Be Clean, Go Green

Be Clean, Go Green!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

About 30 years ago, Kermit the Frog had a song out called "It's Not Easy Being Green".  Kermit was teaching the audience about the color green that day.  His song laments the fact that he is different, he tends to get passed over for shinier things like the stars in the sky and flashy sparkles on the water.  The overall tone is indeed sad.  However, he ends the song by saying, "I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful, And I think it's what I want to be."  I'm with Kermit on this one. 

 

Since that song was penned, "being green" has taken on new meaning and it also has become easier and we at Island Realty are working hard to make it even easier still to be green.  About a month ago Christina, our office manager and I were in our storage shed looking for space to put a few pieces of furniture and a new batch of files (there are tons of files in a real estate office).  On one entire wall of the shed there were boxes and boxes of files that no longer need to be kept, however the information in them is sensitive and we felt it was a beyond a bad idea to just put them in regular trash.

 

After tons of discussion about how to get rid of the miles and miles of files, we knew we needed to shred the documents and decided we had more than a household shredder could accommodate. It was then that we began looking into having a mobile shredder come to the office. Hmmmmmmmmmmm but we didn't have that much trash (the mobile unit we have coming can hold 6 tons of waste, imagine killing a gnat with a sledgehammer). We decided it was a great community service to offer to the homeowners on Fripp and Harbor Islands.

 

So that is how our first "Be Clean Go Green" event was born. On May 5 from 9-11a.m. we will have a mobile trash shredder at our Harbor Island Office located at 2 Harbor Dr. The shredder will take paper, files, cds, credit cards. Please note, paper clips and staples DO NOT need to be removed.

 

This is a great way to securely & reliably protect your identity, get rid of old documents, i.e. retired tax records, medical records, bank statements etc. and generally purge your files in an environmentally friendly way. All the materials are recycled as well. So I would say to Kermit the Frog, in this instance "It Is Easy to be Green".

 

Will you join us? Let me know who is planning to come or other thoughts you may have on this or any subject. I look forward to seeing you on the 5^th.

What are you thinking SC?

To: The Leadership of South Carolina:

Hello South Carolina government, what are you thinking?

An amendment was introduced by Representative Ted Vick, of District 53 - Chesterfield County, which would have established a new statewide property tax for homes valued at over $250,000. The amendment was debated at length and failed very early Thursday morning. Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter introduced and ultimately withdrew an amendment that would have repealed the 2006 changes to the property tax structure known as Act 388.

My question is, how much more can the real estate market take? In our area, we are starting to see glimmers of recovery and a new tax on homes at $250k + would definitely hinder sales so thank heaven that was defeated. Why is it that the state & it’s officials, particularly in areas away from the coast, view real estate and the potential tax as such a cash cow?

In any event, I bought my home on Fripp Island in 2004 for a vacation getaway and moved here full time in January 2007. Please note that this was after a 3 year search of 2^nd home communities and I looked at numerous coastal communities between Virginia Beach, VA and Jacksonville, FL. There were many criteria in my home search but please note that the state governments and their treatment of property owners was an important factor in my decision.

Please, let’s not lose sight of the fact that the second home & retirement home market is an integral part of our state’s economy and the people that are our potential buyers have lots of alternatives to SC. The greed or tax lust that I keep reading about will ultimately harm us all I am afraid. Please urge our legislature to continue to do everything possible to straighten out the ludicrous “point of sale” tax. Oh and thank you for squashing the tax on homes over $250k.

New Tool For Challenging Market

Beaufort, SC – March 4, 2010 — Theresa Cooper, Jennifer Helms & Cindy Byers with Island Realty of the Lowcountry have earned the nationally recognized Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource certification. The National Association of REALTORS^® offers the SFR certification to REALTORS^® who want to help both buyers and sellers navigate these complicated transactions, as demand for professional expertise with distressed sales grows.

According to a recent NAR survey, nearly one-third of all existing homes sold recently were either short sales or foreclosures. For many real estate professionals, short sales and foreclosures are the new “traditional” transaction. REALTORS^® who have earned the SFR certification know how to help sellers maneuver the complexities of short sales as well as help buyers pursue short sale and foreclosure opportunities.

“As leading advocates for homeownership, REALTORS^® believe that any family that loses its home to foreclosure is one family too many, but unfortunately, there are situations in which people just cannot afford to keep their homes, and a foreclosure or a short sale results,” said 2009 NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth. “Foreclosures and short sales can offer opportunities for home buyers and benefit the larger community, as well, but it’s extremely important to have the help of a real estate professional like a REALTOR^® who has earned the SFR certification for these kinds of purchases.”

