Blog | Myrtle Beach Homes | Carolina Forest Homes

Oct 22 2014

Understanding Buyer’s Agency in South Carolina

Buying a home is one of the most important financial decisions you will ever make in your life. With the the increase of buyers in the Myrtle Beach real estate market, I have seen more first time home buyers searching for property. With that said, I wanted to take a moment to explain South Carolina agency and Buyer’s agency.

The overall concept of agency is basically the same for almost all states. However there may be a few minor differences. In South Carolina, you have the ability to choose to either be a customer or client.

As a customer you have chosen to represent yourself throughout the transaction. You have the freedom to work with any real estate agent you wish. However, in South Carolina, an agent is only required to do the following for customers:

Present all offers in a timely manner
Account for all money or other property received on your behalf
Provide an explanation of the scope of services to be provided
Be fair and honest and provide accurate information

As the State of South Carolina Agency Disclosure Brochure states: “Unless or until you enter into a written agreement with the Company for agency representation, you are considered a “Customer” of the Company, and the Company will not act as your agent. As a customer, you should not expect the Company or its licensees to promote your best interest, or keep your bargaining information confidential.”

As a Client you will receive more services than customers. To receive the added services you will need to enter into a written buyer agency contract with a Company. Once you sign the agreement, you are a Client of that Company and will receive the following services in addition to those you have as a customer.

Obedience
Loyalty
Disclosure
Accounting
Reasonable care and skill
Advice, counsel, and assistance in negotiations

When it comes to the exclusive buyer agency contract, many become uncomfortable signing a contract that requires them to work exclusively with one agent throughout the transaction. Also, they feel that if they sign the agreement it will cost them more money. This is a common misnomer in real estate. In the buyer agency contract there are four options in section 5 that discuss how the broker will be compensated.

The first is for a flat retainer fee. While there are some agents that will pick this option, it is very uncommon. The second option is to be paid a service fee. Once again, this is not a common practice in the Myrtle Beach area. The third and fourth options are the more common practices in which the broker is compensated a percentage or amount that comes from the transaction.

When a seller agrees to list their home for sale, they agree to pay a certain percentage to the listing agent and the agent who bring the buyer. This amount has already been agreed upon between the listing agent and seller. In this instance, it does not cost the buyer any money to have buyer representation in the purchase of the home. Their agent will be paid by the seller at the time of closing.

Knowing that it does not cost you any more money to have representation, if you were given the choice to be a Client or a Customer which would you choose?

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Oct 21 2014

Myrtle Beach Skywheel- A Time-lapse

When the Myrtle Beach Skywheel opened in May of 2011, nobody realized how iconic of a landmark it would become to the skyline of Myrtle Beach. The skywheel which stands at 187 feet tall is the second largest wheel in the country and has quickly become one of the most popular attractions in Myrtle Beach and photo spot for visitors to the beach. At night the colorful LED lights decorate the sky.

The wheel contains 42 enclosed gondolas and rides normally last 8-10 minutes as the wheel makes three full revolutions. While you are up in the sky you can see miles of the beautiful landscape along the coast. Tickets are $9.00 for children ages 3-11 & $13 for those 12 and up. For more information, visit their website.

Oct 20 2014

Things To Do Around Myrtle Beach- Brookgreen Gardens

One of the places my wife and I absolutely love visiting is Brookgreen Gardens. Brookgreen Gardens is located at 1931 Brookgreen Drive in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.

What is Brookgreen Gardens? Well I am glad you asked! Brookgreen is a National Historic Landmark that is home to outdoor sculptures that have been designed by some of the most talented artists in the world. These sculptures are beautifully set in some of the most beautiful landscapes South Carolina has to offer. Also, Brookgreen Gardens is the only Zoo that is accredited by The Association of Zoos and Aquariums on the Coast of the Carolinas.

As you travel through the gardens, courtyards, outdoor pools, & terraces you will be captivated by the beautiful masterpieces of art. After touring all the sculptures visit the Lowcountry Zoo where you can find all types of animals that are native to the lowcountry. Here you can see Alligators, Bald Eagles, Owls, Red Tail Hawks, Foxes, White Tailed Deer, Wild Turkeys and much more. My favorite part of the zoo is walking through the different aviaries where you can see up close egrets, great blue herons, red head ducks, and more.

How much does it cost? This is one of my favorite parts of Brookgreen Gardens, prices are $13 for adults, $11 for seniors, and $6 for children. Your passes are good though for 7 days!!! I would definitely consider making this at least an all day trip if not a 2 day trip to cover everything. My wife and I have been there several times and each time we go back we find something new.

If you looking for a place to hold a wedding in the area, Brookgreen Gardens also has places to hold your wedding onsite.

So, if you are looking for things to do in Myrtle Beach & surrounding areas, I highly recommend you plan a trip to Brookgreen Gardens soon!

Oct 09 2014

Protect Yourself From Identity Theft When Selling Your Myrtle Beach Home

When selling your Myrtle Beach property it is imperative that your your home and your belongings are as safe as possible. There are professional theives that contact agents to view homes. They obviously are not wanting to see these homes to purchase, but to see what type of items they can pick up.

They may have visited during an open house, or seen a picture online of the home and think this home may be a good target. As an Myrtle Beach real estate agent, it is our duty to try and keep everyone together when showing a home, but if there is an entire family along, it is virtually impossible to keep an eye on everyone. The really good pros have partners that they visit with, or even bring along children to help cause distractions.

So, below are a few tips to help keep your house safe.

