Buying A Myrtle Beach Home | Myrtle Beach Homes | Carolina Forest Homes

Aug 20 2019

Insuring Your Home In Myrtle Beach During Hurricane Season

We are now a little past halfway through hurricane season here in Myrtle Beach for 2019 and I thought it would be good today to share some tips to help you with purchasing a home in Myrtle Beach during hurricane season. If you follow these tips, it will make your home buying process much easier during this hurricane season.

Buying a home in Myrtle Beach comes with making many decisions, but one of the most important ones has to be the property insurance. You are obtaining a huge asset and often taking a mortgage to purchase. So, insuring the property and covering the debt are not just required by the lender but should be taken very seriously by the buyer. When buying a home, here are 7 important tips to remember when buying a home in Myrtle Beach during hurricane season:

Choose an experienced local Myrtle Beach insurance agent.
Obtain quotes prior to contract.
Don’t just go with the cheapest quote.
Watch for tropical storm and hurricane warnings during the purchase.
Consider binding insurance as soon as possible.
Discuss The Addition of Flood Insurance, Even When Not Required
Perform a walk through right before closing.

Choose a Local Myrtle Beach Insurance Agent Early

Do your homework and discuss insurance coverage, exclusions, and premiums early with a local Myrtle Beach agent. Even if there isn’t a property chosen yet, get educated on the process, terms, and products. As mentioned, consider flood insurance even if not in a high risk area.

A local insurance agent can discuss this and all other insurance related areas areas. Also, one of the most common delays just before closing is waiting on the insurance binder. This happens typically, when someone wait until the last second to decide on coverage or even tell the agent about the purchase. Don’t be that buyer because lenders will not approve your loan until you have insurance in place and your closing will be delayed!

Image from **rawpixel.com** **/ NASA (Source)**

Obtain Insurance Quote Prior to Contract

Knowing the costs up-front could make or break a purchase. The insurance premium(s) are part of a housing and closing expense. So, it will effect the mortgage payment and the cash to close. Depending on the area and the property, the insurance cost could vary widely. For example, there have been buyers who find that a particular home requires $3,000 per year in flood insurance when it was only expected to be about $500.

That is a major factor in making a decision and could prohibit you from qualifying for the loan! I’ve seen many deals in the past fall apart because the buyer cannot afford the insurance premiums at the price they originally were approved to purchase at because the home required a high insurance premium.

Don’t Just Go With the Cheapest Quote

Of course, the premium and payment are very important, but do not sacrifice coverage for a super discounted premium. If a buyer cannot easily afford to pay an insurance claim shortage, why pay for coverage that won’t rebuild the home adequately? Foremost, make sure the property is covered against perils with a quality company and then get the premium as affordable as you can.

Pick a company that has been established and is familiar with Myrtle Beach area to help you so that if there is a disaster, they will be able to help you fix any damage quickly and get you back into your home. If you are having trouble finding a reasonable quotes, you can always ask your agent to contact the listing agent to find out who the sellers have their insurance currently with.

Tropical Storm and Hurricane Warnings

Be aware when a named storm is approaching Myrtle Beach. Once a named storm is within a certain distance of the coast, insurance companies will not bind or increase insurance coverage. So, with an imminent storm during hurricane season, insurance companies know the risk is much increased.

Thus, no insurance will be written until the property is out of harm. So, buyers need to be proactive and know the options, potential issues, and process early.

Consider Binding Insurance Early

Typically, insurance companies will bind an insurance policy very early with an effective date of the closing. “Binding insurance” means to put the policy in force or to have an effective date. This can be particularly helpful in times where storms are on the way. Keep in mind once the insurance is bound for a certain date, you cannot close prior to the insurance effective date. Make sure to stay in constant communication with your mortgage lender, closing attorney, REALTOR®, and insurance agent on binding the insurance.

Nothing is worse than having a proposed closing date coming and you have to delay everything because the buyer has not yet secured financing. If the binder has been written before the storm is named, they will cover you and you can close on your property on time.

Discuss The Addition of Flood Insurance, Even When Not Required

While many areas of Myrtle Beach do not require flood insurance to close on the home, it is always my recommendation to consider purchasing flood insurance when buying a home as an added level of security.

Back several months ago, I did a quick interview with a local insurance agency regarding flood insurance:

Perform a Walk Through Prior to Closing!

Yay it’s closing day! I know you are so excited and ready to move into your new home. You have made it through the purchase process and all you have to do is sign the paperwork. But, don’t forget to do a final walkthrough.

Just before closing, it is so important to check the home out again because there are so many things that could happen. We have seen movers damaging the home moving out the sellers, broken water lines damaging the home, flooding, and more. Once the home is yours, there are usually not many options for a remedy. Make sure you or at least your buyer’s agent checks it out thoroughly before signing the papers.

