Jeremy | Myrtle Beach Homes | Carolina Forest Homes

Jan 26 2018

Bald Eagles In Myrtle Beach

It seems every year around this time we have an influx of extra birds in our area. Our home sits on a pond, and it is not uncommon to view anywhere from 10-100 birds either on it, or circling above it in the air on any given day. Normally you will find ducks, some seagulls, a few egrets, and herron, but in our neighborhood you normally will also find a pair of swans circling on the water.

This year however we have found something else very dramatic around the pond on more than one occasion. That is a pair of beautiful, majestic Bald Eagles. We have watched them soar above the pond and then swoop down to catch a fish to eat. To get a better view, they have been found on various days perched on the roof of a neighbors house spying out their next meal on the water. Here’s a video my wife caught yesterday of these beautiful birds flying around one of the other ponds in our neighborhood:

I’ve lived in Cameron Village now for over 3 years and this is the first time I can remember seeing Bald Eagles here. Here’s a few other photos that were taken by our neighbor Patty Sprague:

I hope that you enjoyed these amazing images as much as I have. I must admit, while these photos are beautiful, nothing beats seeing it in person here in Myrtle Beach! If you would like to purchase a place in the Myrtle Beach area, feel free to reach out & contact me.

Jan 23 2018

Most Romantic Restaurants in Myrtle Beach

Valentine’s Day is just a few weeks away, so I figured that for this week’s Two Minute Tuesday I would share with you the most romantic restaurants in Myrtle Beach. While I consider myself to be pretty good in this category, I wanted to get the opinions of others as well, so I asked on Facebook my friend where they thought were the most romantic restaurants in Myrtle Beach. The video below covers the 5 most popular places, but make sure to read the entire list of recommendations after.

5 Most Romantic Restaurants In Myrtle Beach

5. Thoroughbreds Chophouse and Seafood Grille. I’ve been to this restaurant several times myself, in fact, I’ve gone to weddings receptions there. It’s a great romantic place where they have very quaint settings, amazing food, and awesome steaks. They are just reopening from doing renovations, and take reservations, so I’d call quickly to get your reservation. Also, try the Angels on Horseback- Jumbo sea scallops, wrapped in Applewood smoked bacon and served with butternut squash puree, sweet potato sticks, and our Kentucky bourbon sauce, a personal favorite!

4. Frank’s Restaurant & Outback down in Pawleys Island. I’ve never been there, but from everyone who responded to the question, they said Frank’s is an amazing place that you should go check out, so definitely go give that one a test, and I will soon as well. The 20 oz bone in ribeye is calling my name.

3. New York Prime Steakhouse. I’ve heard this is a great amazing romantic place to go take your date and have some amazing food. I’m going to definitely try the extra thick bacon when I go, and from what I’ve been told, this is the place to go to find the absolute best steaks on the beach.

2. The Library. The library used to be located in downtown Myrtle Beach right near where the Pavilion was. However they just recently moved about 55 avenues north up in Myrtle Beach into a brand new location. I had a lot of people who responded saying the new location is amazing it’s quaint, and a very romantic place to take your date. Plus, you can never go wrong here with their She Crab soup.

1. The Melting Pot. Where else can you go and have a romantic date in a private booth with your special someone where you can share together, sit side by side and create your own magical meal. from the cheese dip fondue to start to the main entree, to the chocolate dessert fondues, it is probably the most romantic place on the beach. One word of caution, be careful your server doesn’t go overboard on garlic in the cheese fondue. My wife & I have a funny story about this we can share with you, feel free to ask us about it.

Honorable Mentions

Here’s a few other restaurants that were listed on my post that you may want to give a try as well if the top 5 are all booked up with reservations, or you want something not quite as popular. I’ve eaten at many of these restaurants and can honestly say, the food will be just as good.

So there you have it, the most romantic restaurants in Myrtle Beach and the surrounding Grand Strand. Make sure to get your reservations in place now, and leave a comment below letting me know which place you are planning to go to with your date!

Jan 16 2018

5 Mistakes To Avoid When Buying A Myrtle Beach Home In 2018

It’s time for another Two Minute Tuesday where today we are going to discuss 5 mistakes to avoid when buying a Myrtle Beach home in 2018. If you don’t feel like reading, you can watch this video where I give you the summary of this entire post.

