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In a foreclosure a homeowner who loses a home to foreclosure is ineligible for a Fannie Mae backed mortgage for a period of 5 years

In a short sale the homeowner who successfully negotiates and closes a short sale will be eligible for a Fanie Mae backed mortgage after only 2 years

A short sale is not reported on a credit report and is therefore not a challenge to employment

Sometimes in a successful short sale, it is possible to convince the lender to give up the right to pursue a deficiency judgement against the homeowner

PLEASE call me if you would like to purchase a short sale or bank owned property  OR if you need help with the sale of your home!

If you are thinking about purchasing a home here in downtown Charleston , Mt Pleasant, the islands or Folly Beach please give me a call!

Our partnership with Bank of America gives us some really nice perks  - and this is one of them!

Call me for more information on SAVING money on your purchase costs

Here are some low cost remodeling ideas for you

Install granite tile instead of a slab.

Everyone seems to be hot for granite kitchen countertops these days

Rather than a slab - which can be about a $5000.00 upgrade depending on the size of your countertop - use granite tiles. Putting in 12 inch granite tiles can cost about $300.00 in materials for the same size countertop . Then just add the cost of labor on top of that unless you are a do it yourselfer!

Adding or replacing bathroom tile can make your bath look lots cleaner than it looked. Inexpensive tiles can do the trick - $1.00 to $2.00 per tiles - and this goes for backsplashes in the kitchen, too!

Do you know how a short sale got its name?

When the owner accepts an offer for his house that is for LESS than what he owes - and the bank accepts it - it is called a "short sale"  The sale price is short of the full amount of the mortgage

Now, do you know why short sales fail?   Here are some interesting numbers

1. 4% fail because the buyer cannot get finance

2. 4% fail because the appraisal does not support the sale price

3. 10% fail becuase the second lien holder won't sign off

4. 67% fail because of red tape/indecision on the part of the LENDER!!

If you are a buyer or a seller in this short sale or foreclosure situation, make sure your Realtor is knowledgable in this area. S...

Interesting new statistics for the Charleston, SC area.

Downtown Charleston has 45 months worth of inventory right now. The normal or neutral real estate market has 6 months worth of inventory.

Mt Pleasant, SC has a little over 21 months worth of inventory

West Ashley area has a little over 20 months worth of inventory

What does this say to us?

If you have a home that you truly want to sell, you must price it to sell.

You must price your home to sell and you must have it looking better than anyone else's if possible! Usually, you only get one shot with a potential buyer .

A good realtor can price your home to sell within 30 to 60 days

Please call me if you want your to get your ho...

Good news on the "home front"!

The Charleston area residential real estate market continues to show signs of a strong recovery, according to the latest data from the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors.

As of December 10, the increase in sales was an unprecedented 80% and the third consecutive month of increases.

This type of activity is uncharacteristic for November and likely attributable to the passing of the original homebuyer tax credit. This tax credit has been extended, by the way, to April 30, 2010 and expanded to include provisions for existing homeowners.

Inventory is at this year's lowest level.

Charleston County showed the greatest gains in the region during the mo...

Just to let you all know... if you hire me to market and sell your home, you WILL get a home warranty put on your home at no charge to you. Now, this may make quite a difference for you - all you have to do when you have a problem with items covered under the warranty is pick up the phone, call one number and pay a small fee for the home visit.

For those of you who fell in love with the property I had for sale on Seabrook Island... it is now under contract! 

But if you are interested, I will be delighted to find another for you!

Have a great weekend and please check out my latest listing near Folly Beach at Seaside Plantation. A 3 bedroom home in fabulous condition and PRICED TO SEL...

Great news for the first time home buyer!  The tax credit has been extended!
Remember that this tax credit is good for the first time home buyer and is a tax credit up to $8,000.00

Something new, too!

If you have lived in your home for 5 consecutive years (of the past 8 years) you may qualify for a $6500.00 tax credit if you sell your home and buy a new one!  Wow!

So, if you are thinking of moving, NOW is the time!!

All contracts must be in effect by April 30, 2010

Call me and I will give you the details

Or check out my website www.georgiabellhomes.com and email me your questions

Have a wonderful day!

Well, we are certainly in the right place at the right time!

Conde Nast - the luxury travel magazine - has named our beautiful city as the second most fabulous place to visit (and live)

We are second only to San Francisco, California and frankly, I find that debatable...

I have been to San Francisco - it is beautiful - but, honestly, Charleston is far more livable and far more desirable. Of course, that is only my opinion... but I hear from those out on the West Coast that they LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, Charleston, SC

Our restaurants are simply outstanding - delightful cuisine, 5 star service, friendly staff etc etc

And how about the gracious hotel personnel... smiling faces and always helpf...

Abu Dhabi is projected to be the strongest performing market in the MENA region (middle East/Nort...

Many buyer's are in a paralyis by analysis mode right now. Afraid that the market is going lower and believing that there are just so manyproperties on the market right now, they don't feel any urgency to buy now

If you are feeling that way, I think I can help you

If, for example, you are looking at Charleston, SC to purchase a property., I can get facts and more facts for you - including statistics that will be helpful - to help you have a firm grasp on the market.  Armed with figures and facts, you can feel much more certainty about your purchase.

Low interest rates is so much more important right now than mst people/buyers realize...Rates are now at late-1950's levels  They have now...

Pending home sales in July reached the highest mark in 2 years.  and closed sales also continued in an upward trend

As a result inventories are tightening  In June there were 3.8 million properties for sale as opposed to 4.5 million properties for sale the previous year

Durable goods are up, the stock market has made a nice comeback... good indications about the ecoomy!

Thanks to these promising signs, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors has forecast higher home sales and stabilizing prices in the year ahead.

Despite some other factors that could delay a complete recovery, we have reason to be confidant..  WIth home sales heading up and inventories shrin...

While I really doubt that we could ever be another San Francisco, we do have some similarities

San Francisco started out as a sophisiticated, conservative, city of commerce

Charleston SC is sophisticated - southern style - conservative (in some ways) and a city of commerce

Do we have a Harry Aleo??

Harry Aleo lived in San Francisco and only recently died. One of his favorite quotes was his declaration that his REAL ESTATE office was "an island of traditional conservative values in a sea of latte sipping liberal loonies"

He had one of the oldest real estate offices in the city of San Francisco.

I look at our old line offices in our fair city and I ask myself the question "Do we have ...

This may seem trivial with all that is going on in the market and real estate world today!  But it really is not trivial at all  Did you know that water heaters can be a ticking time bomb if they do not have something called a TPR valve

The TPR valve is a "temperature pressure relief valve"  When working properly, it will keep your water heater from exploding when the water heater becomes too hot.  Otherwise, if it is not working properly, you could be in for a terrible explosion causing massive property damage and possible injury or even death to occupants.

So please, have your water heater checked ...

And sleep better at night!