The certification program includes training on how to qualify sellers for short sales, negotiate with lenders, protect buyers, and limit risk, and provides resources to help REALTORS^® stay current on national and state-specific information as the market for these distressed properties evolves. To earn the SFR certification, REALTORS^Ò are required to take one core course and three Webinars.

10 Things That Are Actually Getting Better

10 Things That Are Actually Getting Better

 

Okay, okay, so I am stealing this idea from Oprah, but I am coming up with my own list of "10 Things That Are Actually Getting Better". Yes, Oprah's list was "100 Things That are Actually Getting Better", but she has a LARGE staff.

 

1. My bearings….. Getting around my not so new hometown has gotten sooooooooo much easier. Now when someone mentions a neighborhood or area, I can actually picture it and visualize a route to get there. No small task for the directionally impaired.
   
2. The stock market……. My investments are actually starting to make a real and significant recovery.
   
3. Television…… I can't believe I wrote that but amid the reality shows and celebrity worship shows I have discovered The Sundance Channel and the Independent Film Channel. Both have fine features on them, well worth checking out.
   
4. Shoes…. Yes I am a shoe nut and always have been, but now fashion and comfort are not mutually exclusive. There is so much great footwear out there now that does not require a trip to the podiatrist after wearing. Woo hoo!!!!
   
5. Cell phones….. while it is extremely unlikely that I will ever even discover all the "apps" on my phone, much less how to use them, I know that I can travel without a laptop and use the email feature of my phone. I just wish buying a phone didn't feel like such a shell game.
   
6. Recycling….. It used to be that if I saw someone in the grocery store with their own recyclable canvas shopping bag, there was a strong possibility that I could accurately guess their politics. Recycling isn't just for tree huggers anymore, many, many different demographics have embraced recycling and that is a good thing.
   
7. Contact lenses. It is highly likely that when I get my new contacts next week, I will be able to throw away my cheater glasses (except for really tiny print and I don't do much of that type reading anyway).
   
8. South Carolina politics as entertainment. You can't make this stuff up. Need I say more?
   
9. Food in fast food restaraunts…. McDonald's, Wendy's & Chick Fil A all carry fresh produce items on their menu. There are probably other chains that do as well, regardless, I limit my trips to any of these establishments, but I am happy for the additions.
   
10. Real Estate….. yes Real Estate. While I cannot tell you that we are back to the "glory days" of 2005 & 2006, I can tell you that our company did almost 70% of our business in the second half of the year and I am hopeful that this is a trend.
    

Beaufort County Association of Realtors Welcomes New President

The new season brings new leadership to the Beaufort County Association of Realtors. Commencing January 1, 2010 Todd McDaniel of Island Realty of the Lowcountry will be serving his profession and his community when he takes over as President of the BCAR. Experts have said that the health of the real estate market will be a major determining factor in our economic recovery. So now more than ever we need our best and brightest at the helm.

McDaniel is one of the founders of Island Realty. In 2002 Todd and four other experienced agents formed their new company. In that short amount of time Island Realty has dominated the market in the Sea Islands with 29% of the listings east of Cowan Creek. With a total of $135,000,000.00 of listing volume north of the Broad River, his company is ready for the market shift that is starting to come and Todd is personally preparing for a year of hard work. Last year McDaniel was #14 in total sales production and boasts $60,000,000 in sales production over the life of his career.

McDaniel will lead the BCAR , a professional association of 450 realtor members. When asked what his vision for the real estate market was, Todd replied, “The marketplace has changed for good. The days of sticking a sign in the yard and waiting for the phone to ring are over. The whole process of buying and selling a home has changed entirely since I started in 1996. With 92% of the home buying public starting their search on the internet, you have to have a significant web presence or you’ll get left behind. The computer will never take the place of a realtor but it is a ‘must have’ tool in any effective realtor’s tool box.”

McDaniel went on to say, “I believe that the public’s obsession with the ‘real estate debacle’ will begin to wane and the desire to take positive action for retirement and lifestyle will prevail. I am also seeing other positive economic indicators – the DOW is slowly ascending, my website is getting more hits, leading to more appointments, and I put two homes in contract yesterday. There is a veiled pent up demand that will spark the next wave of sales. I am optimistic that we will see slow but steady growth in the marketplace over the next year”.

Todd and his wife Whitney have lived in Beaufort since 1995. They spend their time raising their two boys, Taylor and Hayes. The family enjoys boating, biking, camping and all the lowcountry has to offer.

