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November 2009 - Posts

Monday, November 30, 2009 8:34 AM

It's cyber Monday so is anyone thinking about buying a home online today

Since today is the online world's version of black Friday, is anyone thinking about buying a home online today or are you just shopping at Amazon.com . Actually, it isn't as far fetched as you might think since one of my clients actually did buy
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Sunday, November 29, 2009 8:25 AM

Gurus and experts

Where did all the gurus and experts come from all of a sudden. Everywhere you turn, whether you are watching television or online, everyone seems to be an expert offering opinions on what to do and how to do it. But they aren't always right. I was
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Friday, November 27, 2009 8:08 AM

Search Charleston real estate on your iPhone

Now you can search Charleston homes for sale on your iPhone . Download the app using code 4550. It's FREE and of course, no registration is required. Blackberry and Android app's are coming soon.
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, November 26, 2009 6:08 AM

Thanksgiving 2009, give thanks

It's important to remember your glass is half full, not half empty. Give thanks for the blessings in your life. Happy Thanksgiving 2009.
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Wednesday, November 25, 2009 11:48 AM

Underwater mortgages, beneath the numbers

A widely covered report by First American CoreLogic headlines that nearly 1 in 4 homeowners have negative equity in their home or in today's parlance, they are "underwater" on their mortgage. It's an important report because borrowers
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, November 24, 2009 8:08 AM

An [unusual] virtual Charleston real estate office

The days of all Charleston real estate agents having offices or cubbies at their real estate agencies is long gone. Sure, there are some agents who need the structure of an office environment and perhaps I'm lucky because for many years, I traveled
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, November 23, 2009 8:01 AM

What kind of websites are these [really]

It gets annoying to find your content on other websites that exist only to make money off of the efforts of others. One such example is illustrated below and my apologies but I had to shrink the page to fit it in the allowable space. Here is what you'll
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Sunday, November 22, 2009 7:44 AM

The Art of the Deal

Despite the fact that The Donald did make his fortune in real estate, I'm not referring to Donald Trump's book, The Art of the Deal". Rather, in today's Charleston real estate market, it just seems that everyone is looking for a deal.
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, November 20, 2009 6:09 AM

Today's a celebration, a 3 year blogiversary

A few weeks ago, I celebrated the 1000th post to the Charleston real estate blog and today is the 3 year blogiversary of the very first post . It's been fun and thanks for stopping by and reading. But of all days, technology sometimes fails because
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, November 19, 2009 6:06 AM

Foreclosures, short sales and bank owned properties [an overview]

Recently, a new reader commented that when I used the term "short sale", he didn't understand what it meant and thought it was just real estate "jargon". There is a lot of talk about foreclosures, short sales and bank owned properties
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 4 Comments
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 3:16 PM

Charleston real estate mortgage rate outlook, November 17, 2009

Mortgage rates for either conventional or FHA 30 year fixed rate loans are currently quoted below 5% but how long will rates stay this low. Dan Green at The Mortgage Reports talks about 2 trends in mortgage rates. First, based on historical data from
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Monday, November 16, 2009 8:20 AM

Are your neighbors paying their HOA fees

Homeowner Associations are responsible for maintaining common areas of most neighborhoods and providing the amenities that many people enjoy. But not everyone is paying the HOA fee and that can cause problems. Since annual budgets are set up and fees
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Saturday, November 14, 2009 7:53 AM

Will the FHA be next to get a bailout

Jimmy commented yesterday about the problems at the FHA (Federal Housing Administration) and if that source of loans becomes unavailable, it could lead to another leg down in the housing market. After all, FHA loans have been a main source of mortgage
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 3 Comments
Friday, November 13, 2009 7:20 AM

It is a buyers market in Charleston

... but don't expect to steal a home. There are some very good deals right now in the Charleston real estate market. Inventory remains high and there are lots of good choices for home buyers. You know it's a buyers market when the first thing
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 4 Comments
Wednesday, November 11, 2009 8:51 AM

Happy Veterans Day

Thank you to all the men and women who have served and are serving our country today. Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima by Joe Rosenthal, The Associated Press
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Wednesday, November 11, 2009 6:40 AM

More bad pictures from the Charleston MLS

We all know that almost everyone begins searching for homes for sale on the Internet and the most common complaint by potential buyers is that they would like to see more pictures. And while this may be a nice home, no one is going to know that from these
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 8:25 AM

Charleston homes sell for less in some months

When you think about it, it makes sense that in the months with less sales activity, homes will sell for less. In the chart below, you'll notice that homes closing during November, December and February sold for less on average than any other months
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, November 09, 2009 9:12 AM

The home buyer tax credit

... made a big difference in the Charleston real estate market and while it was controversial to both expand and extend the home buyer tax credit or even have it in the first place, the home buyer tax credit will continue to be positive for the market
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Sunday, November 08, 2009 7:39 AM

Renting and selling your home [don't do both]

The most important thing when selling your home in today's Charleston real estate market is to make it available for buyers to view. There are too many available homes for sale for buyers to choose from that a home that is difficult to view will sell
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 3 Comments
Friday, November 06, 2009 11:46 AM

Home buyer tax credit [extension and expansion]

Congress has voted on and the President has signed an extension and expansion of the home buyer tax credit. The tax credit is effective immediately and the terms override the terms of the first time home buyer tax credit which was due to expire on November
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 3 Comments
Thursday, November 05, 2009 7:15 AM

Sometimes people unsubscribe with a nice note

Each month around the first of the month, I send out the Charleston real estate monthly update with links to several interesting blog posts and the monthly Charleston market statistics along with a little commentary. It goes to a large database of anyone
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, November 04, 2009 7:19 AM

CFL lighting [where's the light?]

There isn't a light that stays on in our home more than the flood light over the kitchen sink and when it finally blew out yesterday morning, I thought I would do the right thing and buy a CFL bulb to replace it and save energy. Mistake. My wife's
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
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Monday, November 02, 2009 9:31 AM

Charleston real estate market report, home prices, November 2, 2009

Due almost entirely to the mix of homes being sold recently, prices appear to be down probably a little more than they really are. But when most of the sales are to first time home buyers and bargain hunters looking for bank owned homes, the entry level
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, November 02, 2009 8:04 AM

Charleston real estate market report, sales and inventory, November 2, 2009

For the first time since back in February 2006, monthly sales were higher on a year over year basis in September and are likely to be higher again in October since 621 sales have already been recorded compared to 641 last year and because the Charleston
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments