Hi Nelson

I would love to help you sell your house and decide whether renting or buying a new house is for you. Let's meet and discuss all this in person. Sometimes it's just a matter of refinancing your existing house. But let's talk about it. There are a lot of homes on the market at the moment. Call me anytime or email me. Debbie Knowles with Keller Williams Realty (843)609-8998 - debbie@dezilio.com

Have a great day.

One point I did not make that I should have. If you are stepping up in price & can accept that your house has decreased in value (say 20%), you can more than make up for that loss on the buy side. For example, if your home was worth $200,000 three years ago and you sell it for $40,000 less than that (or $160,000) and buy a house that was worth $300,000 three years ago that has also decreased 20% in value for $240,000 you actually pick up $20,000 in equity. Interest rates are still comparatively low so you will probably save money there also. You could not find a better time to sell your small home and buy the home that will fit your family. Add to that, all the lender owned and short-sale properties available, if you have not already acted, you should not wait.

I came across your question today while searching in Trulia. It is 7 months after you asked the question as to whether homes are selling in Charleston. I hope that you were able to sell your home and buy another. The market, while not as active as it once was is still great. Good homes sell in any market. There are only 4 things that influence the sale of a home once it is put on the market.

1. Price- The home must be priced correctly for the neighborhood in order to sell. You can sell a home next to a dump at some price. 2. Condition- You must put your home in excellent condition, relative to competing homes. Assuming that buyers are shopping all homes in the price-range, including new construction, this sometimes means installing new carpet, painting, updating, etc to be competitive. 3. Marketing- Your home must be fully exposed to the market on the MLS and online through as many websites as possible. 87% of all consumers start their search online. Excellent pictures are a must. 4. Incentives- The more incentives, (closing costs, interest rate buydowns, owner financing, etc.) you offer the buyer, the more likely it will sell.

Rating your house against the top 10 competitive houses that a buyer for your home may consider is extremely important.. If your house falls short in any one of the above four catagories, you will have to lower the price to compensate. To have your house sell quickly, you must be above average in all categories. If your house is not the best, it may not sell at all. Buyers will simply buy the house with the best price/value and you will be chasing the market down sitting on yours, while the house priced just below you sells.

I agree with the PRO's.........even if you have the perfect rental and nothing is selling you need, to BUY, BUY, BUY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Here is proof that prices are only down 30%:http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/24/real_estate/Case_Shiller_December/


You can sell you place in like 2 days. Just get a Pro to lost it at 11%.

I can not belive the Pro's are saying buy when it is clearly better for them to rent. Can they not let anyone rent in peace?

No homes in Charleston are seeeling. It will be very very hard. No ojne has mentioned that or that prices are going down.

Take it from me, Nelson's:.....NOW ID THE TIME TO BUY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nelson's:

(1) No homes are selling now. That is why all the "Pro"'s have so much time to tell you otherwise.

(2) Your house is going down in value as we speak.

(3) Best advice (which no "Pro" will give you ) is to hold tight for now. Get a little cramped and enjoy your new child!

I agree with all the people below that if you really think you can actually sell your house there is no reason to use a "Pro" to buy one.

If you do it own your own you can save tons of money by simply asking the listing agent to reduce the price by the 3%. On a home in your area that comes to $12,000.00!!!!!! How about some diapers? Or 3 years of preschool? It is very simple. Just find a home you like, figure out the price and use the standard contract. If you have a lawyer friend that will help too.

Good luck and CONGRATS on the new baby and 3% in your pocket!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sales contract activity is up and that may mean good news for home sellers this Spring. Interest rates are great, inflation is under control, and you may find the perfect house at a great price for your new little one to grow up calling home. Don't you want to create a cute personalized nursery with all the colors, etc. - that may be hard to do in a rental, and you will be paying someone else's mortage instead of putting that money toward the larger home you need and deserve. And, yes, in this market more than ever, you need a REALTOR.
When you find the one that you feel will serve your needs best, - do one important thing - listen to your REALTOR! Listen about pricing your current home properly, uncluttering, keeping it neat as a pin, and staging it properly. This will make potential buyers want your house so much that they will make a reasonable offer, based on your reasonable asking price. Listen about making it as easy as possible to show, even when it's inconvenient. You don't want even one potential buyer to pass it up because they couldn't see it on what may be a tight schedule for them. They sure won't buy it if they never see it! If someone is on your street with a REALTOR, and they want to show your house just as you are sorting laundry in your PJs, grit your teeth and say yes. Explain it won't be in ideal showing condition, (which they will understand due to the impromptu nature of their request), say you appreciate the fact that they are interested in seeing it ,and if they will give you 5 to 10 minutes they can come on over. Throw on some clothes, stuff the laundry back inthe hamper and go over to your neighbor's house, take a walk, or drive to the grocery store. This is the very situation why we say keep it clean - you can't scrub the floor, bathtub and commode in 5 to 10 minutes.

