"The character inherent in the American people has done all that has been accomplished; and it would have done somewhat more, if the government had not sometimes got in its way." - Henry David Thoreau

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."

-  Henry David Thoreau

"All endeavor calls for the ability to tramp the last mile, shape the last plan, endure the last hours toil. The fight to the finish spirit is the one... characteristic we must posses if we are to face the future as finishers."  -Henry David Thoreau

That's right I said it!  Realtors do not sell real estate!  Owners of real estate sell real estate. By law one can not sell what one does not own.  Sounds easy enough but many people have a unclear understanding of what Realtors do which leads to frustration.

So why in the world do you need a Realtor if they do not sell homes? 

A Realtor's primary responsibility is to partner with a home owner/buyer and consult them on how to sell/buy real estate.  This is why a commission is usually paid instead of a flat fee.  Both parties have a stake in the outcome of the home sale.  Here are a few roles that Realtor's play in the home selling process:

Trusted Adviser - like very few other professions you absolutely have to trust the person you choose as a consultant.  For most people buying and selling a home is one of the biggest financial decisions they will make in their lives.  A Realtor should be able to tell home owners what the condition of the home needs to be to get it sold as well as the market value of the house.

Marketing Expert - a good Realtor should have a general marketing plan that can be tailored to meet any given property that he/she may list for sale.  Sticking an ad in the paper and a sign in the yard will simply not cut it in today's market.  A good Realtor knows that he/she must have a on-line market presence to succeed in today's market.

Process Facilitator - the real estate process can be very confusing, tedious, and time consuming.  It is the Realtor's job to maintain all paperwork involved in the transaction as well ensure that the timetable is set and followed for all aspects of the home selling process.  If done correctly, the process should be as worry free as possible for the home owner and/or home buyer.

Negotiator - no I'm not talking about William Shatner.  Only one in every twenty-one contracts goes though as originally written.  Most often there is something that is changed and negotiated between the buyer and the seller.  Knowing how to approach a negotiation and knowing how to protect the interest of the buyer and/or seller (depending on who is being represented) takes skill.  This skill usually only comes with time and education.

These are just a few of the primary reasons why you need to use a Realtor to help you get your home sold or to buy a home.  A Realtor is a consultant not a salesman.  A salesman usually looks out for their own interest.  A Realtor is required to look out for your interest once they've been hired to do so.

Michael J. Johnson

843-817-5299

michaeljohnson@carolinaone.com

www.providingthelight.com

www.metrocharlestonhomes.com

Five Recent Blogs

1. Summerville SC Real Estate News
2. Charleston AFB and Weapons Station Home Owners Assistance
3. Crowfield Plantation Real Estate, Goose Creek SC
4. Goose Creek SC 1st Quarter Stats
5. Things to Do in Charleston, SC

"Relationships are all there is.  Everything in the universe only exists because it is in relationship to everything else.  Nothing exists in isolation.  We have to stop pretending we are individuals that can go it alone."

- Margaret Wheatley

"There is no such thing as a "self-made man.  We are made up of thousands of others.  Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success."

-George Burton Adams

"....life, like golf, is a game, and the people who know the rules, and know them well, play it best and succeed.  And the rule in life that has unprecedented power is that the individual who knows the right people, for the right reasons, and utilizes the power of these relationships can become a member of the "club"..."

-Keith Ferrazzi (author of Never Eat Alone)

www.cartoonstudio.co.uk

Michael Johnson

michaeljohnson@carolinaone.com

843-817-5299

www.providingthelight.com

www.metrocharlestonhomes.com

Five Recent Blogs

1. Summerville SC Real Estate News
2. Charleston AFB and Weapons Station Home Owners Assistance
3. Crowfield Plantation Real Estate, Goose Creek SC
4. Goose Creek SC 1st Quarter Stats
5. Things to Do in Charleston, SC

Foxbank Plantation is located off of Hwy 54 between Goose Creek and Moncks Corner South Carolina.  The neighborhood has several builders to include KB Homes, Lennar, Sable Homes, David Weekley Homes, Palmetto Classic Homes, Truepenny Homes, and Southlund.  The new home community offers a wide variety of home prices ranging from 150's to the 300's as well as a wide variety of home styles.

Below are the statistic for homes sold this year up to April 2009:

The average list price this year so far is around 192K while that average sold price is around 189K.  The average days on market is 98 days and the current inventory of homes for sale in Foxbank Plantation is 33. 

If you are interested in buying a home in Foxbank Plantation or anywhere else in the Charleston area real estate market, please give me a call.  I will show you how I can help you get the most for your money and best of all, my services are at no cost to you.  You have nothing to loose.

