Charleston SC Metro Real Estate: February 2008

113 Drexler, Ladson, SC, College Park $145,000

***Seller is offering $3000 toward closing costs with an approved lender and a one year home warranty from American Home Shield!

Quite possibly the most beautiful home in College Park! This is a nearly all brick, warm and charming home with a large lot and many attractive features.
As you pull up you will notice the nicely landscaped yard equipped with a Magnolia tree, Crape Myrtle, and King Sago Palms which decorate your yard with vibrant color in the spring. Another attractive feature is the inviting and freshly painted front porch. You will also notice the custom cedar planks that usher you toward the front door.

 Professionally installed heart pine floors greet you as you walk in the front door and can be seen throughout the home. To the right you will notice the dining room and kitchen. The dining room has a beautiful light fixture hanging over the table that really brings out the room. The light fixture conveys but not the hanging trinkets. The kitchen features a small eating bar, congoleum tile floors, and beautiful white cabinets recently updated. The stainless steel electric range, stainless steel built-in microwave, garbage disposal, and dishwasher all convey with the property. The current refrigerator does not covey, but the sellers have another fridge that will convey. From the kitchen notice the nice size laundry room (small french doors do not convey) which has large custom cabinets. Head back to the living/family room.

Again notice the beautiful heart pine floors and also the vaulted/cathedral beamed ceiling which opens up the living room area. A wood burning fireplace is also available and adds to the warmth of the home. Head down the hall toward the bedrooms. All bedrooms are a nice size and have new interior doors, fresh paint, and ceiling fans. The master bedroom has a convenient master bathroom. Both the master bath and the full bath down the hall have tub/shower combos. Both have vanity mirrors over the sink that will not convey. The house is equipped with a nearly new 3 year old HVAC, a recently rewired fuse panel, digital thermostat, a security system, and new light fixtures throughout. This home also has a transferable termite repair bond.

Head out the back door and gasp at the beautiful back yard. A tremendous amount of time and energy was put into the landscaping and board walk type patio. There are also three storage sheds, one of which is wired and currently being used as a bar to entertain guests. There is an interior fenced-in section designed as a kids play area. The lot extends beyond the wood fenced area to the rear of the large lot which has a Bradford Pear, Magnolia, and 5 large hardwood trees. Note: Neither the lawn furniture nor the playground equipment convey. Your final stop is the fully functional attached garage. There are custom built cabinets and a custom shop floor for the individual who loves working with his hands.

Contact Michael Johnson with Prudential Carolina Real Estate at 843-817-5299 or visit providingthelight.com. 

 

If you have a home anywhere in the Charleston Metro Area and would like to get more information about selling your home, please contact me for a free home evaluation. 

I also work with buyers.  If you are interested in more information about buying a home please contact me and I would be glad to meet with you or email you a list of homes.

 

Michael J. Johnson, Realtor, ABR

www.metrocharlestonhomes.com

843-817-5299

michaeljohnson@carolinaone.com

"Providing the Light to Guide You Home"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cooper River Bridge Run 2008, Charleston SC

The annual Cooper River Bridge Run is fast approaching.  The 10K run/walk begins in Mt.Pleasant, crosses the Arthur Ravenel Bridge, and then finishes in Downtown Charleston.  The race will begin on April 5th at 8:00 am.  This year's race features "Bones in Motion" technology which allows one to track runners live with the use of a cell phone or computer. 

The race will have 6 different categories of runners all color coded and placed strategically based upon the pace of the runner or walker.  The categories are as follows:
  • Walkers (or people walk-running)
  • Runners with an expected time of over 1 hour
  • Runners with an expected time of 49 min to 1 hour
  • Runners expecting to run under 49 min (and any age-group contenders)
  • Runners sub 40 minutes
  • Invited/Elite runners (contact Howie Schomer 843-792-1934)
There will be special rates at certain parking garages in downtown Charleston at a rate of $3.00.  The garages include: 
  • Visitor's Center Parking Garage
  • Aquarium Garage on Calhoun Street
  • Gaillard Auditorium Parking Garage
There are also shuttles that will take you from downtown to Mt.Pleasant but you must wear your race number to board the bus.

The 10K run committee has stated that is objectives of the run are as follows:  
  1. Increase interest in cardiovascular exercise in the Community.
  2. Raise funds for public education on the importance of exercise.
  3. Generate a spirit of community involvement and volunteerism.
  4. Promote and publicize the Cooper River Bridge Run.
For more information or to register for the race, visit www.bridgerun.com 

If you have a home anywhere in the Charleston Metro Area and would like to get more information about selling your home, please contact me for a free home evaluation. 

