Myrtle Beach Area Real Estate

Accurately showing a home is important. Two easily made mistakes are easily overcome. A full wide angle lens will easily make a small room look much larger especially with little or no furniture. The quality of the lens can distort the image on the edges. The on camera flash will often make the image look hard and is especially hard on portraits of women and children not to mention the dreaded 'red eye'. There are several ways to soften flash results. I often use a flash completely off the camera which is not an option for most Realtors. An optional flash in the hotshoe if provided on your camera can really lighten softly bu simply adjusting the light to bounce off the white ceiling. Have a wierd color ceiling- or unable to bounce your flash? Take one shot with a tissue over the flash to diffuse the light.. I doubt any Realtor has time to learn Photoshop CS4 or wants to spend $600 for the software. I sure do not. However, those with patience and dedication can learn Photoshop Elements 7 at around $80 plus $20 for an instruction book and about the same for a 3 CD training set. Surprising what a $450 digital SLR can do above a 'point and shoot'... actually 'IN ADDITION to point and shoot'. Using the software that comes with the camera is fine or Photoshop Starter Version which is free and can be used with any cameras. You will be surprised at what the free software can do with just a few minutes of your time. Check out the Nikon D40 - it comes with a great 18 - 55 lens (wide angle to normal). I keep one just like that and another body with a 55 - 190 telephoto lens in my vehicle all the time. No one needs 2 camera bodies, I take a lot of photos and never need to change. OK,, I keep a couple more lenses never needed in real estate, a tripod, and other 'extras'. The new digital SLR cameras will make you look like a pro out of the box. Digital means no film to buy. A $15 4 gig card can hold up to 4000 photos and can be formated to start as new again. Don't like the shot? Trash it and take it again. Do yourself a favor, buy a digital camera for your business, it makes a good tax deduction. Buy an extra storage card and keep it with you 24/7 you may get some shots to post here or with your advertising-- not to mention your family.

While my grandsons were visiting they wanted to do 'something with poppa' so we headed to the museum on the beach. What a great program they have and the 6 year old twins found it fantastic! We arrived around 3PM and began touring the museum. At 3:30 a program on beach safety was given. The children were very involved in the entire process, learning and having fun. NBext they went outside as the Ocean Isle Beach fire department brought a large truck. The boys and girls climbed all over it like a bunch of ants while being supervised by the firemen. They were able to sit in the drivers seat and put on a fireman's coat and helmet. At this point we packed up their coloring books and 'jr fireman' badges they received for a quick dinner at Sharkey's on the ICW as we had to be back by 7PM. At 7 sharp, a program was given on the animals that can be found on the island. Parents, grandparents, and the kids really enjoyed it and a presentation about the turtles that nest on the island- plus an invitation to come to a nest later as 147 eggs were about to hatch. The children were next on a scavenger hunt through the museum. After they returned they were each given a box containing an owl 'pellet'. I though it was something from the owl's bottom but NO- it comes from the top. The pellets are sold to the museum sanitized and wrapped in foil. The boys and girls have a pointed stick to pull the fur and feathers apart. Inside they find what else the owl could not digest. Owls eat birds, mice, and other small animals. Tiny bones were found in all. Scotty found a bird skull and Dominic found the skull of a mouse.

That was only ONE day's program. Every day something different is going on. A family pass is only $49! This is the best $49 you can spend to help make your beach vacation more enjoyable. Check out their website at http://www.museumofcc.org/ and don't forget to stop by my website too at www.rakoci.com.

Info seen today--

The percentage  of homes on the local market for sale which are, in fact, REO’s has increased. Strategies for dealing with the holders of these properties are somewhat different than purchasing from a private citizen. Those differences can be looked as potential landmines if you are not familiar with the process.

• Landmine # 1.  Most REO properties are sold using a standardized contract which will be used throughout the nation. ( for instance, HUD, Fannie Mae, VA). The language and terms in these contracts will supercede anything you write in your local purchase agreement, therefore, it is critical that you understand all the language in their standard contract.

• Landmine # 2. Most REO properties are sold “as is.”  While entities must allow for an independent inspection if one is allowed by state law, there is no requirement that any repairs be made as a result of the inspection.

• Landmine # 3. Buyers are frequently charged a per day fee for  delays in closing caused by their side of the transaction. Whether  caused by the borrower, their lender or the realtor does not matter. It is not uncommon for the delay fee to be $100.00 per day.

• Landmine # 4. Transfer of title will usually be granted with a special warranty deed or a Sheriff’s deed.  Both provide a MARKETABLE title; not CLEAR title.  It is common for liens to remain attached.

• Landmine # 5. When submitting an offer on an REO property, you buy the whole “kit and kaboodle”.

• On average there are 94 bank closures per year

• During the Great Depression Foreclosure Rates were 50%

• Nationally today our Foreclosure Rates are 3%

• During the Great Depression Unemployment ran at 25%
• Nationally today our Unemployment is 7.2%

The club meets monthly and is very inexpensive to join. Anyone interested in photography is welcome. Look for field trips and many workshops. A great group of people and some fantastic photographers. No matter the equipment you use or level of expertise, there is enough of interest and to learn for everyone! If interested ddrop me a note or call as I'l like to see you there! Meetings are held near Shalotte NC.  john@rakoci.com   843 655 7777

RISMEDIA, March 27, 2008–Whether it’s politics, the economy, international affairs or our personal daily activities, “change” is the operative word.

