Plantation Lakes Blog!

Just about the last thing Myrtle Beach homeowners expect is for the price of something we use every day to drop precipitously. It isn’t just that we’ve grown skeptical about the way official inflation numbers are formulated (although we have). It’s simply that when it can cost more than a dollar for a Coke, we’ve drawn our own conclusions. To quote The Wall Street Journal’s front page last Tuesday, “Basic Costs Squeeze Families.”

So it’s been slightly disorienting to experience what has been happening with energy prices in Myrtle Beach. It’s not your imagination—as you drive past the neighborhood gas station, the prices on the sign really have dropped nearly 30¢ a gallon over the past month or so. As December began, prices from coast to coast were at their lowest since December of 2010. And home heating oil prices were following suit, leaving one to wonder if electricity and natural gas couldn’t be far behind.

Myrtle Beach homeowners should be among the most pleasantly surprised, for a number of the reasons pointed out last week by Molly Boesel in an Insights blog titled “An Unexpected Windfall.” Ms. Boesel is the Senior Economist at CoreLogic, and like any card-carrying member of the economists’ trade, was able to draw up a number of graphs and charts to bolster her point—which was that lower energy prices might well stimulate housing demand. It’s not just that more money remains in drivers’ and homeowners’ wallets as gasoline and heating/cooling expenses sink. There is another less obvious factor.

That factor is VMT (Vehicle Miles Traveled) per capita, and there seems to be a strong relationship between it and homeownership rates. The logic is that as prices for gasoline and diesel remain low, homebuyers are encouraged to move further and further from urban cores (or wherever their jobs are located)—out to where they can buy bigger and more expensive homes. If that sounds like a bit of a leap, history suggests otherwise. VMT per capita rose steadily alongside the increase in homeownership rates from 1994 to 2004; after which “the trend then reversed from 2005 to 2014, with homeownership rates and VMT per capita falling back to 1994 levels.”

So the possibility exists that if the present energy price levels remain low (more precisely, if future homebuyers believe that’s likely), it could “incent buyers to again” move to larger and more expensive Myrtle Beach digs, heedless of how far their personal commute becomes. It increases the number of potential Myrtle Beach homebuyers.

If common sense tells us, “wait a minute-what about the effect of the housing bubble burst?” Ms. Boesel has an interesting take. She points to an earlier working paper (2012) by three researchers entitled “How High Gas Prices Triggered the Housing Crisis: Theory and Empirical Evidence.” That title was enough to keep me from actually reading it—I was content to just ponder the idea that it was gas prices—not big-time financial manipulations—that caused all the trouble! Leave it to economists to come up with that one…

At any rate, for Myrtle Beach homeowners musing about what they can expect when they put their homes on the market, the possible effects of lower energy prices has to be heartening. Not to mention, another good reason to give me a call to discuss Myrtle Beach’s current real estate market!

That housing needs change as people get older goes without saying. For Myrtle Beach Baby Boomers, the “getting older” concept has gradually morphed from the distant abstraction it seemed in the 60’s and 70’s to a more immediate concern. And of all the decisions that will have the most impact on those nearing their golden years, buying the right Myrtle Beach home—one that makes the most sense for the future—tops the list.

Boomers have heard and read much advice about buying a home; advice having to do with downsizing, mobility issues and the like. Most of it is cautionary…and not very cheerful. But suddenly weighing into seniors’ “buying a home” deliberations is a contrary point of view: one that many of them have apparently begun to suspect on their own. It’s news that could be of considerable importance, not only for their own age group, but for younger adults as well:

Growing older doesn’t seem to be nearly as dire as everyone has been led to believe.

Last Monday, “Why Everything You Know about Aging is Probably Wrong” led The Wall Street Journal’s special insert on planning and living “in the new retirement.” Its lead article dissected the most common preconceptions Americans have about aging, including the expected declines in mind, body, productivity, and stereotypes of growing loneliness and depression. “Everyone knows that as we age…life becomes less satisfying and enjoyable,” the Journal reported…followed by what a wide range of research shows: “Everyone, it seems, is wrong.”

Among the scientists quoted was the former director of a Baltimore study that has been underway for three decades. Of the widespread notion of the aged as being depressed, cranky, and irritable, etc., he says they constitute no more than 10% of the older population. The remaining 90% are “not like that at all.” Another Stanford study showed that as participants aged, their moods improved!