I hope you find these tips to buying a home during hurricane season in Myrtle Beach helpful. If you need help buying a home in Myrtle Beach, feel free to reach out!

May 17 2019

First-Time Homeowner’s Guide to Paying for Home Maintenance

Buying your first home in Myrtle Beach means finally gaining the freedom to decorate, remodel, and landscape to your heart’s content. Of course, it also means you’re now responsible for anything and everything that goes wrong with your house. The cost of upkeep catches many first-time homeowners off guard. When you’re accustomed to simply calling the landlord for a fix, the first repair bill over $1,000 comes as a pretty big shock.

Affording home repairs is stressful if you’re not prepared. You don’t want to delay a fix and let the problem grow bigger, but you don’t want to put it on a credit card and pay high interest rates either. This guide explains how first-time homeowners can plan ahead for home repairs and what to do when a major repair catches you by surprise.

Working with Contractors

How can you be sure you’re not getting ripped off when hiring a contractor? It’s a fair question — contractor scams do exist and first-time homeowners are an enticing target. However, a lack of experience in vetting contractors doesn’t have to lead to overpaying for shoddy work.

Before contacting contractors, ask for referrals from friends and neighbors and check online to find highly rated contractors in your area. Once you have a list, call contractors and ask for references and other pertinent information. Choose two or three contractors you’re interested in and request estimates. You’ll need to provide detailed project information to get accurate quotes. Be sure to get everything in writing and consider not just price but also workmanship and reputation when selecting a contractor.

Always check what your contract says about clean-up. Some contractors include clean-up in the quoted price, whereas others charge a separate fee for this service. Even with clean-up included, there’s bound to be dust left behind, so consider hiring a professional cleaning crew to come in and deep clean after the project is complete.

Planning for Major Home Repairs

Luckily, most major home repairs are predictable. Roofs, HVAC systems, and water heaters all have typical lifespans. As systems get older, you can generally expect more problems.

These are some of the major home repairs homeowners should plan for:

Roofing: 15-50 years; $5,000-$14,000
Central air conditioning: 12-18 years, $500-$4,000
Furnace: 13-20 years; $2,500-$6,000
Siding: 15-50 years; $6,000-$22,000

Remember, these are only estimates; repair costs vary depending on the size of your home and the type of materials you choose.

You may want to include remodeling costs in your repair fund. While remodeling isn’t strictly necessary, most homeowners want to update over the years. Remodeling projects can get costly — bathroom remodels in Myrtle Beach average between $2,600 and $8,200 — and budgeting for them takes the stress out of a big remodeling bill.

Paying for Major Home Repairs

The best way to pay for major repairs is to start saving money. Begin a home repair fund when you buy a house, and if possible, contribute to it monthly. If saving isn’t your strong suit, set up an automatic monthly transfer to a high-yield savings account.

Unfortunately, repairs don’t always happen when we expect. If your home needs a major repair and you can’t pay cash, you need another way to finance the work without relying on high-interest credit cards. With enough equity in your home, you can do a cash out refinance with an APR under 5 percent. If that’s not possible, a personal loan may be your best option to finance needed repairs.

If you don’t plan for them, major home repairs could leave you longing for the days of responsibility-free renting. However, the high cost of home repairs shouldn’t turn your homeownership dream into a nightmare. By knowing what to expect from your home and saving accordingly, you turn major repairs into a predictable, manageable aspect of homeownership.

Image via Rawpixel

Apr 08 2019

Understanding Taxes When Buying A Myrtle Beach Home

It’s almost April 15th or National Tax Day, so I figured what a great time to cover a rather boring topic, but a topic that everyone who is thinking of buying a home in Myrtle Beach needs to know information about, property taxes. South Carolina was ranked by USA Today as one of the most affordable property tax rates in the country.

In the article published in 2017, the average property tax for homeowner in South Carolina is $1,294. Personally, I think this is main reasons why we have so many people moving from areas like Pennsylvania ($3,900), New York ($7,013), Virginia ($3,181), Massachusetts ($5,513) & New Jersey ($8,477). Higher tax rates & more severe winter weather, are the main reasons Myrtle Beach has consistently been one of the top places to relocate the past few years.

I’m originally from Reading, Pennsylvania and moved to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina right after graduation with my family. My parents were tired of dealing with the snow and higher cost of living, so we wanted a change and Myrtle Beach was an area they had visited multiple times over the years so it was a perfect solution for us to move here.

When I started to write this article, I wondered what the average taxes are on the home we owned in PA in comparison to the home my wife & I recently purchased.