Today I’m going to share with you the top 5 most common mistakes I’ve seen buyers make when purchasing a home over the last several years. We’ve written a contract on a home here in Myrtle Beach, the buyers are excited and have already moved into the new home in their minds and forget about something very important still needing to happen, the financing. Over the past 17 years in this business, I’ve run into these 5 items on more than one occasion so I figured I’d share them with people thinking of buying a home in the next year to save you some headaches and issues.

5 Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a Home in 2018

1. Don’t go change jobs. We see too many times where somebody changes jobs the week before closing or they are moving here from another state and while they may have a job lined up, they now have no employment. Almost every lender that I deal with will do a final check up on employment the week before closing to make sure the borrower still has that steady source of income.

If the source of income has disappeared, the lender isn’t going to give you a few hundred thousand dollars to purchase a home if they cannot see that you will have the ability to repay on the mortgage. Now, if you are transferring from one location to a location here within the same company doing the same job with basically the same pay, then you are fine. This won’t cause an issue. If you are changing careers or going to pursue something completely different, wait a few months after you have your home to make that change.

2. Paying Off Your Debt- The second thing that causes problems when you are trying to purchase a house is you were to go and pay off all your debt. A common misconception that buyers have when purchasing a home is that if they can reduce their debt more, it can make them more qualified to purchase. While this is partially true in the sense that it does help with your debt to income ratios, it actually can cause more harm by closing out several credit lines. When you pay off those lines of credit, your score can actually go down in a negative manner that can make your credit score too low to qualify.

Before you start paying off all your debt, talk to the lender. Sometimes they will tell you that you need to pay off something in order to qualify, but in other instances they will tell you not to because it could be a negative effect. Many times the best option is to just keep making monthly payments till after closing and then pay off those small loans.3. Keeping your down payment in cash. Unfortunately there are some people that just do not trust in banks. They do not trust in their systems so they keep their money in cash, either tucked under a mattress, in a piggy bank, or in a coffee can in the back of the toilet. Unfortunately when that happens, you do not have that money in a seasoned fund which is what the banks are looking at when they are trying to give you a loan.

I remember a client who was ready to purchase a condo in Myrtle Beach and the lender could not qualify him for the small loan because the gentleman didn’t trust in banks and kept the $100,000 he was going to use to purchase at home. He was only trying to get a loan for around $75,000 but because the part he was bringing to the table wasn’t seasoned funds, it delayed the closing and almost lost him the property.

4. Making large purchases. Listen, I get that your car may be old and it’s breaking down. But try to make it through purchasing your home and closing before running to dealership and buying a new vehicle. If you are wanting new furniture for your new house, don’t go to the furniture store and purchase it on a credit card.

If the furniture store asks you “Do you want to buy this on 6 months same as cash deal?” Just say no! What they are going to do is open a credit card for you that a payment isn’t due for an extended period of time. But, it will be a lowering on your credit score, and an increase on your overall debt. When those things happen it could knock you out of the ability to get the actual financing for your new home. So you may end up with a brand new sofas and no place to them.

5. Do not change banks. Your money is sitting right now in an institution. If you take that money and move it over to somewhere else or transfer it over to another account, it then becomes non-seasoned funds. You need to have that money sitting still for 30-60 day period so that the bank can see this is the actual money that you are using for a down payment and it is actually yours.

The banks what to see that this money isn’t money that somebody gave you and will want it back, it’s not money that you stole from somewhere, and it’s not something you got from a credit card cash advance. The reason for the 30-60 day time period is so that if you did get it as a loan from somewhere, it will have time to show up on your credit report.

Wrap Up

In closing, I want to make one final point. When you are purchasing a home, the lenders are going to do a final check on everything related to you and any other borrowers on the loan. When you apply for the loan, you answer some basic questions related to employment, your current assets, your current debt, and current credit score. These numbers is what a lender uses to determine if you qualify for a loan.

These items will then be verified by the lender of the next few weeks after application has been made to make sure you are telling them the truth. Then, a few days prior to closing after all the title work, appraisals, and inspections are done, the lender will then do a final check to make sure that all the information you gave in the beginning is still true and that nothing major has been changed since the original application.