This may or may not change how we approach buying a home for our latter years, but to the extent that it’s a 180-degree reversal from what most of us have always believed about what to expect next, it should warrant at least a thoughtful examination of how we choose.

• Common wisdom: Downsizing. Baby boomers who stay in large houses are probably spending more money than necessary; cleaning unused rooms may be too physically taxing, etc. Second thought: “Extra” rooms may be needed to accommodate new hobbies, visiting children and grandkids.
• Common wisdom: Mobility. Must be a single-level home; mobility issues are paramount. Second thought: Stairs provide regular mild exercise; greatest threats to physical well-being are inactivity (and over-exercise).
• Common wisdom: Budgeting. A budget showing exactly how much can be afforded when renting or buying a home is critical. It should include taxes, insurance, maintenance, and other expenses. Second thought: No research changes this one: buying a house in retirement should always be based on solid budget realities.

Whether you’re retirement-bound, buying your next Myrtle Beach home sets the table for the coming years in so many ways it’s vital to base your selection on reality rather than myth. Once you’ve set your course, I’m standing by to help find your dream house in all the many ways that I can put at your disposal.

I’m always a little surprised that more people don’t take advantage of the holiday season to sell their Myrtle Beach home. The spring selling season may be the most popular, but there are a host of reasons why, for a home that is already market-ready, you might think twice about waiting to list it.

Among the leading reasons that make this an especially advantageous time of year to sell a Myrtle Beach home is the financial motivation for some prospective buyers. Especially when an individual’s financial picture changes toward year’s end, a few prospective buyers find that the tax advantages of a purchase in the current year are reason enough to speed a sudden purchase. Classical supply and demand forces add another reason the decision to sell a home in Myrtle Beach now could be a good one. Since Myrtle Beach listing volumes taper off toward the end of the year, the choices are relatively few, increasing the value of each to motivated buyers.

Experience tells us that the average holiday-season buyer does tend to be more highly motivated, if for no other reason than that they are choosing to house hunt over all the other activities the season calls for. In short, this is not the season for lookyloos. There is also the advantage that holiday decorations add. The emotional appeal of a well done (not overdone!) display can augment a Myrtle Beach home’s underlying curb appeal. Add to that the fact that all of us tend to be a bit more emotional during the holidays, and it wouldn’t be surprising to find buyers more flexible in what they are willing to bid. As every merchant has come to realize, the holidays are shopping days.

For those who will be traveling for the holidays, rather than that being a reason to put off listing, those days can be ideal times to sell your Myrtle Beach home. The house will be unoccupied, clean and available for showings at any time of day—the perfect situation for turning the otherwise slow holiday season into a standout to those buyers who need a home now.

I will be working throughout, so give me a call if selling your Myrtle Beach house is an idea that makes good sense. The more available you make your home during the holidays, the more likely you’ll find a buyer during this hectic time of year.

For Myrtle Beach renters who are beginning to investigate the possibility of buying a first house, the prospect can look like more than just a steep hill to climb—it can look more like a cliff! Just last month, the Daily Real Estate News cited recent research that indicates in most places (512 counties surveyed, in fact) it can take the average family more than twelve years to save up for a 20% down payment. When you consider the significant financial advantage that a first house brings its Myrtle Beach owner, the situation seems like a Catch-22. How can you save any faster when that big tax advantage goes only to the existing homeowners?

If a decade-plus wait sounds unreasonable, there’s a lot you can do to trim the delay—

1) (Obvious) Cut excess spending

If you take notes for a month or so about how you really spend your money, you find that the little things really add up: morning coffee, daily lunches, planned and unplanned shopping expeditions all put serious dents in your wallet. Spot the expenditures, you can cut back on, then reduce or eliminate them as soon as possible.

2) (Less Obvious) Create a ‘First House’ account

Create a separate savings account with the single purpose of holding your first house down payment. Watching it grow month by month will more than make up for the inconveniences caused by scrimping on daily and other spending.

3) (Way Less Obvious) Pick up extra work

You may never have considered it, but sometimes moonlighting is a great way to add additional income that quickly build your First House account. If you have a hobby that lends itself to web sales, think of starting a store on sites like Etsy or Amazon.