Below is the estimated taxes on the home I grew up in Reading, which I did verify were accurate with a fellow agent in Berks County.

As you can see, the home there is now assessed around $123,000 according to what I could find online with an estimated annual tax of $5,369.43. This number is more than 4 times the average for what a primary homeowner in Myrtle Beach pays on their property taxes.

In comparison, my wife and I purchased a home at the end of January in The Farm At Carolina Forest has an assessed value of $176,980, and the annual property taxes on this home were $746.65 last year. What this means is that the home I grew up in that is valued over $50,000 less costs over 7 times the amount of taxes then our home in Myrtle Beach.

Now, this average number of $1,294 for South Carolina is taking all parts of our state into the equation including Charleston where the average is over $2,000 due to a higher price point on property and also does not separate primary homeowners from out of state & multiple property owners.

Primary vs Secondary in Myrtle Beach

One thing we have to clarify when discussing taxes is to determine whether the home is going to be a primary ownership or second home/investment property. It makes a huge difference in the amount of taxes you will pay in Myrtle Beach.

When purchasing a home in Myrtle Beach, Horry County automatically taxes everyone at the secondary tax rate and each homeowner needs to prove residency to the tax assessor to get the discount. This means you are assessed at the 6% tax rate instead of the 4% tax rate.

When I bought my first property in Myrtle Beach back in 2006, I did not know this and my taxes on a townhome valued at $110,000 were over $1,900 per year. Coming from the north where taxes were more than 3 times that, I was happy and just went on with life. Then after living there almost 2 years I realized that I was not getting a South Carolina residency discount and so I took the necessary steps to get thing changed over and my annual taxes then dropped down to $636.

Homes owned in this area as a primary residence versus second home or investment, are usually half to one third the amount of taxes owed, so it is very important to get your taxes switched over when buying a home in Myrtle Beach.

Documents Needed For Legal Residence Application

Here’s what documents will be required to get the SC primary residence discount:

SC Driver’s License/Identification card for owner occupants
SC motor vehicle registration showing current address for owner.
Copy of SC Voter Registration card
First two pages of current tax returns.

Horry County now has the ability to apply online here for the primary residence SC tax rate or you can do so at the Horry County Tax Assessors Office with all the proper paperwork.

Other South Carolina Tax Discounts

There are other ways to save on your SC property taxes, that are only available to certain groups of people.

Veterans Tax Exemption

The first tax exemption is only available to our veterans. They must apply for this discount, but is a well deserved benefit for those who fought to protect our amazing country.

Homestead Tax Exemption

The second discount is the Homestead Exemption which is a complete exemption of taxes on the first $50,000 in Fair Market Value of your Legal Residence for homeowners over age 65, totally and permanently disabled, or legally blind.

Just like the legal residence application, you must also apply for the homestead exemption in order to save. This too can be applied for online here.

For people thinking of retiring to Myrtle Beach, taxes is a question that is definitely on their mind. I recently had this question asked on my video of Plantation Lakes on my YouTube Channel.

As someone who would be on a fixed income source, knowing the taxes in Myrtle Beach is something that can be very important to know and understand before purchasing a home here to live in for the rest of your life.

Vehicle Taxes in South Carolina

Now, while South Carolina ranks as one of the lowest places for property taxes, SC also collects taxes on vehicles. When you purchase a vehicle in SC there is a one-time infrastructure (IMF) rather than sales tax. This fee is 5% of the price up to a maximum of $500 that took effect in July 2017.

Then there is an additional tax that you will pay annually when renewing your tags for the vehicle. Last month I paid the bill for my 2013 Honda Odyssey. The total amount due was $147.84. Here’s a copy of the recent bill so you can see how it breaks down.

This bill changes each year as the value of your vehicle depreciates. So unless you are buying new $70,000 vehicles every year, your bills should be rather minimal. I also just recently got the bill for my other vehicle to pay and since it is newer it is around $480.

Understanding Myrtle Beach Taxes

If you combine the taxes on our home plus our two vehicles, we still are paying under $1,400 a year for all of our taxes to live in South Carolina which is only a fraction of what we paid when living in the north.

Propety Taxes	$746.65
Honda Taxes	$147.84
Ford Taxes	$484.11
Total	$1,378.60

So in conclusion, while you might pay taxes on more than just your home, in the long run, you are still going to save money in the long run when your property taxes on your Myrtle Beach home are so much less than other parts of the country.

If you are thinking of moving to Myrtle Beach, I’d love the opportunity to help you find a home here in the area. Feel free to call me at 843-222-9402 or contact me below with any questions you might have.

Dec 19 2018

Myrtle Beach Real Estate- What is A CL100?