If anything does change, that will be the difference between you purchasing your new Myrtle Beach house or not. If you have any other questions regarding mistakes to avoid when buying a home in Myrtle Beach in 2018, feel free to call me at 843-222-9402 or you can contact me through the website.

photo by: cafecredit

Jan 11 2018

Most Expensive Homes Sold On The Grand Strand In 2017

That’s right! It’s time for the annual Myrtle Beach luxury home wrap-up where I share with you the 10 most expensive homes to sell along the Grand Strand in this past year. This marks the 4 year in a row that we have shared this real estate information with you. Now while you may not be able to afford a luxury home in Myrtle Beach at this time, it is always fun to see these beautiful grand homes with the high price tag.

Since this is the fourth installment, you may want to check out previous years which you can see 2014, 2015, and 2016 here. Below you will find listed the 10 most expensive homes to sell during 2017 along The Grand Strand from least expensive to most expensive.

10. 1277 DeBordieu Blvd, Georgetown, SC 29440- $2,110,000 The first home in our top 10 this year was a fantastic opportunity in DeBordieu Colony to not only own an amazing oceanfront home, but also purchase the lot next door as well. This 5 bedroom 5.5 bath oceanfront home was sold with a second sub-dividable oceanfront lot next door. As you enter this home there was a grand double staircase that greeted you that is gorgeous.

9. 1837 S. Waccamaw Drive, Garden City Beach, SC 29576- $2,115,000 8 Bedrooms, 7.5 baths were found in this oceanfront home in Garden City. Only 3 years old and with over 5,000 square feet inside helped place this home easily on our top ten list this year. In addition to being oceanfront, this home also had it’s own private swimming pool and a breakfast bar where you could sit 10 people.

8. Lot 6 Atlantic Avenue, Pawleys Island, SC 29585- $2,200,000 The was our first new construction home to top the list in a long time. This was a 5 bedroom, 5.5 bath new home situated in the Assey section of Pawleys Island. It featured both ocean and inlet views as well as access to a shared dock with gazebo.

7. 9857 Bellasera Circle, Myrtle Beach, SC 29579- $2,250,000 At number 7 was a beautiful home in the Grande Dunes. This home featured 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths a movie theater, dynamic kitchen, and an infinity pool with amazing views of the Intracoastal Waterway.

6. 40 Seaview Loop, Pawleys Island, SC 29585- $2,250,000 This 5 bedroom 6.5 bath home was only one year old when it sold in July of 2017. With all of the porches & decks this home featured it had over 7,300 square feet under roof of space for entertaining. You could walk right out the back door of this home right down your own private deck onto the beach in North Litchfield.

5. 1145 S. Waccamaw Drive, Murrells Inlet, SC 29576- $2,350,000 While we marveled at the under roof size of our #6 home on the list, this property had more square footage in just the heated segment at over 7,500 heated square feet. This home had an amazing 10 bedrooms, 10.5 baths, a private heated pool, elevator to all three floors, and a kitchen with 2 of everything. That’s right, 2 refrigerators, 2 dishwashers, 2 microwaves, & 2 washers & dryers.

4. 1201 Norris Drive, Pawleys Island, SC 29585- $2,400,000 Built in 2002 this 5 bedroom, 5.5 bath oceanfront was found on the Peninsula at Inlet Point and had some amazing ocean views while being only steps to the beach.

3. 100 Ocean Park Loop, Georgetown, SC 29440- $2,500,000 For number 3 on our list of 10 most expensive homes sold in 2017, we head back to DeBordieu Colony. This 5 bedroom, 5.5 bath oceanfront masterpiece was built in 2001 and featured heated floors even in the bathrooms.

2. 6502 N. Ocean Boulevard, Myrtle Beach, SC 29572- $2,892,000 Our second most expensive home to sell in 2017 was the highest price sale in the city of Myrtle Beach for the entire year. This oceanfront home built in 2013 along the Golden Mile featured stainless steel commercial appliances, quartz countertops, and a dramatic infinity pool with amazing views of the Atlantic Ocean.

