Living the Charleston Coast Lifestyle with Jennifer O'Brien

How to Prepare to Sell Your Home - https://www.jenniferobrienhomes.com/2022/01/25/how-to-prepare-to-sell-your-home/

Not sure how to get your house ready to sell? Fortunately, there are steps you can take before putting your home on the market to increase your chances of receiving a solid offer from a buyer.

From cleaning and staging to repainting and depersonalizing, here are 7 things to do before you sell your home.

1. Call Me! 

I will come by and walk your home with you to give you my opinion on where your time and money will be best spent on preparing your home for sale. I’ll give you a free valuation and what is the best price to list your home and I’ll give you a thoroughly laid out plan for how we are going to sell your home.

2. Buy more light bulbs

Go ahead and stock up on light bulbs. When showing your house to potential buyers, all light fixtures and lamps will need to be turned on. For this reason, it’s important that all lights in your home have working light bulbs. If a bulb is out, buyers assume there is something wrong with the electricity. This is an avoidable problem and an easy fix.

3. Give your house a deep clean

First impressions mean a lot. So don’t let foul smells, dirty floors or dusty surfaces make a bad one on a potential buyer. Before listing your home (and throughout the selling process), give your home a deep clean. This means cleaning toilets, wiping down surfaces, mopping floors, cleaning rugs and scrubbing bathrooms. Consider calling in the professionals (think: Stanley Steamer and a housekeeper) to ensure that your place is in pristine condition.

4. Declutter the home

Decluttering and organizing your space will go a long way in appealing to potential buyers. When a home is clutter-free, buyers are able to focus on the actual home instead of on the junk, knick knacks and overflowing closets.

5. Call a handyman

When selling a house, you should have your handyman on speed dial. Make sure anything and everything that needs to be fixed (think: locks, hardware, leaky faucets, running toilets, etc) has been taken care of before listing a home. Otherwise, buyers may think your home hasn’t been well taken care of, which can be a turn-off for many.

6. Depersonalize your home

When selling a home, you want to strike the perfect balance between depersonalization and creating a warm, welcoming home. This means putting away the majority of framed photos, bulletin boards and personal items (think: photo albums, toys, awards, etc). Leave a few nice, framed photos around the house to make the home appear inviting and lived in.

7. The first impression is the only impression

No matter how good the interior of your home looks, buyers have already judged your home before they walk through the door. You never have a second chance to make a first impression. It’s important to make people feel warm, welcome and safe as they approach the house. Spruce up your home’s exterior with inexpensive shrubs and brightly colored flowers. You can typically get a 100-percent return on the money you put into your home’s curb appeal.

Congrats! You’ve spruced up your home and now it’s ready to put on the market and be sold!

View the Video version of this Episode at: https://www.jenniferobrienhomes.com/2022/01/21/here-are-my-top-…ictions-for-2022/

1. Inventory will remain Low - We currently have less than 1300 homes and condos for sale in a tri-county area! A balanced market in Charleston has about 5000 properties for sale

2. We will continue to see Multiple offers on homes. If the home is priced correctly we will see more than 5 offers on the home.

3. We will have Over asking price sales. With so much competition for 1 home - buyers are going to have to bring their highest and best offer first!

4. Cash is king. With homes selling over asking price, if you’re getting a loan you need to prove you can afford any difference between what you’ve agreed to purchase the home for and the appraisal - what the bank will give you towards the purchase

5. Sellers can write the contract. With so few homes on the market, sellers can tell buyers exactly what they want. Whether that’s a specific sales price, a rent back period or an extended closing date. If one buyer doesn’t want to meet the terms another will.

Those are my predictions for the 2022 real estate market. I have tricks up my sleeve to help sellers get top dollar with little stress! Call me and let’s work on the plan to sell your home!

View the Video version of this Episode at: https://www.jenniferobrienhomes.com/2022/01/18/why-i-love-the-lowcountry/

There are so many aspects of living near Charleston that I adore and now couldn’t live without. Let me tell you about it!

One of the first things I learned is why they call it the Lowcountry - it’s easy - the coast of South Carolina is low-land. We have NO hills - The highest point in the Lowcountry is the Bulls Bay Golf Club clubhouse, which sits 75 feet above sea level!

