The pandemic has impacted most of the aspects of our everyday life, from the smaller details to the big events, like buying a home. As expected, buying a home during a pandemic is quite the different affair. But what, exactly, should you expect from the process? 

Everyone thought that the pandemic and the resulting recession would lead to another housing crash, but surprise – the real estate market is positively booming. There have been more homes sold in 2020 than the previous year, and the years before that. What you can expect is stiff competition, low mortgage rates, high prices, and a lot of time spent Zooming. 

Mortgage rates are collapsing

The good news is that mortgage rates ha...

Getting started in the real estate business with video is a great way to build assets. If you are a brand new Realtor, or even a seasoned vet looking for ways to find listings in real estate… (or if you just want to be more helpful to buyers out there), then give this a watch!

In this short video I provide a few real estate tips for beginners explaining how to get real estate referrals. It’s a simple way to skills, and is great if you are just getting started in real estate.

One of the biggest questions I get from out of town buyers coming into Charleston have nothing to do with the actual house themselves, nor the neighborhood.

What about Alligators in Charleston?

Well, we are in the lowcountry, and there are swampy areas around and these age old dinosaur like reptiles do still exist in the world...so the quick answer is YES, we have them.

With that being said, I have lived here my entire life and the only person I have ever heard of that has been attacked by an alligator was my second grade teacher. Mrs. Stevens was golfing one day and was fishing her ball out of a pond and got bit in the leg pretty badly. She had a bunch of stitches, but she survived ...

(Part 3 in a Series of Multiple Posts About Investing in Charleston SC Real Estate)

I have had the opportunity to help many invest in Charleston SC real estate. In fact, most of them did not know they were investors at the time. They were just buying a house because they needed a place to live.

So why do I say I was helping them invest?

Well, housing has been an integral part of long term wealth building for many years. After the world wars, it sort of happened by default. There was a steady rise in house values, with a few dips and valleys along the way.

For many years real estate was viewed as a long term investment and the 2-3% rise each year was a great return on investment over t...

(Part 2 of a Multi Part Blog Series on Investing in real estate in Charleston SC)

Well, the real estate in Charleston SC has been quite the picture show since I have been involved. I remember being a young buck. The year was 1995. Fresh out of college. I was ready to  embark on a new career. The future; bright, shiny, full of wonder.  Investing my time in this new career in real estate in Charleston SC was an exciting prospect for me at the time.

But looking back, getting a license to sell real estate in Charleston SC might as well have been a license to get married, or go just fishing. I really did not know what I was doing. I just knew I liked meeting people, I love being creative, I have...

(Part 1 of a Series of Articles about Investing in Charleston SC Real Estate)

The Charleston SC realty market is a great investment. Would I have said this in 2008? Yes. Yes, I would have. In fact, I did.

Why? First let me say that it was never meant to be a short term investment. Between 1997 and 2000 we had moderate rises in value. Normal and healthy.

From 2000 to 2004, "Come on in, the water is great!." The short term investors jumped in and the market started to ignite.

From 2004 to 2006, "Total Insanity." Buyers were fighting. People were stressed. Everywhere people talked about real estate. I had to hush someone in a movie theater because they were talking about their latest p...

Have you ever heard the analogy that this is just the tip of the iceberg? Well this applies to many scenarios in the real estate market when selling homes in Charleston South Carolina.

To expand on one, and probably the most important, is the actual buying and selling process.

If you were in a boat in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, you would see the seascape in front of you filled with icebergs. Now if you can imagine, the tips of those icebergs are all houses. Homes for sale if you will, many being in the Mount Pleasant and Charleston South Carolina market.

Finding a buyer in this market is a challenge, but compared to the details that soon follow after a contract is delivered, that is re...

The market used to be so very different in Charleston South Carolina. When I started real estate in 1995, all I remember is how things always seem to sell, and sell quickly. The next decade proved to be a whirlwind of real estate activity and, looking back in time, 1997 to 2006 showed a dramatic rise in prices. From a day-to-day perspective this meant absolute craziness. I remember sitting in movie theaters listening to conversations before the movie started. The topics were always about real estate. It seemed like everyone was trying to buy, and excited about selling. It was as if that's the way it always was. This was normal for me.  If I didn't sell in the first month, I started to thi...

I just helped a really nice young couple purchase a property. It was a really great property in the Old Mount Pleasant area, and the process was fairly streamlined and trouble-free.


They were first-time buyers, and really didn't understand a lot about the process when we first met. I've done this so much in the past, I really don't give it too much thought. After the closing I pondered how much the order of things is really important when it comes to buying a home.

Most people know that putting the cart before the horse in any endeavor is never really a good idea, so having a good understanding of the entire process is something that I focus on early on. I start by laying out a blueprint fo...

Thank goodness the appraisal problem I had last week solved itself!

If you hadn't seen the last blog post, then you may not be aware that I had an appraisal issue. Appraisal issues are not fun. In fact, everything can be going along just swimmingly and the rug can get pulled out from under everyone's hard work.

In this particular case, I had sold a house to some really nice folks and we were going through the closing process. This was no inexpensive sale, as the house was in extremely good condition and priced accordingly. (Let's just say it was near the half-million mark.) So what was the problem?  The lenders appraiser thought it was worth below the half million mark, and like a hot p...

As a follow-up to my blog post about the importance of timing with regards to buying a home in Charleston, I thought it was only fair to also comment on the schedule with sellers.

Having had thousands of listing appointments in Charleston South Carolina, I've met with many sellers from all walks of life. It seems there are two categories. (Well, three categories actually.) There are the ones that are truly motivated, the ones that can take all the time in the world to sell, and the ones that say they can take all the time in the world to sell but really are motivated. I know this sounds confusing, so I'll explain.

Category number one is easy enough. The truly motivated home sellers in Chare...

"I love it when this happens!"... A mortgage lender sent me a really great referral one day. These were not first time buyers brand new to the idea of buying a home, they were seasoned veterans. They had been living on Daniel Island, renting a house, and by carefully watching the market for a few years, they decided the time was right to purchase real estate in Mount Pleasant SC.

We started the process very quickly. I call them one weekend, and by Tuesday of the next week we were already planning to meet. 

With today's savvy buyers, things are quite different than they used to be. I used to be the holder of all information. Buyers used to come to me looking for information on what was a...

I'm selling a home in the Mount Pleasant area and I am probably dealing with the most diligent sellers I've ever had the fortune of helping. Their closing is the perfect example of “no detail is too small”, especially when it comes to termite letters in Charleston South Carolina.

The homeowners are medical professionals that have relocated to Philadelphia. Their home is in the Old Village and I knew from day one that they would be completely ready, willing and able to take care of all obstacles since the moment I met them.

The house epitomizes what buyers look for in the Old Village. A large Victorian built in 1920 that sits on a large corner lot ,with a big wraparound porch. (It's a be...

There are so many things to consider when making this very important decision. I usually lump this decision into two different categories, the first is redecorating the home for yourself, and the second is redecorating to sell which can also be considered staging. I will briefly go over my thoughts on both using my experience in both the antiques market and high end furniture. 

If you are redecorating your home and going to continue to live there, think about the big picture as well as what your current tastes are. Trends will come and go so I tend to always use a neutral base and build from there. Next I use decor items and splashes of color to highlight the rooms features. I also stay ...