1. 1344 Parker Drive, Pawleys Island, SC 29585- $3,298,500 As the only home to break the 3 million dollar mark for 2017, this stunning home sat in it’s own private reserve overlooking the ocean and Huntington State Park. This home featured an energy efficient system that kept heating and cooling this home to an average bill of around $37 for the year in this 4,350 heated square foot home. This home was purchased with all cash as well.

So now that I’ve share the most expensive homes sold, what does this mean for the Myrtle Beach Luxury Homes market in 2018?

Myrtle Beach Luxury Market Stronger Than Ever

In 2017, more homes over one million dollars have sold in Myrtle Beach than in 2014 and 2015. In 2014, there were 49 Million dollar homes that sold for a total of $77 million in inventory. In 2015, there were 64 million dollar properties that sold for a total inventory of over 95 million. 2016 saw 72 luxury homes in Myrtle Beach sell for 101 million in inventory. 2017 crushed those numbers with 88 homes selling with price tag above 1 million for a total inventory cost of $128,646,000.

In comparison to the market in 2016, there spread between luxury home prices is trending upward. While last year there were 2 properties to sell for 3 million, the next closest price was 2.195 million. This year the average sold price of our top 10 list came in at an astounding $2,436,500. Also, this is the first time since we began reporting this information that all of the top ten most expensive homes to sell on The Grand Strand were over 2 million.

Breaking the Sales Down

When you break down the top 10 list for 2017, I found it interesting that half of the properties were sold with financing while the other 5 were purchased with all cash. That shows me people see the value in investing into our local real estate market. Also, all of the luxury homes sold this past year had some sort of water feature attached to the home. Most had a view of the ocean, or marsh, and one even had the intracoastal waterway. Once proving that waterfront properties remain in high demand, especially when it comes to luxury home buyers.

When you break down the sections of the beach, more luxury homes were sold in Pawleys Island than any other section of the beach again this year with 34 homes. Myrtle Beach zip codes came in second with 26 properties sold, Garden City with 14, North Myrtle Beach 9, Surfside Beach 3, Murrells Inlet 2, and one outside the area, were sold this past year for over a million dollars. So, if you are looking for a luxury property, your best bet is to look either in Pawleys Island or Myrtle Beach it would seem.

What’s Available For Sale Now?

Below you will find all current luxury homes for sale in Myrtle Beach that are over one million.

Pawleys Island Luxury Homes

If you found this post interesting, would you do me a favor & share it with your friends? Also, if you are interested in purchasing a luxury home along the Grand Strand, feel free to call me at 843-222-9402 or contact me through my site.

Obviously, not everyone can afford a luxury home like the ones listed above. Did you know that the average property I sell in Myrtle Beach this past year was under $150,000? While property values continue to rise in Myrtle Beach, there still are plenty of options out there to find affordable housing in Myrtle Beach. I’d love the opportunity to help you find your perfect home that fits your needs in any price range. Do not hesitate reaching out to me today to discuss.

Jan 02 2018

Five Things Every Home Inspector Checks In Myrtle Beach

When buying a home in Myrtle Beach, should you get a home inspection done? What will the home inspector check when going through the property? I’m going to cover this topic in today’s Two Minute Tuesday Video:

Should I Have A Home Inspection Done When Buying a Home In Myrtle Beach?

When you are buying a house, one of the things I always suggest is for my buyers to get someone to do a professional home inspection of the home. This means hire a licensed insured home inspector to come into your property and check everything about it. It will cost a few hundred dollars and take the person a few hours, but they will do a full and complete walkthrough of the property to make sure there are no major issues found throughout the property. Now in Myrtle Beach, they are going to check for five main areas of the house. They are not going to cover things that are cosmetic though. So you want to make sure when you are doing your contract if you see something cosmetic like a cracked tile or chip in the wood that you put those things are written into your contract to get them addressed.

Five Areas Checked

When a home inspector comes into the property, they are going to go over the entire property and do visual inspections of everything, but they are going to focus into these 5 main areas:

Structure
Heating/Cooling System
Plumbing
Electrical
Appliances

These five areas are what a South Carolina Residential Agreement directly talks about in the contract. If the item mentioned by an inspector does not fall under one of these 5 categories, then it’s possible the seller will resist taking care of the item.

