Charleston Real Estate Market Blog

For most people, buying a home is the single largest investment they will ever make.  Because buying a home is such a big event, many people avoid the opportunity altogether and choose to rent instead.  When considering renting, just remember that owning a home has many financial benefits - especially in Charleston's real estate market.

One of the biggest financial benefits is income tax deductions.  You can reduce your taxable income by deducting the property taxes and the interest of your home mortgage from your gross income.  So, if you pay $6,000 a year in interest and $1000 a year in property taxes, you can subtract $7,000 from your taxable income.

Another benefit of owning a home is that you control how much you pay for housing every

If you are looking to buy a new home, try to find a home that will have a good resale value down the road.  This concept applies to first time home buyers who are just looking for a “first home” as well as home buyers who plan on living in the home for the rest of their lives.  It is important for both types of home buyers to have an exit strategy so that if you for some reason needed to sell your home in the future, you would be able to.  This exit strategy is even more relevant with the cooling housing market we are experiencing.  There are seven basic areas to consider for resale.

1) Bedrooms and Baths: Most people who are looking for homes want at least 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.  If you find a 3 bedroom and 1 bath house that you love, do not

When looking for a home, you will generally find three home types – single family house, townhouse, and condominium.  Everyone knows what a house is, but many buyers (and many real estate agents) use the terms townhouse and condominium interchangeably.  It is important to know the difference so that you can understand which type of home suits your needs.

What most people call a “house” is a stand alone home.  These are detached structures, so you own all of the walls that make up your home.  In MLS listings, these types of homes are usually called “single family homes” because they are designed for one typical family to live in.  Owners possess both the house and the land that the house sits on (called the lot).  Since there are no common walls that