Chris Haviland

Not sure what lease form your landlord is using, but this link will take you to a pdf of the standard lease from the SC Board of Realtors, which would have been developed in conjunction with state laws. Your lease may provide you other options, but this is how the state frames up their standard lease and may be a helpful guide. Good luck.
Chris - Tue Sep 30 2008, 08:49

Liz-
When you are ready to look again, check out the areas of North Charleston and Summerville. Depending on the time of day, your communte will be in the range of 30 to 45 minutes. As you might expect, the closer you are to Charleston, the more expensive, and visa versa. Searching the MLS for single family homes less than $150k in the area of N. Charleston/Summervile produced 115 homes. So there are some good options.
Good luck with the prequalification. Let me know if I can help when you are ready to take a closer look.
Chris
chris@ioprealestate.com
843-327-8986
(see MLS link below) - Mon Sep 15 2008, 14:09

Liz
As Darcy suggested a condo or townhome might be your best bet. The areas of James Island and West Ashley are close to MUSC and usually offer more bang for the buck than on the Mt. Pleasant side. And you can avoid some traffic. This link to the MLS will show you an example of some properties I picked out that might be of interest. If I can be of further help, feel free to contact me at:
chris@ioprealestate.com
843-327-8986

Chris - Sat Sep 13 2008, 10:59

Jason
There are basically three types of homes that fit into this mold.
1. Homes currently listed in MLS, including . (These are homes that any agent has access to. Trust me you do not want every agent in Charleston contacting you every time a home in your area comes on the market or changes price!)
2. Pocket listings. These are homes that an individual agent may know is for sale but the owner has asked that it not be placed in MLS for one reason or another.
3. Homes not currently for sale, until you give an owner the idea, which they may then act upon.
My suggestion would be to find one agent and do the following:
a. Fine tune your wish list. (These neighboorhoods are rather diverse with varying price ranges. Let your agent know what your wants and needs are to better pin point your ultimate home.)
b. Sit with your agent and thoroughly go through all of the properties that meet those expectations that are currently on the market. It's improtant to note that our MLS search tools are far superior to those the public has access to.
c. If you do not see what you want go to plan "B" which would include looking up recently expired and withdrawn listings as well as moitoring all new properties that fit your criteria in those areas. (sometimes in these markets owners just get tired and give up even though they are still interested in selling)
d. Soliciting homes not currently for sale is effective but be prepared for the reaction from the seller that you are expecting to pay more than market.
Jason, I'd be happy to help you with your search. Feel free to visit my web site at http://www.HavilandEstates.net. or call me at 843-327-8986.
Chris - Thu Aug 28 2008, 06:54

Carey
Here is another link to Charleston area jobs that I think is helpful. This site breaks them down into job categories. - Mon Aug 25 2008, 10:57

Jersey
If you have an interest in properties on the Isle of Palms, I maintain a list of the Top Ten Best Deals on the Island. The list is made up of properties that we feel are a great deal for investors in one form or another. Some are Short Sales homes others might have a great NOI. Note that this is not a list of our office listings but a broad hand picked selection of properties that any investor might want to consider. Let me know if something like this would be of interest to you. Chris - Fri Jul 25 2008, 08:05