Whether you just matched, relocated or simply moving from one side of town to the other for a new opportunity, congratulations!
Finding Your Home, Should be Easy
Your time is valuable. If you’re like most of our other MD friends, you likely have loans to pay and lots of hours to work. Now you also have to find a roof to put over your head. There’s plenty of noise and misinformation out there regarding housing. The goal of this page is to help expedite that process for you.
Where Do You Start?
The following 4 questions are designed to help you determine what will work best for your circumstance. Sine an ENT Resident, a Pediatric Surgeon and a 1st year student will all have different goals, time frames and preferences. So, let’s start by answering the following:
Is renting or buying better for you?
Where may I search for either?
What is a Doctor’s Loan?
If I buy, how do I do it?
Renting vs Buying
The age old question in real estate and the first one to answer. Lots of folks love the idea of purchasing to start building equity toward a property and selling in a few years to make a nice gain. The reality is due to things like closing costs, paying more toward interest the first few years of a loan and your anticipated time of ownership, it may be advantageous to rent. To be frank, even if you want to purchase, but you’re brand new to town and do not know the difference between Johns Island, Daniel Island and Mount Pleasant a few phone calls with me and home showings are not going to make you realize the vast difference between each area. Renting for your first year would be highly recommended. As an agent, I only make an income off commissions from home sales, but it does not make sense for everyone. Below are a few quick links
Why Rent in Charleston?
Lots of folks love the idea of purchasing to start building equity toward a property and selling in a few years to make a nice gain. The reality is due to things like closing costs, paying more toward interest the first few years of a loan and your anticipated time of ownership, it may be advantageous to rent. To be frank, even if you want to purchase, but you’re brand new to town and do not know the difference between Johns Island, Daniel Island and Mount Pleasant a few phone calls with me and home showings are not going to make you realize the vast difference between each area. Renting for your first year would be highly recommended.
Also, unlike larger metro areas, in Charleston agents do not make anything by showing rentals, so it’s usually easiest to schedule on your own. The usual big search sites will have many options, but a few local links I’ve found useful for other medical professionals:
Why Buy in Charleston?
If you know the area, anticipate being here for a few years, then purchasing a property may be for you. The area has always been a destination for vacationers and retirees alike, but now consistently ranked as one of the top destinations for professionals. Growth in technology, auto manufacturing and the port has made Charleston a target for businesses, investment and individuals looking for a blend of both opportunity and quality of life. Projections say the area will surpass 1,000,000 in population sometime before 2030.
So if carving out your piece of Charleston is appealing, buying may be for you! There are a lot of Brokerages and agents that claim to be ‘experts’ on assisting medical professionals, but the process is the same whether you are an RN, a MD or a PA. The main difference as a MD you qualify for Doctor Loan (100% financing) through several lending institutions.
Quick Tools for Rentals
MUSC Housing Search Board - Good for locating other medical pros, furnished units and roommates.
CL Charleston Rentals - Still the #1 spot to find rentals for non-property managed rentals
Quick Tools for Buying
Home Buying 101 - Unfamiliar with the process? Here’s the basics of how to begin the purchase process
CHS Homes for Sale - Mobile app of the entire Charleston market in one simple UI experience
Why a Doctor Loan?
As a Physician, lenders and banks are thrilled to give you a mortgage, especially if you have a high credit score. From their perspective, you have a very low risk of default on a mortgage even if you have high debt (due to student loans) or few assets. For that, several banks have designed loan programs for physicians with great interest rates and little to no money down (oh, and no Mortgage Insurance).
Many new doctors typically desire to put little money down, not use their student loan debt in their debt ratio, use future income rather than current or past income, and enable them to move in before they start their job. In a typical lending situation, most banks would not loan with this criteria, but due to the nature of Doctor’s careers and low risk of default, several banks offer these type loans.
What Banks Have Doctors Loans in Charleston?
Suntrust Bank
South State Bank
First Citizens
Regions
Each of these banks provide up to 100% financing for mortgages to Doctors and select medical professionals.
What are the Next Steps to Purchase a Home?
1.) Pre-approval with a Bank
Whether you want to go Doctors loan or conventional financing, the first step is to understand how much a bank will loan you to be able to purchase.
2.) Schedule a Time to Meet
Next, you’ll want to talk to an area expert (hopefully me) that will be able to guide you through not just the basic how-tos, but lend advice on areas and educate on the process.
3.) Begin Your Search
The fun part! Once we are armed with a pre-approval and some basic knowledge of how to purchase, we get to start actively seeing homes, opening doors and making offers!
Let’s Connect!
“It was comforting knowing we had an expert to help us find a home and not just another agent. If you want someone who is so much more than a salesmen, call Gentry and his team”
