This time of life can be one of the most stressful times in your relationship, especially if you are not both in tune of your wants and needs BEFORE you start looking!

Here are some of my suggestions that couples buying their first home together should do to help them understand the wants and needs of their partner. 

Answer these items separately and then together.  Determine what is going to work best for you as a couple, and then share your results with a licensed Realtor that you have researched and chosen to represent you in your purchase.

This list may seem long, but these are all items that crop up in a purchase of a home. 

The first and most important item to consider is your f...

Renting Versus Buying

Not everyone needs to be nor wants to be a home owner and that is ok.  Don't get pressured into doing something that isn't right for you!  Take the time to research and get to feel comfortable with your decision!

First - take a look at a rent vs buy calculator -  make sure that your goals and lifestyle are important for home ownership. 

Second - Find out if you are financially able to purchase a home. 

When people think of working with someone in the real estate industry, they often just use the word REALTOR®, not being aware that all real estate sales people are not REALTORS®.   Everyone who has an active real estate license can work with you on buying or selling property.  Why is that distinction important?  And what exactly is a REALTOR®?

A REALTOR® is someone who belongs to the National Association of REALTORS®.  In SC, those individuals actually go through a day of training and then get sworn in.  When they raise their right hand, they are promising to abide by a Code of Ethics, and if they disobey that code, they can be brought before a Professional Standards Committee and go thr...

 In my last blog I wrote about Agency and how it affects you.  This time I would like to explain what happens when one company represents both sides of a transaction.

The general public looks at an individual who works in the real estate industry and immediately thinks of that person as a real estate “agent”.  Even we in the industry call everyone agents.  However, under the Law of Agency, the actual “agent” is the Broker-in-Charge of a company (BIC) or, in the case of a large company; it could be the Broker-in-Charge of a particular branch office of that company.   The sales associates who work for that BIC actually represent the BIC – they are not the “agent” in the transaction.  ...

When you start working with a real estate agent, one of the very first things the agent should explain to you is the Law of Agency, and how it affects you.  If you have never bought a home before or did so prior to the mid 1990s, chances are you have no idea of what this means.   

Even though the way that agency is practiced differs from state to state, the basic concept of agency is the same everywhere.   How parties are being represented in a transaction.

In almost every state, state law dictates a real estate agent has to represent at least one party in a transaction.    For example, let’s say that you are searching for a house and have not agreed to be represented by the agent that ...

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OK, you see a Realtor’s business card and there are letters behind or under their name.  What in the world do they mean?  They look like alphabet soup don’t they? 

Well, first off, these letters let you know right off that no matter what they mean, you have found a Realtor who takes their education and knowledge extremely serious.  As Realtors we are not required to keep massive amounts of hours in classroom or webinar studies.  But, those of us that truly care about our clients will take the time and expense to make our knowledge base broader, deeper and better so that we can offer more tangible experience and information to any transaction to you. 

You are hiring us to help with one o...

So you want to buy a great property for next to nothing?  Well, this is a good fantasy!  HOWEVER, don't get disappointed, with a little time and a lot of patience you can be the owner of a good property at a great price!

You just have to realize that the properties that are listed are at today's current market value for the most part.   The listing agent and the banks have worked together to finalize a fair asking price.  Yes, sometimes they are a little high, but that is where your REALTOR, which you should always use, comes in.  They need to be able to research the current market, check out the non-MLS sales and compare those with the MLS sales giving you the best possible selection of...