4) Reduce your current bills

There are those bills that you can't quite get rid of -- cell phone, credit cards and other bills don't just go away because you're saving for a new Myrtle Beach house. For some bills, though, there are options for slimming down your monthly payments. Try negotiating a lower APR or reducing your phone or cable plan.

5) Make (and stick to) a budget

Those notes you made up there on 1) can be the raw material for making a detailed budget that separates necessary expenditures from extras like gifts, trips and special nights out. Find creative ways to entertain yourself and get together with your friends. Hosting movie nights, finding free concerts, and moving cocktail hour to home are all surprisingly doable.

6) Downsize

It may seem counterintuitive: why would you decrease the size of your current digs? If you can temporarily scale back, the lowered rent can materially boost your savings. If it’s at all practical, living with relatives might move the process along even more quickly!

The kind of scaling back that builds for a local first house down payment is a lot more fun if you can see quick progress. And the possibility of qualifying for a smaller than 20% down payment is also currently increasing. Give me a call for a realistic discussion of your own Myrtle Beach first house purchase!

When you are selling your Myrtle Beach luxury home, you are marketing to a narrow niche of the home-buying public. They’re high-end customers, certain to be very smart, business-savvy—and they will know their own mind. They will be hunting for value, of course, because the asking price warrants it. But they will also be looking for a property that has elements that are unique—that appeal to buyers who hope to find a residence not duplicated elsewhere.

Because of that characteristic of the market, there can be no one-size-fits-all, cookie-cutter approach that will be uniformly effective as a sales approach. There are, however, a few hallmarks that the most successful Realtors® have discovered are shared by the most appealing luxury homes. They boil down to value, exclusivity…and to story-telling.

The exposure element is the more straightforward. It used to be that the only important element was to be had in print media: magazine, newspaper, brochure and flyer. Still important, today the much wider reach is had through internet and social media. Like all Myrtle Beach real estate prospects, buyers interested in the current crop of luxury homes are most likely to investigate using at least some online research before scheduling an in-person visit. And what they experience on the web will be influential in how eager they will be to make time for that visit.

It goes without saying that for every Myrtle Beach luxury home web presentation, the quality of the imagery has to be first-rate—Professional real estate photographers do more than highlight key room features shot from eye-pleasing angles. The best know how to paint with light—to shape viewer experience by selecting the time of day and color of light and shadow that will convey mood. Sometimes a true online video tour, complete with well-produced music and narration tracks, can also be the most effective tool—as long as the online viewing experience is brief, intuitive and easy to navigate. But no matter which medium and format is pressed into service, the goal is always to create a viewer experience that is unique and memorable.

And it should have a story.

That ‘story’ could be anything from an interesting history to a setting or view that is, literally, unique. It can be an overpowering constellation of luxury home features, or a history of owners that includes prominent community or cultural luminaries. It can be standout architectural innovations, landscaping worthy of a Homes and Gardens centerfold, or a layout that just happens to be perfectly well-matched to a particular client’s family—any and all can qualify. The single indispensable part of the mix is that the property’s unique character comprises a story worth retelling. It’s human nature, after all every Myrtle Beach luxury home buyer, whether they realize it or not, would like to be able to tell friends and colleagues about their new luxury home!

If you have a Myrtle Beach home with its own luxury story waiting to be told—or if you’re in the hunt for one—I hope you will give me a call!

You’re at home in Myrtle Beach, watching TV and trying to unwind, when all of a sudden here comes another baby boomer celebrity, looking into the camera, giving you his most sincere, trustworthy look, then assuring you that a “Reverse Mortgage” really isn’t too good to be true (even though it sounds like it is).

What could be better? Any Myrtle Beach homeowner 62 or older can apply: then the bank pays you instead of the other way around! You could even use part of the tax-free proceeds to pay off the other mortgage! Or go to Monte Carlo and break the bank! (The trustworthy celebrity only hints at that one). You don’t have to pay back the loan until blah blah blah, the property remains yours, etc. etc. etc. What could go wrong?

Short answer: quite a lot, actually.