1. Put away all jewelry. If there is jewely laying around on a dresser or nightstand, it is a very big & easy target for someone to pick up. Either put the precious gems in a locked safe, or if you do not have one, place the gems in either a drawer or in a box. A safe place to place them is in a shoe box in the closet. Or, put in a flat envelope that you can hide in between stacked sweaters on a shelf.

There are plenty of ways to hide them. The key is to make sure they are out of site.

2. Hide the credit cards & bills. With the identity theft on the constant rise, it is crucial that any type of credit cards or mail that you have is secured. Place any mail or cards in either a filing cabinet that can be locked, or in a desk that can be locked. Crooks can be sneaky and will try and find a way to get alone in a house.

3. Remove the Personal Pictures. It is a good idea to put away any personal pictures. One of our clients that is a single woman was very uncomfortable having her house listed for sale because of safety.

One of our suggestions to her was to put away all the pictures that were just of her and only leave out the ones of her with her one cousin. Nobody knew if it was a husband, or relative. This gave her peace of mind.

4. Put away your money! You would think this one would be a no brainer, but I cant even begin to count the number of times I have gone to show homes that have had money sitting around on the kitchen table, or on a dresser, or nightstand. Sometimes there have been rather large amounts of money there too!

Like your jewelry, put this in a locked safe, or safe hidden place.

5. Hide anything with your name, address, phone number, social security number, etc… Just the other day I walked through a home that had prescription bags on the refrigerator with the persons name, telephone number, social security, and address. Some that you may not think of would be the kids softball schedule, or your nursery schedule for church.

These all have enough information that someone could use to steal from you. All they need is your name & phone number, they already have your address, and it can be a giant nightmare.

Here is a funny video, but I think gets the point across as to what could happen!

These are just 5 simple ways to protect yourself when selling your home. If you are currently thinking of selling your home, do not hesitate to contact me.

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Oct 02 2014

Selling as a Myrtle Beach FSBO Can Cost More Than The Commission

As a Myrtle Beach REALTOR® I hear all types of Horror Stories about deals that have gone bad, and all types of crazy things that have happened while trying to either buy or sell a home in Myrtle Beach. Here is one of those stories from a couples that I helped sell their Myrtle Beach home.

They were a nice couple, looking to sell their beautiful Myrtle Beach home on a golf course. Home had excellent view, had been meticulously taken care of, and was in “model home” condition. These people contacted us because they were in a major dilemma and after sharing it with a neighbor who were former clients of ours, urged them to call us immediately. Here is their story:

The couple had tried selling their home via For Sale By Owner. They bought the yard sign, had a little website made up and had instant gratification. Within two weeks, they were having daily showings, and multiple calls on their home. As they came to the end of their second week of trying to sell the house, they received an offer on the property. They came to an agreement with the buyer and things seemed to be moving along perfectly for them.

As closing day came closer, the sellers began packing their items in their home. Since the property sold quicker than they thought it would, they had to pack all their belongings & furniture and place it into a climate controlled storage unit. Also, they had to sign a 6 month lease to rent an apartment until the home they were building would be complete.

The day of closing came and the sellers went to the closing attorneys office expecting to meet the buyer, sign the documents and sell their lovely home. Well, when they got to the attorney’s office, the buyer was nowhere to be found. They called and found out that the seller was unable to purchase the property. They received a pre-qualification letter, but had no way of following up on whether the buyer would be able to secure the funds to purchase the home. The buyer had actually given false information to the bank and got caught. So, needless to say the home was not going to sell to this new buyer.

The sellers went back to their now vacant home disheartened and placed the sign back in the yard. After a few more weeks with not much activity, the sellers were becoming distressed because they were paying a lot of money out of pocket and the cash reserves were coming to an end. Paying the mortgage on the vacant home, plus their monthly rent for the apartment & storage unit on top of the construction loan on the property is more than enough to do that.

Finally the sellers gave in to the neighbors advice and contacted us. We met with them, listed the property for sale and were able to sell it & close in 5 weeks time.

Unfortunately for the sellers, the money spent trying to sell their house on their own was much more than my commission. While this story sounds like it might be a rare occassion, it is something becoming more and more common. Lenders are tightening their regulations on who they will lend to, and buyers are not always accurate with the information they supply. That is why having a Real Estate Professional is important.

Our job goes much further than just placing your home into the MLS. We use various types of marketing tools to give your home the most exposure possible. While many think our job finishes with marketing, there is much more. Next we coordinate with agent to schedule showings of your home. Most of this is now handled electronically.

Then comes the contract negotiation stage. This is another very important stage where a Myrtle Beach REALTOR® plays a critical role. Having an agent that can negotiate well on your behalf could save you thousands of dollars and months of time and aggravation.

Finally our last job after negotiating your home is to make sure that the home gets to the closing table and closed with as little problems as possible. To me, this is where the real work begins. During the part in the process, your agent will be negotiating home inspection repairs, ordering home warranties if needed, scheduling inspections, and communicating regularly with the closing attorney, the bank giving the mortgage, and the buyer’s agent to make sure all paperwork and any other items needed to close on the home are taken care of and that on closing day there are no “surprises” like the one that happened to this FSBO.

So before you think of selling your home on your own, remember this quote I recently heard directly from a seller on a panel at a real estate conference. The man said: “I’m not going to do open heart surgery on myself, so I’m not going to try & sell my home on my own. Some things in life end up costing more when you don’t hire the expert to handle the job!” If you are thinking of selling your Myrtle Beach home and would like to see how I can help you accomplish this, feel free to either call me at 843-222-9402 or contact me online.

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