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April 2011 - Posts

Saturday, April 30, 2011 7:05 AM

Short sale #FAIL

With so many short sales clogging up Charleston MLS listings, it's no wonder that so many Charleston real estate agents and home buyers hate dealing with short sales. Here's just one more reason. I would have thought that a seller who is in financial
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, April 29, 2011 6:50 AM

We know about lowball offers but how about a highball

And no, I'm not referring to either the seller (or their agent) having a cocktail after receiving a ridiculous lowball offer although that might not be a bad idea sometimes. Actually, I heard an agent in our office talking about just such an offer
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, April 28, 2011 7:31 AM

[Computer problems] A Geek To Go! to the rescue

The other day, I faced that dreaded black screen of death on my computer instead of a nice desktop. I called A Geek To Go! and Miles West returned my call immediately and he was actually at my desk within an hour and had the problem fixed soon afterward.
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 6:58 AM

Real estate is local or is it global

It's long been said that real estate is local, that it really doesn't matter to the Charleston real estate market how market conditions are in Florida or New Jersey for example except for the fact that if someone was selling their home there and
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, April 25, 2011 5:50 AM

Busy is good, too busy can be crazy

It's always been said that if you aren't busy in real estate, you should go on vacation because things will always be too busy when you aren't around to take care of business. Well, I'm starting to think in our always on, 24/7 world that
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Sunday, April 24, 2011 5:02 AM

Charleston, The Holy City, Easter / Passover 2011

Greetings from Charleston, The Holy City, this Easter morning. Charleston is of course known as "The Holy City", one reason is certainly the number and variety of churches throughout the city and prominent church steeples rising over the cityscape.
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Friday, April 22, 2011 6:25 AM

[Ask the Agent] How is that neighborhood

One of the most asked questions of real estate agents relates to whether an area is good or bad, safe or unsafe. And actually, real estate agents can not really answer the question, it is a violation of fair housing laws. And that's a good thing because
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, April 21, 2011 9:01 AM

Fortune writer trashes Zillow, "Why I'm not buying Zillow"

Fortune contributing editor Duff McDonald just trashed Zillow in what I think is the silliest financial analysis of a firm I've ever read. The background, Zillow has just filed the necessary paperwork for a proposed initial public offering of stock.
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, April 20, 2011 12:07 PM

March existing home sales report, uneven recovery or continued stability

The March existing home sales report released today by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said that “Sales of existing-home sales rose in March, continuing an uneven recovery that began after sales bottomed last July”. (emphasis
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, April 19, 2011 7:55 AM

[Ask the Agent] Crawlspace encapsulation, passing fad or value

A reader sent an email the other day wondering what I thought of crawlspace encapsulation and whether I had ever blogged on the subject but having written about 1500 posts, I never had. I kind of thought it would have something to do with keeping moisture
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, April 18, 2011 7:52 AM

Procrastinators rejoice, today is tax day this year

For at least half the people in the US, April 15 is probably their least favorite day of the year. But this year because of some kind of obscure government holiday on April 15, tax day this year is today, April 18. So procrastinators were able to take
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Saturday, April 16, 2011 7:45 AM

Charleston real estate market report, sales, inventory and home prices, March 2011

There is surprisingly good news on home sales during March with sales higher than March 2010 by almost 10 percent and don't forget (as if you could since I've reminded you about it for a while), the comparisons are going against last year's
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, April 15, 2011 7:12 AM

Surprisingly mixed messages in March 2011 foreclosure data

RealtyTrac released their monthly foreclosure data the other day. As expected, foreclosures were down because the lenders have been forced to delay foreclosures due to improperly processed paperwork. The highlights: Foreclosures in the first quarter of
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, April 14, 2011 7:22 AM

Mortgage principal reduction not likely for distressed homeowners

It is not likely that underwater homeowners will see any reduction to the principal that is owed on their mortgage $200,000 $150,000 Business Week has a very comprehensive article on the US Foreclosure abuse settlement that would not require banks to
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, April 13, 2011 7:35 AM

With oil over $100 per barrel, will people relocate closer to work due to high gas prices

Will this round of increasing prices for gas finally change people's behavior regarding where they live in relation to where they work. After all, a long commute not only wastes a lot of time but filling that gas tank costs a lot of money. In the
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, April 12, 2011 6:51 AM

[Civil War Sesquicentennial] Charleston Fort Sumter 150 years ago today

If you enjoy history, today marks the start of the Civil War when shots were fired at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. The Charleston Post and Courier provides great coverage.
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, April 11, 2011 7:19 AM

Zillow buries the zestimate

Back in 2006 when home values were all the rage at cocktail parties or church socials, Zillow made its debut with the zestimate, an automated valuation tool that was pretty much off by thousands of dollars but it really didn't matter much, it was
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Saturday, April 09, 2011 7:24 AM

Forbes ranks Charleston as one of best places to retire

If you are thinking of retiring, Forbes lists the 16 best places to retire and Charleston is included. According to Forbes, here are the pros and cons of retiring to Charleston. The pros: Lowest tax bite of all, low cost of living, agreeable climate,
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, April 08, 2011 7:26 AM

CoreLogic and the Double Dip

... sounds like it could be the name of a band but on a more serious note, the CoreLogic Home Price Index shows a year over year decline for the 7th consecutive month. But real estate after all is local and not all markets are declining, in fact, from
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, April 07, 2011 7:30 AM

Million dollar beach home in Charleston for under $200k [Not really]

A couple of people inquired about a beach home in Charleston listed for under $200k. Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it. And you know what they say about that. So what's the real story anyway. The listing in the Charleston MLS is accurate.
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, April 06, 2011 7:22 AM

[Southern Living] Ten tips for a beautiful yard

My favorite guide to living in the South, Southern Living, presents ten tips for a beautiful yard so whether you are planning to sell your home in Charleston and want to spruce up your curb appeal or just enjoy your home and garden in the years to come,
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 7:11 AM

R.I.P. [Off] Do you really need credit life insurance with your mortgage

Recently, I noticed among the hundred or so pages my clients had to sign at closing a little 2 page document offering credit life insurance to pay off the balance of their mortgage in the event that either buyer died. What was unusual is that while this
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Sunday, April 03, 2011 6:31 AM

Fraudclosure out of control, banksters need billions to clean up mess

This foreclosure mess just gets crazier by the day and I'm not talking about the family that happened to buy a home in Charleston several years ago with a subprime mortgage without bothering to read the fine print and discovering several years later
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, April 01, 2011 6:39 AM

It's the biggest weekend of the spring season in Charleston

... and between the Cooper River Bridge Run and the Flowertown Festival in Summerville, you can expect the biggest traffic jams of the year. With 40,000 runners starting in Mount Pleasant and running over the Cooper River Bridge to Historic Charleston
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments