ViewThisHome Blog

Learn about the Palmetto Hero home purchasing program

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 14:51:00 -0400

Agent Jean-Marie O'Connell of Ashley Cooper Real Estate offers her insight:

It’s a beautiful day to buy a house! With interest rates at historic lows and grant money for down payment assistance, it’s the perfect time to buy!
SC State Housing has $5000 to $7000 in grant money available for down payment assistance.
Low 30 year fixed rate of 5.25%.

$5000 forgivable grant to use for the down payment on your home available to first time buyers, single parents, disabled parties and new construction projects.

$7000 forgivable grant to use for the down payment on your home available to 2010 Palmetto Hero’s. To qualify for the Palmetto Hero program you must be a teacher, police officer, correctional officer,firefighter* or EMS* employee (*Firefighters and EMS can be volunteers).

Also, HUD offers a $100 down payment program on government owned properties.
Please call Jean-Marie at 843-478-6333 to see if you qualify for any of these programs.

Now is the time to buy in the Charleston, SC real estate market!

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:36:00 -0400

Interest rates have not been this low since 1960! What a great time to take advantage of low home
prices and low interest rates. If you are considering a second home purchase in the Charleston area,
now is the time. The forecast for the Greater Charleston area is quite positive, many companies are
moving their headquarters to the Charleston area. The colleges are expanding their campuses and
enrollment. The Medical University of S.C. has many research programs and provides the community
with excellent health care. Not to mention, our wonderful natural recreational resources. Charleston
is a mecca of art, food, beauty, history, and southern charm!

Read "5 Reasons to Buy a Home Today" by Steve Harney - read more....

Finally some good press about South Carolina!

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:53:00 -0400

Frontdoor.com reported on 5 of the best beach areas to live in and South Carolina's Myrtle Beach was one of them....

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is the cornerstone of the famed Grand Strand -- the 60-mile stretch of uninterrupted beaches in South Carolina. The area's scenic beaches and lively community attract about 15 million visitors each year, but it's the more than 31,000 residents who get the best of both worlds.

"While a lot of people have to set a vacation time to come visit, I can have a vacation much more frequently just by living here," says Kimberly Miles who has lived in Myrtle Beach for six years. "It's great to take part in all of the amenities offered here."

Getting around: A native of Washington, D.C., Miles is accustomed to navigating congested roadways, which comes in handy during the summer months when the area is hit with heavy traffic. The peak season -- the months of June, July and August -- is when traffic is worst, but Miles said it's nothing compared to other major cities.

But if you don't want the hassle of navigating traffic, there are alternatives. Miles says the Coast RTA -- Myrtle Beach's public bus system -- taxi cabs and bicycles are convenient options for those who'd prefer not to drive.

Owning a home: Compared to many other beach towns, owning a home in Myrtle Beach is very affordable, said Miles, who closed on her first home at the end of February. The average cost of a 2,400-square-foot house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms is around $237,000. read more..

What buyers and sellers really want in today's real estate market!

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:04:00 -0400

A recent survey revealed the following:

1. What service did sellers most often say they want from their real estate agent?

Of the sellers surveyed, 22 percent said they wanted help pricing their home competitively so it would sell. Other popular responses included help finding a buyer for the home (21 percent), marketing the home to potential buyers (19 percent), and selling the home within a specific timeframe (19 percent).
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2. What service do buyers most often say they want from a real estate agent?

Nearly 50 percent of buyers most frequently reported that they want an agent to help them find the right home to purchase, followed by assisting them with negotiating the terms of the sale (16 percent) and price negotiations (13 percent). The least-frequent response was help in finding or arranging financing to purchase a home (2 percent).
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3. The typical home buyer searched how long before purchasing a home?

On average, a home buyer searched for 12 weeks and viewed 12 homes before purchasing, according to NAR research. That's the longest average time that buyers have spent looking for a home since the survey started tracking it in 2001. Buyers searched, on average, two weeks on their own before contacting an agent.
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4. What was the most common incentive that sellers offered in the sale of the home?

Sellers often try to use incentives to lure buyers, particularly the longer a home is on the market. While 68 percent of sellers said they did not offer an incentive, of those who did, the most popular incentives offered were a home warranty policy (21 percent) or assistance with closing costs (18 percent). Only 6 percent offered a credit to the buyer for remodeling or repairs.
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5. What feature on real estate Web sites do customers most frequently say they find the most useful?

Eighty-four percent of buyers said they find photos on a real estate Web site "very useful" and 13 percent said "somewhat useful," proving that photos remain a popular lure to buyers on real estate Web sites. Buyers also reported the following "very useful" Web site features: detailed information about the properties for sale (82 percent), virtual tours/videos (63 percent), the real estate agent's contact information (46 percent), and interactive maps (43 percent).
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6. What's the first step buyers often take during the home-buying process?

Thirty-six percent of all buyers said they looked online for properties for sale as their first step, followed by 18 percent who said they contacted a real estate professional. The Web sites they say provided the greatest value were multiple listing services (MLS) Web sites and real estate company Web sites, according to the survey.
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7. Of buyers who considered purchasing a foreclosed home, what was the most common reason they gave for ultimately not purchasing a foreclosure?

Nearly half of all buyers said they considered buying a foreclosed home, although only 10 percent actually did -- still a substantial increase from 2008, when only 3 percent of homes were purchased as a foreclosure. The reasons most cited for not purchasing a foreclosed home were buyers could not find the right home (25 percent), the home was in poor condition (17 percent), or the process was too difficult or complex (16 percent).
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8. What was the most common factor that influenced buyers in selecting a certain area to live?

Buyers report that several factors influence them in choosing a location to purchase a home. The quality of the neighborhood was most often cited by buyers as the most important factor influencing neighborhood choice (64 percent), followed by convenience to job location (50 percent), and overall affordability of homes (43 percent).

Charleston, SC market sees real estate transactions increase

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 10:54:00 -0400

The Charleston, SC tri-county area has seen closed transactions top the 1000 mark in June, 2010. Transaction levels have not been this high since 2007.

CHARLESTON, SC—(July 12, 2010) More than 1,000 homes sold in June, marking the highest number of residential real estate transactions in nearly three years. According to the Charleston Trident Association of REALTORS® (CTAR), 1,022 homes changed hands at a median sale price of $185,612 in June. The last time more than one thousand transactions closed was August of 2007.

While the median sales price of $185,612 is approximately 4% lower than last June’s peak price of $192,626, it is consistent with median prices thus far in 2010.

Homes are selling on average, almost 2 weeks faster than they were one year ago, with days on market for June 2010 averaging 105, as compared to the June 2009 average of 118. read more...

Real Estate Videos - More than Just a "Walk-thru"

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 19:10:00 -0400

In a recent article in the Realtor.org blog - Speaking of Real Estate -Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine states the following:

During the 2010 Midyear Legislative Meetings & Expo a couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of watching real estate pros and YPN members Brian Copeland and James W. Nellis II participate in a panel on how to use video as a promotional tool. Here are some tips they offered to attendees:

Make stuff people want to watch. Most people aren’t interested in videos that amount to a commercial. They would rather be informed and entertained. So instead of producing a video of you talking about why you’re so great, make one in which you present yourself as an expert on a topic related to real estate. For example, Copeland, who is based in Nashville, attracts consumers by producing videos that highlight neighborhoods in the area. “I don’t sell homes to start with. My first sale is the neighborhood,” he says.

Provide a personal connection to listings. Plenty of real estate pros create listing videos that feature a slideshow of property photos with New Age or light jazz music playing in the background. While these may generate some interest, you should also use video to demonstrate to viewers that it’s a great place to live, Nellis says. One way to do this is to interview your sellers on camera as they talk about what they like most the house, and why they’ll miss it, he adds.

Nashville Urban Neighborhoods: Germantown, Hope Gardens, Historic Buena Vista & Salemtown Video Tour - Nashville, TN 37208

Is knowledge really power?