Long answer: if you don’t plan for the long term consequences, this can be a potentially disastrous maneuver. As a quick and painless way to raise cash, it often is too good to be true.

For openers, the actual name of this loan is not ‘reverse mortgage’— it’s an HECM, Home Equity Conversion Mortgage—a much more descriptive name. It allows 62+-year-olds to ‘cash out’ the equity they’ve built in their Myrtle Beach home. Not all of the equity; just some. As soon as they no longer live in the home, the loan must be repaid in full. The problems are all in the details.

Detail 1: Payback

Suppose a husband and wife live in a Myrtle Beach house owned by the husband. He applies for reverse mortgage, dies 11 years later, leaving the house to his wife. Because the reverse mortgage becomes payable when the mortgagee (the husband) “leaves” the property, the loan becomes due and payable. So the spouse may be forced to sell the home in order to repay the loan. But it’s also possible that the same thing occurs when the mortgagee is permanently relocated to a nursing home.

Detail 2 (and it’s one you really have to take into account): Interest

Most often, no payments are made on reverse mortgages. Unless the trip to Monte Carlo ended well, it’s likely that the balance owed remains. However, interest accrues on the loan at the “prevailing rate”—which may be a misnomer, because reverse mortgage interest rates are often high. Over the long run, the amount owed could eat up most of the value of the house. The spouse could be left with very little to live on.

Details 3,4,5...etc.

While the fees charged for a reverse mortgage are capped by the government, they’re still much higher than those for traditional loans (possibly why the trustworthy boomer celebrity got involved in the first place). Because credit scores aren’t used to determine eligibility, higher fees are charged to help cover lender risk. Then there are requirements for keeping up the property (what if illness causes a temporary lack of attention?), paying taxes on time…and other circumstances that could cause the loan to be called in, forcing sale of the home.

Yes, a reverse mortgage can be a valuable resource for some Myrtle Beach retirees on limited incomes. However, before even thinking about committing, it’s vital to sit down with a trusted financial adviser. If it turns out that selling or downsizing makes a lot more sense, calling me is the next step!

For anyone who has looked into to buying a Myrtle Beach home several times—but kept getting discouraged every time because of a negative credit report—read on!

You probably already know that you are not alone—but so what?—it’s small consolation, especially when you consider how much financial ground you lose every year you continue to pay rent (the entire amount of which has zero tax deductibility). Many people mishandle credit in their teens and 20s, not knowing how it can come back to bite them when credit reports determine their credit worthiness. In Myrtle Beach, we see the fallout in the form of mortgage application turndowns or discouraging interest rate proposals.

But that just makes it all the more important that you stop letting past errors continue to keep you from getting the loans and rates you want. You can choose to take action now to clean up that credit score. Not only will it speed the moment when you become eligible for the significant benefits of home ownership—the actions you take now will serve to set you in the driver seat when it comes to credit management. You will become aware of any apparently minor oversights that can depress your credit score for years to come. It will put you ‘in the game’ of credit report management, instead of continuing to be a passive outsider.

Steps Myrtle Beach consumers can take now:

Review your credit file for accurate information

The credit reporting bureaus’ job is to report the most accurate information possible, but in the past the Federal Trade Commission has found that 5% of reports have at least one mistake. Get your current credit report from any number of services (start with a free one: you can always subscribe to a paid service later). Check all the accounts and verify that the amounts reported and the account statuses are correct. If a creditor reported your information incorrectly, file a dispute through the credit bureaus’ online sites to get the inaccuracy fixed. The same FTC report says that 13% of consumers who reported an error saw a boost in their credit score.

Get old negative accounts removed

Credit reports carry negative information like missed payments or a collection account for seven years, but are required to delete it after that. If an account is lingering past the seven year mark, use the dispute tools available on credit bureaus’ websites to mark the account as too old for reporting. Note that the seven-year time period is calculated from the date of first delinquency, not the date the account was first opened.

Talk to collection companies about their input

Even when you pay off collection accounts, that history continues to hurt your credit score. Some lenders look solely at those details when starting the process, so even paid collections can disqualify you for a loan. Instead of dealing with this frustrating problem, while you are negotiating with collection agencies to pay off a debt, ask that they put in writing that they will remove their report as part of their part of the bargain for your satisfaction of the debt. Some agencies will and some won’t (but it can’t hurt to ask).

