec 5th

• Income limits will apply for all properties
• Over 97% loan to value 80% applicant must be below median HUD income = $49,760 (for total househo...

Foreclosures Heat Up In SC!

Due partially to the fact that the Supreme Court of SC determined at the beginning of the year that lenders MUST PROVE that they tried working a loan modification or deed en lieu with homeowners BEFORE they file for foreclosure, our foreclosure rates have been relatively low since May.

However, lenders have now figured out the necessary steps and paperwork to prove to the courts their efforts, and as a result we are going to see many more foreclosures (that should have happened 6-8 months before) coming our way. RealtyTrac (see map below) shows South Carolina as a one of the "high density" areas for foreclosures.

While this is not good news for the market in...

Charleston Real Estate Market Shows Strength and Stability in 2011

Sales Volume Up, Stability in Median Price, Inventory moves to new 5-year Low

According to preliminary figures released by The Charleston Trident Association of REALTORS® (CTAR) 648 homes sold at a median price of $191,500 in November, while inventory declined again to reach a new low of 7,258 homes listed as actively for sale.

Last November, 588 homes sold at a median price of $189,700 as inventory stood nearly 20% higher than the current level.  “The continued decline of inventory is an important factor in maintaining the stability and health of our local market, as we anticipate the addition of bank-owned inventory in th...

FHA-Approved Condos in Mount Pleasant, SC

An issue that has derailed more than one condo purchase transaction is the eligibility that a particular condominium project has for FHA mortgage insurance. According to the HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development - where FHA is housed): "A condominium project must be approved before applications for FHA mortgage insurance can be processed for individual units."

Here is the current list of APPROVED condominium projects in Mount Pleasant, SC. 

• GREYSTONE AT SNEE FARM
• HIBBEN FERRY
• SANDPIPER POINTE
• WATERFORD
• EAST BRIDGE LOFTS
• BAY CLUB HOMES
• HERITAGE VILLAGE
• ETIWAN POINTE
• SUMMER'S BEND
• REMINGTON FOREST
• HERITAGE AT DUNES WEST
• TH...

No Showings? No Offers? What to do?

In this  (declining or "buyer's") market, sellers need to pay close attention to the response the market gives them as soon as they place their home on the market. This video explains part of the "psychology" of the market, where monitoring traffic and offers becomes an essential element to get homes sold at a top market price in a short time:

Wish to sell? Contact the home selling experts today!

Recent Home Sales in Mount Pleasant, SC

The Post & Courier reported the following recent home sales in Mount Pleasant:

1. James and Helen Berg sold Unit J, 507 Ventura Place, Ventura Villas to Shirley Light Pearson for $150,000.
2. Charles S. Goodman and Lonna C. Lee sold 2019 Andover Way, Arlington at Park West to John N. Flack for $290,000.
3. J. Theodore and Janice M. Venable sold 19 Ellen Ave., Brookgreen Meadows to Margaret R. and Peter M. Gerling for $162,500.
4. Dionne G. and David E. Robinson sold 1541 Cypress Pointe Drive, Cypress Pointe to John and Kirsten Hatcher for $269,000.
5. Lot 2125 Sewee LLC sold 2125 Sewee Indian Court, Dunes West to Robert Alan and Oksana V. Andersen for $155...

What is The "Earnest Money" Deposit?

The earnest money deposit is a "show of good faith" that underscores the buyer's seriousness of purpose and gives confidence to the seller to be able to take the property off the market during the "due diligence" or escrow period (from contract to closing, usually 30-45 days).

The buyer's earnest money check is not deposited in an escrow account until there is a signed and accepted (i.e. "ratified") contract, and will be governed by state law handling of escrow accounts.

When we represent buyer clients, we usually include 6 contingencies that our clients can use to release a contract "with cause" and get their earnest money deposit refunded ...

Mount Pleasant CONDO & TOWNHOME Market: Still a Buyer's Market!

The real estate market for condominium and townhome (single family attached) properties in Mount Pleasant is slowly getting better, but is still very much a Buyer's market. 

