17 Beason Farm Lane is well maintained ranch home located on a corner lot off Woodruff Road in the sought-after Whitehall Plantation subdivision. This 4 bedrooms, 3 bathroom, open floor plan Simpsonville SC real estate is a real gem. Inside you will find beautiful hardwood floors in the foyer, dining room, great room, kitchen, breakfast nook and sunroom. Laminate flooring in the three downstairs bedrooms, and carpet in the 4th bedroom/bonus room upstairs.

www.17BeasonFarmLane.com

Upstairs bedroom with a full bathroom and closet. Upgrades includes a 26×12 professionally attached screened porch with tile floors, skylights and ceiling fan, expanded concrete patio with a sidewalk that extends to the neighborhood sidewalk. Huge great room with high ceilings adjoins the beautiful kitchen, which features stainless steel appliances, pull-out drawers and bar area.

If you are searching for Simpsonville SC homes for sale, this beautiful home is certainly a must see. Other upgrades includes you will find in this home are: tile backsplash, light fixtures, white picket fence, additional insulation and some flooring added in the attic. spacious master suite has trey ceiling, walk-in closet, double sinks, garden tub, and separate shower.

Priced at $229,857

Along with other financing options, this home is also eligible for 100% financing for qualified buyers.

Listing ID# 1234806

Whitehall Plantation is a unique neighborhood. It features a naturally wooded 32 acre protected common area.  Amenities includes a nature trail, sidewalks, clubhouse, swimming pool and cabana.

Schools assigned to this home at the time of this post are: Rudolph G. Gordon Elementary, Hillcrest Middle and Mauldin High School. Greater Greenville school assignments are subject to change in the future, please confirm schools.

For more information on this home, please call Victor Amadi at 864-642-1645.

SIMPSONVILLE SC REAL ESTATE FOR SALE BY SEGMENTS:

 Victor Amadi – PRODUCER Realty LLC Greenville SC Real Estate – 17 Beason Farm Lane Simpsonville SC Homes for Sale – Whitehall Plantation

Interest Rates Should Be Stable

With a faltering economy nationally and worldwide, including pessimistic estimates for employment, there is little chance that the Fed will risk increasing rates which would jeopardize any recovery. Couple that with a Presidential Election in November and conventional wisdom, and we’ll see rates hovering in the same neighborhood for most of 2012.

Mortgage Costs Will Increase

Quietly tucked away in those bills passed in Congress to extend the payroll tax cuts before the holidays was an increase of 10 basis points in the guarantee fees on loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That will translate into .10% higher interest rates (which would be $4000 extra on a $200,000 loan over 30 years). Interestingly enough, the additional revenue is not going to Fannie or Freddie to help with defaulted loans, but rather going to the US Treasury to make up for the payroll tax cut….go figure.

The Mortgage Interest Deduction Will Be Challenged

Look for people of a certain income level to lose their write off as a measure to increase revenue. Taking away from the wealthy as a way to raise governmental revenue is politically strategic. It is unlikely everyone will lose the deduction (political suicide), but that top 1%…watch out.

Loan Products Will Expand

Common sense lending will start creeping back. Large down payments will liberalize credit and income standards. This will likely begin with local banks who are comfortable with appraised values. I’m not calling for a return to the madness, but some loans that are low risk are not being done today. Anticipate some lenders expanding their guidelines.

Don’t be shocked by a lowering of FHA loan limits and/or an increase in the FHA Up Front Mortgage Insurance Premium either. Overall, mortgages should give people more reasons to buy homes in 2012 as the economic recovery is strongly tied to housing. Given that most people vote their own personal economy rather than policy beliefs, I expect support by those who are looking to be re-elected.

If you are interested in purchasing one of the Greater Greenville SC homes for sale, contact us at 864-642-1645 to get a qualified Greater Greenville SC real estate professional working for you.