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 09:10:00 -0400

In an age where we have more information and knowledge available at our fingertips than at any other
time in history why are "we the people" not more powerful?

We have instant access to what is happening in real time any where in the world. We tweet our activities
to the world ad nausium. We post our faces for the world to see. We give a status update about our jobs, our families, our likes and dislikes

Our kids sit at the dinner table with their heads bowed into their iPhones when they used to bow their heads in thanksgiving for the meal placed before them. We have commercials where the children are telling the parents what ailments the parents have and what drug they should be taking to cure it.

We have relegated our conversation ability to 140 characters or less and we must respond
immediately to the latest posting on our wall. We take more anxiety drugs than anyone before us and we have more doctor's appointments.

We spend billions on weight loss and yet we are the most overweight people on earth.
Why are we seemingly so helpless that we turn to our government to tell us what to believe. I say the reason is that knowledge is not power - only applied knowledge is power!

You may feel that you don't need to know about todays technology and how the internet is influencing your life. You may not want to post your life on Facebook or tweet your way through life - but your children are and therefore as a parent you should at least familiarize yourself with these entities.

You need to have the knowledge of how marketing on Facebook and Twitter works and then apply the knowledge in helping your children understand the good and the bad about living their lives before the world on the internet. I encourage you to gain this power by applying the marketing knowledge Ellen Stebbins will give you in her booklet and video series concerning how to market on Facebook and Twitter .

Do yourself and your family a favor and gain the knowledge today!

Home buyers are spending more time doing this than any other time since 2001. What is it?

Tue, 11 May 2010 16:11:00 -0400

The process of finding a home in Mt. Pleasant, SC or Charleston, SC can be daunting and time consuming. I came across a survey done by Realtor.org and discovered that home buyers across America take a lot of time in deciding which home to buy. Here is the poll question...

The typical home buyer searched how long before purchasing a home?

Correct Answer: 12 weeks
On average, a home buyer searched for 12 weeks and viewed 12 homes before purchasing, according to NAR research.
That's the longest average time that buyers have spent looking for a home since the survey started tracking it in 2001.
Buyers searched, on average, two weeks on their own before contacting an agent.

Do you know what buyers and sellers really want?

Fri, 07 May 2010 17:00:00 -0400

In a recent survey the National Association of Realtors published some interesting facts about todays buyers and sellers. According to an article published in the Realtor.org site....

1.	What service did *sellers* most often say they want from their real estate agent?

	Pricing the home competitively Of the sellers surveyed, 22 percent said they wanted help pricing their home competitively so it would sell. Other popular responses included help finding a buyer for the home (21 percent), marketing the home to potential buyers (19 percent), and selling the home within a specific timeframe (19 percent).

2.	What service do *buyers* most often say they want from a real estate agent?

	Finding the right home to purchase Nearly 50 percent of buyers most frequently reported that they want an agent to help them find the right home to purchase, followed by assisting them with negotiating the terms of the sale (16 percent) and price negotiations (13 percent). The least-frequent response was help in finding or arranging financing to purchase a home (2 percent).

ViewThisHome.com 2 min Introduction

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:04:00 -0400

How to add text in Windows Movie Maker - Video Tutorial 2

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 20:30:00 -0400

This is the second video in a three video series on how to make videos from photos using Windows Movie Maker. If you need a property video but don't have the time or skills to shoot, edit and produce a video this series show you how to use the photos you already have to produce great looking videos to post on your website or other sites like ViewThisHome.com

What does Grove Park Inn have to do with leaving a business legacy?

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 10:42:00 -0400

Are you building a business that has the potential to out last you and be an inspiration to others for decades to come? E.W. Grove did just that for my enjoyment! Enjoy this vblog!

When was chewing gum patented and why can't I swallow it...

