Myrtle Beach Real Estate | Myrtle Beach Homes | Carolina Forest Homes

Sep 02 2015

Understanding Agency When Buying a Myrtle Beach Home

When it comes to Real Estate Laws in Myrtle Beach. SC there definitely are plenty. Unfortunately, people do not always understand these laws. One area that seems to cause a lot of confusion is Agency. To see the state brochure on Agency Disclosure, click here.

So now you have decided that you need someone to represent you to purchase your Myrtle Beach Home and then the Real Estate Agent mentions something about Dual & Designated Agency that sends you back into a dither. Breathe deeply, it is not as bad as you think! Here is what both of these types of agency mean.

South Carolina Designated Agency

First, let me explain South Carolina Designated Agency. When a home is listed for sale, the Broker-in-Charge (BIC) is the actual person who holds the listing not the agent. Designated agency only comes into play when an agent representing the buyer and the agent representing the seller have the same BIC. When this takes place, both parties agree to sign an agreement that states that the BIC has designated the Buyer’s Agent to work for the buyer and the Seller’s Agent for the Seller. Both agents are not allowed to share secrets about their clients and are supposed to represent their side only in the transaction.

This is not really a big difference than if the buyer’s agent worked for a different company than the seller’s agent. Because of Confidentiality, agents don’t share the private information of their clients with colleagues in the office. To me, this is more of a formality & legal paperwork step.

South Carolina Dual Agency

South Carolina Dual Agency seems to be the concept that both agents & clients seem to get confused about. Dual meaning two, is when one agent has already entered into an agency contract with either a buyer or seller and is then entering into an agency agreement with the other party.

For example: I have a buyer client that has been looking for a specific need in a home. I have worked with this buyer for 5 months but have not found the property yet. But, when I list your property for sale, I notice your property has the 3 car garage with bonus room for under $500,000 in Carolina Forest that this buyer has been searching for. I bring my buyer to see the home after I have it listed for sale and they fall in love immediately and want to write an offer.

In the example above, the buyer client and seller client are both being represented by me. If both parties agree to enter into a dual agency agreement, we would sign another form allowing one agent to represent the buyer and seller in that transaction. When someone enters into a dual agency contract, the Real Estate Agent is required to work unbiased to either side and cannot share confidential information about one client to another. In other words they basically become a messenger passing back & forth the information.

Many agents fear dual agency because they feel it is very difficult to represent multiple sides in a transaction equally. In my experience over the past 14 years we have been in dual agency on many occasions. In fact, many of our sellers ask us to list their Myrtle Beach Property for sale because they want us to bring a buyer to sell the home quickly. One thing we try to do is remain unbiased and give the best information possible whenever I am with a client in dual agency.

Normally dual agency is not that big of a deal. There are a few circumstances where it could be a little tricky and you may be hesitant to enter into dual agency. Here are a few of those situations:

Agent is related to one of the clients.
Agent is a close friend of a client.
Agent is the client.

In those situations it is sometimes difficult to remain unbiased when the agent has a close relationship with one of the clients. However, I have in the past been in a dual agency agreement to sell one of my personal properties where I was also representing the buyer as a client of mine. We did all the paperwork by the book, stayed unbiased and the transaction went smooth and effortlessly.

If for some reason you are uncomfortable being in a dual agency situation, that does not mean you cannot purchase or sell the property. Simply ask your real estate agent to refer you to someone else who will represent you well.

I hope this explains agency a little more clearly. In closing I would like to say that the real estate laws of every state are different. If you live outside South Carolina and want to know what the laws are for your state, contact me and I can find local real estate agent to answer your questions.

May 15 2015

5 Items An Underwriter Will Look At To Determine Loan Approval

As a local Myrtle Beach REALTOR®, one of the questions I get asked the most is what do I need to get a mortgage. People want to know what the bank looks at to determine if they can or cannot get a loan.

Below is a great explanation by Erica Davis, a Sr. Loan Officer with Guild Mortgage here in Myrtle Beach. She explains exactly what an underwriter looks at to determine if someone will get a loan approval or not.

To review, the five main things an underwriter reviews is:

Cash Flow
Credit Score
Job Stability
Assets
Property

I hope this helps many of you who might have had this question regarding getting a loan to buy a home here in Myrtle Beach. If you have more questions about Myrtle Beach real estate, feel free to contact me. If you still have questions about getting a mortgage, I would highly recommend reaching out to Erica. She would be more than happy to help you in securing a loan to purchase a home. Her contact information is below.

May 07 2015

5 Upgrades That Add Value When Buying A New Myrtle Beach Home

New home construction communities across the Myrtle Beach area have continued to become more customizable with their homes over the past few years. Many of the top national builders that are in Myrtle Beach now have “design centers” where you can visit and make your selections while viewing the different samples. You now customize almost any aspect of your new home. It is important though that when making these choices that you do not let things get out of hand.

When building a new home you have a budget in mind before hand. As you enter the design center to select options & upgrades, that budget sometimes goes out the window. I refer to the visit to the design center as “a kid in the candy shop” mentality. Everything looks wonderful and you want one of each. However, you can easily more than double the price of your home with upgrades and also destroy your budget.