During the last 12 months inventory declined from 370 units to 288 units. While we are currently sitting at around 11 month's inventory (compared to 23 months' inventory 2 years ago), the basics of supply and demand dictate that property prices are still experiencing downward pressure (this trend will continue until we get to a 6-month inventory level, which is considered a "neutral market").

Many condominium and townhome communities have also been a...

This month's HOMEOWNER'S Monthly from B-Sure Home Inspections had these tips that I believe in. If Sellers heed this advice then they will find many fewer issues with repair requests coming from the Buyers.

Top 10 Repairs to Make Before a Home Inspection

1. Prune overgrown vegetation
2. Clean the gutters
3. Replace dirty furnace filters
4. Install missing covers of electrical outlets and switch junction boxes
5. Replace/check smoke alarms
6. Replace burned out light bulbs
7. Replace wax seals under leaky toilets
8. Replace loose of missing insulation in the crawl space and/or attic
9. Properly terminate all electrical splices in covered junction boxes

If you are thinking of selling your home, we offe...

Mount Pleasant (SC) real estate market continues its steady improvement and inventory reduction.

Although in September sales were a bit slower (123 sales compared to 147 sales in August) the same number of homes were sold this year than in September 2010 (122). 

The slowing down in monthly sales is a "normal" seasonal slowdown that is experienced after the busy Summer season. 

As the attached table shows, the "bottom" of the real estate market (under $500K) in Mount Pleasant shows a "balanced" market, where prices are now largely stable. 

Higher priced homes (over $500,000) have seen a slight increased in activity, with 258 homes changing hands in the last 12 months (compared with 2...

The Alan Donald Real Estate Team is now a member of MilitaryReferrals.com. In order to provide our real estate relocation services to members of the U.S Armed Forces including Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and SPAWAR. 

Looking for an effective real estate team to help you?

Call Us! We understand your situation and will provide excellent references from military clients. 

Distressed properties normally go through 3 stages. Each has different advantages and disadvantages. 

Mount Pleasant (SC) Real Estate Update - Fewer Listings, Lower Inventory!

The Mount Pleasant residential real estate market continues moving forward toward recovery:

The Charleston Trident Association of Realtors reported for Lower Mt Pleasant (Area 42) a 30.1% decrease in the number of new listings and 31.7% change in inventory of available homes, with a 1.5% increase in closed sales for the month of August, 2011.

For Upper Mt Pleasant these numbers were 22.4% decrease in new listings, 22.3% decrease in inventory and a 10.1% increase in closed sales!

These numbers reflect what we (active Mt Pleasant Realtors) have been saying for a while: The Mount Pleasant real estate...

Top 10 Tips When Selling a Home

Selling a home in a down economy can be a painstaking decision. Use the following 10 tips when selling a home to get the most out of your investment.

Home Selling Tip #1: Hire a reputable real estate agent.

Selling a home can be stressful, and you want a reliable real estate agent you can trust to take some of the burden of selling a home off your hands.

Home Selling Tip #2: Give your home curb appeal.

When selling a home, you need to keep your home looking its best. If a buyer is turned off by what your home looks like from the street, you will never get him or her inside to look around. Clean up your lawn, patch brown spots in the grass, clear si...

Time is a scarce resource. When you are searching for the right home, it pays to have the best technology tools at your disposal! We are now offering a new service: Automatic daily, weekly or bi-weekly alerts, which sends all new listings that fit your search criteria AUTOMATICALLY to your email. So you don't have to spend as much time looking online, or starting from scratch every time you sit down to search.

If you would like to set up your own listing alert, please visit our sister website, FindHomesInCharleston.com . Just click on "My Tools" and scroll down to "My Alerts.

You are renting. You pay on time. Your landlord loves you! You know it may be a good time to buy...but you have heard all these horror stories about people who bought and got burned... What should you do??

1. Keep renting. Pluses: Flexibility to move - after the lease expires. Minuses: You are paying someone else's mortgage but not building up your net worth. Your rent may go up in a year. You cannot customize the place to your taste. And they give you a hard time if you want pets/visitors, etc. ...

2. Purchase. Market conditions are very favorable, the affordability index is high (super-low interest rates, prices are low and very negotiable), tax benefits of owning a home (lower your t...