The Ground is Rising! The Ground is Rising!

I grabbed that title as a play on Chicken Little.

You remember her. Plunked on the head by an acorn, she jumps to the conclusion that the sky is falling, screams her panicked phrase to anyone who will listen and thus gathers a whole gang of mis-informed followers who all run around repeating the scary, if erroneous, facts of the impending celestial collapse.

Now consider Sir Isaac Newton. He suffered an even larger catastrophe than did the aforementioned twitter-brained hen. After all, an apple is way larger and a whole lot heavier than an acorn. Had he been Chicken Little, Sir Isaac might have concluded that the whole universe was collapsing. But Newton was no chicken. Thinking through the event, Sir Isaac made some mental connections that changed the way we think about physical science forever.

The difference between the two? Chicken Little only thought about the sensation of catastrophe that her aching noggin sorely pointed to. Distracted by the immediate facts, she could not see past them. Sir Isaac ignored the immediate discomfort and looked beyond to see the big picture, put it into proper perspective and draw conclusions from which he was able to draw great benefit.

So it is with the real estate market right now.

Here are two truths about real estate right now.

1) The market it worse right now than it was a year ag0.

2) The market is way better right now than it was a year ago.

But, Jim, aren't those two "truths" completely opposite statements? And if so, how can they both be true?

Well, it depends on if you want to act like Chicken Little or Sir Isaac Newton in your approach to experiencing the world around you.

The measurables are there to say we have a worse market. Inventory is up. Ridiculous, throw-money-at-anyone-who-walks-in-the-door mortgages are gone, big corporations who made those ridiculous loans are in deep financial trouble, prices are in decline nationwide, and the press is reporting daily that things are bad. Even in this story from today's Post and Courier http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/mar/25/home_sales_rise_prices_tumble34877/ -- which has a huge element of good news in it, the slant is mostly negative.

But look at the big picture and you will see that for the first time in several years, the little guy like you and me has the market right where we want it -- at our mercy.

The media is shouting "The sky is falling" and most everyone believes it.

I am choosing to shout "The Ground is Rising!" instead.

Why is that?

The current situation is a perfect storm of opportunity. The FED keeps cutting rates to keep the banks afloat. That is keeping interest rates on 30-year fixed rate mortgages at or near historical low numbers. (Try less than 6% for an FHA loan as of this morning, according to Bank of America)

At the same time, sellers are begging for buyers like seldom before. You can get your closing costs paid for you. You can get points paid on your behalf. You can ask for the refridgerator and curtains and expect to get them. Want the place repainted before closing? Ask and ye shall receive.

And prices are coming down. Fueled by the large inventory, the law of supply and demand is working its magic on the market.

Two years ago, many buyers were dismayed that so many of the houses they thought would be reasonably within their range were, in fact, above their means.

Now, the ground is rising beneath the little guy, and things he could not reach before are suddenly within his grasp.

Bad market?

Depends on how you want to look at it.

Shameless Promotion -- 112 Bonneau Court, Irongate

Got trees? It’s a question you have to ask these days. And if you buy this house, the answer will be yes, yes, and more yes! Want yard? You can have it when you choose this home. At around three-quarters of an acre, it is one of the largest lots in a neighborhood known for large lots. Looking for privacy? Thanks to it’s cul-de-sac location, trees, huge lot and privacy fence, you might not even know you have neighbors when you move into this home. Do you demand quality? This was a custom-built home with lots of details including architectural-arched windows, hardwood floors, glass-front cabinets, and bedrooms with soaring ceilings. Plus, check out all the things the seller has done (so you won’t have to!) She added custom plantation blinds throughout the home (huge value!); installed new light fixtures in the den, dining room, hallways, baths and bedrooms; updated the kitchen with new dishwasher, microwave and faucet; upgraded the bathrooms (one got a jetted tub, another a custom walk-in shower with glass enclosure); she repainted and re-carpeted the interior of the home; added a large-capacity water heater; changed the HVAC compressor; put in the privacy fence and planted a yard full of azaleas and other flowering plants. And that isn’t even the whole list. Wow! You will love this home for its traditional style with large bedrooms and big kitchen. You will marvel at the size of the bonus room with its own full bath, and you will absolutely love the yard. The Live Oaks, Dogwoods and (just a few) Pines will cause you to whip out your contract-writing pen, because houses on lots like this in the Town of Summerville are few and far between these days. Bonneau Court is in the town, not the county – so you will not pay extra for trash pick-up or debris removal like people in the front part of the neighborhood, yet you will still be close to the Trolley Road corridor and convenient to everything. Hurry on by and be in a hurry to buy because this one is a market-beater for sure.

Seeing is believing... Click below to go to the video!