Once you have acted, and begun to see the negatives dropping off your current credit report, your path to local home ownership will open up markedly. Then it’s time to give me a call!

“Hello there! I noticed you admiring this stunning open house. How would you like to sign with me as your Myrtle Beach buyer’s agent, and find your dream home?”

The appropriate answer for this question depends on what leads up to it—first off, whether you have already decided to enlist the services of a Myrtle Beach buyer’s agent. It’s a good decision, but even if you have—and this agent seems well-mannered and likeable— at this point, the answer real estate professionals would recommend is, “Give me your card—I’ll get back to you.”

The reason not to jump at the first offer is the same as why you wouldn’t agree to buy the first house you visited without first looking around the neighborhood. So why do so many people sign up with the very first agent who says hello? It probably comes from some simply being unfamiliar with buyer’s agents and their industry.

You want to team with a buyer’s agent who is educated, quick-thinking, experienced, and most of all, thoroughly familiar with the current real estate offerings in Myrtle Beach. Before teaming up with anyone, there are a few questions to be answered:

Is this agent licensed?

The agent’s card should show a valid real estate license number (if not, in the immortal words of a certain Cuban bandleader, they’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do!). You can verify that the licensee is currently active on the state website, or you can go to the ARELLO (national database) to confirm the information. Having a real estate license is the most basic requirement you require for legal as well as practical reasons.

Does signing with this agent obligate you to use other recommended services?

Sometimes a buyer’s agent works in tandem with other associated home-buying service providers (like home inspectors or mortgage brokers). There’s nothing wrong with recommending professionals they know to be trustworthy—but using them should never be a requirement. You want to keep your options open for identifying good prices and services, so recommendations need to be that…and only that.

Does the agent have a good recent track record in Myrtle Beach?

It’s not enough just to ask the agent about his or her track record, although you certainly should have that discussion. Ask if you can speak to a recent client to get an appraisal of their experience. That’s key, because having a full staff and plush offices may be attractive, but they’re just window dressing. What you are after is the service a buyer’s agent actually delivers. And don’t be reluctant to check the web for the agent’s online reputation, although that’s less reliable. You want to get a picture of the full scope of this person’s skills and credentials. If the agent doesn’t seem to measure up, move on to another candidate.

Signing with the first Myrtle Beach buyer’s agent that you meet, like choosing the first name that turns up in an online search, is a first step that’s likely to be in the wrong direction. Doing a little extra research to find the right candidate will pay off in time and effort saved later on! We hope you won't hesitate to contact us! Trust in your local Myrtle Beach Real Estate Experts at Plantation Realty Group! (843)796-2111

First of all, a Spoiler Alert: It’s not fair to peek down where the answers are! Now that we’re clear on that, this is a quiz that will tell you how “Decade Sensitive” you are when it comes to Myrtle Beach home décor. It took a little browsing around to put this together, but it sure was fun.

The idea is to match the décor item with the decade it is most closely associated with. Ready? GO!

A. Popcorn Ceilings
B. McMansions
C. Sherwood Green & Stratford Yellow
D. Stainless Steel Appliances
E. Shag Carpets
F. Sustainable Materials
G. Kitchen Islands

The 50s
The 60s
The 70s
The 80s
The 90s
The 2000s
NOW

Now that you’ve matched the items with the decade, you’ve probably noticed that there is a lot of ambiguity here, because Myrtle Beach home décor themes didn’t just go in and out of style at the beginnings and ends of decades. The answers are combed from a variety of sources, but here is what the consensus (sort of) agrees on:

THE ANSWERS

The 50s: Answer-C. Sherwood Green and Stratford Yellow were first popularized for kitchen appliances during the postwar era. The 50s can be forgiven for these unnatural apparitions, which might have had something to do with the advent of vinyl flooring in the kitchen …

The 60s: Answer-A. Popcorn Ceilings – Thank you, The 60s, for giving us this innovation. They were popularized for conveying a “textured” look, adding insulation, and cutting down sound. We’ve been scraping them off ever since…

The 70s: Answer-E. Shag Carpets (of course!). Sometimes associated with the 60s, but unmistakably reaching peak popularity in the 70s, a “period when wall-to-wall carpeting was fairly new.” Its fluffy look and feel remained popular until The 90s, when it is said to have “faded into oblivion.” Hardly—it’s still causing vacuum cleaner jams in Myrtle Beach homes with cool “vintage” décor.

