Jeremy | Myrtle Beach Homes | Carolina Forest Homes

Dec 26 2017

Does it Cost More To Buy A Myrtle Beach Home With An Agent?

One of the questions I get asked regularly is how much more does it cost me to have you represent me when buying a Myrtle Beach home Jeremy? See, there is this common misconception that it costs more money to have an agent work on your behalf when purchasing a home for sale in the area. Buyers just remember seeing on a closing statement this large amount of money that is being paid to an agent and they immediately think that they could have saved more money by not using an agent, or just using the listing agent. Unfortunately this type of thinking is completely inaccurate in most cases.

Section 5 of the Exclusive Right To Buy Buyer Agency Contract from the SC REALTORS® it goes through in great detail how someone is compensated. To be completely transparent with you on what these options are, I’ve attached a screenshot of this segment of the contract below:

Three Ways An Agent Gets Paid

As you can see, there are only 3 ways that an agent can be paid. Some of these options include you paying out of pocket to have an agent to represent you. But in almost all cases, you do not have to pay. The first way, is via a Retainer Fee in which the buyer pays a nonrefundable retainer fee of agreed upon amount that is due at time of signing the contract. This can then sometimes be applied to the brokerage fee as well.

The second option is a Service Fee in which the buyer pays the broker a service of an agreed upon amount that is paid whether or not buyer purchases any property. There’s options as to whether that’s all an agent receives or if there is the ability to earn more as well.

The third option is for an agent to receive compensation from a brokerage fee, which is the way I’ve worked with almost all of my clients purchasing a home in Myrtle Beach. See, when someone lists their home for sale with an agency, they sign a listing agreement that not only discusses the total amount of commission the seller is willing to pay out, but it also discusses how much the seller wants to have offered to the agent bringing the buyer.

Seller Pays Agent, Not The Buyer

See screenshot from SC REALTOR® Exclusive Right To Sell Agreement:

As you can see in the above graphic, the seller has signed an agreement already to pay the agent bringing the buyer to their property long before you have ever even seen the home. They sign this listing agreement prior to an agent processing any type of paperwork. This all gets done long before any offers have been made by the buyer. So the seller pays, not the buyer.

Will I Save By Using The Same Agent?

Some think that if they use the listing agent they will save money because they are representing both sides. The thing is, when this happens, all you do is place even more money into that agents pocket. They get the selling side and the buying side. Yes, they are going to end up doing much more work, but you as a buyer are not going to get the best representation from that agent due to the fact that they already have a relationship in place with the seller of the property. They have already spent weeks working on their behalf, marketing their property and building that relationship.

When you hire the agent as a dual agent, they basically just become a messenger then working on your side and also on the seller side. All the agents can do then is let you know what the seller said and convey to the seller whatever information you want them to do. They can’t give you as much consultation and the absolute best representation because they have to remain impartial. At the end of the day, seller is going to get the same amount of money out of the deal, you don’t get as good representation, and the dual agent gets an even larger check. So this option doesn’t really help you at all.

Any Chances The Buyer Pays?

Now, there is a scenario where the buyer would have to actually pay a commission to a buyers agent which would only take place if the buyers have a signed agreement in place and then proceed to try and purchase a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) in which the seller does not agree to work with an agent. In the past 17 years in this business, I have yet to find one who will not at least agree to hire work with a real estate agent that has a ready willing able buyer present wanting to purchase their home. Most of the time, the sellers will gladly pay what the agent has placed in section C of the compensation section as long as the person buys their home. But, if the FSBO decides that they will not pay, and the buyers are set on purchasing that particular property, then the payment to the agent would become the responsibility of the buyer to pay either the specified amount or percentage that was agreed upon at the time of signing the agreement.

Other than this exception, it does not cost anything extra to have an agent represent you when buying a home in Myrtle Beach.

What About Buying New Construction In Myrtle Beach?

The other common misunderstanding is that when someone buys a new construction home in Myrtle Beach that they will end up paying more for the home when they go to a neighborhood with a buyer versus going on their own. This statement is totally incorrect. When someone has an agent represent them with the purchase a new home from the builder, they normally will end up saving them money, or help them negotiate upgrades into the sale.

I recently helped some awesome buyers from North Carolina purchase a home here in Myrtle Beach from one of the many national builders in the area. I was able to negotiate several thousands of dollars off the purchase price as well as get the buyers an $6,000 upgraded tile shower, a large concrete patio, 6 ceiling fans, appliances, and much more. If that buyer had gone into the neighborhood on their own, they probably would not have tried negotiating the price at all with the builder or ask for any of the various upgrades.