Resources: KCM Crew, Dean Hartman

Mortgage Predictions for 2012

However, since the subject of comparing real estate to other investments has come up, let’s take a closer look. There are two major advantages to investing in a home of your own rather than another option:

You Can’t Live in Your IRA

When you buy your own home you are not taking available dollars away from another investment. You are replacing one housing expense (rent) which has no potential for a return on investment with another (mortgage payment) that does give you an opportunity for a return. We realize that there has been research showing that over the last 30 years renting has been less expensive than owning. That research also says that if you invested the entire difference between the rent payment and mortgage payment you may have done better financially.  There are two challenges with this conclusion:

1. Today, in the vast majority of the country, renting is actually more expensive than owning a home.
2. History has proven that tenants DO NOT invest the difference in their rent and mortgage payments.

Today, study after study shows that owning a home is no more expensive than renting a home. However, even if this wasn’t the case, history shows that owning a home creates greater wealth.

Paying a mortgage creates what financial experts call ‘forced savings’. The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University released a study earlier this year titled America’s Rental Housing: Meeting Challenges, Building on Opportunities. In the study, they actually quantified the difference in family wealth between renters and homeowners:

“[R]enters have only a fraction of the net wealth of owners. Near the peak of the housing bubble in 2007, the median net wealth of homeowners was $234,600—about 46 times the $5,100 median for renters. Even if homeowner wealth fell back to 1995 levels, it would still be 27.5 times the median for renters.”

There Are Tremendous Tax Advantages to Investing in a Home

There is no doubt that selling an investment such as gold is easier than selling your home. However, this liquidity comes at a price. The price is called capital gains. That is the tax you pay on any financial gain you receive from the investment. This tax doesn’t apply the same way when you sell your primary residence:

Theresa Palagonia, a CPA and the Accounting Manager for the firm G.S. Garritano & Associates, was good enough to explain the Home Sale Exclusion Rules:

“You may qualify to exclude from your income all or part of any gain from the sale of your main home. 

Maximum Exclusion

You can exclude up to $250,000 of the gain on the sale of your main home if all of the following are true:

• You meet the ownership test.
• You meet the use test.
• During the 2 year period ending on the date of the sale, you did not exclude gain from the sale of another home.

If you and another person owned the home jointly but file separate returns, each of you can exclude up to $250,000 of gain from the sale of your interest in the home if each of you meets the three conditions listed above.

You may be able to exclude up to $500,000 of the gain on the sale of your main home if you are married and file a joint return and meet the requirements. (Special rules apply for joint returns.)

Ownership and Use Tests

During the 5 year period ending on the date of the sale, you must have:

• Owned the home for at least 2 years, and
• Lived in the home as your main home for at least 2 years

Certain exceptions exist in which you may qualify for the exclusion without satisfying the tests listed.”

Bottom Line

Every investment has pros and cons. That is why there is such an assortment of great opportunities. Real Estate has been, is and always will be one of those opportunities.

Are you ready to take advantage of the opportunities that Greater Greenville SC real estate has to offer? Contact us at 864-642-1645 for expert advice. You can start your search for Greater Greenville SC homes for sale by using the table below.

Greater Greenville Area Listings by Segments:

Resources: KCM Crew

Comparing Real Estate To Other Investments

1.) Interest Rates remained at historic lows

In order to help stabilize the economy in 2010, the Fed took certain actions which kept mortgage rates at or near historic lows (approximately 4%). Most felt this would be a short term tactic and once abandoned would result in rates returning to long term averages (6-7%).

However, the government has continued to support lower rates with the hope of fostering a recovery in the housing sector. The 30 year fixed rate mortgage (as measured by Freddie Mac) stood at 4.77% to begin 2011. A month later, it was over 5% and many, including us, believed this was the beginning of rates returning to normal levels. Instead, rates continued to fall ending 2011 at 3.91%.

The lower rates along with great prices have had a favorable impact on home affordability leading more buyers to enter the market.

