5 Things First-Time Home Buyers Need to Know About Mortgages

5 Things First-Time Home Buyers Need to Know About Mortgages

Purchasing a home is one of the most significant investments you will make in your lifetime, and getting a mortgage is the most common way people finance their homes. However, for first-time home buyers, the mortgage process can be overwhelming. From understanding the terms to navigating the various options available…

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2023: 5 Expert Predictions for the Housing Market

2023: 5 Expert Predictions for the Housing Market

The last three years have been a whirlwind with the housing market going from scorching hot to icy cold quicker than Harry and Megan could cash in on a deal w/ Netflix! So what does the housing market have in store for the year to come?!?

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2022: Real Estate By the Numbers

2022: Real Estate By the Numbers

What a year. By all accounts one of the most interesting on record in terms of the overall housing market.

While much has been made in the news, here’s what the numbers have told us…

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How We Sell Charleston Homes Faster, For More

How We Sell Charleston Homes Faster, For More

This takes us back to 2018 to a property in Sullivans Island South Carolina we sold after it had been listed with 3 different agencies over the course of 2 years and could not achieve the desired price or make it to the closing table. I love this video because so much of what we did with this home set the foundation for other listings moving forward. We story told through video, design and a marketing package 99% simply can not produce. Even after several years in the rear view, so much of what I was preaching in 2018 has only been refined and what we deliver on today!

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5 Must-Do Tax Deductions When Selling a Home

5 Must-Do Tax Deductions When Selling a Home

In 2022 I’m willing to bet most of you spend an absurd amount of time asking yourself ‘are tax deductions when selling a home?’

Of course you don’t. After the past 2 years, you’re just trying to figure out which way is up, how to not get canceled or hoping the kids don’t call you a Boomer for not having a Tik Tok account. Frankly most of us don’t think of this until the time comes or the tax man comes calling. Fortunately for you, and if you’re reading this, there are a few things you can (and should do) to keep your hard earned equity in your pocket after the yard sign says ‘SOLD’.

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Charleston Market: Looking Ahead As We Open From COVID-19

Charleston Market: Looking Ahead As We Open From COVID-19

During crisis we all want to know what the future holds. Some for security, some for peace of mind and others for opportunity. Regardless of why you’re seeking answers I often find it useful to gather as much information as possible from trusted news sources, opinions from some of you and telling data sets before drawing any conclusions. Perhaps it’s the little bit of retention I have left from Econ classes long since forgotten over a decade ago, but this data gathering has always served well.

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2018 Thank You

My very small thank you for all you fine people who make doing what I do possible.

I have no lengthy, pontificating, version of this post other than to say: Thank you.

From me, to You and Yours a very Happy and Safe Holiday.

Cheers

Local Spotlight: Helen Hall (Hustle Smoothie Bar)

A sit down with Charleston Smoothie Queen, inventor of the Blender Bomb, owner of Hustle Smoothie Bar and friend, Helen Hall. We discuss Helen's rise, passion for all things health and (of course) how to make the perfect smoothie. 

 

5 Things Under $100 to Sell Your Home for More

Spring is here and a lot of you are getting ready to sell your homes. Many of my listing appointments I end up imparting a lot of the same advice to folks looking to sell there homes. Here’s a few handy tips on how to make your home more appealing to buyers for under $100.

1.) Double Check the Curb Appeal
    
Whether you like it or not perspective home buyers will be flipping through 100s of properties and occasionally driving by them so the curb appeal is going to be the first thing they notice and draws them in. So make sure it’s photo ready!

Spruce up exterior, power wash, fresh pine straw, potted plants, clean/paint front door and swap any dated hardware

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2.) Light Bulb Check
    
Whether seem like minutia, but if you want your home to tell perspective agents and their buyers you didn’t take good care of the home, give them subconscious  hints like dirty lighting fixtures or burnt out bulbs. Simple fix that will go a long way in to alleviating any surface level concerns and negate the question, ‘if they didn’t tend to the small things we can see, what may be hiding under the surface?’

3.) Paint and Spot Touch Up
    
Want to know every Agent’s trick to fixing something that looks old and tired? Spot touch ups and neutral paint go a long way into breathing some life into a pre-owned home regardless of how hard a certain space has been used.

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4.) Deep Deep Clean and Declutter
    
There’s no quicker way to turn off a perspective buyer entering home than a dirty space, w/ odd smells or cluttered rooms. Buyers will decide within 15 seconds of seeing a home whether they’d buy it or not. So don’t give them a reason not to in the last 5 when they open the door. Clean the baseboards, appliances, swap the air filters and deep clean the bathrooms/kitchens where. Also if you’re living in the home, that’s fine, but you’re going to be moving so it’s time to put a lot of the excess in boxes so buyers can focus on the space and not your family vacation to Wyoming 2014.

5.) Organize the Garage

You know why i love selling homes for engineers and mechanics? Most of the time their garages are the most organized space in the house. Most use it as the space where they store excess and becomes cluttered quickly. We’re going to keep playing on the buyer subconscious here, in that a clean and tidy garage says ‘I’ve kept up the space where most keep the dirtiest/disorganized, so clearly I've kept the rest of the home in tip top shape’. Think about it, at this point the other homes prospective buyers have seen will be the place of dirty lawn mowers, boxes of Christmas decorations thrown haphazardly on a shelf, and tools thrown about. If this one space stands apart from the rest, it's yet another reason to choose your home over another.

These are some of the most common I find from home to home that will help set yours apart and cost you mostly time. There are (of course), many more things you can do to prepare your home for sale (and should), but these easy tips will set you apart from most and get your home sold just a bit quicker.

For More Tips and Ideas on your home email, text, DM or follow me at any of the following...

 
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A Rant: Millennials and RE Culture

A Rant: Millennials and RE Culture

We've all got our favorite home show/s, but as an agent here's what I've heard on the ground level from my clients, friends and family that I'm constantly correcting. Your home is a commodity first and (maybe) an investment second... and please don't believe everything you hear on HGTV.

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Where & Why: Hamby Catering & Events

Where & Why: Hamby Catering & Events

A catering and events company located in West Ashley with a storied history and bright future. This sit down offers some insight to why Hamby Catering & Events has flourished as a business and delighted it's customers with incredible bites by simply listening.

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Short Term Rentals. Progressive or Pest?

Short Term Rentals. Progressive or Pest?

If you live in Charleston, this is likely a topic you're aware of. As Condé Nast's top city for several years, of course people want to come visit. Tourism has and always will be a big part of the Charleston economy, but a city that has allowed the build of mega-hotel projects (and thus altered the landscape and culture of downtown) is now slapping some of the harshest planned policy regarding short term rentals.

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