I had estimate till it was over I saved them close to $10,000 off the purchase price as well as another close to $13,000 in upgrades in the home. Having agency representation whey buying new construction definitely pays! The build also then paid me a commission for bringing the buyer for this home.

Wrap Up

So in closing, the one thing I always say to buyers when meeting with them and explaining how buyer agency works is this: Make sure to hire someone to represent you. I hope that the person hired is me, but I know that isn’t always the case. The main thing is to find an agent that you can relate to and work well with. Once you find that person, sign the agency agreement and let them work on your behalf. Just make sure you have the right fit before signing the agency contract. Once you sign up, you are contractually obligated to work with that person until your agreement expires. Hopefully though, you work well together with this person and they can help you find the best home possible for the best price possible, in the exact location you wanted and you will spend years of happiness in your new property in Myrtle Beach. The best part is that having this type of relationship with an agent will not cost you anything more!

If you are thinking of buying a home in Myrtle Beach, I’d love the opportunity to work on your behalf in finding a home, so give me a call at 843-222-9402 if I can be of any further assistance, or do not hesitate to fill out the contact form to reach out to me.

Dec 18 2017

North Myrtle Beach Christmas Light Show

This past weekend was my mother’s birthday and we wanted to do something fun with the family to celebrate her birthday. So I loaded the family up in the van and picked up my mother to head to the North Myrtle Beach Christmas Light Show. We tried to go to see these lights last year, but the day that we went they were unfortunately closed.

So, this year we double checked on their website that it was going to be open and headed up highway 31 to the North Myrtle Beach Sportsplex which is home to the light show. This light show is a drive through style where you can enjoy the 1.5 mile long drive throughout the sports complex while viewing over 2 million lights festively displayed. There are over 500 light displays with some as tall as 55 feet. There is even a segment that is synchronized to music along the way.

After viewing the nice display, you can then park and go enjoy some of the other great things to do inside Santa’s Village where you can find a petting zoo, village treats, a train ride, ice skating, a 40′ inflatable slide, and a lighted tree top adventure. To enter the light display is $15 per vehicle with up to 15 guests and then there are additional fees to participate in other activities around the village.

The park opens at 5:30PM and I would HIGHLY recommend if you are wanting to visit, to get there close to that time. We arrived around 5:35PM and it only took us around fifteen minutes to enter. When leaving around 7PM, the line to enter was backed up for miles. My guess is that those waiting in line would be waiting there for close to 2 hours for entry.

My kids (ages 9, 7, & 3) all loved the light show and had an absolute blast in the petting zoo after. If you have younger children, I would highly recommend adding this onto your to-do list during the holidays.

If you would like more information on visiting The Great Christmas Light Show of North Myrtle Beach, you can find all the details on their website.

Nov 21 2017

Where to Eat Thanksgiving Dinner In Myrtle Beach

In Myrtle Beach this Thanksgiving and want to know where to go eat your Thanksgiving Day Meal? Read on to find my top 3 places to eat Thanksgiving Day in Myrtle Beach.

This year my family and I will be spending Thanksgiving with our in-laws in Georgia which means my Mother & Grandmother will be home alone during the holiday. Since my family isn’t around, they obviously do not want to be cooking a giant meal for just the two of them. Going through all the work of preparing the turkey and all the fixings that go along with the meal is just entirely too much work.

Instead it is just more economical and more time time effective for the two of them to go out to dinner somewhere for the holiday. The ultimate question then becomes, Where is a good place to eat dinner in Myrtle Beach on Thanksgiving? Since we are a tourist town as well, many people who head to the beach for the holiday are probably wondering the same thing.

I asked on my Facebook profile for suggestions on where the best places to eat that day and here are my top picks. Granted, you can always go to several other options here at the beach, but these are my top three places I would go if I wanted a traditional Turkey meal on Thanksgiving in Myrtle Beach.

Carolina Roadhouse- Out of all the options in the area, this place might just have the absolute best Thanksgiving Day meal around. Here’s their menu for the day according to their Facebook Page.

Oven Roasted Turkey Breast
Sugar Cured Ham
Sweet Potato Casserole
Green Beans
Honey-Butter Glazed Carrots
Mashed Potatoes
Southern Herb Stuffing
Homemade Giblet Gravy
Cranberry Relish
Cornbread Muffins
Pecan or Pumpkin Pie

______________________________

11AM-10PM | For Reservations: 843-497-9911

$19.95 | $9.95 (Kids 10 and under)

I know from past years that the amount of food you have is enough to get at least two meals out of it. So bonus, you get to take home leftovers for Black Friday!