The people here are genuinely friendly! Don’t be shocked when a stranger strikes up a conversation with you.

I get to play a lot more golf because outdoor sports are in a 12-month season! If it’s too cold to play, we just wait one day because the temperature will be right back to 65 the next day.

And y’all...the FOOD!!! Charleston is a foodie city. We used to have a branch of Johnson and Wales Culinary Institute in Charleston, when that closed the chef’s stay and our tastebuds have benefited!

We also have the freshest seafood! We're so spoiled with fresh fish that I can’t order seafood when I’m not in the lowcountry. One of my favorite things to do with guests is to take them to the Shem Creek dock to buy fish and shrimp right off the boats.

Now here are a few things that I REALLY didn’t expect:

Beach season starts in April! And goes all the way through October!

There’s no professional football craze. There’s no pro-teams within 4 hours so it’s all about College football around here.

The mosquito is the State Bird - really, some of them are large enough to carry away small dogs. But you get used to them - really you do.

Y’all I could go on about the things I love about the lowcountry...but why don’t you come and try it yourself.

View the Video version of this Episode at: https://www.jenniferobrienhomes.com/2022/01/14/where-to-watch-t…et-in-charleston/

Charleston has several amazing places to watch the sunset, but I want to share my favorite spots with you!

Alhambra Hall is a public park in the Old Village section of Mount Pleasant. The stunning view looks out over the city of Charleston and the Harbor. Be sure to bring your fur-baby to play with other pups in the dog park! There’s a children's playground directly across the street for your little ones.

Fort Moultrie on Sullivans Island is another great place! Sit on the rock jetty and watch the sunset over Fort Sumter and the city of Charleston. Most likely you’ll also get a view of the dolphins playing in the surf!

And of course I love the view from Dewees Island! There’s several great spots on the island to enjoy the sunset or if you catch the ferry at the right time you’ll get a breathtaking view from the top deck! Now if you don’t have access to Dewees but you do have a boat I highly recommend you taking a cruise out on the intercoastal to enjoy the sunset views!

View the Video version of this Episode at: https://www.jenniferobrienhomes.com/2022/01/11/meet-jennifer-obrien/

Did you know I used to be a USGA Rules Official and have worked at many of their Championships? Maybe you’re wondering how I got into real estate? Stay tuned and I’ll tell you!

I moved to Charleston with my husband Jeff to be the executive director of the women's South Carolina. I loved that job and worked in the golf industry for 15 years. I had the chance to play almost every golf course in South Carolina and I met some fabulous life-long friends! Even though I loved this job, I traveled a lot, and always felt a pull to be back in Charleston.

I started to research other career paths and I realized that my golf career wasn’t so much about the game, it was about the service to others and bringing joy and fun to each event.

I talked to a really good friend of mine who is a real estate agent about real estate and she really felt that it would be a great fit for me. So I jumped in!

She was right, I have loved it ever since! I spend my days in the city I love, with people I really care about, sharing my knowledge of golf, restaurants and everything that I adore about Charleston.

If you’re thinking about a change or need a golf partner - let me know! I’m happy to help!

View the Video version of this Episode at: https://www.jenniferobrienhomes.com/2022/01/07/what-is-a-cl100-inspection/

Hey, y'all. I am at a new-construction house in Mount Pleasant that my client has under contract by. We're here doing the CL 100 inspection, which is a termite inspection with Trip from Barrier Pest Control. Now, Trip centered around it interior and exterior of the home to make sure that there are no evidence of termites and that there are no what we would call like little tracks of termites coming into the ground. his one was on a slab. If it had a crawl space for was an elevated home Trip would also be checking underneath the house. Terrmite Inspections are very important in the South. We have a lot of humidity and a lot of moisture and those critters just love both of those. So you want to make sure when you're buying a house that the home does not have high levels of moisture and wood rot, which is what the Termite inspection will look for and find and that there are no existing termites. Also, that termites haven't destroyed any part of the house previously.

If you want to know a fun, termite story reach out to me. I'll tell you about my own experience at my house.

