May 2018

So you've found the perfect listing agent to sell your home, decided on list price, and signed your paperwork. Now what? Many sellers think their work is mostly done at this point. However, it's crucial to get your home show ready before the photos are taken for your listing (and certainly before your first showing)!

After showing well over a thousand homes to buyers in the Charleston South Carolina real estate market, we've gotten pretty good at gauging buyer feedback and predicting what are both the selling points and the turn offs for a listing since we hear some of the same comments again and again. These tend to be the most common problem areas for listings:

• Curb appeal matters: You'd be amazed at how many times I've pulled up to a

Even in the strong sellers' market we're experiencing right now, some listings sit on the market for far too long and create a stigma that leaves buyers asking "Why hasn't this home sold?" or "What's wrong with this house?" Or, on the other end of the spectrum, some hot new listings sell within a day or two leaving the sellers wondering whether they could have gotten more money. A good real estate agent can help prevent both of these scenarios.

How to Choose the Right Listing Agent

When choosing a Charleston SC listing agent, here are some hallmarks to look for to ensure you're hiring the right person. Your listing agent should:

• Offer professional photographs and a virtual tour. Simply put, better photographs help create more showings.

If you're looking to purchase a home in one of the few remaining buyers' markets across the country, you should talk with your Realtor to see how far below listing price your initial offer should be. He/she will be able to pull comps for your market to determine how low of an offer you can negotiate.

However, most markets in the United States have done a full pendulum swing from the 2008 to 2012 downturn and are now very strong sellers' markets. Charleston South Carolina is a great example for discussion. In real estate markets like Charleston, the best listings are going under contract within 24 or 48 hours of being listed. In higher price points or less demanded suburbs, this can take up to a week or two.

When sellers' markets see such a low

Condos and townhouses are the most affordable options for buying real estate since developers can build more of these per acre compared to detached, single family houses. When we talk with home buyers, they’re often confused about the difference between condos and townhouses. We’ve included below some important distinctions between the two types of property along with a checklist that should help you choose which option is right for you!

Condos: The Lowest Maintenance Home Possible

Many buyers compare condos to apartment living because paying bills is all that’s required. By definition, condos have no individual land ownership associated with them. In other words, a homeowner would own the unit itself. All of the common areas have shared

Savvy home buyers understand that purchasing a home costs significantly more than the final offer a seller accepts. If you are a first time home buyer, you might be tempted to stretch your budget to its limits in order to obtain the house of your dreams. However, this decision can set you on a path leading to a mortgage payment that you might struggle to afford.

Leaving a sizable buffer between what you can afford for a home and what you pay for a home is a wise home-buying strategy. Added on top of the price of the home are the closing costs, attorney's fees, and lender's fees. Approximately 3-5% of the purchase price is added for closing costs and lender's fees, which can include loan application and credit report fees, property appraisal costs,