Structure

Let me start by stating this, your inspector is not going to do a full structural inspection of your home. In order to do that, you would need to hire a structural engineer who has specific training to handle such a thing. What a home inspector in Myrtle Beach is going to do instead is a visual inspection of the property. They are going to make note of any defects or things that look out of the normal. If they see a crack in the foundation they will alert the buyer of it. If the buyer has greater concern based on the findings in this original report, they could then hire a structural engineer to come out to the property and do a specific structural inspection of the home.

The home inspector is also going to check the roof to make sure there are no leaks noticeable to the eye. They will go into the attic and make sure that nothing is out of the ordinary. That there is the proper amount of insulation present to keep the home insulated right. If they see any signs of a prior leak, they normally have a moisture meter that they will then test the affected area to see if it just a stain from previous issue or if it is something that is current and needs to be addressed immediately. They will walk around the exterior of the home and make note of any wood rot, or damage caused by wood destroying organisms as well.

Heating/Cooling System

The second main area the inspector is going to focus on is your HVAC system. Now, home inspectors as a whole are not normally experts on everything related to your heating & cooling system, but, they are going to do a full visual inspection of your equipment. They are going to make sure that if it’s a hot summer day the air conditioning is working and making cool air. If it is a cold winter day, the heat is working properly and it’s making warm air. They are going to note the age of the unit, and make sure that there are no leaks on any of the lines and that all dr

ains are properly installed and that drain pans are in place.

They will open up your filters and make sure that they are clean and that the coils in the unit are also fairly clean and free from any debris that could cause the unit to work hard and thus wear out quicker. They will also run tests to check the outflow vs intake of air temps. They will use their best skills to make sure your system is running optimally.

Plumbing

During a home inspection in Myrtle Beach, they are going to check this third section, the plumbing systems. While they aren’t going to be able to see what is going on behind the drywall, they are going to test all your faucets throughout the property and make sure that they are working properly. They are going to look under the sinks and make sure that when the water drains out that it is not leaking.

The inspectors are going to make sure your drain plugs are in proper working order and that there are no leaks in the faucets. The home inspector is going to give you all kinds of information about your hot water heater like it’s age, size, whether it has an expansion tank, if it is heating water to a proper temperature without being too hot. They will make note of the temperature to make sure you do not get scalded when taking a shower, or placing a child into a freshly drawn bath.

Electrical System

Next, the inspector is going to go the electrical box and they are going to check to make sure that there is nothing faulty in there. They will make note of the amperage in the box. They will do a thorough inspection of the panel to make sure that somebody didn’t take a circuit breaker and stick it in on their own, improperly. This could be a major fire hazard that could burn your house to the ground at any moment if not addressed.

The inspectors are going to go to every single outlet in the home and make sure they are working properly and are grounded. They are going to test the GFCI outlets in your kitchen and bathrooms to make sure they are shutting off when surged to keep you protected. They will check all the lights in the home and make sure they work properly as well.

Appliances

The fifth and final area they are going to test are the appliances. The home inspector is going to make sure that your dishwasher is running properly and free of leaks. That your garbage disposal doesn’t make a clanking noise when turned on because something is stuck in it. That the ceiling fans are not wobbling and about to fall down. He’s going to make sure that all appliances are in working order as of that day.

This does not mean that the week after closing that one of the appliances might break down. They are machines that can break down at any moment. When we moved to the area, we had bought a fairly new home and one month after moving into the home, the refrigerator that was only 3 years old broke down and wasn’t cooling any more. Luckily we had purchased a home warranty that covered us and we only had to pay a service call to have someone come and fix it. This is one of the many reasons I also recommend my clients get a home warranty when purchasing property. It gives you an added level of protection for that first year of ownership for a minimal fee.

Wrap Up

These are the five areas that the home inspector is going to check when they come into your property. While it does cost you some money to hire them to do the inspection, I hope I have now given you a much clearer explanation of what is covered so that you can see the value in hiring one when purchasing your next home in Myrtle Beach. When completed, they will provide you a very in depth report of just about anything and everything you would ever want to know about your new property you are buying.

If you have any more questions on what a home inspection covers when buying a home in Myrtle Beach, or anything else related to buying or selling a home in Myrtle Beach, feel free to reach out to me. You can either call me at 843-222-9402 or use the contact form to email me directly.

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