Charleston Real Estate Podcast with Dave Friedman

you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may

also call me at (843) 972-3833 for a FREE home buying or selling

consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. 

When you are preparing your home for the market, you may want to make some renovations in order to net more money on your home sale. Which renovations get better returns than others?

Keep in mind that less is more. Large-scale jobs aren’t likely to return their full costs but there are investments worth doing in anticipation of an upcoming sale. Some renovations return 100% of their costs while others get less than half of the money back. Still, some renovations can improve your market position and the probability that your home will sell.

Lower cost projects tend to return greater value. For example, the national average cost for a steel front door replacement is $1,200. That is the least expensive project on the list and it also gets the highest return. In fact, you can expect a 101% return on investment. In 43 of 102 markets surveyed, new doors recoup more than 100% of their costs.

Other projects that get a good return on investment are mid-range garage door replacements or upscale garage door replacements, mid-range wood window replacements, and minor kitchen remodels. Notice a pattern here? With the exception of a kitchen remodel, these are all replacement projects.

“

Generally speaking, less is more.

”

In general, replacements cost less and provide a bigger payback than remodeling or adding square footage to a home. First impressions are very important to buyers, so replacing things that they will see right away, like the front door, garage door, or siding will help you net more money on your home sale. Manufactured veneer gets a 92% return on investment.

When it comes to remodels, though, kitchens will still get you the most bang for your buck. For example, a small, $20,000 remodel will get you a payback of 80%.

Just how much you recoup from home improvements depends on which updates you make and which region of the country you are in. Other factors to take into account include figuring out which updates are typical for your specific neighborhood and, of course, the quality of the work.

Check out this cost versus value report before you get into any renovations or remodels. We even have a professional stager on our staff who can tell you exactly which repairs will help your home sell for the most money.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We would be happy to help you!

you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may

also call me at (843) 972-3833 for a FREE home buying or selling

consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. 

Today I have a tool that I want to show you that will help you achieve the success you desire in 2017. This tool is a goal-setting template, and it’s the same one my team and I use to reach our goals. Within this template, there are 10 categories through which you can divide your goals for a more comprehensive personal and professional development:

The goal you set for each individual category should conform to the criteria of the SMART method. That is to say, your goal should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.

In the video above, I’ve used the finances category as an example of how effective this tool can be if one of your goals is moderating and protecting your monetary interests.

“

I’m challenging you to implement this simple tool that will change your life.

”

I really hope you use this tool so that 2017 is the best year you’ve ever had. I know that it’s going to create the best year for me, and I want the same for you, too. If you have any questions about this tool or would like me to email it to you, please reach out to me so I can share it with you. I would be happy to help!

you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may

also call me at (843) 972-3833 for a FREE home buying or selling

consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. 

In case you haven’t heard, the Federal Reserve increased interest rates last December and are planning an aggressive approach in 2017. Since the election, rates have risen in total by about 0.75%, and we can expect them to rise further by a full percentage point by mid-summer.

What does that mean for you as a buyer or seller?

If you’re a buyer, the same home that you could’ve purchased last year will now cost you more. The monthly payment for a $500,000 house, for example, will now cost $200 to $300 more. If you’re a seller, your buyer pool is shrinking because not as many homes are affordable to them anymore.

The good news is that we still have historically low inventory and interest rates. There are also still plenty of buyers out there looking to buy. We know this because, despite this uptick in rates, we still get a lot of inquiries. Buyers even have a bit more wiggle room to negotiate than they would have had in the past because there aren’t as many multiple offer situations happening.

“

Both buyers and sellers should act now before rates increase further.

”

If you’re planning on buying, do it now while you have a much better chance to lock in a low rate. If you’re a seller, you should also act now before your buyer pool shrinks even further thanks to those rising rates.

If you have any questions or are interested in buying or selling soon, feel free to pick up the phone and give me a call. I look forward to helping you!

you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may

also call me at (843) 972-3833 for a FREE home buying or selling

consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. 

We all know that weather can be unpredictable, and although hurricane Matthew was luckily not as bad as we expected it to be, it showed how important it is to have flood insurance in the Charleston area.

Insurance expert Mark Allen dropped by to explain why it’s so important to have an insurance plan in place and what to look out for when selecting a polifcy. Here are some things to consider when selecting flood insurance:

If you have any further questions regarding flood or homeowners insurance feel free to give Mark a call, visit 1stCapitalIns.com, or shoot him an email. If you have any questions about the Charleston or Mt. Pleasant real estate markets or you're considering buying or selling a home, give me a call or send me an email. I'd be happy to help.