Shameless Promotion -- 339 Prestwick in Pine Forest Country Club

Read All this:

Up, up, and Away! This unbelievable Tupperway home will make you feel like you can fly. And as soon as you see this home, you will want to soar right to your agent’s office and write a contract. If you know you want quality, then you already know that the Tupper-built homes are among the finest in unbeatable Pine Forest Country Club. This all-brick plan on the sixteenth fairway is brimming with fine details, Open the front door and – SHOWTIME! The two story foyer with its arched-fan light window spills sunlight onto a wide expanse of hardwood floor. The light leads your eyes into the huge family room. You love the size. The high ceilings make you feel relaxed and welcomed. You notice the gas fireplace and imagine the ambiance that is yours at the flip of a switch. Other details pop as well. French doors draw your eye to the 12X20 screened-porch and the golf course beyond. You begin to understand the quality of construction when you notice the fine finish-carpentry framing around the dining-room arch and the kitchen pass-through opening. You feel so at home here that you will want to linger in every room – but which one? The rich blue dining room with its fine crown moulding, chair rail and expansive view suggests the plantations of old. The huge kitchen begs you to pick up the phone and ask the neighbors to come and linger over pie and coffee. Maybe it will be the front bedroom that does it for you – morning sun through the beautiful arched window filling you with cheer. There is a part of you that loves luxury and you will find it in the master suite. Tray ceilings, golf course view. Large walk-in closet. Master bath with a soaking tub and large walk-in shower. His-and-Hers vanity. Tile floor. And these are just a few of the things that will cause you to know that this one is special. Before you decide to buy it, you will also want to check out the great bonus room, the screened porch with it’s signature “George-Tupper-Plate-Rail”, the neighborhood itself with its low HOA fee and its optional amenities like tennis, swimming, and golf. See it today, then swoop in and buy it tomorrow. You will be glad you did

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Just Watch This:

Back and better than ever!

Okay, so I have been away from the blogosphere for awhile. Lots going on.

2007 has ended since my last post. The market is not as bad as the news media is painting it -- more on that later -- and 2008 is off with a bang. Just two months in, I have already had as many closings as I had for the whole first quarter last year, and I have four pending sales on the board. So as for the real estate recession, I am choosing not to participate.

One of my new commitments is to post here regularly in 2008 -- weekly at a minimum. Please watch the space for updates on the market, news on my listings and sales, comments on things that catch my eye and other fun stuff.


More to come later this week.

JB

Who else wants to spend $192,000 for a $250 repair bill?

I come from the king of cheapskates. When it came to home repair, or anything for that matter, my dad would choose whatever cost him the least.

For example the baby-poop yellow/brown paint job he put on our house while I was away at college. I went away to school, the house was white but a little flaky (is it just pets that come to resemble their owners?, and when I came back -- essence of Pampers. I'm pretty sure that paint job sparked the creation of the Board of Architectural Review in Summerville.

"Um...Dad...what happened to the house?" I asked.

"Needed painting," he said. "I had it painted."

"Did you actually see the color before it went on?"

"Nope," he said proudly. "I just called the paint store and told them to send over whatever they had that was cheap."

And so we lived in the re-strained apricot palace until I moved there and changed it back to white in 1992. Luckily for Dad, he didn't have to go through the normal sales process to get rid of that house.

Turns out, my Dad was actually not unique in regards to choosing paint or contractors. I often run into sellers who want to "save money" by letting the low bidder, a random handyman, their neighbor or their brother-in-law do repairs on the house after inspections. Anything to save a dollar or two. This often leads to disaster.

I have one like that this week. A seller picked somebody who "does a little work on the side" repair some rotten foundation wood near his fireplace. Mr."On-the-Side" botched the job. The work was unacceptable, the buyer unhappy and the clock ticking towards closing. The whole $192,000 sale was teetering on the brink of collapse over four-feet of floor joists.

Fortunately, in rode the Realtor. I got an actual contractor over there who undid the damage and fixed things correctly for $250. The closing was back on track, but it could have been way worse.

So even though I come from the cheap end of the DNA pool, my advice to sellers is always: Spend the Money to Make Sure Things are Right the First Time. Hire an actual contractor. Get an invoice that says in detail what was actually done. Also, have him write a letter saying that the repairs were done in response to specific items mentioned in the buyer's inspection, and that those items are now in good order.

Take these simple steps, and a happy closing awaits you. Cheap out, and you might be stuck with whatever waits inside the diaper!

I love this house. I love this neighborhood!

Realtors love to list in Gahagan because it holds value well and sells well. Buyers love Gahagan because it is a very friendly place, the schools are good, and it is close to everything (just one or two turns off the Berlin G!) They also love Gahagan because it is an established neighborhood with larger lots than they can find in the newer neighborhoods. It's really kind of a 'tweener neighborhood. It's old enough for the large lots, but big enough where the house designs are pretty modern.

This listing is a perfect buy right now. It is actually the best price in the neighborhood as of this posting. The house is brick all the way around with vinyl eaves and soffet, so it should be really easy to maintain. The seller is in the process of replacing the windows, a project he committed to before they found their "dream house" in town and decided to sell.

Inside, the floorplan is fairly open with a large-eat-in kitchen that opens onto a huge family room. The family room has very tall ceilings, plus built-in bookcases and a fireplace.

The three bedrooms are good sizes, and the large bonus room gives space for playroom, office, guest room, or whatever.

Hey, don't spend time reading all this. Take a look at the photos and then e-mail me for an appointment. Enjoy!

New video coming soon. 404 Factors Walk in Gahagan

This is a really nice place. Check here soon for the video, which is in the works now.