I also work with buyers.  If you are interested in more information about buying a home please contact me and I would be glad to meet with you or email you a list of homes.

 

Michael J. Johnson, Realtor, ABR

www.metrocharlestonhomes.com

843-817-5299

michaeljohnson@carolinaone.com

"Providing the Light to Guide You Home"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liberty Hall Plantation, Goose Creek, SC

 

 

  

 

Liberty Hall Plantation is one of Goose Creek's newest home communities and features five different subsections.  Two townhome communities greet you upon entrance into Liberty Hall Plantation.  To the left is Wedgewood and to the right is the newest of the townhome communities, Waterford.  Travel straight down Adler Drive and you come upon the three traditional family homes ommunities:  Brick Bark Point, Mulberry Park, and Foster's Creek.

If you live in Liberty Hall Plantation and would like to sell you home, please contact me for a free home consultation.  I will show you how I can help you sell your home using the new and revolutionary "Saleability Index," a program that helped launch my office to the number 1 selling office in the entire Charleston Tri-County area. 

If you are looking to buy in Liberty Hall Plantation or anywhere in Goose Creek, give me a call and I can show you the benefits of using a Realtor including not paying a dime for my services.


If you have a home anywhere in the Charleston Metro Area and would like to get more information about selling your home, please contact me for a free home evaluation. 

I also work with buyers.  If you are interested in more information about buying a home please contact me and I would be glad to meet with you or email you a list of homes.

 

Michael J. Johnson, Realtor, ABR

www.metrocharlestonhomes.com

843-817-5299

michaeljohnson@carolinaone.com

"Providing the Light to Guide You Home"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Housing Market Rankings Affect Home Loans!

Banks and mortgage lenders have begun to compile lists of counties within each state that are now considered a high risk loan based upon the counties declining market ranking.  The soft market county index is a system that each bank has begun to develop individually, but it was prompted by a move by Fannie Mae.  On December 5 of last year Fannie Mae put out a memo that stated that all loans made after January 15, 2008 in "declining" markets would be subject to a 5% higher down payment.  During this time Fannie Mae also encouraged banks to individually come up with their own county risk rankings.

As an example, on January 25 Countrywide released its Soft Market Index in which counties throughout the US were ranked on a scale of 1-5.  A 1 indicates a perceived low risk and a 5 indicates a perceived high risk by Countrywide.    

Although this may sound like a good idea to some, others have cried foul!  A consumer advocacy group, The National Community Reinvestment Coalition have voiced a disapproval with the soft market index system.   David Berenbaum, executive vice president stated that "sound underwriting has nothing to do with geography. It is based on the income and qualifications of the applicant, and the valuation of the property by a professional appraiser."  Berenbaum also contends that an attempt to vary loans solely on geography is a violation of the federal fair lending and civil rights laws.  

Others such as Paul Skeens, head broker for Carteret Mortgage Corp., insist that the soft market index "have their heaviest impacts on areas with high proportions of minority groups and people with moderate incomes who bought houses." 

Is this a new way of "redlining," a process outlawed by the Fair Housing Act of 1968?   It is a very thin line that banks and mortgage companies are walking!  In the real estate industry (and a market economy for that matter) perception is everything!  If a publicly perceived expert (banks in this case) begins to make blanket assumptions about an entire county, then the perception of the public will soon follow.  Housing values are likely to drop simply by this perception (among other things).  I understand that banks and mortgage lenders need to do something to curb the high risk in a declining market but perhaps there is a better way.  Perhaps a new system needs to be put in place that revises the current appraisal system and forces the appraiser to go beyond a Comparable Market Analysis, of which many appraisers never even physically go to the home or neighborhood. I'm just saying!!

I am sure we have not heard the last of this as I predict a couple of lawsuits are just over the horizon.   

 

source: The Post and Courier (www.charleston.net) 


If you have a home anywhere in the Charleston Metro Area and would like to get more information about selling your home, please contact me for a free home evaluation. 

I also work with buyers.  If you are interested in more information about buying a home please contact me and I would be glad to meet with you or email you a list of homes.

 

Michael J. Johnson, Realtor, ABR

www.metrocharlestonhomes.com

843-817-5299

michaeljohnson@carolinaone.com

"Providing the Light to Guide You Home"