2.) Sales up over 2010

At the beginning of 2011, we all realized that a year-over-year (Y-O-Y) comparison of home sales would not be a true “apples to apples” comparison as home sales at the beginning of 2010 were bolstered by the Home Buyers Tax Credit. Likewise, comparing home sales over the summer would not be a fair comparison as many sales in 2010 were dragged forward so that buyers could take advantage of the credit. However, many thought Y-O-Y comparisons would again be useful later in 2011 as the impact of the 2010 tax credit waned. Yet, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Existing Homes Sales Report shows that over the last three months sales have increased quite nicely. The October and November reports each showed a Y-O-Y gain of double digits and the December report gain was 12.2%. These numbers showed closed sales were increasing even though more contracts were falling through.

3.) Contract cancellation rate surges

Probably the most troubling trend to emerge in 2011 is that the number of sales contracts that are cancelled before closing has skyrocketed in the last year. The cancellation rate has jumped from 9% in August 2010 to 33% each of the last two months.

Some of the increase can be attributed to the higher level of difficulty in distressed property transactions. However, NAR also says cancellations are caused largely by “declined mortgage applications or failures in loan underwriting from appraised values coming in below the negotiated price.”

4.) Foreclosures were delayed

The robo-signing debacle of late 2010 caused a delay in many foreclosures entering the market. It DID NOT prevent the banks from continuing to put homes into the foreclosure process. The delays just prevented banks from repossessing the homes and putting them up for sale as REOs (foreclosures owned by the banks).

For most of 2011 the banks and the state governments worked on a set of standards that would be enforced before a bank could repossess the house. They are currently working on a settlement to be paid for those homes that were foreclosed on without the proper paperwork.

As these procedures and settlements are completed, more and more of the backlog of distressed properties will come to market. Distressed properties sell at a discount. They will have a substantial impact on the prices of all houses in the region.

5.) Prices move up then down

Many experts expected prices to continue to slide downward as we entered 2011. However, a large inventory of distressed properties was held back (see #4). That turned out to be good news for prices as supply decreased throughout the year and demand increased in the second half of the year. That actually caused prices to ‘bottom out’ and then nudge upward in the late summer and early fall.

As the foreclosed properties again began to enter the market in the last quarter, prices again began to slip. Most believe this downward trend will continue through the first half of 2012.

If you are considering selling your Greater Greenville area real estate or interesting buying Greater greenville SC home for sale, contact us at 864-642-1645 for expert advice.

Resources: KCM Crew, NAR, Freddie Mac

5 Top Real Estate Stories in 2011

With the glut of available homes on the market, how your home is marketed is the biggest factor in determining how quickly it will sell (assuming the price is reasonably presented). A real estate agent’s marketing plan should be the most crucial determinant in deciding who to list your home with. But, how can you really know about the agent’s marketing strategies?

One way is to see what they are doing with their current clients. Do those homes “stand out”? Contact those sellers. Are they getting a lot of showings and offers?

Another way is looking at how the agent markets themselves and their services:

• Does the photo they use for themselves represent how they look?
• Does their print advertising look like everyone else’s?
• What technology are they using to show your home? Are they using video?
• Is their website interesting and full of current information or just cookie cutter?
• Do they have a professional presence on social networks?
• Does their marketing show them as an expert or does it merely pat them on the back?

Quality photos on the web and top notch video may be the factor that drives people to see your house (and they are very important). However, how an agent drives traffic to see those photos and videos is even more important.

We all know the saying - “It’s not what you know…it’s who you know.” However, in marketing, it’s more crucial to know “who knows you”. Agents who are unknown are not good marketers. Today, you need an excellent marketer to represent you.

A good way to find out how good a marketer a real estate agent is, is by Google searching their name. If the agent is a good marketer, you should find them all over the first page of the search results. If the agent is a great marketer, information about them will fill up the first page, second page, and up to five to six pages deep on the Google search results.

If you are seeking results for your Greater Greenville SC real estate needs, contact me at 864-642-1645. I made a commitment to make any necessary investments to continue to become the trusted expert advisor in our local real estate marketplace. This is why I have put together an 89-Point Marketing Strategy that has been proven to get the job done in less time for my seller clients. I also offer guarantees that make it risk-free to work with me.