The 80s: Answer-B. McMansions, aka “garage Mahal,” “starter castle,” and “Hummer home.” They may have been around since The 70s, but the term first appeared in the Myrtle Beach Times in 1990. Even the wisecracking nickname couldn’t curb the irresistible advantages of the mass-produced luxury home. Unexpectedly, some of them turn out to have been quite well-built.

The 90s: Answer-G. Kitchen Islands. If you placed these in The 80s, you’ve got a good argument, because that’s the era when modern kitchen design really took off. In The 90s, though, the ‘island’ first took its place in the majority of new kitchens spacious enough to make it practical. They are still everywhere, so you’re forgiven if you put them in The 2000s or Now.

The 2000s: Answer-F. Sustainable Materials. Even defining “sustainability” can get you into an argument (it could be salvaged wood countertops; might be granite), but the Green movement that took off in The 60s began to get serious government support in the New Millennium.

NOW: Answer-D. Stainless Steel Appliances. You can’t get away from them: today’s prospective Myrtle Beach home shopper is finding glistening stainless steel refrigerator and oven doors in kitchens all over the place. This finish may have been around for more than a decade, but is NOW available at so many price points it’s hard to think of a single décor item that is as widespread—or one that’s more likely to stay popular long into the future.

With or without the stainless steel appliances, if yours is one of the Myrtle Beach homes that will be listing this winter, do give me a call! Also, if you are of a mind to take advantage of the rising market, we hope you will stop by or give us a call. We hope you won't hesitate to contact us! Trust in your local Myrtle Beach Real Estate Experts at Plantation Realty Group! (843)796-2111

If you had to come up with a single characteristic that the most effective Myrtle Beach home listings have in common, there are several good candidates:
A really well-crafted listing catches your eye with superior photography, for sure. But that’s not possible with every property. Good photographers know how to select the best angles, use light effectively, and eliminate distracting details (or at least downplay them). But since all homes aren’t equally photogenic, there are built-in limits to how even the most skillful listing creator can count on visuals to make a listing stand out.

Careful attention to detail is common in superior listings. The best Myrtle Beach listings don’t skimp on the details, or on brief adjectives that further enhance them—especially when they serve to differentiate a home from the pack. You can test this for yourself by scanning through some of today’s listings in Myrtle Beach. The best ones often have one or two relatively insignificant details that give a property character; that make it memorable. “Spacious walk-in closet” may not be nearly as important as “completely remodeled kitchen,” but for a certain number of prospective buyers, that can turn out to be the one detail that strikes a responsive chord (and creates a mental note to check this one out!).

Descriptions that employ proven advertising principles almost always make superior Myrtle Beach listings. One standby: arouse curiosity (headline writers are experts at this). An example might be “Brick barbecue center.” ‘What the heck is that?’ prospective buyers will ask themselves. Even if outdoor cooking isn’t even on their list of priorities, they might not be able to resist scheduling a home tour to find out…and sometimes a buyer is created!

But if I had to pick the one single characteristic most likely to be found in truly effective local listings, it would be this: The best Myrtle Beach listings in some way tell a story—add character to the cold facts. They stand out from other listings by engaging more of the reader’s imagination than others which are merely an illustrated bunch of data.

The ‘story’ may be a phrase that hints at a property’s interesting past: its historical origin or that of the neighborhood; a prominent previous owner; or an unusual construction history. For a fixer-upper, the story might be an expansive invitation to imagine how a creative Do-It-Yourselfer will be able to transform the property. For a luxury listing, the story might be an appeal to experience the full array of lavish trappings as the suitable reward for the accomplishments of a lifetime. The story may be fleshed out or merely hinted at by a well-worded phrase—but when listings contain the elements of a story, they add memorability.

Creating a stand-out listing is only one of the many elements that go into a successful Myrtle Beach home-selling campaign. We hope you will give us a call when it comes time to get your own home into the hands of a new owner! Trust in your local Myrtle Beach Real Estate Experts at Plantation Realty Group! (843)796-2111