Bob Evans– My oldest daughter has fallen in love with eating here and I’m sure if we would be in town she would lobby for going here to eat. From their Facebook Page:

Join us at our table on Thanksgiving Day (11/24) for a special holiday meal. Get your choice of entree, 3 sides, endless bread and a slice of pie for just $14.99.

They have a Reese’s peanut butter pie that is to die for good!

Magnolias at 26th If you would like more options and prefer a buffet style restaurant, then I would suggest looking at this place. I’ve been known to frequent this place for awesome lunches with some of the best homestyle southern cooking you can find in Myrtle Beach. Here’s an image of what they will be serving on Thanksgiving on their buffet.

If you do go here, make sure to save some room for the Chocolate Eclair dessert. It’s amazing!

So there you have it, my top three places to go eat a traditional Thanksgiving Day meal in Myrtle Beach. Are you going to be cooking your own meal or heading out for the holiday? Do you know of another awesome place to go eat a Thanksgiving Day meal in Myrtle Beach? Leave it in the comments below!

Edit: After publishing this post, several others commented with other great options on my Facebook profile. You can see the full list here.

Nov 01 2017

How Medical Bills Can Cause Title Issues

I’ve been in the business now for well over 15+ years and I consider myself a rather seasoned agent these days. During that time I’ve helped well over 400 people buy or sell a home in Myrtle Beach. I’ve run into many different issues and problems and feel that I normally do a good job handling those objections as they come up and able to figure out a resolution in a quick manner. Every once in a while though, something new comes along that is a new issue. This past week I experienced one of these things.

Watch this video to learn more about it:

Normally when there are title issues during a real estate transaction it is in regards to the seller of the property. Either they forgot to pay property taxes, had someone do work on the home but never paid them for their services, or had some sort of disagreement about the final cost and the contractor placed a lien against them. When this happens, the property will not have a clear title which is needed in order for the property to transfer hands. In these types of situations, many times the liens can be handled at closing and cleared up without issue.

However what we experienced was something completely opposite. While creditors are no longer reporting your medical bills to the credit reporting agencies and they may not show up on your credit report, they can still cause major issues with title work when purchasing a Myrtle Beach home. In this recent situation the buyer had outstanding medical bills from 2008 that had not be resolved here in South Carolina. She was a single mom that had gotten divorced, moved back to Wisconsin and had filed a bankruptcy there many years ago. Everything on her credit was discharged off in the bankruptcy and the buyer was off to starting a new life and rebuilding her credit score.

Fast forward from 2008 to present day and all of a sudden this issue shows up in a title search. When the credit report was done by the lender, it came back with not issues and so everything was on track for closing until the attorney got the title work back. When they did, this medical expense showed up as a lien against the buyer. Because this lien was there, the moment the deed would have transferred hands, there would have been an issue with the new title on the home. This issue had to be resolved before the buyer could take possession of the property.

In this situation, luckily the amount owed was under $1,000 and was able to be resolved within just a few days and cleared up. If it had been a higher amount, it could have easily taken 6-8 more weeks to get handled. With the way our current Myrtle Beach real estate market is, I honestly would have advised my seller to cancel the contract with this buyer and place their home back on the market. When we originally placed the home on the market, we had an offer within the first 7 days and I was fairly confident we could do that again.

Ultimately the buyer would have lost the home over something as mundane as a ten year old medical bill that was under $1,000. Luckily for her sake, she was able to get the title issue resolved quickly and we were able to close on the home just a few days later than we hoped, but still within the contractual timeline.

In closing, while you may no longer see those medical bills on your credit report and they may not affect your score anymore, it is still extremely important to get these issues handled and resolved so that when you get to purchase a home these things do not delay the purchasing process or cause you to lose that home you fell in love with. If you would like to learn more about this issue, feel free to reach out to me. You can either send me an email through my contact page or simply call/text me at 843-222-9402.

photo by: aronbaker2

Oct 17 2017

Why I Support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals

As a real estate agent in Myrtle Beach, I’ve got several choices to pick from when deciding which company to work for. As I’ve shared before, the name on the door, the commission splits, and several other things are not going to make me decide where to work. For me, it’s about the people, what they stand for, and what they are doing to make a difference in others lives. To me, being able to make a difference in others lives is something I strive to do each and every day and when I can combine it with my job, it’s a win-win situation. It’s one of the main reason I chose to work with RE/MAX was because of their involvement with Children’s Miracle Networks. Since 1992, RE/MAX has given over 147 million dollars to local hospitals.

While I always enjoyed helping Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and proudly give to it with every home I sell as well as doing several other fundraisers throughout the year, I never really understood how much CMN effects lives of the patients they treat. Until Now. Last week my daughter had to go down to the Medical University of South Carolina for revision surgery on her face to reduce and fix the scars from a dog bite the previous year.