Michael J. Johnson, Realtor

843-817-5299

michaeljohnson@carolinaone.com

www.providingthelight.com

www.metrocharlestonhomes.com

Five Recent Blogs

1. Summerville SC Real Estate News
2. Charleston AFB and Weapons Station Home Owners Assistance
3. Crowfield Plantation Real Estate, Goose Creek SC
4. Goose Creek SC 1st Quarter Stats
5. Things to Do in Charleston, SC

"Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn." - C.S. Lewis

"He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature."   -Socrates

"Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights" - John Wooden

www.providingthelight.com

www.metrocharlestonhomes.com

Summerville SC is a suburb of Charleston SC and is located northwest of Charleston off of I-26.  Summerville appeals to both families and businesses and is one of the fastest growing cities in the Lowcountry.  Summerville has a fairly large population at a little over 48,000 people but still has a small town feel and attitude.  The town was originally settled just after the revolutionary war by plantation owners but the town was not officially created until 1848.  There has seen a huge population increase in the last 20-30 years due in large part to its increased popularity to local military members assigned to Charleston AFB, as well as the overall growth of the Charleston metropolitan as a whole. 

Current Numbers - Like most real estate markets Summerville has seen a downturn in the number of homes sold, but homes are still selling and the population continues to grow.  From the graph you can see the amount of homes that were selling in 2008 as compared to the first 4 months into this year.  There are currently around 1500 houses on the market.   With the current selling rate per month, there is just over 14 months of inventory on the market. 

Top Selling Neighborhoods - Summerville has a vast array of neighborhoods.  There are plenty of older neighborhoods, of which the homes are older, but the neighborhood tends to have more "character" and the yards and space between homes tend to be bigger and greater.  

On the other hand, many people like the appeal of a new home that has never been lived in before now.  That combined with the fact that new home builders are giving a lot of buyers some really good deals is often too much for home buyers to pass on.

Thus far in 2009, the top 5 neighborhoods in Summerville are Wescott Plantation, Cain Bay Plantation, Sangaree, Legend Oaks Plantation, Lakes of Summerville.  All of these, with the exception of Sangaree, are considered new construction neighborhoods.

For more information about real estate in Summerville SC or anywhere in the Charleston Tri-county area, please contact Michael Johnson at 843-817-5299 or email at michaeljohnson@carolinaone.com.

Michael J. Johnson, Realtor

843-817-5299

www.providingthelight.com

www.metrocharlestonhomes.com

michaeljohnson@carolinaone.com

Recent Blogs

1. Crowfield Plantation Real Estate

2. Goose Creek SC Real Estate

3.  Things to Do in Charleston

4.  Real Estate Gumbo

5.  History of Charleston AFB

6.  Summerville Road Extension

"To love is to risk not being loved in return.  To hope is to risk pain.  To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing."  - Anonymous

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. It is more important that the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. The remarkable thing is - we have a choice every day of our lives regarding the attitude we embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I’m convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you.  We are in charge of our attitudes."

- Charles Swindoll

"Don't ask what the world needs.  Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it.  Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." - Howard Thurman

The economic downturn of the last year has caused a great many heartaches.  But, perhaps those most unfairly hit are our nation's military.  They come and go not on a whim but rather by the orders of good ole Uncle Sam.  That means that the average military member who was not fortunate enough to get on base housing a few years ago, and who went out and bought a home, probably is in a very difficult situation if they now have to sell because of PCS (permanent change of station) orders.

Many have had no recourse but to utilize the option of short sale or foreclosure.  Short sale is an industry term which simply means that the market will not allow the person to sale their home for what they now owe the lender.  The house is essentially upside down.  If the lender allows for a short sale they will accept a fair market price and often forgive the home owner for the dept.  This is not without consequence as this will be reported on the seller's credit report and could remain there from 2-7 years depending on the bank.  For the military member who has little choice in when and where he is stationed, the short sale can be a horrible alternative.

The American Investment and Recovery Act of 2009 passed by Congress and signed by President Obama in February hopes to address this issue.  This "stimulus package" has $555 million dedicated to expanding the Homeowners Assistance Program (HAP).  HAP is a program administered by the US Army Corp of Engineers and was initially designed in 1966 to "provide some monetary relief to eligible service member (including Coast Guard) and federal employee (including non-appropriated fund) homeowners who suffer financial loss on the sale of their primary residences when a base closure or realignment announcement causes a decline in the residential real estate market and they are not able to sell their homes under reasonable terms or conditions." 

The stimulus package will expand the HAP to "provide assistance to relocating military service members, civilian employees, and their families who face financial loss due to the ongoing housing crisis."  The Corp of Engineers website has stated that "the Directorate of Real Estate is developing policy guidance for implementing new authorities provided in the recovery act."

The HAP website has stated on the website that the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding policy has yet to be determined. While potential applicants are free to submit application paperwork, we will process the applications based on the implementation guidance, which we expect to receive in the next few weeks." 

If you are a military member assigned to Charleston AFB, the Navy Weapons Station, or anywhere else in the Charleston SC Area and would like assistance selling or buying a home please contact me, a U.S. Air Force Veteran:

Michael J. Johnson, Realtor

843-817-5299

www.providingthelight.com

www.metrocharlestonhomes.com

Recent Blogs

1. Crowfield Plantation Real Estate

2. Goose Creek SC Real Estate

3.  Things to Do in Charleston

4.  Real Estate Gumbo

5.  History of Charleston AFB