Listento your REALTOR during negotiationstoo, on the home you are selling as well as on the home you buy, and act accordingly. A good REALTOR has done this many times, and knows things that can make such a difference in these all important phases! Listen about being pre-APPROVED by a lender (not pre-qualified) for the appropriate loan amount to buy your future home; and do it as soon as possitble. In that way you know exaclty what you can do financially, and having that bottom line picture clear in your mind helps relieve a lot of stress about selling and buying.

I know it's hard to spend money when money might be tight, but a reasonable "fix up" budget and some sweat equity can make a tremendous difference in the appearance of your home. Make those needed repairs, paint all your rooms (even that favorite red dining room) in nice neutral colors, not boring white, but neutral, and don't skip the trim. If you are handy at all, do some things that you know are currently popular in homes, even If its only changing out a light fixture. If you have accumulated too much "stuff" that is spread around your entire house, edit it mercilessly and give stuff away, or ask friends, relatives, and neighbors, to store things you just can't part with. If that won't work, bite the bullet and rent a storage room - it will pay for itself in the time it saves selling your home.

As a REALTOR and homeowner who has gone thru a few home sales of my own, I know It's very hard to stop "living" in your home; it's normally your personal space. But while it is for sale, you really have to see it as a commodity to sell ,and do everything in your power to make it into a space that many people could envision as THEIR personal space. It will sell quicker and put you in a great position to buy the larger home you need.
Best wishes for selling your home and finding a great new home that will allow your family to grow. If I can help in any way, please let me know.

Nelson Family,

No one can tell you whether or not your house will sell until they look at it. Bad Time to Buy down there is dead wrong when he says you don't need a Realtor® you need a professional. Realtors® ARE professionals. Licensed professionals who abide by a Code of Ethics. And in this market you DO need one, whether you are buying or selling. Some say of course we are always going to tell you to buy, buy, buy. That's right, we probably are - because like Cheryl said, if you're not a home owner you are buying property for someone else. Tommy down there says if you rent you don't have to worry about paying taxes or insurance or keeping up the yard. NOT TRUE. Your landlord is charging you for the taxes and the insurance - it's figured into the rent. The yard is a moot point, since you will have to keep it up as long as you are living in a house with a yard, whether you rent or you buy.

Now that I have all that off my chest let's address your question. Randall said that if you lose 5% on the house you're selling and make up 5% on the house you're buying you come out ahead. Let's take a closer look at that.

If you think the house you own now is worth $200k but you end up having to sell for $190k, you've essentially lost 5% of your equity, or $10k. On the other hand, if you go to buy a house that had sold previously for $300k and you get it for $285k, you've gotten a 5% discount, or $15k. The difference is $5k in your pocket.

Here's another thought: real estate runs in a cycle. Prices shoot up, they stay flat, they fall a little, they shoot up, they stay flat, they fall a little. Or something like that. The market goes up and down, but over the long haul it goes up. Houses in the 40s were worth more than they were in the 30s, houses in the 70s were worth more than they were in the 60s, and so on. If you buy a house today its value may go down a little initially, but houses are not disposable and they are not short term investments. They never were. Home prices are going to go back up. History says they will. If you wait until that happens, you've missed your golden opportunity because by then the rates have also jumped up and you're no longer buying as low as you could have.

Houses are still selling in Charleston every day. How many are selling? It really doesn't matter. You only need to sell ONE. The key is to find the right Realtor® to guide you through the process. Now is the most difficult time in recent memory to sell a house, there's no doubt about it. Competition is fierce. You have to want it more than your neighbor does. What does that mean? Your house has to look the best, smell the best, have the best features, the best price, and the best incentives. How will you know if you're doing all that and doing it well enough to sell? Only a professional who works in the trenches of this stuff every day will be able to tell you... and the buyers who look at your house and decide to buy the one down the street instead.

If you really need more room, if you've really decided you NEED to sell your house, do your family a favor and hire a Realtor®. Interview at least two, and then hire one. Make sure you trust the person you hire. Make sure that person can show they are having success with selling houses in this market. Make sure that person is a great communicator.

By the way - if you're taking applications for the job, here's mine. :) Good luck!

