Loan modification

August 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment

… is a big buzzword today. The government has been wanting lenders to rework the loans of many troubled homeowners so as to avoid additional foreclosures. The problem is that thus far very few loans have actually been modified.

So what gives. Let’s say you feel like the value of your home has declined somewhat and you’d like to modify your loan. Will the lender just happily lop tens of thousands of dollars from your balance and call it a day. Not really.

But if you are facing a hardship, that might be another story and loan modification could be a potential solution. If your interest rate increased because you took out an adjustable rate mortgage and “didn’t know” that an adjustable rate meant that your payment might increase over time, you can join the chorus of the many who seem to fall into that situation. Even if you did know how an adjustable rate mortgage worked, today’s lending problems work to your advantage because you can probably claim ignorance because you still face financial hardship.

If you or your wife got divorced, lost your job or had unexpected expenses from an illness, you most definitely are facing a financial hardship and should seek a loan modification program with your lender.

Some lenders are more open to the process than others and it might not be easy. Please take note, you’ll have to prove you are facing a financial hardship, not just feeling like you’d like to lower your interest rate or monthly payment.

It will be better than just waiting to be foreclosed but don’t wait until it’s too late.

Technorati Tags: Charleston real estate, loan modification, HUD

Posted by Howard | Filed Under Blog, Charleston real estate, Mortgage / Finance

The Boss comes to Charleston

August 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Bruce Springsteen will be in Charleston Saturday night playing to a sold out crowd at the North Charleston Coliseum. Tickets sold out in nanoseconds for what will likely be the concert of the year in Charleston.

I noticed some positives with ticket resales, additional proceeds being donated to charity. And some businesses are using the highly coveted tickets to thank their best clients.

It should be a great show.

Photo courtesy of flickr by Alex Hempton-Smith.

Technorati Tags: Charleston, Bruce Springsteen

Posted by Howard | Filed Under Blog, Charleston, Just for fun

Foreclosure news July 2008

August 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment

The latest foreclosure news is out and no significant changes are reported by RealtyTrac. A few more than last month, about double this month last year and South Carolina remains much better than the rest of the country ranking 34^th.

While the Charleston real estate market has some foreclosure activity, it is thankfully still few and far between compared to markets with most housing activity focused on foreclosures.

Foreclosure map July 08

Technorati Tags: Charleston real estate, foreclosure

Posted by Howard | Filed Under Blog, Charleston Market Trends, Charleston real estate

Long term thinking

August 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment

what does the future hold for Charleston real estate prices

Last week when the stock market was as volatile as I can ever remember, I started thinking about the many comments regarding the housing market. There is no doubt that many people are postponing the purchase of a home because they are quite simply scared that prices may go down.

While sharp price declines have not really been the case in the Charleston real estate market, all the attention by the national media can’t help but impact your thinking.

But I wonder, why is it seemingly OK for stocks to go up and down by 2% or 3% in a day causing the value of your stock portfolio or your 401k to go up or down accordingly but everyone seems to hate the idea that the value of your home might go down by 2% or 3% in the next year.

Nothing goes up or down in a straight line and both stocks and housing have gone up over the long term. It requires long term thinking when buying either stocks or a home. And the best thing is … you can actually live in your home, you don’t even get a stock certificate to paper the walls in your home any more.

Technorati Tags: Charleston real estate, Charleston home prices

Posted by Howard | Filed Under Blog, Buyer Tips, Charleston Market Trends, Charleston real estate

8808

August 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment

8808

August 8 2008

8.8.2008

This is a fascinating day for numerology and I just noticed and wanted to share this fascinating article by Christine Delorey, The Power of 8.

Technorati Tags: 8.8.2008, numerology

Posted by Howard | Filed Under Blog, Just for fun

Heat wave

August 6, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Charleston weather

Summer in Charleston is hot and humid but not as humid as you might think. The weather forecast in summer is usually highs in the 90’s and lows in the 70’s, mostly sunny in the day with a chance of pop up thunderstorms in the afternoon. The weather forecasters don’t have to change the forecast very much each day.

But today will be one of the hottest days of the year with temps close to 100 and heat indexes close to 110.

Keep the air conditioning running and stay cool.

Technorati Tags: Charleston

Posted by Howard | Filed Under Blog, Charleston

It’s my birthday!

August 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Coconut Cake I hope you don’t mind a little self indulgence but today’s my birthday. We had dinner the other night at The Peninsula Grill, by far the best restaurant in Charleston and it was incredible.

We enjoyed the duck and the rack of lamb but the highlight of our dinner was the jumbo lump crab spinach and tomato salad with fried green tomatoes.

But we didn’t have their famous Coconut Cake because I still think I’m allergic to coconuts from allergy tests when I was a child.

Technorati Tags: Charleston, Peninsula Grill

Posted by Howard | Filed Under Announcements and Events, Blog

Update on Park Circle

August 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Mixson Park Circle Oak Terrace Preserve

I had the opportunity to view Mixson Park Circle and Oak Terrace Preserve over the weekend and since my last visit, there has been a lot happening.

Mixson, developed by the I’on Group has broken ground on a number of residences and they are truly spectacular. What you can’t tell from the picture is the European ambiance of the neighborhood. Homes are sometimes attached but are considered single family homes.

Oak Terrace Preserve features several area builders constructing Craftsman and Lowcounty style homes. Both neighborhoods are being built green with very high construction standards.

Mixson is definitely vertical. I even saw a 4 story home (no elevator) so you won’t have to buy extra exercize equipment.

Call me for more information on either neighborhood.

Technorati Tags: Charleston real estate

Posted by Howard | Filed Under Blog, Charleston Communities and Neighborhoods, Charleston real estate, North Charleston

Charleston real estate market report, June 08 home prices

August 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Charleston home prices show a slight decline on both an average and median basis in single family homes under $600,000. This housing classification represents over 70% of all Charleston real estate transactions and is therefore the most important category to best understand market conditions and trends.

While the average price declined by 3.22% and the median price declined by 3.32%, the Charleston remains much healthier than many other housing markets around the country.

Prices continue to show increases for luxury Charleston homes and both clasifications of condos and townhomes.

Statistics compiled by Howard Arnoff using the Charleston MLS as the source of data, information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Charleston real estate, Charleston home prices

Technorati Tags: Charleston real estate, Charleston home prices

Posted by Howard | Filed Under Blog, Charleston Market Trends, Charleston real estate, Statistics

Charleston real estate market report, June 08 sales and inventory

July 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment

The left axis (red line) represents unit sales and you can clearly see the trend of fewer sales during the first half of this year compared to last year. The right axis (blue line) represents inventory which has remained at elevated levels.

Charleston real estate June 08 sales and inventory