When buying a home in Myrtle Beach, one of the more typical inspections that needs to be done is called a CL100 or Termite inspection, or wood infestation report on the home. These inspections need to be done within 30 days of closing to be valid and most lenders are going to require one to be done on most structures.

Here in Myrtle Beach, a CL100 is a very common component in the home buying/selling process. In fact, this report is done so often that it is actually an entire section in the Agreement To Buy And Sell Real Estate. Section 11 of the contract states:

Usually the CL100 is performed a few days prior to closing and never earlier than 30 days prior to closing to remain valid. These inspections are done by a licensed/insured/bonded pest control company and they provide a copy of the report to all parties and it gets signed by all parties at closing.

What If There Are Problems?

It is not uncommon for the report to come back with either active termite infestations or some other sort of wood destroying organisms to be present. We live in the south where the climate is warm and moist and it is just a delicacy to wood destroying organisms.

That being said, I would say that about 3 out of every 10 homes I sell come back with some sort of infestation or wood rot issues that need to be handled.

When the reports come back clean, normally the sellers will simply have the home treated and any rotten wood replaced and we move forward towards closing with no big deal. The expense, depending on how much damage is normally around two to three thousand or less in most cases. I’ve only ever seen one major case where an entire wall in a garage needed to be repaired that ended up costing more money and of course it delayed the closing because it took around 2 weeks to complete all the work needed.

Don’t Sweat It

In closing, I want to leave you with this final thought. If the property you are purchasing comes back with issues in the CL100 report, do not let it stop you from buying the home in Myrtle Beach. We deal with this issue on a somewhat regular basis and honestly, it is not that big of a deal.

The pest control company will simply treat the home for the issue, a handyman will replace any wood or drywall that needs to be done and everything moves forward. The one major benefit after the fact is that if you do have a home that has been treated, you normally will end up with some sort of termite bond on the home that you will be able to renew after the fact and never have to worry about this issue again in your home here in Myrtle Beach!

Jul 17 2018

Are Sellers Listening To You During The Showing?

Today is Amazon Prime Day and while I have spent most of the afternoon fighting the website to order a few items, one of the things I realized pretty quickly was that smart home technology is growing at a rapid rate. This was made evident to me by the enormous amount of smart home tech deals that were being featured in the sale this year. Everything from Amazon Alexa devices to smart outlets, thermostats, lights, doorbells, keys, and so much more. That being said, are sellers listening to you during the showing?

As I began to think about this more, it made me realize how important it is to educate my buyers better before going out to show properties to them. With the increase in these devices, it also means there’s an increased chance that sellers are going to be listening in to our conversations as we walk through the home. Devices like the Ring Doorbell, Nest Cameras, and so many other smart cameras make it super easy for you to now keep an eye and ear on your home from your smartphone while you are away from it.

These devices will alert you when motion or sounds are detected at your home and allow you the opportunity to immediately grab your phone to watch & listen in. Heck, if you wanted to, you could even talk to the people who enter your home and have a conversation with them while they are still there. (I wouldn’t recommend it if you are selling though, bad bad idea.)

In the past while we would walk through the home I would try & ask my buyer clients qualifying questions to see if this might be the right home for them to purchase and wouldn’t think twice to make comments like “this home fits perfectly in your range if you wanted to do a cash purchase” or something like “your lender said we are pre-approved for $250,000 so if we needed to go to full list price, we have the ability to do so and still be within your budget.”

Nowadays though, these types of conversations are not being held in the home with my buyers because when we do that, we could be giving away valuable negotiation power to the sellers. The client level information that we used to be able to talk about freely while viewing homes can now be easily picked up on by sellers and backfire against us in the negotiation process.

What To Do?

So, what should you do these days when viewing homes? First off, I’d keep all my comments positive about the home while inside. If the wallpaper is hideous and you don’t like the color of the bathroom, keep that information to yourself. If you talk negatively about the home you want to place an offer on, you might offend the seller to where they don’t want to sell the home to you, or they become unwilling to negotiate rationally.

Next, if there are things you like about the home, don’t show your hand on this either. If the seller sees you on video jumping up and down and hugging your spouse because you just saw the master bathroom and it has the walk in shower of your dreams, they will know that you are obsessed with the home and less likely to walk away over a little more money and it could cost you more in the long run.

Instead, try to keep your emotions in check, both the good and bad when walking through a home. Obviously, if you have questions about something in the property, make sure to always ask those to your REALTOR® while walking through the home. If you wait until later to try & do so, you might forget them. Next, try & keep any remarks towards anything related to your financial position till after you leave the home. Once you are back in the car with the agent, you can then have that open and free conversation again.

So next time you are out looking at property, keep this in mind to help your agent negotiate for you in a better manner!