Charleston SC Metro Real Estate

Pickett Bridge Recreation Area - Mount Pleasant SC

It is amazing to me that you can live in an area for such a long time and are still able to discover something new.  Such was the case for me a few weeks ago while taking pictures in The Old Village in Mount Pleasant.  As I strolled east on Pitt Street, I came across what I thought was going to be a dead end.  Instead I stumbled upon the Pickett Bridge Recreation Area.

The Pickett Bridge Recreation Area is the remnants of what use to be the Pitt Street Bridge.  The Pitt Street Bridge was a trolley bridge that connected Mount Pleasant to Sullivan's Island (a barrier island) from 1898 to 1927.  Today the bridge does not stretch all the way across to Sullivan's island.  This allows boating access into the Cove Inlet and the inter coastal waterway that runs between the barrier island and Mount Pleasant. 

During the Revolutionary War and Civil War there was also a plank bridge built over large Hog Head barrels that initially linked the two areas.  History tells us that during the Civil War the crew of the first submarine to sink a ship, the Confederate H.L. Hunley, passed over the plank bridge to get to Breach Inlet to board their sub. 

Today this recreation area is a great place to view the Charleston Harbor, Ft. Sumter, as well as city of Charleston's itself.  The Charlestonians in the know enjoy and utilize the area for fishing, bird watching, and enjoying the nice harbor breeze.

Other Recent Blogs:

Top 10 Credit Don'ts When Buying a Home

What is a Bedroom? The Great Debate!

The Old Village in Mount Pleasant SC - A Brief History

I'ON in Mt. Pleasant SC

Charleston Real Estate Environmental Issues

Oh, the perplexing world of credit.  I must confess that there are times that the rules of what raises and lowers your credit score baffles me.  The one thing I am certain of is that you should guard your credit score with righteous fervor, at least until you win the lottery and can afford to buy everything with cash.  Your credit is part of your buying power.  This active guardianship is even more important once you are in the process of buying a home.  

Leading nationwide credit expert and President of Credit Resource Corporation, Linda Ferrari, developed the top 10 credit "don'ts" during the loan process, to help you get your arms around those things that can unknowingly wreak havoc on your loan transaction.

1. Don't do anything that will cause a red flag to be raised by the scoring system
2. Don't apply for new credit of any kind
3. Don't pay off collections or charge offs
4. Don't max out or over charge on your credit card accounts
5. Don't consolidate your debt onto 1 or 2 credit cards
6. Don't close credit card accounts
7. Don't pay late
8. Don't allow any accounts to run past due-even one day!
9. Don't dispute anything on your credit report
10. Don't lose contact with your mortgage and real estate professionals

Other Recent Blogs:

What is a Bedroom? The Great Debate!

The Old Village in Mount Pleasant SC - A Brief History

I'ON in Mt. Pleasant SC

Charleston Real Estate Environmental Issues

The Great News About Real Estate in 2010

Wordless Wednesday - Palmetto State Summer Evening

Photo taken on 4 July 2010 in the Stono Ferry subdivision in Hollywood SC, a suburb of Charleston SC.

Other Recent Blogs:

What is a Bedroom? The Great Debate!

The Old Village in Mount Pleasant SC - A Brief History

I'ON in Mt. Pleasant SC

Charleston Real Estate Environmental Issues

The Great News About Real Estate in 2010

Charleston Hurrican Evacuation Routes 2010

What is a Bedroom?

A few weeks ago some fellow agents and I were touring some of our newest office listings.  Somehow during that time the conversation came up about what qualifies as a bedroom.  I, in all my wisdom and knowledge, chimed in that it has to have a closet.  A few of the others protested and stated that a closet does not factor in when determining if a room is a bedroom.  I'm not sure where I learned the rule of a closet defining a bedroom (probably real estate school) but I felt confident I was correct.  We debated back and forth until one of them pulled out the big gun....he called a local appraiser that we all know.

From the Mouth of an Appraiser:

To my great surprise the appraiser stated that in the Charleston SC area a bedroom is not define by a closet.  Why?  To his understanding, during colonial times houses were taxed based on the number of bedrooms.  The bedrooms were at that time defined by a closet.  So, people got around taxation by building houses with bedrooms without closets, and instead used wardrobes and chifferobe.  He went on to say that if a bedroom was defined by the presence of a closet, that many of the historic houses in downtown Charleston and the surrounding area would not have any bedrooms.  Ultimately, the appraiser stated, a bedroom is defined not by a closet but by use. 