View the Video version of this Episode at: https://www.jenniferobrienhomes.com/2022/01/04/284-pelican-flight-drive-dewees-island/

You can have this private beach for under $60,000. Let me tell you all about it!

284 Pelican Flight Drive on Dewees Island is 1.68 acres, listed for only $59,000. It has an amazing wooded frontage and a great view of water in the back of the lot where I would recommend that you build your house. It's directly across the street from beach access point. Let's check it out!

This is the beach at the end of the community access path at Needle Rush Walk.You can see this would be your own private paradise. It’s a beautiful day here in the Carolinas and I don’t see anyone out here. It’s very private, very peaceful.

One of the many great features of this lot are the beautiful Live Oaks that are dotted throughout. Here's one that is just on the road. You could have your driveway meander just right past this.

As you can see there's that beautiful Oak and there is the beach access pass to get you right to the water.

We’ve only taken a few steps into this property and here is another stunning oak tree.

As we walk further away from the road, you really have all of this great coverage to stay hidden from the street view. Very private feeling on this property.

Here is more of the coverage of the Oaks here and you could really just wind your driveway right on through all of these stunning trees. This would be how you come home everyday!

At 1.68 acres, we are still winding our way back through this home site to get to the amazing water views where you would put your house.

All right y'all, here we are standing on an observation tower that was put here by the builder in the late 90s early 2000s. This gives you an idea of the waterview that you get. This is very similar to the library view in Huyler House. You can open it up if you remove this pine tree. Really take advantage of the expansive water views. Watch the birds, get a peek of the sunset over there. That is Mount Pleasant off in the distance, we are looking Southwest and over the impoundment and this great little easement here. This water easement always has water in it and you will get some really cool wildlife to look at here.

We are in the library in Huyler House, the community center. I like to show the view from here because this is the same type of view from this property. You’ll get a view of the water easement right there. The impoundment in the distance and then just some peekaboo Western views.

Here's that view again but we're out on the porch at Huyler House.

You can imagine sitting on your deck looking out over the Waterway. This would probably be your first livable floor, which would be bedroom space. You can get just a little bit higher up and have your living room and dining room to really maximize the view of the water here.

If we look back the way that we came through the lot, you really see how this is just a very private wooded lot and a great buffer between the road and your house.

I also want to give you an idea of how close your nearest neighbor will be. This is the only home that is built right now on either side of this homesite. You're going to be at a minimum, 50 feet from them. Do you hear how quiet it is? You don't hear any sounds besides nature.

All right y'all that is 284 Pelican Flight Drive, 1.68 Acres, $59,000, private beach access, private island, community pool, suites to stay in until your home is built. Oh, and we have a Marina for your boat! What more could you want?

Reach out, let's schedule your own private tour so you can see how stunning this homesite is!

View the Video version of this Episode at: https://www.jenniferobrienhomes.com/2021/12/31/the-home-inspection-process/

The home inspection is a vital part of the buying process. 

The purpose of the inspection is to provide buyers with a written report that details the property's condition, including recommended repairs, maintenance concerns, and any other potentially costly issues. The home inspector will assess the physical structure of the home, from the foundation to the roof, as well as the home's systems which are electrical, HVAC, plumbing, etc.

Your real estate agent will have a list of licensed inspectors that he or she works with regularly and trust. You are free to choose whomever you wish to perform your inspection. I provide my clients with the list of my top three inspectors, in order of preference.

When the inspector is finished, he or she will go over everything with you and point out items or show you pictures. Within 24 hours you will receive a detailed report of the inspection. 

No home is perfect, the inspection will find items that need attention or repair. Speak with your agent about the items you are most concerned about and together you will develop a plan to present your request to the sellers.

View the Video version of this Episode at: https://www.jenniferobrienhomes.com/2021/12/24/living-on-dewees-raising-a-family/

How do you raise a family on Dewees Island? Surely, there are challenges with using a ferry to commute, having a golf cart for transportation and what about health care and schools? Let’s explore how a full-time family is doing just that and making it easy!