Resources: Dean Hatman, KCM Crew

Victor Amadi – PRODUCER Realty LLC – Greenville SC Real Estate – How Your Agent Markets Themselves Indicates How They Will Market Your Home

Gold had dropped from over $400 an ounce to $250 an ounce (a 40% decline) from February 1996 to August 1999. People ran from gold as though it was a plague.

Lord William Rees-Mogg, the current Chairman of The Zurich Club, in 1997 said:

“No investment has been so thoroughly exploded as gold; most people think that there will no more be another gold boom than there will be another boom in tulip futures in The Netherlands.”

Two years later in 1999, Don Wolanchuk author of the Wolanchuk Report explained:

“Everybody hates gold. You can’t have a bottom until everybody is out. And everybody is out of the gold sector.”

Everyone knows what happened next. The proclamation of gold’s death was rather premature. Gold rose from $250 an ounce to over $1,500 an ounce in the next twelve years. We see the same situation with real estate today. We are not predicting that real estate will see the same levels of appreciation. I do believe however that the market will rebound strongly.

Those who continued to believe in gold as an investment were rewarded. Those who continue to believe in real estate as a sound investment will also be rewarded.

Here is what Adam Hamilton wrote in October 2000 in an essay titled Is Gold Dead?

The road for gold investors has been long and parched in the last five years.  They have wandered through a seemingly endless desert, occasionally tempted by what proves to be an illusory mirage.  Many have fallen beside the sun-cracked path, their white bones picked clean by buzzards and gleaming in the sun.  Nevertheless, a brave contrarian core continues to march forward.  They have studied history, currency, gold, investments, economics, and finance.  They understand the timeless value of gold, the cyclical nature of the markets, and the vagaries of human psychology.  They realize it is darkest before the dawn, and the journey most difficult right before the homestretch is reached.  Gold is in an INCREDIBLE position, and it will have its day.  Nothing goes up in price forever, and nothing goes down in price forever.  Investments are cyclical.  Gold is NOT dead, it is simply biding its time, waiting for its next earth-shattering mega-rally.  The spoils that go to the few remaining gold investors when that day inevitably arrives will be fantastic.  The stunning victory will quickly blot out the painful memories of the long struggle…

You could replace the word ‘gold’ with the words ‘real estate’ throughout this essay and it would apply today.

We originally ran this blog back in March. We believe it still applies. By the way, Gold closed yesterday at almost $1,600 an ounce.

If you are interested in Greenville SC Real Estate, let us show you some of the great values that Greenville SC homes for sale has to offer. Contact us at 864-642-1645.

Greater Greenville Area Listings by Segments:

Resources: KCM Crew

Real Estate: Today’s Golden Opportunity

As an expert Advisor in the Greater Greenville area, I can help you find the right home and get the best possible deal – foreclosure or not. Contact me at 864-642-1645 to discuss your needs.

View More Bank Foreclosure Homes for Sale

Victor Amadi – PRODUCER Realty LLC – Top 10 Greater Greenville SC Bank Foreclosed Homes for Sale – Dec 15th-22nd

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) explained in a recent Existing Sales Report that 18% of all contracts were cancelled in the previous. This compares to 16% the prior month and 9% in August of 2010.

The good news is homeowners have realized that attempting to sell their home on their own is an arduous process best left to an industry expert. According to NAR’s 2011 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, the percentage of sellers selling on their own, known as For Sale By Owners (FSBOs), has dropped almost in half over the last 20 years:

Bottom Line

If you are selling a home in today’s confusing real estate market, it is best to take on the services of a local real estate expert. He/she will guide you through each step of the transaction thereby increasing the likelihood that there will be fewer inconveniences for you and your family.

I have made it a priority to stay up to date with the local and national real estate markets. This way I can expertly advise my Greater Greenville SC real estate sellers and buyers. I have also put together an 89-Point Marketing Strategy that will get the job of selling your home done. This system is proven, and I am confident that it will work for you.

If you need an Expert Advisor, contact me at 864-642-1645 to discuss you Greater Greenville SC home selling or buying needs.

Resources: KCM Crew