About Island Realty

Island Realty operates from two locations, 2 Harbor Dr. Harbor Island, SC and 847 Sea Island Parkway, Frogmore, SC. Twelve full time agents staff the offices with a focus on gated communities. You will feel our presence on Fripp, Harbor, Dataw, Habersham, Heyward Point, Mackey Point, Lyford Place and St. Helena. In 2008, Island Realty was #3 in sales production in Beaufort County north of the Broad River. We also had 2 of our agents in the top 20 and 5 out of our agents in the top 100 for BCAR.

Another Lender Story

Here I go again. In yet another transaction that our company is involved in the Lender is dragging his feet. Our company brought an offer on a bank owned property that is listed with another company. There were competing offers and our offer eventually won the sale. Unfortunately the lender that owns the property did not sign off on the offer, thereby converting it to a bona fide sale. So what happens next? Another agent with another buyer comes along and submits an offer. Once again we have to compete, once again we win. Once again the lender is not signing off. They are telling their agent, "Oh, it's okay, everything is fine". Their agent is telling us that he is telling all subsequent offerees that the property is in contract, which technically it is not. Meanwhile no one can sign off on this agreement. Meanwhile this bank owned property is still on the market. Meanwhile our buyer is still not in firm contract or any contract for that matter. Is this the sort of behavior that got them in trouble in the first place? YIKES!!!!!!!

Do the Lenders Really Want to Get the Short Sales & Foreclosures Off Their Books

Yes, there are glimmers on the horizon of an improving economy and housing market. Yes, I have written countless times regarding what a good time it is to buy. Yes, I have even reprinted other people's missives on the subject, so you know I believe it is a good time to buy. And finally yes, prices are still attractive, interest rates are still good and the inventory of homes to buy is still larger than normal.

So what's my beef?

Short sales and foreclosures, that's my beef. Specifically how uncooperative the lenders in these positions are. As I write, our company has a listing that is in short sale status (the lender is willing to take less than is owed on the property) with multiple offers on it. As the Broker in Charge, I had to step in and take over the negotiations because the listing agent also brought one of the offers. So my first course of action is to submit all three offers to the lender. Done. Knowing full well that these things take longer than normal I waited a few days to contact the lender. When I contacted them to check the status and see how they were going to proceed --

a. choose one offer and reject the others,
b. negotiate all the offers or
c. reject all the offers

I was told that I should have selected the best one and rejected the others. To which I explained that this wasn't possible, that I had to present all offers and although technically they aren't the seller (yet) the transaction is subject to third party approval. The person on the other end sighed heavily and told me that my offers although they had been submitted five days earlier were waiting for document review from the underwriter, not document review of offers but of the home owner's file. In other words they wouldn't even look at any of them until they amassed reams of paper from the seller.

Five days after that, I have checked back twice and the only thing I can tell you is that the seller's file is complete and the offers have gone to the underwriter. They can't / won't tell me which offer has been chosen, they don't know who the underwriter will choose. They can't / won't let me talk to the underwriter. They tell me that a decision should be made in about 30 days. I tell them that the home is due to be foreclosed on prior to that. They say call a week before to get them to avert the foreclosure.

Next, I ask them to please take pity on me and my buyers. I try to explain that without even knowing if their offers have been selected or not that they will grow nervous and weary and that we stand the chance of losing any or all of the buyers and clearly that isn't good for either of us. I told them that most buyers won't wait 30 days to know if they are even going to be negotiated with, that they will start looking around at other stuff. The response, "well, if one or all of them walk just notify us".

I ask them to take pity on my seller. I explain the state of anxiety a seller must be in when they are on the brink of something as serious as short sale and if that doesn't work, foreclosure. I tell them I will do whatever I can to help expeditite the process. I am essentially told, "sorry about your luck, we will be done, when we are done".

I am STUNNED....... Every day for months and months the whole country has been reading about the economic and housing crisis. We have read about how no one is doing anything, that consumer confidence is at a historic low, that lenders are awash in foreclosures and short sales, that families are losing their homes, people are losing their jobs etc. The news has been dismal at best and here in our situation, we have ready willing and able buyers and we can't even get a response.

This I know for sure, it is paramount that we get the inventory reduced. Prices have no hope of returning to normal until there are fewer homes. That is a simple law of supply and demand. We have no hope of a serious reduction in inventory with such a lack of cooperation from the lenders. This particular lender's representatives were down right disdainful in speaking with me. If I am frustrated, I can't imagine how the buyers must feel.

Is there an answer? Yes, get the lenders to cooperate with ready, willing and able buyers. How do we do that? I'm not sure, it will take someone much smarter than me to figure that one out.