In real estate, many of the norms and rules that we have operated under have fundamentally changed. In our previous articles, we discussed how our principle financial institutions affecting real estate, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are tightening their guidelines on credit scores, appraisals and loan-to-value on properties in markets that they have identified as high risk. Their obvious goal is to minimize exposure to further losses.

My purpose for mentioning this is that many real estate markets are in a prolonged down cycle and we need to make sure that our sales approach with prospective clients take all these issues into account. It is a new world order for many real estate professionals and educating or qualifying buyers and sellers has renewed importance.

Helping Sellers See the Reality of the Market

In many locations throughout the U.S., home values have declined and have not stabilized. Sellers need to have a realistic expectation of the value of their home.

The first issue to be addressed is how much equity they have in their home. Their equity may be the determining factor to their ability to sell their home. This is where the appraisal becomes important to the process. There is incredible pressure coming from both the Federal and State governments to ensure the independence of the appraisal process. The cumulative effect of this pressure will be to reduce the appraised value of many properties in “high risk” markets.

When developing your Comparative Market Analysis, be certain to follow the minimum requirements that have been implemented by Fannie Mae. We outlined these guidelines in our first article, “The Importance of the Appraisal in a Declining Market.”

Finally, when writing the sales contract, you need to consider writing a 60 or 90 contract expiration date into the agreement. In today’s market, you need to assume that Murphy’s Law will come into play. In addition to the guidelines that can extend the time to gain loan approval, Lenders have reduced staffing in their underwriting departments adding time to the approval process. This extended time in the sales contract is equally important to the buyer.

Guiding Buyers in the Process

Buyers, also, need to understand the changes to the home buying process. While many potential buyers are waiting for the real estate market to bottom out before purchasing a home, they need to understand that the guidelines being instituted may result in many loan programs that they may qualify for today, may not be available tomorrow.

Qualifying the borrower should be done early in the process. We are not referring to the “pre qualification” letter of the past based on buyer supplied information. Client information needs to be validated. Ascertaining the buyer’s credit score(s), determining their income, assets and employment, are critical to determining what price home they can qualify for as well as what loan programs.

In spite of the various restrictions or limitations to loan programs that we have discussed, there are exceptions to the guidelines that may open up other loan opportunities to consider.

Veteran Loans (VA)

Individuals who have served or are active in the military (including National Guard) are not subject to these credit score or other guidelines. A VA loan is a 100% financing program with attractive interest rates and the opportunity for the buyer to pay little or no closing costs.

Federal Housing Administration Loans (FHA)

Each day, we read more pronouncements from our Federal Banking regulators and Congress recommending an increase in the role of FHA to underwrite loans that Fannie and Freddie cannot. Principle benefits of an FHA loan are the flexible underwriting guidelines and availability to those borrowers with less than a 620 credit score.

Portfolio Loan Products

These are mortgage loan programs offered by a bank or private investor. Since there are no rules or encumbrances governing the Lender, each loan is evaluated on its own merits. These unique loans would be funded by the bank / investor and not sold to Fannie or Freddie.

With each of these options, you need to discuss which may apply to your client. Let your Mortgage professional research what option best suits their needs.

Our intent in identifying these issues and options was not to be all inclusive or suggest that other options might not be available. The rules are changing daily. Interest rates and loan programs often change numerous times during the day.

The fact is that the home buying process has gotten considerably more complex with a declining number of financing options available from a decreasing number of lenders.

As a real estate professional, you need a team of experts, from yourself to a mortgage professional to an appraiser, to properly support your sales efforts.

A portion of the article indicating some reporters are seeing things in a new light. Long ago I found when the media said the bottom was in on the stock markets they were already up 10% - 20%. Could it be the same will be found by those waiting for the media to tell them the bottom is in the housing market?

Some members of the financial press are beginning to suggest that a bottom is near, and that buyers should get out and start looking for bargains in homes.

Time Magazine ran a piece this week titled, "Ignore the Headlines!" by Dan Kadlec, where he notes that Fed rate cuts always "lift the economy eventually." He also makes the case that buying a home today will beat waiting another year even if home prices drop an additional 10 percent.

To buy a $218,900 home at 5.5 percent is $994.31 a month. To buy next year at $197,010 at 6 percent will cost $994.94.

The irony is that in the time Kadlec did his research and when the magazine came out, interest rates were already back over 6 percent, making his example all the more compelling.

The Motley Fool's Marko Djuranovic wrote on February 25th, 2008 that "the shape of the U.S. housing market is not nearly as bad as some analysts would have you believe." In his spirited defense of home prices as being far from overvalued, he points out that home sizes have increased 47 percent from 1973 (1,525 to 2,248 square feet), and that today's homes feature sturdier construction materials, more expensive siding, outdoor amenities, more complex wiring, sophisticated heating and cooling systems, and larger kitchens.

"And the moment that the supply of existing homes begins to shrink, potential first-time home buyers will wake up to the fact that between low interest rates and homes that sell at (or below) replacement cost, they can grab the deal of a lifetime," says Djuranovic.

As Kadlec points out, you just never know, but you may not save anything to wait, and you've "spent a year living someplace you'd rather not be."

The list of upgrades and positive items on this home are too numerous to mention here. Actually they are too numerous to mention on MLS listings too. Just minutes from the beach and all the Myrtle Beach area has to offer but not IN it! Why pay a POA of hundreds when you can pay only $20 per month? Check this out then call or drop me a note; http://rakoci.com/listman/listings/l0007.html

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