These islanders lived and worked in downtown Charleston for several years. As they started to consider having a family and what living in the city would be like for a child, they kept revisiting the idea of living on Dewees Island. Having visited Dewees in the past they fell in love with the island and were sad each time their visit came to an end. As they analyzed options for schools they found that those zoned for Dewees are ranked as some of the best in Charleston - Sullivans Island Elementary, Moultrie Middle and Wando High School.

That solidified the decision for the young couple and the search began to find them a home!

Affordability and size were important. On Dewees there are a variety of homes, some as large as 5000 square feet. This family wanted something smaller and they were open to various locations on the island. They purchased a home with a wooded view, directly across the street from a community beach access path and they started putting their own design ideas into the home.

Their first project was to remove an old pipe stove in the living room and to make the built-in shelves more functional and brighter! The bookshelves were rebuilt to fit a larger tv and painted white.

On Dewees, the majority of the homes are sold completely furnished. The family started to update the furniture to their style, piece by piece. They found they could use the ferry to bring one couch or a set of dining chairs instead of the expense of putting a moving truck on a barge to bring their new furniture to their home. Dewees also has several vehicles that residents can rent, such as a truck. The family would rent the Dewees pickup truck to move the larger pieces from the ferry landing to their home when items did not fit in their golf cart.

Next, they tackled the kitchen! For anyone that’s remodeled a kitchen, you know this can be a daunting task. This family handled it with ease. They found contractors who were familiar with Dewees and knew how to use the ferry and barge system to transport equipment and materials. They saved the cabinets and installed new hardware. New appliances were installed and new countertops and backsplash!

As they prepare to welcome their first child this fall, they transformed one of the guest bedrooms into the nursery. Common to the age of their home, two of their guest rooms each have a vanity and sink in the room, with the shower and toilet shared, in the jack and jill design style. Their original thought was to remodel this bathroom and remove the vanities from the bedrooms. Now with a baby on the way, they are thrilled they left the design. They are excited for the convenience of having a sink in the nursery.

Transportation on Dewees is mostly golf carts, but the covenants state the vehicles must be electric and not go faster than 17mph. A newborn, in a car seat, while you have groceries and maybe it’s raining, is not ideal. This family researched alternative vehicles and purchased a GEM electric car. Resembling a smart car, it’s completely enclosed to keep the baby dry in the rain and has seat belts to keep the car seat secure and safe.

They enjoy the time spent with neighbors and participating in community events. They each have a “go bag” packed and ready for when their little one arrives and the other Dewees residents and part-time families are excited to have a newborn on the island. The little one is already well loved and will have no shortage of Aunties, Uncles and surrogate Grandparents!

View the Video version of this Episode at: https://www.jenniferobrienhomes.com/2021/12/21/easy-and-inexpensive-ways-to-boost-curb-appeal/

Hi Y’all,

My name is Jennifer O’Brien and I’m a real estate agent in the Charleston area.

The exterior of your home is the first thing buyers will see - it’s important to make a great first impression!

CLEAN UP the Outside - The easiest way to really make your home stand out is to clean up the yard and the siding. 

The exterior of your home is exposed to the elements. So most likely there is dirt all over it. Some of the easy ways to clean the siding is to go to your local hardware/home improvement store and get a few bottles of siding cleaner. It’s inexpensive and attaches directly to your home. It’s also less abrasive on your siding. Power Washing can damage your siding and possibly push water into your home. The cleaner makes this job easy. 

Weed the garden, do some edging and put down mulch or pinestraw. A garden that pops makes your yard look well maintained and cared for. If you don’t have flowering plants, head to your local garden center for a few flowering plants. You can keep them in containers and place them where you want. 

You can rent a power washer from your local home improvement store. Definitely use one to clean your patio, walk ways, and driveway. If you’re a little strange like me, you’ll find this task fun - pulling back the layers of dirt.

We get a lot of moisture on the exterior of our windows and sliding glass doors. Basically what happens as the dew slides down the glass it takes the dirt with it and leaves it in the tracks - it looks gross. This is also easy to clean. Just take a bucket with water and a cloth and use that elbow grease - the dirt should come up pretty easy.

If at a minimum you can do these few things your home will stand out and look like less work for a buyer. Less work = more value!