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.  ...