Welcome to Charleston Real Estate Blog Sign in | Help

Browse by Tags

All Tags » Buyer tips   (RSS)
Monday, May 21, 2012 6:22 AM

Why are you searching for Charleston homes for sale

... if your credit is "so-so" and your credit score is not excellent, you aren't likely to be approved for a mortgage loan. From the better things to do file, I wonder why some people aren't spending their time getting their credit repaired
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Saturday, May 19, 2012 7:05 AM

Since Charleston buyers want more pictures of homes for sale

... wouldn't it be nice to at least have one picture. It's really pretty obvious. Today's house hunter not only wants pictures and lots of pictures but video, virtual tours, floor plans and as much possible information available about Charleston
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, May 07, 2012 7:43 AM

Does place trump property

Or in other words, what's more important to you, the neighborhood or the home. For as long as people have owned real estate, the three most important words in real estate have been location, location, location. So it might make sense that where you
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Saturday, May 05, 2012 6:38 AM

[Charleston mortgage report] Low rates keeps homebuyer affordability high

I've been pretty amazed at recent real estate closings at how low the monthly payments have been for my clients due to the crazy low mortgage rates these days. Buyers can either choose to buy more home for a smaller monthly payment or buy exactly
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, May 04, 2012 6:14 AM

Timing your move, easier said than done

In the best of all possible worlds, you could buy a home and move in exactly when you either sell your current home or your lease expires. Unfortunately, with delays in closing all too common these days, it isn't always possible to time your move
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, April 30, 2012 8:31 AM

Behind the red door

... is a nice story with a happy ending. My friends and (now) former neighbors just moved into their custom built dream house this weekend. It took a while and there were highs and lows during the process of both selling their former home and buying and
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Saturday, April 28, 2012 7:09 AM

A lack of curb appeal is what's wrong with this photo

There are a variety of angles you can use to take a photograph of a home for sale to maximize its curb appeal. One problem that some homeowners have is that their lot has several utility boxes and they basically can be an eyesore not only for you during
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, April 25, 2012 7:14 AM

Some good reasons for Charleston MLS listings with few to no photos

Let's face it, everyone wants to see as many photos as possible when searching the Charleston MLS online but there are some good reasons why sometimes there are few to no photos available. There are homes that are generously called "handyman
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, April 23, 2012 7:50 AM

[Signs of change] The end of the low-ball offer

With all the good news being reported on the housing market recovery not only locally in Charleston but in many markets around the country, Kenneth Harney writes in the Washington Post, Low-ball bidders in many markets learn they can no longer get a steal
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 3 Comments
Thursday, April 19, 2012 7:19 AM

Do you really want to lease a home with an option to purchase

With increased scrutiny by mortgage lenders these days, some buyers with a blip (or two) on their credit report might think that a lease purchase option might be the best way to buy a home in Charleston. It's just my opinion but I don't agree
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, April 02, 2012 8:20 AM

Charleston foreclosures should begin to trend up

With the mortgage settlement between the government and the banks and the robo-signing scandal behind them, we should finally begin to see the banks bring the long awaited shadow inventory of foreclosures to the market. South Carolina is a judicial foreclosure
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, March 27, 2012 8:18 AM

Home affordability and rising interest rates

Mortgage interest rates have not really gone up substantially from the amazing historic low rates we've seen YET. But with more and more good news on the economy, I wouldn't expect that to last forever. And if you are planning on buying a home
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, March 26, 2012 9:14 AM

[It must be spring] Visitors and house hunters are coming to Charleston

Spring is the busiest season of the year for both visiting and house hunting in Charleston and many people like to combine both into one trip. That's OK but if you really aren't serious about buying a home, why would you want to look at Charleston
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, March 16, 2012 6:36 AM

Is the sales price to list price percentage meaningful

Well, yes and no, how's that for an answer. The sales price to list price is meaningful in that it tells you how close to market value sellers are offering their homes for. And we're seeing a little more realism by sellers these days because the
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 8:44 AM

If you waited to buy a Charleston home for sale

... you might have to change your expectations somewhat. It's not that it is no longer a buyers market in Charleston but it certainly is not as lopsided in favor of the buyer as it was previously. We're seeing over 200 homes every week go under
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
More Posts Next page »