Not wanting to admit defeat, I got back to my office and starting researching the issue.  As a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, the one thing I learned was that if it is not in writing it is probably not a rule.  Surely something as important as how a bedroom is defined would be somewhere.  To my surprise our association, CTAR (Charleston Trident Association of Realtor) had nothing in writing defining what makes up a bedroom, and they told me to refer to the local appraisers.  I then began to look up local area building codes.  South Carolina uses the International Code Council.  Per the code the only thing that defines a bedroom is:

1. Minimum of 70 Square Feet, enclosed, with an entrance (door)
2. an aggregate glasing area of not less than 8 percent of the floor area (window).
3. Heated- maintain min temp of 68 degrees (F)

Is a FROG a Bedroom?  A FROG is a Finished Room Over a Garage.  We in the Charleston area live in the "lowcountry" so we don't have basements, we have FROGs.  Because most homes built in the last 50 years or so have bedrooms that were built with a closet, many people have only considered a FROG a bedroom if it had a closet.  By the definition given above, this is not the case.  If a FROG has the possible use of a bedroom, then it can be considered such. 

Final Analysis - There is no supporting documentation stating that a bedroom has to have a closet or that it is defined by a closet.  The "use" of the room is the primary question.  Obviously a room with a toilet or a room with a sink is not a bedroom, but if the room is enclosed, heated, and big enough to be a bedroom, then at this time, in the Charleston SC area, it can be defined as a bedroom.

Other Recent Blogs:

The Old Village in Mount Pleasant SC - A Brief History

I'ON in Mt. Pleasant SC

Charleston Real Estate Environmental Issues

The Great News About Real Estate in 2010

Charleston Hurrican Evacuation Routes 2010

Wordless Wednesday - Off the Coast of Charleston

Photo taken in Mount Pleasant in the Old Village Neighborhood on Tuesday, 6 May 2010.  The shrimping industry plays a major role in the Charleston SC economy!

Other Recent Blogs:

The Old Village in Mount Pleasant SC - A Brief History

I'ON in Mt. Pleasant SC

Charleston Real Estate Environmental Issues

The Great News About Real Estate in 2010

Charleston Hurrican Evacuation Routes 2010

The Old Village in Mount Pleasant

Mount (Mt.) Pleasant SC is rooted deep in the historical soil of not only the Charleston area, but also that of our country.  Mt. Pleasant is the neighboring city of Charleston separated by the Charleston Harbor and connected by the recent construction of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge. 

A Brief History

The area that would later become known as Mt Pleasant was originally settled by Sewee Indians.  The first European settlers are believed to have arrived from England in 1680 under the guise of Captain Florentia O’Sullivan, whose namesake is now used for the barrier island bordering Mt. Pleasant (Sullivan's Island).  In 1696 more settlers arrived and were given plots of land that included modern day Mt Pleasant.  The earliest maps identify the settled area as "North Point."  Eventually the area along the waterfront from Shem Creek south to Cove Inlet became known as Haddrell's Point, named after an early settler George Haddrell. 

By the 1770's a need arose for public transportation to and from the city of Charleston.  Andrew Hibbon purchased land from the plantation of Jacob Motte on the south side of Shem Creek to start the first ferry service to Charleston.  This area became known as the Ferry Tract and was the primary means of crossing the harbor to Charleston until 1929 when the Grace Memorial Bridge opened.

A Revolutionary War historical milestone for the area included Cornwallis and his British troops crossing the Cooper River and taking strategic control of Haddrell’s Point once Charleston fell to the British.  The British Headquarters during that time was the Jacob Motte House, which later became known as the Hibben House. 

In 1837 the village of Greenwich (first recognized village in the area) was combined with Jacob Motte's Mount Pleasant plantation and was incorporated into the town of Mt. Pleasant.  This initial incorporated area is what now comprises the Old Village neighborhood in Mount Pleasant.  Mt. Pleasant went on to expand and widen its reach as a town over years, but the Old Village holds its place in history and the property values in The Old Village reflect that.  