Sat, 10 Apr 2010 12:22:00 -0400

Chewing gum was first patented in the US in 1869 and ever since we have been told - "spit out your gum" or "don't swallow your gum, it will clog up your intestines!" So, my wife and I were driving down the road on Saturday and she asked me if I wanted a piece of gum and we both shared a delicious all-natural gum from the health food store. I few minutes later, after the flavor was gone, I was looking for someplace to dispose of my piece of gum. I looked at my wife and realized that she was not chewing anymore." Where is your gum", I asked. She replied, "I swallowed it."

I thought to myself that if she can swallow it so can I. But guess what - I could not swallow it no matter how hard I tried. I have swallowed pills bigger than that piece of gum but there was no way I was going to be able to get it down. I wondered why she could swallow it and yet I couldn't. Then it dawned on me! My brain is connected to my swallowing mechanism and my brain had been told all my life to "spit out that gum" or "don't swallow that gum". My brain was just doing what it has been taught to do. It would take a major paradigm shift in my head before I could ever swallow a piece of gum.

Sometimes life is hard-to-swallow because of what we have been told all our lives. Things like, "you shouldn't take unnecessary risk" - but isn't it the nature of risk to be unnecessary! Or, "you know you don't have the education to do this or that" - but isn't "doing it" the biggest part of education. Or, "you know everyone in your family expects you to be this or that" - but what about your own expectations. It is comments like these that make life hard to swallow at times. If you are told something enough times by enough people you will slowly begin to believe it to be fact and act accordingly.

What has your brain been taught that is causing you not to move forward in your career, your life, your relationships or your finances? Begin telling yourself what you can do and over time your paradigm will shift into a more productive mind set. Now swallow hard and get started!

How to Be # 1 on VTH...

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:52:00 -0400

You are already ahead of your competition by having your real estate videos posted on ViewThisHome.com. We are proud to announce that we are growing in popularity with nearly 20,000 visitors to the site each month. How do you ensure that your videos are being seen by the viewing public on such a popular video website? By moving from being ahead to being # 1 by having your properties featured on the homepage.

The Featured Video on the homepage is zip code specific meaning you can enroll for up to 5 zip codes in your area. Anytime someone is searching in any of those zip codes your Featured Videos would be in cue on the homepage. Your properties are available for preview without the viewer needing to do a search. You are now # 1.

Once a visitor enters search criteria and leaves the home page then they are shopping among all listings that meet their criteria. Featured Videos allows you to grab their attention first. Also, as an added benefit, when the viewer clicks on your Featured Video they go directly to your listing and underneath the video are thumbnails of all of the listings you have on ViewThisHome.com. They will have the pleasure of surfing through your other listings from that page.

This feature positions you as a serious real estate professional that is at the forefront of technology. All of your contact information is contained on this page making it easy for the viewer to contact you by phone, website or email. There is even a way for them to email your listing to friends and family.

You have proven that you like to be ahead of the game by joining the video revolution on View This Home. Now, become # 1 by having your properties featured on the homepage.

It is simple to enroll in this feature. There is no long term contract or commitment just a small monthly fee of $39.00 .

What are you waiting for? You know you want to be first! Thank you for being a valued ViewThisHome.com user. If you are not a View This Home customer register for free today and start uploading to the premier real estate video network!

Wearing camouflage and talking real estate...

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:50:00 -0400

Be sure to watch View This Home LIVE Thursday’s at 7pm (ET) by going to WLCNTV.com. Register for a free account and click Watch Live.

We have the SC Land Man Trey Allen on the show. He will tell us all about large land parcels used for recreation and hunting. You don’t want to miss ATP Gun Shop & Range talking about hunting, guns and the latest trend…women hunters!

House hunting? We will discuss some useful tips for aiming at your new home, pulling the trigger and moving in!

Just so you don’t have to hunt around to find us, here it is again…

Knology Channel 98 (Charleston local)

WLCNTV.com click on Watch Live, register your account and you will be hot on the trail to the best real estate TV show around!

Contact us at info@ViewThisHome.tv if you would like to appear on our show.

Tune in tonight at 7pm (ET) on Charleston Knology Channel 98 or at WLCNTV.com to watch your View This Home hosts wearing camouflage and talking real estate…it’s all about hunting!