My wife and I had been dreading the entire process and having to go back through everything again after we knew how traumatic it was the first time around here locally in Myrtle Beach when the accident originally happened. The whole time leading up to the day of surgery I had apprehension towards the prep work for the surgery. When it comes to needles, I’m a bit of a baby and do not like them and well my youngest daughter did not like it either when she had to have them the first time around. I knew once the IV was in and they could give her something to calm down things everything else would be fine, but just that original sticking and setting up had me on edge.

When we arrived at the hospital in the morning, we were greeted almost immediately by staff who was pleasant and ready to do whatever was needed. After getting checked in, they led us into the back waiting room area where all the out patients were for that morning. There were probably around 8-10 beds in this area with all types of people there for all kinds of surgeries. Everyone in this area was rather calm and even cheerful. As we came to the bed where Miriam was to be prepped, the bed was littered with all types of things to keep Miriam occupied.

Immediately into reading the books that were on the bed.

It had coloring pads, books with sound effect buttons, stuffed animals and many other things to distract Miriam from the fact that she was about to have surgery. In case you are reading this and wondering, Miriam is my youngest and just turned 3 years old. While she knew she was in town for surgery on her cheek, I don’t think she really knew what surgery actually was. All of her other previous trips to Charleston were fun trips to see the doctor and planning for this day. We got her dressed in the gown, got her situated on the bed, and she immediately was into coloring and playing. Several doctors came in to introduce themselves and explain what they were going to do in the process. As time kept creeping closer to the time of surgery, my uneasiness continued to mount as I knew it was almost time for the IV needle and well like any parent, you don’t like seeing your kid cry.

She really liked coloring with the dot ink. It was MESSY!

Which is when the nurse walked in the door and put both my wife and I at ease. She explained to me that most of the patients they see at a Miracle Network Hospital have to come in on a somewhat regular basis for some sort of procedure and so that they try to make the experiences as pleasant as possible for the children. She explained that CMN hospitals in the area have a no stick/poke policy for children. Like any normal parent, I had no clue what that meant and so she explained that what the policy of the hospital is to not stick/poke children with needles while they are still awake. Instead, they give the children a drink of “juice” that starts calming the children down and preparing them for surgery. Then, the child has a small mask where they get to pick a flavor they want to smell as they go to sleep with the laughing gas. Then once the child is asleep, the IV is then started and general anesthesia is given.

Pretending to nap with Polka Dot, Ruff & Scout

Also, to help make the experience easier on the children, they allow for one of the parents to go back with the child into the operating room.

Miriam asked her if she was her new nurse.

What they have learned is that when a young child is separated from their parents, it usually starts a level of anxiety almost immediately as the patient is in an uncommon area surrounded by a bunch of unfamiliar people. In our case, Katherine threw on the scrubs and went along with her into the operating room. She was there to keep her calm as she went to sleep. So when it was time for surgery, Miriam, Polka Dot Puppy, and Katherine all went together as a team into the room.

The other thing that I found very comforting is that as the child is waking up from the anesthesia, they want the family members right there. So that the last thing the child remembers is family, and then the first thing they see/remember when waking is their family right there. Once again, the moment she awoke, the nurses were there showering her with stickers, toys, and gifts. Miriam thought it was her birthday with the amount of attention and gifts she was given during surgery. After monitoring Miriam for a little while post surgery, they then assisted us on heading back to our vehicle and we left and drove back home.

The next morning when Miriam got up, all the meds had worn off and she was back to being her happy self. She was dancing, singing, and playing around the living room as if nothing had happened. The hospital even called to check in on her and make sure that everything was well and that she was not having any types of negative effects from surgery. Overall, it was an amazing experience and could not have gone any better for us. Everyone involved with the surgery was pleasant and helpful with anything we needed. Miriam was treated like royalty throughout the entire procedure and to this day she has yet to make any type of complaint about it hurting or being a bad experience.

This is Why I Give

I’ve given with the sale of every single home that I sell since starting at RE/MAX Southern Shores. I knew that my money went to help Children at the hospital, but now I’ve experienced first hand how this money helps make the entire experience so much better for the children involved. I knew that the money helped provide the services and equipment to children in need, but I’ve now seen how it does so much more. Last year I was recognized by my company as the Children’s Miracle Agent of the year. This award is given to the agent who does the most to help CMN. While I was also recognized for my sales last year, I was by far more proud to be recognized for this award.

As I begin to plan for my 2018 year, I’m looking into ways to give even more back to my local CMN and help even more families have the amazing and awesome type of experience we had at our local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital in Charleston, SC.