The Alston Court Blog

According to Sunday’s Post & Courier, the national meltdown of lenders is really hitting home here in the Lowcountry. Their front page article, titled “Good Credit? Good Luck,” profiled a woman in Summerville who has found a house she’d like to buy, but can’t find a lender to loan her the money she needs. She has a contract on the home she wants to purchase, she has a buyer for the home she lives in now, and she has a 20% down payment, but it’s not enough.

Not only are “B” and “C” borrowers having trouble getting home mortgages these days, the bank closures are affecting nearly all borrowers. “Real estate closings are getting canceled as lenders around the country go out of business, and mortgage brokers can’t find enough lenders willing to loan buyers money,” the paper reported. I’m seeing evidence of this with my clients as well. Last month alone I had two buyers ready to write contracts but the money just wasn’t there.

————————————————– Continue reading ‘Buyers Struggle for Funding’

With so many homes on the market in Alston Court, there seems to be a real need for a community yard sale. Can I see a show of hands from those who agree?

I’m willing to publicize the event, and I’ll make a map that shows the houses participating in the sale. I can also hang signs and stand at the entrance to the neighborhood on the day of the sale to direct traffic and hand out the maps. All we need to do is pick a Saturday, and I’ll get things moving on my end. Any suggestions? Maybe we could shoot for the middle of September, after the kids get settled in school.

What can we accomplish by doing this? Well, there’s the obvious - getting your homes ready for fall and making money - but it’s also an opportunity to get some traffic into the neighborhood for these home sellers, and a way for us to meet each other.

If you’re interested, please leave a comment here or if you prefer you can also send me an e-mail: info@alstoncourt.org.

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It’s only been two weeks since I launched www.alstoncourt.org, and already we are on page 1 of Google’s search terms for “crowfield plantation goose creek sc.” Not too shabby. When word gets out and everyone wants to live in Alston Court, where will we put them all?

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One of my mortgage lenders made contact with me this week with an update on rates from his particular bank. He seemed to be in high spirits and had this information to share:

Good news about mortgage rates is that they continue to improve!

5.875% 30 year ARM
6.375% FHA/VA 30 year fixed
6.375% Conventional 30 year fixed

100% LTV’s still available, plus FHA Gift programs.

If you have any questions or want more information, I’m here to help.

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There’s now another chance to pick your neighbor in Alston Court. The backside of Alston Circle has a new home for sale by owner. That makes three homes for sale by owner now, all at once. I have called the number on the sign to get the specifics, but I have not made contact yet with that particular homeowner. I will tell you everything I know as soon as I can get over there. Incidentally, if you are the owner of that home, please feel free to add a comment and tell us all firsthand about your home so we can spread the word for you. Good luck with it… and I’m here if you have any questions.

UPDATE: Spoke with Johnny Brown about the house. It is a 3 BR, 2 bath for $160K. The address is 216 Alston Circle.

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Every time there’s a house for sale in your neighborhood it’s an opportunity to choose who your neighbors will be. Right now there are four homes for sale in Alston Court. Two of them are listed with agents, two of them are for sale by owner. The race is on! The latest home for sale is at 101 Shropshire Street, I’m sure you’ve seen the signs. Jim Jackson has put lots of sweat equity into the home. He’s painted, updated the landscape, put in new carpet, and added a new roof. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It is 1052 square feet, and he is asking $154,000. Look for his open houses on the weekends, if for no other reason than to see what he’s done with the place.

By the way. While we’re on the for sale by owner topic. If you decide to sell your house yourself, pay close attention to who your buyer chooses as their lender. Fallout from lenders has always been an issue with real estate transactions, but it’s happening now more than ever. Nationwide, buyers are going to the closing table and their loans are not getting funded. I’m sure you’ve seen all the news headlines. Just be very careful.

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My sister is coming to visit me this weekend from Kansas. This will be the second time she’s been to my house. Although 4.5 years (she’s younger) and half a country separate us, we became first-time homeowners the same month of the same year, December 2005. The first time she came to my house was last summer. While she was here she made several comments on how much I had accomplished in our new home already. All I had done was paint the living room and buy a new couch and recliner. If she was impressed with that, I wondered what her house looked like.

Last Christmas I packed up the kids and drove to Kansas. Her house still looked the same as the day she moved in. All the walls were white, there were no pictures on the walls, no drapes on the windows (the sellers had left mini blinds in place), no rugs on her wood floor. She said it didn’t feel like home. She was paralyzed. She didn’t know where to start or what to do. She was afraid of committing to a color on the walls and she didn’t want to hang anything until she knew what her colors were going to be. Sound familiar? I had faced the same issues with my house.

Over the last 18 months I’ve come up with five helpful things to keep in mind when making your home your own:

————————————————– Continue reading ‘Making Your House a Home’

I was looking for the Charles Towne Landing Web site today and stumbled across one I’ve never seen before. It’s called Charleston Family Fun, and as the name implies, it’s a great resource for families. The site is playful, fun, and offers a menu that includes attractions, tours, beaches, recreation, special values, and travel support. It appears to be a product of the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Another local site that’s great for parents is www.teammama.com. It exists to connect Charleston parents with each other, the community, and their children. They offer playgroups, a discussion board, and family support.

Please share any other lesser-known local parenting and family sites that are worth mentioning.

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The media probably has you believing that the real estate bubble has popped, that home prices are falling, and that buyers have all the control in negotiations these days. I’ve heard the hype too, but my experience isn’t supporting it. In fact, the last couple of months have been very competitive for buyers wanting houses listed below $180K.

The home I listed at $158K, for instance, sold in three weeks for full price and continued to generate interest from buyers until the sale closed. Similarly, as a buyer’s representative, I’ve had two families in bidding wars over homes that were priced in the $130K and $170K price ranges.

————————————————– Continue reading ‘$180K the Magic Number for Goose Creek Real Estate’

In this first post I want to introduce myself. I am Stephanie Davis, a REALTOR with Prudential Carolina Real Estate. You have probably seen a postcard from me in your mailbox, heard my voice on your answering machine, and/or seen my car driving through your neighborhood. I am not stalking you. I am a local real estate consultant who has chosen to specialize in selling the beauty and charm of where you live. In order to do that, I’ll be making an effort to get to know each and every one of you.

I’ve created this blog and the Web site www.alstoncourt.org in an effort to provide you with neighborhood information and updates, and to start building my relationship with you. I hope you find it useful and that it will become an invaluable resource to you as a homeowner. My intent is to present information and facilitate discussion that will help make your home owner experience a good one. I hope to offer some insight to the challenges you will face and questions you may have about owning a home, specifically in the South. My goal is to build a library of helpful tools and tricks that you will turn to again and again.

The Web site www.alstoncourt.org is a place for you to share information and photos and for future neighbors to get an idea of what you’re all about. The photos page can show off anything you’d like to share about your home or family, it can include pictures from neighborhood or community events, or whatever else you want people to see (related to Alston Court and rated G). The classifieds page is where you can advertise yard sales or any big-ticket items you’d like to sell. It could also be a place to post jobs available or jobs needed. The rest of the site really is FYI. Again, I hope it’s useful. Let me know if there’s anything you’d like added.

Thanks so much for allowing me to partner with you as your real estate consultant.