Recently, while working with a buyer, she had over $150,000 in upgrades & additions onto the home. She was easily making her new home the “king of the hill” in the neighborhood. However in her situation, she did not care. She is planning on living there for many years and wanted what she wanted. Also, her budget was much higher than what she actually spent on the home.

Below are the top 5 things I would suggest upgrading when building a new home in Myrtle Beach. This list comes from dealing with hundreds of buyers locally and listening to their wants & desires when purchasing a new home. These are the top 5 things I feel can bring the greatest value and return on investment.

Upgrade the range hood to a microwave. When buying a home, most people want a microwave in their home. If not, you would need to purchase one for the counter in which you spend more money, and lose counter space! Or, if you decide to do it later, you have a useless range hood that will inevitably end up collecting dust in the garage, or for sale at a neighborhood yard sale.
Upgrade the range from coil top to a smooth top range. The cleaning of the coil tops are difficult and make a mess. You also have to buy new drip pans almost annually because the old ones have become so discolored and dirty. With a smooth top range, you can buy Ceramabryte and keep your range top looking like new all the time.
Upgrade your carpet padding & actual carpet. I always suggest paying the little bit extra for the highest grade padding available. Also, I recommend upgrading your carpet at least one level. The reason for upgrading the padding is that by doing so it will help the life of your carpet. Also, it will make it easier on your feet while walking around your home. The reason for upgrading the actual carpet is to increase its life. Also, normally the higher grade carpet have less amounts of carpet fibers being released. When I purchased my most recent home, I was not given the option of upgrading the carpet and every time I vacuum my home, I fill
my Dyson vacuum with carpet fibers at least twice.
Upgrade the paint on whole house. If you do not like plain white walls and want continuity in your paint in your home, then pay for the whole house paint upgrade up front. Normally the cost of upgrade is only a few hundred dollars instead of paying a painter afterwards a few thousand dollars to have it done. Most builders will only allow you to pick one color for the whole home, so if you wish to have a lot of customization in your paint colors in every room, then this may not be for you.
Upgrade the front exterior of your home. Curb appeal is one of the most important things about a home. Most builders allow you to customize the curb appeal of your home by choosing a brick or stucco front. This is something that will make your home stand out from the other same models of your home in a community.

Be on the lookout for future updates where I will discuss options to avoid. These will be the upgrades that either cost more than they are worth, or will never bring back the return that you invest for them.

If you are thinking of moving to Myrtle Beach and would like help with buying a new home, feel free to contact me. I’d love to help.

Feb 09 2015

How To Spend A February Day In Myrtle Beach

While many of our northeastern friends are currently dealing with a snowstorm for the third Monday in a row, down here in Myrtle Beach, we are currently enjoying some really fantastic weather. Today is a sunny, warm 65 degrees fahrenheit with a gentle breeze day.

To give you an idea of how awesome the weather is today, here’s a great video by local Myrtle Beach Videographer, Thomas Hart of Heart Media. He was out just testing his new aerial drone at the beach, but I thought it was some really great footage showing how awesome a day we are having. Check it out.

While not every day is this warm at this time of year, it is not uncommon for us to experience several days during the winter months with warmer temperatures. Here’s a graphic showing our average temperatures each month versus several popular northern cities.

Personally, as someone who used to live right outside of Philadelphia, PA, I don’t miss those cold winter days spent outside shoveling inches of snow while battling sub-zero winds trying to stay warm under four layers of clothing. Instead, I’d rather spend my time relaxing on a beach chair with my toes in the sand.

If you are tired of fighting the winter blizzards, maybe it is time to consider a move to Myrtle Beach, SC? Fill out this simple form and I will send you a copy of my Myrtle Beach Relocation Guide for free.

Jan 06 2015

Myrtle Beach Real Estate Inquiries Increase 300% To Start 2015

As 2015 begins, The Myrtle Beach real estate market is continuing to show strong signs of success. Local experts have been predicting that while the year 2014 was a good year for the local real estate market, 2015 would be even stronger. Personally I would tend to agree after just the first five days of this new year.

In the first 5 days of 2015, I have already seen a 300% increase in buyer lead inquiries for people looking to purchase a Myrtle Beach property over the average number of inquiries per week that I have received over the past 6 months. What makes this stat even more interesting is that normally, the month of January is one of the slower months in a year for buying or selling a home.

Typically the first few months of the year are rather slow for a Myrtle Beach real estate agent. We normally spend a lot of January and February preparing for our busy spring market that usually begins during March and then stays busy throughout the fall.

This increase in inquiries from both buyers and sellers is a welcome change to see this early in the year. If this is a foreshadow of what the rest of 2015 is going to look like, then people who have been thinking of selling their property in Myrtle Beach, now is the time to do so.

Over the past six months I’ve spoken with several potential sellers who have considered selling their home in Myrtle Beach who were not quite ready to do so. They felt either the market has not recovered, or that their home would not sell because of lack of buyers in our local market. This current upswing in buyer traffic proves that 2015 might be one the best opportunities to sell your home that we have seen in the past 8 years.

If you have a property you are thinking of selling in the Myrtle Beach area, feel free to contact me to learn how my powerful online marketing plan can help sell your home in 1/3 the average time on market.