I was a guest on a live Google Hangout put on by my coach, Lars Hedenborg, and Frank Klesitz at Vyral Marketing. I’ll talk about how I cut down on the hours I worked by streamlining my systems to maximize profitability. There are many great Charleston area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (843) 972-3833 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.  Here is what we covered with time-stamps so you can jump to the section that most interests you:     :30- How I got into real estate and how I got to where I am today.   6:30- All the pillars I've implemented in my business since hiring my coach, Lars Hedenborg in 2014. 11:00- How Lars helped me fix-up and supercharge my business by adding the right systems. 14:00- How to recruit successful buyer agents 21:00- How I implemented and executed Lars' expired system to increase my listing business. 25:00- How I got 30 deals and a 70x ROI  from my database marketing in one year. 32:00- Visuals of some of Lars' great systems that we've implemented in our business. 36:30- A demonstration of our business tracker and how we use it. 42:00- How Lars' recommends implementing his business tracker. I’d like to thank Lars Hedenborg and Frank Klesitz for having me on this hangout. If you have any questions on what we talked about, reach out to me through a call or email. I’d love to chat and see what I can do to help you!

you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may

also call me at (843) 972-3833 for a FREE home buying or selling

consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. 

As we all know, weather isn’t exactly predictable. That’s why, as a homeowner, it’s absolutely necessary that you have an insurance plan in place that will protect you and your property in the long run. Insurance agents provide an invisible safety net that saves you money and time down the line.

With that in mind, today we’re joined by Mark Allen from 1st Capital Insurance to explain the basics of what sort of insurance plans you should investigate and the typical costs of obtaining them.

According to Mark, the number one thing that Lowcountry residents need to look out for when looking for insurance in a home are the deductibles. What are they covering? There are differences between an ‘all other peril’ (AOP) deductible and a ‘wind and hail’ and/or ‘named storm’ deductible. The named storm or wind and hail deductible is normally a percentage of your dwelling. For example, let’s say you have a $300,000 house and you have a 2% named storm or wind and hail deductible. That means your cost would be $6,000. The all other peril deductible has to do with fire, vandalism, theft, water damage, and other things of that nature.

As to how much flood insurance costs, it depends on your house’s location and its elevation. Normally people in Mark’s business get what is called an “elevation certificate,” which tells them how high the house is and how well the house is vented so that they know how much to charge appropriately.

To Mark’s estimate, the typical cost of a flood policy for a $300,000 to $500,000 home would be around $500 a year, which covers $250,000 on the building and $100,000 in contest. That’s the maximum that FEMA allows. You can get other policies that cover you over and above that, but that’s the typical FEMA policy.

“

Lowcountry residents need to be mindful of deductibles.

”

For homeowners living around water areas, Mark’s advice is to watch for how much the house would cost to rebuild, because that’s what insurance companies measure to determine their rate. If you make any major changes or renovations to your home, make sure to call your insurance company and update your policy information.

Stay tuned for part two of our series with Mark where we’ll cover the business of homeowners insurance in greater depth. In the meantime, if you want to get in touch with him, you can call his office at (843) 216-2772 or visit his company’s website at www.1stcapitalins.com, or email him at [email protected].

If you have any other questions, feel free to give me a call or shoot me an email. I look forward to helping you!

you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may

also call me at (843) 972-3833 for a FREE home buying or selling

consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. 

Today, I wanted to discuss our annual pie giveaway and give you a quick market update.
 

For years, our team has been giving away pies to all of our fans. It’s that time of year again, and we already have people calling us to RSVP for their pie. Because we’re so grateful to our wonderful community for supporting our business, giving you a pie is the least we can do.
 

To RSVP, please call us at (843) 972-3833 by the November 17th deadline. You can then pick up your pie at my office at 496 Bramson Court, Suite 200 in Mount Pleasant. The dates available for pickup are Nov. 21st from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Nov. 22nd from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

 

There aren’t many buyers out there, but there are even fewer sellers.

Now, what’s happening in the Charleston real estate market? A lot of sellers are taking their houses off the market because they presume that there aren’t as many buyers out there. That is true; however, in midsummer, housing inventory hovered around 4.2 months, and now it’s at 3.9 months. That means you currently have better odds of selling your home now than you did a few months ago.
 

How? There are fewer buyers, but there are also even fewer sellers. That means less competition for you to deal with.
 

If you have any questions about buying or selling a home, please feel free to give me a call or shoot me an email for a free consultation or a free home evaluation report. I look forward to helping you!

you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may

also call me at (843) 972-3833 for a FREE home buying or selling

consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. 

