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The general Charleston area is made up of three counties:  Charleston County, Berkeley County, and Dorchester County.  These three counties vary in tax prices.  If you were to compare two houses that were identical in price – one in Charleston County and one in Dorchester County – you would pay considerably more in taxes for the Charleston County home.

As a general rule of thumb, you can expect to pay about $700 per $100,000 of the purchase price of a home in Charleston.  In the fair chance that the home you’re considering is not priced exactly by the hundred thousands, you can calculate it by saying $7 per $1,000 of the purchase price.  For homes in Charleston County, this number is slightly higher.  So, if you were trying to calculate property

For many people, there comes a time when they decide that their home no longer meets their needs.  Whether you’re still living in your Charleston starter home or you’re in a second or third home, there are many reasons why people choose to sell their home and move to another – a better neighborhood, more space (or less space that’s nicer), better public schools, more bathrooms for the kids, etc.  If you’re considering moving up, we have some questions that may help you to make this very tough decision.

1)  Can you fix the problems by making repairs to the home you currently live in?  Depending on your reasons for moving, you may be able to save money by staying put.  If you need another bathroom, for example, you could get an estimate for a

Many people sign a real estate contract and don’t even understand what terms they’re agreeing to.  We think it is important for you to have a basic understanding of this legally binding contract.  You don’t have to be an attorney or a real estate agent to appreciate the basic legal requirements of owning a home.  We’re going to explain the real estate contract using everyday language so that you can sign your contract with confidence!

1)  The contract must identify both of the parties involved in the real estate transaction – the buyer(s) and the seller(s).  Both parties have to be at least 18 years old and be mentally competent.

2)  Both parties must be in mutual agreement about the terms of the contract.  This is often called a “meeting of the

We get a lot of questions about HOAs.  HOA stands for Homeowners’ Association, and most neighborhoods in Charleston, SC have them.  The HOA is a non-profit group that manages a community.  Sometimes it is made up of residents from the neighborhood who work with a property manager (usually a professional, paid group who specializes in keeping up neighborhoods). 

Their work is paid for by all of the home owners in the neighborhood by HOA fees.  These fees range in price from about $150 to $8,000 per year.  HOA fees vary in price since they cover different things.  Some HOA fees simply cover grounds maintenance for all of the green spaces in the neighborhood.  If you live in a townhouse or condo, your HOA may cover insurance (although we usually

You may have heard this before:  “What are the three most important things to consider with real estate?”  The answer, of course, is location, location, and location.  So, everyone knows it’s important – but why?

Location is the single largest factor when determining property value, especially in Charleston, SC.  Location is the only thing you cannot change about a home.  You can take a not-so-impressive home and completely renovate it to the point that it is unrecognizable – new floors, new cabinets, and fresh paint.  However, the location remains the same.

So, let’s say that you already know your price range, but you’re not sure about where to live in Charleston.  If you want to buy a home with good resale value, be sure to look in highly

Many factors can affect your financing during the home buying process.  From the time you apply for a mortgage until the time of closing, you should not make any drastic changes to your financial status.  So, be sure to follow these 8 tips in order to keep your financing intact for your closing.

1)  Don’t co-sign a loan for someone else.

2)  Do not become self-employed, change jobs, or quit your job.

3)  Set aside your money for closing costs, and don’t touch it until closing!

4)  Be sure to make your credit card payments on time, and don’t use your cards excessively.

5)  I know it is tempting to buy furniture for your new house, but just wait until after the closing!

6)  Do not buy a new car (as one home loan officer joked, “You may be

We get a lot of questions about schools in Charleston, SC.  When clients tell us they want to be in a good public school district, we tell them to look for homes in Mt. Pleasant or Summerville because these two areas have the best public school systems in Charleston.  And, in Summerville, you specifically need to look for Dorchester District 2 (it is better than Dorchester District 4). 

When people find out they have two options for places to live in Charleston with good public schools, they usually want to narrow their search down even more.  So, the main differences between these two areas are price and location.  Mt. Pleasant is more expensive than Summerville, but most areas in Mt. Pleasant are about 10 minutes from the closest beaches and

People often ask us whether it is better to use the agent working at the model home.  While these agents are very familiar with the neighborhood and option packages, they work for the builder and have his/her best interests in mind.  They are hired to know the inventory and to represent the builder during all of the transactions.

You can still use these agents’ knowledge but have your own agent with you during the buying process.  And builders (and their agents) are always happy to work with the buyer’s agent.  We recommend having an agent to represent you and only you rather than rely on the builder’s representative.  Since the seller (in this case, the builder) pays commission to the buyer’s agent, you don’t have to pay to have an agent represent

Many people hear about buying homes in the pre-construction phase of development and having the home value skyrocket in the first few years.  The stories usually involve someone “getting in” during the early phases of development when the builders offer good incentives and competitive pricing.  These homes can be great investments, but deals like these are harder to find now than they were even five years ago.  So, talk to your real estate agent about pre-construction homes (and investing in the Charleston area in general) if this is something you are interested in.

A lot of our clients have opted to buy homes pre-construction in Charleston because they need time to sell their current home.  Building a new home in Charleston usually takes anywhere

If the sellers are not pleased with your offer, they may turn it down outright or give a counteroffer.  So, let’s say that the sellers agree with all of the terms in your offer except for the price.  The sellers may send your offer back with your price marked out and suggest a higher price. 

Or, I will give a different scenario.  Let’s instead say that the sellers are pleased to get your offer, but you asked for them to do too much – like asking for a long list of repairs to be made, making a lower offer on the price, and requesting that you sell the house you are living in now before buying the sellers’ house.  If the sellers don’t outright reject your offer, they may choose to only allow one of these requests in a counteroffer. 

If the