Later during the Civil War, the Old Village in Mount Pleasant was also the secret training ground for the nine-man crew of the Confederate submarine CSS Hunley.  The men were temporarily housed at 205 Ferry Street at Ronkins Long Room

Homes in the Old Village

Today home prices in the Old Village range from $149,000 to $8,000,000.  The median price of the homes in the neighborhood is just over 1 million dollars.  Many of the homes are old and historic but have gone though a process of restoration.  The oldest home currently on the market in the neighborhood was built in 1860. Note - none of the homes pictured here are on the market and are used as historical reference only.

Other Recent Blogs:

I'ON in Mt. Pleasant SC

Charleston Real Estate Environmental Issues

The Great News About Real Estate in 2010

Charleston Hurrican Evacuation Routes 2010

North Charleston Neighborhoods - Cedar Grove

North Charleston South Carolina is part of the Charleston metropolitan.  It is the home of the Charleston Air Force Base as well as other major business such as Bosch, and most recently Boeing.  North Charleston is also home to some major shopping areas such as Northwoods Mall and the Tanger Outlet just to name a few.

North Charleston is the third largest city in South Carolina, behind Columbia and Charleston, with over 97,000 people.  As with most cities, there are a large variety of homes and neighborhoods ranging from lower, middle, and higher incomes.  The neighborhoods also range from older to newly built homes, as well as homes with wood, vinly, and brick siding.

A rarity in the metro Charleston market is newer neighborhoods with nearly all brick homes.  One such neighborhood is Cedar Grove off of Dorchester Road.  Cedar Grove is a neighborhood near the Ashley River in which the developers have made effort to leave a good portion of the wooded area intact.  The neighborhood is filled with large, beautiful trees that add a certain ambiance to the atmosphere.  Homes prices in Cedar Grove currently range from $245K to nearly $500K.  Lot sizes range from 1/4 of an acre to nearly .75 acres.  Cedar Grove is one of the few neighborhoods in North Charleston that is in Dorchester County, thus giving the residence access to the highly sought after Dorchester II schools.

Cedar Grove has a Home Owners Association (HOA) that is designed to protect the integrity of the neighborhood as well as home values.  The HOA fee includes access to a Clubhouse and a junior Olympic size pool.  Currently the HOA fee is $300 per year. 

A very small portion of the population are able to offer cash on a home they are interested in buying.  For the rest of us, we keep a close eye on mortgage rates so as to get the best deal.  Most people set a budget amount of "X" amount of dollars per month, and depending upon the mortgage rate that person will seek out a certain loan amount.   The better the interest rate the more you are able to borrow, which in turn usually means a bigger/better home for the buyer.  

For example, a person who has a monthly payment in mind of about $1050 per month could get a $195,000 loan at a 5% mortgage rate.  At a 7% interest rate that loan amount drops to a little more than $157,000, and at a 9% interest rate the loan amount free falls to just a tad more than $130,000.  Note - all stated examples include only principle and interest.  Taxes and insurance were not accounted for as there are variables for each. 

As you can see the interest rate matters a great deal.  Over the last 36 years interest rates have risen and fallen like a roller coaster at an amusement park.  The height of interest rates peaked in 1981 and 1982 at around 16%.  The highest month was in October of 1981 when interest rates climbed to nearly 18.5%.  This is staggering if you consider that a person who gets a $100,000 loan at 18.5% would have a principle and interest payment of over $1500 per month, but the same loan at 5% is just over $500 per month for principle and interest.

Now comes the good news. 

Our interest rates this year have been hovering around 5% and the last two months of May and June have actually been under 5%.  As stated before, buyers will get more for their money. Let not fear grip you in this time of opportunity.  Consult a reputable local lender and/or a local Realtor with any questions regarding you next home.  Don't be the one who looks back on this time ten years from now and wishes they would have made a sound investment in real estate.  The only thing we can be certain of in this volatile market is that eventually interest rates on home loans will rise!   

Other Recent Blogs:

"Our Dogs Won't Bite"

Charleston Real Estate Environmental Issues

Military Homeowners Assistance Program (HAP) Expanded

Excellent graph showing the sustained low mortgage rates this year.