Stephanie Davis
Carolina One Real Estate
843.574.3193

palmettomom is inaccurate in her statement that homes are not selling in charleston. yes, our market is not what it used to be, what we all got used to, and what we wish it still was. quite frankly i think realtors and mortgage brokers in charleston got greedy and spoiled. did we really think that the market could sustain home equity increasing 100% a year and realtors and mortgage brokers making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for very long before the bottom fell out? there have been 600 homes close in the first 6 weeks of 2009. 9000 sold in 2008. not bad numbers considering the economy. if you can afford to, i say buying is the best option as long as you sell your house first and can comfortably afford the new payment and upkeep on the home. i wouldnt buy right now until your home is sold because being stuck with two mortgages is not fun. fortunately, mortgage companies are not letting buyers overextend themselves anymore (hopefully).

You should just rent. No need to buy now. Prices will go down.

These people do NOT need a REALTOR. They need a professional. A decent lawyer should probably be able to take care of it quickly and cheaply.

Hi Nelson family,

It looks like everyone here has their own opinion on the market and you are going to have to try to come to a conclusion from the variety of answers. I will have to agree that "tons of homes" are not selling however the activity has increased in the last 30 days. I am also optimistic that with some of the changes being put in place that it will continue to impove.
Personally, I don't ever think renting is a good plan if you can afford to buy. You are only helping your landlord pay for his home.
It would be helpful to know what area you live in to decide if you might be able to sell your current home at a profit and have a down payment on a new home. And with prices as well as interest rates at an all time low now is truely a great time to buy.
If you would like to discuss all of your options I will be glad to talk with you. Give me a call!

Warmest Regards,
Cheryl Bostick
(843) 810-9400
cbostick@carolinaone.com
Carolina One Real Estate

It is really disgusting some of the so called "advice" that comes out on this board.

One lady told you that "there are lots of homes selling in Charleston right now" when that is totally untrue.

Another claims to know that she "doesn't think renting right now is the best answer for your situation" after reading a one sentence question you wrote on the internet.

I hope yall find a home that you like and are able to unload your old one. Please just be a little skeptical with all of these calims that renting is horrible and you must buy now. All of the Realtors reach that same conclusion no matter what the situation is.

Hi Nelson Family,

I just had a little one myself so I know how a family can grow out of their space.
Now is a good time to sell as long as you price your home properly.
Also you need to make sure you have the best representation. You need an agent who is tech savoy since most people start their home search on the internet. Our ten person team has agents who specialize in each area of Charleston. We are always high in the search engines and market every property on over 200 web sites. We'd love a chance to meet with you to go over our successful marketing plan. Please give me a call at 843-709-8087 or my husband Dave at 843-709-6687. Also check out our web site to learn more about us.

Hi Nelson Family! Thanks for your inquiry. I don't think renting right now is the best answer for your situation. Why rent when home prices are lower now than they were in 2004 and interest rates are probably as low as we will see them in many, many years. maybe our lifetime! There are many incentives on new construction where you could buy a much bigger new home to fit your growing family. It doesn't matter where your current home is located, if it is priced correctly, it will sell. Please let me know if you would like a free home evaluation or if I can send you some information on homes listed in your price range. Good luck to you, Loren Bethea 843-696-1156

Hahaha. Horrible advise.

"Yes, there are lots of homes selling in Charleston right now." This is completely and totally false. The market has almost totally collapsed to an ALL TIME LOW!!!

Earlier this week it was report that: "The number of homes sold in January dropped 35 percent from 2008 to 372 transactions, a figure so low that the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors could not find a lower monthly number in its sales database, which dates to 2003. " http://www.charleston.net/news/2009/feb/16/home_sales_januar…

"But renting doesn't gain your anything. "

Yes it does. Just ask the people whose home has decreased 17% in value. If they had rented they would have avoided that along with taxes, insruance, interest, PMI and keeping up the yard.

http://www.charleston.net/photos/2009/feb/15/22694/

Nelsons, Please just look at the numbers and take some of this "advise" from the "Real Estate Pro" with a grain of salt.

Hi Nelson Family - Those are great questions and being honest, it is hard to give you true answers without knowing your true situation. General rule of thumb in today's market is if you are moving up in home size and price, it is now a good time to move up. Even if you have to give 5% to get your current home sold, you come out to the good if you get 5% of the higher priced new home.

If I can be of any assistance or you would like to go into further details, please let me know. Have a great weekend. Feel free to go to my website to learn more about our services.

Randall Sandin
843-209-9667
rsandin@carolinaone.com
Carolina One Real Estate

Dear Nelson Family,
You've asked lots of good questions and you're going to need a great realtor that can help you every step of the way! Yes, there are lots of homes selling in Charleston right now. 2009 should be a great year for buyers and sellers with the first time home buyers tax incentive and great interest rates.

Renting is always an option, especially if it's a neccesity. But renting doesn't gain your anything.

I'd love to show you home sales numbers and meet and see how I can help you.

Contact me anytime,

Laura Sargent
Carolina One Real Estate
843-509-2375
lsargent@carolinaone.com