All home buyers have one thing in common: they do not want to get ripped off. In today’s increasingly busy housing market, sales have risen to 5.46 million, which, according to the National Association of Realtors, is 7.7% higher than last year. In this busy market, it’s especially important to make sure that you’re getting the right price.

How do you know if you’re getting a fair value? Even if you’re in a tight market, you can figure out if a home is priced fairly before you make the offer. There are certain ways you can evaluate whether the price of any home is a sound investment or if you’re getting ripped off.

First of all, look at recently sold comparable properties. Comparable properties are similar in size, condition, neighborhood, and amenities. Your real estate agent is your best resource for accurate, up-to-date information on comparable properties, also known as comps.

You should also look at comparable properties that are currently on the market, under contract, or not selling at all. If a comparable property failed to sell because it was overpriced, the property you are interested in is probably overpriced too.

 

Look at comparable properties to see if the home you want is priced fairly.

You also have to consider the appreciation rates in the area. Are prices going up? Are prices going down? What do the days on the market look like? If you are in a seller’s market with very low inventory, high demand, and low days on market, you will have a better idea of what a seller is willing to accept. In an appreciating market, you can buy now and reap the benefits of further appreciation down the line.

If you are in a market with high days on market, lots of inventory, and very little demand, then you know that prices are starting to depreciate. In that case, make sure you buy 5% to 10% below the market value so that you don’t lose value as prices continue to drop. In depreciating markets, you need to buy your equity up front in order to make the best investment.

If you have any other questions about determining market value or about real estate in general, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may

also call me at (843) 972-3833 for a FREE home buying or selling

consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

I'm often asked about appreciation, so I wanted to talk about how you can predict the annual appreciation or depreciation for your real estate investment.

My team and I study the market daily to predict appreciation rates for our clients. We look at sales over the last year compared to the current inventory, and based on this, we can determine the months of inventory.

Because real estate is very location-driven, the months of inventory will change from neighborhood to neighborhood. Months of inventory will determine the appreciation (or depreciation) rate you can expect for your home or investment. The future prospects for your chosen neighborhood can have a big impact on price.

If a big development is planned, such as a big mall or an extension of a light rail or highway, or there's a new company moving to the area, the prospects of future appreciation look good. Even small developments like plans to add a road or a small school are good signs. On the other hand, if grocery stores and gas stations are slowly closing down, then you can probably determine that home values will depreciate, and you might consider moving out of the area.

“

If a big development like a mall or light rail is planned, appreciation could go up.

”

New developments in housing can take it either way. If the area is hot, it's likely in high demand and increasing your home's value. However, if there is a surplus in new development (like a lot of new construction that you're competing against), it could hurt the value of your home and your appreciation.

If a builder came in and bought land at a very good value and started developing a lot of homes and devaluing homes in the surrounding area because of what they started selling those homes at, it could have a negative impact on you.

If you'd like a report about appreciation rates in your specific area, I'd be more than happy to put one together for you at no cost. If you have any questions about the Charleston market, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may

also call me at (843) 972-3833 for a FREE home buying or selling

consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Why does it make more sense for a person to own a home rather than rent one? There are many benefits, but according to a recent study done by Harvard University, all of them fall under two categories: financial reasons and emotional reasons. These two reasons can sometimes overlap, but we’ll review some of the financials first.

For starters, housing is a leveraged investment. Ask yourself—what else can you get a 30-year fixed low-interest rate loan on for an investment? On top of that, homes in our area appreciate anywhere between 3% and 5% per year. The second financial benefit is that you’re paying for a home whether you own it or rent it. You need shelter and a place to live, right? You might as well own it and turn it into an investment instead of making your landlord rich.

The third financial benefit is that owning a home is a forced way of saving money. By that I mean a portion of that mortgage payment you’re making is going toward the principal that you owe on the home. As you pay that principal down over time, that becomes equity in your home. When you sell it, you get all of that money back.

“

You’re paying for a home whether you own it or rent it.

”

There are also substantial benefits in regards to property taxes. For example, you can write off certain expenses of your home investment against your income. At the end of the year, then, you’ll either be paying less in taxes or getting a larger cash refund. For greater detail on all the specific tax benefits, be sure to talk to your CPA. Owning a home also allows you to hedge against inflation, since real estate is a tangible asset.

The emotional reasons need far less explanation. For one thing, we all share the basic human need for physical shelter. After that’s accomplished and you perhaps decide that you want children, you need a place to raise them. After those boxes are checked off, you have the ability to pass along wealth to your family. And finally, owning a home means having control over your living space.

If you have any questions about real estate or homeownership, give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to help you out!