Charleston SC Metro Real Estate: October 2008

Forest Lawn is an elder and established neighborhood located in Goose Creek, SC.  Below is the market statistics for Forest Lawn from Jan 2008 to Oct 2008.  If you are interested in buying or selling a home in Forest Lawn, Goose Creek, or anywhere in the Charleston Metropolitan, contact your neighborhood expert, Michael Johnson at 843-817-5299.  You can also send me an email at michaeljohnson@carolinaone.com or visit my website at www.providingthelight.com

Otranto is an established neighborhood located in Hanahan SC.  Below is the market statistics for Otranto from Jan 2008 to Oct 2008.  If you are interested in buying or selling a home in Otranto, Hanahan or anywhere in the Charleston Metropolitan, contact your neighborhood expert, Michael Johnson at 843-817-5299.  You can also send me an email at michaeljohnson@carolinaone.com or visit my website at www.providingthelight.com

Yesterday I came home to the smell of burnt wires in my garage.  Concerned I began to search for the problem but I had a suspicion of what the problem would be.  Last weekend I ran out of hot water while taking a shower.  I checked the water heater and it had a small leak.  I turned of the circuit breaker to the water heater and located the reset button.  After turning the circuit breaker back on and waiting for a while, I again had hot water.  But, throughout the week I noticed small leaks around the water heater.  Thus when the smell of burnt wires permeated my garage I was not completely surprised.

Not sure of what to do I called a contractor I have worked with in the past, but there was no answer.  I looked on the tank and there was a huge sticker that said to call Berkelely Electric CoOp before replacing.  When I called, they explained that my tank has a timer to regulate when my water heater will heat water in order to save electricity.  Because of this the electric company offers a rebate to customers with water heaters. They call it the H20 Advantage plan.  Their website states that,  "Berkeley Electric Cooperative offers you the H2O Advantage to help us manage the demand cost of your electricity which is a benefit to all of our members."

The following is a list of possible rebates:

NEW HOME REBATE
Min. 50 gal. tank w/ LM switch $200
Min. 80 gal. tank w/ LM switch $300

EXISTING HOME
Min. 50 gal. tank w/ LM switch $200
Min. 80 gal. tank w/ LM switch $300

MOBILE HOME (non-metallic siding)
Min. 50 gal. tank w/ LM switch $200
Min. 80 gal. tank w/ LM switch $300

The electric company connected me with a plumber who offered to do the job for $325 (labor costs) and no charge for the new water heater. He would be reimbursed for the water heater by the electric company in the form of the rebate offered.  

This is a great deal and a great offer from the electric company.  If your water heater has a H20 Advantage Sticker on it, be sure and take advantage of this program as it will save you a load of money. 

Contact Berkeley Electric for more information:

Moncks Corner: 721-8200 • 572-5454 • 825-3383
Johns Island: 559-2458
Goose Creek: 553-5020 • 572-5454 • 899-7373
Awendaw: 884-7525 • 327-9615

As an American one of the things I hold most dear is the Constitution of the United States which include a Bill of Rights.  The Bill of Rights is the first 10 "addendum's" of the constitution....wait that's not right.  Well if we left it up to many real estate agents that's what they would call it.  For some reason (maybe because most of us did not go to law school or take law classes in college or high school) many Realtors and a large number of people in the population confuse addendums and what the Bill of Rights is truly called, amendments.

An addendum is defined as any change made to a contract, or an addition to the contract before it is ratified.  A popular addendum is the FHA addendum that states that the buyer is utilizing the FHA program to finance the house.  All parties should sign this before ratification and that addendum becomes part of the contract. 

One of the biggest fallacies that agents use is the "repairs addendum."  Going back to the definition of addendum, a repair addendum is only accurately used if it is utilized before ratification.  Most people do not inspect the home before the contract ratification thus "repair addendum" is not accurate.  If one wishes to add the repairs to the contract after ratification it should be an amendment. Note:  my suggestion is to never make the repair list a part of the original contract but rather a separate entity which both parties agree too.

An amendment is a change or addition to a contract after it has been ratified.  Case in point is the example of our country's Constitution.  The constitution was written as a contract between the first 13 states.  James Madison promised to incorporate a Bill of Rights once the Constitution was ratified.   Upon ratification of the constitution, the first 10 amendments were written.   

So, the next time you need to make a change to your ratified contract, remember our founding fathers could not use an addendum and neither can you.

Photo source: http://www.pierretristam.com/images2/i07a/0223-first-amendment.jpg

Michael J. Johnson

843-817-5299

www.providingthelight.com

Sedgefield is an established neighborhood on the Southeast corner of Goose Creek South Carolina.  The neighborhood was originally built as affordable housing for those military and civilian members (not exclusively) assigned to the Navy Base.  Today Sedgefield is a thriving neighborhood with a large varity of people including active and retired military as well as non military person.  Many of the homes in the neighborhood are brick and nearly all have a decent size yard by today's standards.

Contact Michael Johnson for more information about buying or selling a house in Sedgefield or anywhere in the Charleston SC metropolitan.

843-817-5299

michaeljohnson@carolinaone.com

www.providingthelight.com

Park Circle is traditionally a highly desirable neighborhood in North Charleston South Carolina.  It is beloved for both the park that the neighborhood encircles and its proximity to downtown Charleston.  Below is the Sales and Inventory Report year to date for 2008.  If you have any questions or if you are interested in buying or selling in North Charleston, or anywhere in the Charleston Metro, Please don't hesitate to contact me.

Michael J. Johnson

843-817-5299

michaeljohnson@carolinaone.com

www.providingthelight.com

Camelot Village is a neighborhood in Goose Creek South Carolina off of HWY 52.  Below is the Sales and Inventory Report year to date foro 2008.  If you have any questions or if you are interested in buying or selling in Goose Creek, or anywhere in the Charleston Metro, Please don't hesitate to contact me.

Michael J. Johnson

843-817-5299

michaeljohnson@carolinaone.com

www.providingthelight.com

      $218,000 Sold

This is your chance to own a wonderful home just steps away from the Cooper River in the highly desirable neighborhood of Pimlico Plantation. The neighborhood has a public boat ramp and dock which gives you access to the river that leads to the Charleston Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean. The large home is on a spacious corner lot that is just over a quarter of an acre. Note that the lot behind and to the side are empty and owned by neighbors.

Enter the home and you will notice a sizeable formal living room perfect for entertaining guests. From here enter the fully equipped kitchen that features an electric range, refrigerator, and dishwasher (all which convey with the property). The kitchen also features an abundance of cabinet space and a pantry. There is an allotted space for a dinning room table in the eat-in-kitchen area. From here stroll to the family room/den and notice the beautiful real wood bead-board paneling. This would be a great reading room or TV room for the family. On to the master suite located downstairs. The master suite is a generous size and has a full bathroom attached.

Head upstairs to the three remaining bedrooms. All three extra bedrooms have an abundance of space and character, especially when compared to newer homes being built today. There is also a full bathroom upstairs. Note: The fourth bedroom is over the garage (FROG). The only access to the room is by walking through one of the extra bedrooms, but the room is enclosed and has a closet. 

Other property features include a huge two car garage, two workshops/storage buildings (one of which has a huge sink and running water - good for cleaning the fish you catch in the river), an above ground pool, and two covered sheds for large boats, RV's, or Campers. The owners speak very highly of the neighborhood and love their neighbors. Stop by and sit on the old country style swing in the front yard. Feel the breeze and experience the quiet joys of living in Pimlico Plantation.

Michael Johnson

843-817-5299

www.providingthelight.com

www.metrocharlestonhomes.com