Buying a home in Charleston is an exhilarating and rewarding experience. This part of South Carolina is gorgeous, with exciting food, top-notch properties, and numerous fun things to do. If you're looking at properties online, you should know that the price you see is not the final price you'll pay. In slower markets, you can negotiate a discount; in hot markets, you may need to pay above the asking price. However, regardless of the market, the buyer and the seller must pay some fees and closing costs.
The good news is that these fees are not significant. The bad news is that most of these fees are unavoidable (or unadvisable...
Many prospective buyers want to know their property tax liability when buying a home. After all, most mortgages estimate both property tax and home insurance and add that to the monthly payment (the money goes into an escrow account the bank uses to pay the property tax bill). If you buy a home with a significant property tax rate, your monthly payment will be higher. You may have heard that South Carolina property tax rates are among the absolute lowest in the United States. They are, indeed, low.
However, it's still important to understand what type...
It's undeniable that Charleston is one of the best places to live in the United States. With sandy beaches, warm weather, and some of the best cuisine you'll find anywhere in this country, Charleston has a long, rich history of being a desirable destination. With COVID enabling the flexibility to work remotely for many professionals, Charleston has seen a resurgence in popularity, with many looking to trade the cold climate and high cost of living for the sunshine that Charleston provides. However, don't take our word for it - you should know that when you ask yourself, "why should I buy a home in Charleston," the data backs up the obvious answer: yes, you should.
Here are five great data-backed reasons why taking the...
"Inflation." It's the word everyone is suddenly talking about, from economists on TV to people surprised by the prices at the local Publix market. There are good reasons for this - the latest inflationary numbers are not encouraging, with the CPI now up to 9.1%! Given that many of our prospective buyers and sellers haven't ever dealt with real estate in an environment like this before, we thought it would be helpful to do a blog on home price appreciation vs. inflation rate and see how they work together. Also, let's look at which one is higher (that is, will your home go up more than...
Those new to the homebuying process, or those who haven't bought a home in a while, know just how dizzying the terminology surrounding homes, offers, and purchase contracts can be. You'll hear your real estate agent talk about many different things, and you might be surprised when the offer you submit is many pages long and not just something simple like "I'll buy this house for $200,000." Part of the reason offers are so long is that they represent a formal well-tested legal contract that gives you, the buyer, a fair shot at acquiring your dream Charleston home. Part of the legal protections the agreement provides is one or...
The COVID-19 pandemic altered many people's financial lives. Indeed, some comfortable homeowners working diligently to pay off their loans suddenly found themselves unable to work. However, even though the work may have stopped, the mortgage still kept going. When Congress passed the CARES Act, homeowners with conventional, FHA, VA, or USDA loans who had financial impacts from the pandemic could request mortgage forbearance. Essentially, this term means that you stop the monthly payments of the mortgage with the promise that you will pay back the amount later. Not needing to make these monthly payments gave some homeowners relief and protection from foreclosure during...
Anyone following the Charleston housing market knows how much prices have gone up over the past year. Indeed, in January of 2020, the median price of a Charleston-area home was around $340,000. Now, that average is about $411,000. Those with keen math senses will immediately recognize that increase is about 20%. In one year, that's a significant boost to property values!
The fact that properties have gone up so much has made some would-be homeowners nervous that they're buying at the top of a bubble. In other words, they believe that we've hit the peak of this market, and there's nowhere else to go but down.
While nobody has a crystal ball that can predict the future, most of the indicators that we do have show that Charleston is not...