According to Centralized Showing Service, showings in the Charleston area are definitely on the way up! This shows us that buyers are looking – mostly due to low interest rates and good deals on homes.

bill@billbarnhill.com

www.BillBarnhill.com

843-364-6903

 Looks like you might have to prepare to wait a while longer for financing. If you are planning on refinancing or purchasing a home, talk with your lender first to get a realistic time frame for obtaining your financing.

http://rismedia.com/2009-08-10/is-the-pipeline-clogged-for-refinancing-homeowners/

bill@billbarnhill.com

843-364-6903

www.BillBarnhill.com

Below is a link for current market conditions. Although it will take a while for the market to adjust completely, it is well on its way. Existing homes sale rose for the third month in a row. Interest rates have been rising slightly but are still very good. If you are looking to buy, now is still a great time to do so. If you need to sell a home first, price is still king and condition is a close second. If you have questions about your local market conditions, contact me and I will be happy to provide the info to you.

tmire___us___june_20090611.ppt

Yesterday, NAR reported that existing home sales rose 5.1 percent for the month of February. Accounting for most of that activity were first time home buyers along with investors. It was reported that about 45% of those sales were distressed (short sales or foreclosed homes).

 http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2009/03/february_existing_home_sales?LID=RONav0021

With the combination of historically low interest rates and good deals, now appears to be a great time to be a homebuyer. Even if you need to sell your current home first, don’t get hung up on trying to get top dollar for your home…because you’re not. Instead, focus on the big picture of being able to get your next home at a very good price coupled with a fantastic interest rate. Five years down the road you will probably look back and be very glad you purchased your home in 2009.

If you believe you may qualify for a short sale, I will be happy to speak with you and try to help you make that decision. However, I am not an attorney nor do I work for your lender. Therefore, I would recommend contacting a good real estate attorney that has experience with short sales and can give you good counsel. I would also recommend contacting your lender to let them know of your situation and see if they are willing to work with you in the way of refinance, forbearance, loan modification or anything else that can help you get through your situation. After speaking with both an attorney and your lender, if you feel a short sale might be your best option, then contact me and we can discuss the process and how it works.

bill@billbarnhill.com

www.billbarnhill.com

Charleston, SC Short Sales

Mt. Pleasant, SC Short Sales

Many people today have heard of a short sale but are not quite clear on what they are and if it could help their situation. Basically, if you owe more on your home than what it is currently worth and you are getting behind on your mortgage payments, you might be a candidate for a short sale. You should also be advised that you have other options to consider besides a short sale – forbearance, loan modification, deed in lieu of foreclosure, foreclosure & bankruptcy. If you have not been successful working out a plan with your lender and you want to try and avoid foreclosure & bankruptcy, then a short sale could be a good option to try. A short sale happens when the lender holding the mortgage is willing to forgive a portion of the debt owed so the property can be sold sooner rather than later. The banks don’t want to own a bunch of real estate so in most cases they would rather settle on a short sale than have to buy back the property and take on the added cost of trying to sell it themselves. The seller then gets out from a debt they can’t handle with minimum damage to their credit while the lender is able to avoid taking over a property they don’t want – it’s a win-win.

If you think you might be in a short sale situation and want to discuss further, please contact me for a private, confidential consultation. I have a short sale system that can work  much faster than the traditional way of selling a home – and when you are staring a possible foreclosure in the face, time is of the essence.

bill@billbarnhill.com

www.billbarnhill.com

Charleston, SC Short Sales

Mt. Pleasant, SC Short Sales

Below is the info on the new $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit. NAR (National Association of Realtors) estimates these tax provisions could stimulate up to 300,000 additional home sales – we’ll have to wait and see.

Homebuyer Tax Credit “ The bill provides for a $8,000 tax credit that would be available to first-time home buyers for the purchase of a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.   The credit does not require repayment.   Most of the mechanics of the credit will be the same as under the 2008 rules:   the credit will be claimed on a tax return to reduce the purchaser’s income tax liability.   If any credit amount remains unused, then the unused amount will be refunded as a check to the purchaser.
Chart Highlighting the Major Modifications to the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit> (PDF: 309K)

Do you know someone who is getting behind on their mortgage payments with no equity in their home? Are you? Unfortunately, this is an all too common scenario in today™s market. However, there are options. One of these possible solutions is a short sale. This occurs when the homeowner owes more on the property than what it is worth and the bank with the mortgage is willing to forgive a portion of the debt so the property can be sold sooner rather than later. This helps out the seller because they are able to settle their account with the bank with minimal damage to their credit and move on. The bank also benefits because they then don™t have to face the high cost of maintaining the property through foreclosure then try to sell it themselves “ they don™t want the burden of having to get rid of a bunch of real estate. By agreeing to a short sale, the bank gets the property off their books. It™s a win-win for everyone.  If you or someone you know is  in this situation  and wants help, please  contact me and I will be happy to discuss the details through a private, confidential consultation.

www.billbarnhill.com

bill@billbarnhill.com

Charleston, SC Short Sales

Mt. Pleasant, SC Short Sales

There is good news over the past 30-45 days as you can see in the chart below. Charleston area showings are up in a big way since the first of the year – almost 900 more in Mount Pleasant alone! If you are a seller, this is great news – not only are interest rates at historic lows but the buyers seem to be getting off the fence and looking!

www.billbarnhill.com

bill@billbarnhill.com

I want to thank you for taking the time to visit my blog – I hope you will come back often.  My goal is to provide pertinent real state info for the Mount Pleasant, Charleston & beach areas.  We are currently in a strong buyer’s market with over 1500 homes for sale in just the Mt. Pleasant area – compare this to around 350 back in the summer of 2005! With that said, interest rates are at historic lows and it is a fantastic time to buy a home. If you have a real estate need or know of someone looking to buy or sell a home, please let me know. I am also helping people in the Charleston, SC area with short sales – if you have questions about short sales, please contact me to discuss. It would be my pleasure to assist you with your real estate needs.