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.

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Posted by Howard | Filed Under Blog, Charleston, 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.

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Posted by Howard | Filed Under Blog, Charleston

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.

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

Sell cheap, buy cheaper

July 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment

White Gables Summerville homes for sale I had the occasion to show some buyers from out of town who were considering relocation to the Charleston area several homes in my neighborhood.

White Gables is located in Summerville, a very popular Charleston suburb. White Gables is a traditional neighborhood with sidewalks, front porches and alleys behind the home to access the garage. It’s very old fashioned and very cute and it was the only neighborhood they were interested in seeing after viewing lots of homes online for the past few months.

But they have to sell their home in order to buy.

A few years ago, they started thinking about moving and did get a contract on their home but they backed out of the sale because they just didn’t feel right about selling and moving at the time. As is the case in many areas around the country, their home isn’t worth what it once was. But as I suggested to them, if you sell high, you’re going to buy high and that’s how it was several years ago. And if you sell for a little less, you’ll certainly be able to buy for a lot less.

They looked at several preowned homes but as I mentioned to them, if you write a contract contingent on the sale of your home, it won’t mean anything to the seller because the home will effectively be off the market awaiting the sale of your home. Think about how you would deal with an offer on your home that is contingent on the sale of your buyers home. And you can’t really make a really advantageous purchase when you are writing an offer contingent on the sale of your home.

As to new homes, the builder had several in inventory that had nice discounts because construction was complete and they were sitting unsold. But you can’t take advantage of that either because you might not want to have 2 mortgage payments.

So go home and sell. Price it right. Sell it cheap. Buy cheaper.

By the way, the home pictured above is the new Andover floor plan, one story living and a little larger than the popular Georgetown plan.

This one is a steal! If you are an unencumbered buyer.

Technorati Tags: Charleston real estate, Summerville, White Gables

Posted by Howard | Filed Under Blog, Buyer Tips, Charleston real estate, Seller Tips, Summerville

Carnes is coming soon

June 6, 2008 | Leave a Comment

One of the most highly anticipated communities in the Charleston real estate market is Carnes which is being developed by The Daniel Island Company as a “sister” community to Daniel Island. Located in Goose Creek at the intersection of Highway 17A and US 176 just a few miles from the Summerville exit off 1–26, the historic intersection has always been known in Berkeley County as Carnes Crossroads.

The 2000 acre master planned community will become a downtown gathering spot for Goose Creek and the first commercial center will be known as The Market at Carnes Crossroads featuring a Harris Teeter grocery store, restaurants, shops and office space.

Also announcing plans to locate at Carnes are Northwood Assembly Church and Northwood Academy. Roper St. Francis Hospital has announced plans for a medical facility at Carnes.

Home prices in Carnes have not yet been announced but The Daniel Island Company will likely offer different price points in several distinct neighborhoods. Look for the first residents to move in sometime in 2009.

Would you like to be first? Click here to learn more about Carnes.

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Posted by Howard | Filed Under Berkeley County, Blog, Charleston Communities and Neighborhoods, Charleston real estate, Daniel Island, Goose Creek

Friday Flowers

May 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Sourthern Magnolia

The beautiful flower of a Southern Magnolia. The street that I live on is landscaped with magnolias.

One of our favorite restaurants in Charleston is Magnolias owned by Hospitality Management Group and Chef Donald Barickman.

Read more at about Magnolias and Southern Magnolias at wikipedia.

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

Relish Downtown opens in Summerville

May 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Relish Downtown on Short Central in Historic Summerville South Carolina A wonderful new restaurant opened recently in Summerville on Short Central. My wife and I enjoyed a great meal at Relish Downtown recently and we’ll most definitely be back.

The early rumor in town was that it was owned by Maverick Southern Kitchens, proprietors of several Charleston restaurants including SNOB and High Cotton in downtown Charleston and The Old Village Post House in Mount Pleasant.

It turns out there is a Maverick connection since the owner, Tim Armstrong, was the executive chef at The Old Village Post House for the last few years before striking out on his own and opening this charming bistro in Historic Downtown Summerville.

Welcome to Summerville.

Technorati Tags: Summerville, Relish Downtown, fine dining

Posted by Howard | Filed Under Blog, Summerville

Summerville homes for sale offer you great value

May 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Charleston real estate, homes for sale in Summerville

The mother of one of my clients will be visiting the Charleston area and may want to retire to Charleston to be near her son and daughter in law. She is interested in a new or newer small single family home or possibly a condo or townhome in a price range of about $150,000 to $200,000 and preferably in Summerville to be close to the family.

I looked in the MLS and I was just amazed at how many homes were available. Because she is older, she would prefer one story living and there were over 200 available properties to choose from. Generally, no one really needs to see all 200 homes to find one they love but the most difficult thing for me was narrowing the selection down to a dozen because there seemed to be so many nice homes to choose from.

The Charleston real estate market can be somewhat expensive depending on what you are looking for but if you are looking to relocate to the Charleston area for work or to retire to the Charleston area, Summerville seems to be a great place to think about if you are looking for great value and want to buy a lot of home for the money.

There are also many very beautiful higher priced homes for sale available in the Summerville area as well and generally, a home for sale in Summerville will be less expensive than in many other parts of the Charleston real estate market.

And there is a lot of inventory to choose from so please don’t ask me to show you every home for sale.

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

Old Village in Mount Pleasant

April 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Pitt street Old Village Mount Pleasant Old Pitt Street Bridge Old Pitt Street Bridge Charleston Harbor

The Old Village in Mount Pleasant is a quiet and peaceful neighborhood filled with grand old oak trees and a treasure of beautiful homes. Located on the Charleston Harbor, the Old Village is the closest Mount Pleasant has to a downtown although a new downtown is planned near the Mount Pleasant Town Center.

Pitt Street is the heart of activity in the Old Village. Make sure to stop in the Pitt Street Pharmacy for an ice cream before taking a walk or riding your bike on the old Pitt Street Bridge along the waterfront.

A quaint 6 room inn and fine dining is available at the Old Village Post House in a beautfully restored building dating from the 1800’s. Owned and operated by the Maverick Group, who also have two of my favorite restaurants in the Charleston area, SNOB (Slightly North Of Broad) and High Cotton on East Bay in Historic Downtown Charleston.

Charleston South Carolina real estate, Homes for sale in Mount Pleasant Old Village Homes for sale Old Village Mount Pleasant

In the Old Village, you’ll find older cottages and colonial homes, many already renovated and others waiting for your personal touch. There are also a number of newer homes and new construction available.

View all Old Village homes for sale.

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

Fast growth in Summerville

April 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Summerville is one of the fastest growing locations in not only the Charleston area but in the country. Dorchester County is one of the 50 fastest growing counties in the United States according to the US Census Bureau and Summerville represents 90% of the population in the county. One of the primary reasons for Summerville and Dorchester County’s fast growth is the highly acclaimed Dorchester II school district. And sports is important as well; Summerville High School’s Green Wave coached by John McKissick for over 55 years has won 10 state championships and Coach McKissick is the winningest football coach in history at any level.

The town of Summerville was founded in the late 1700’s as a summer refuge for wealthy Charlestonians. As recently as 20 years ago, it was still a sleepy little town only 21 miles from downtown Charleston. Today, it still retains its small town charm built around the town square but Summerville is also a modern suburb with subdivisions in all price points and shopping to serve the needs of the growing community.

A sign of the times is the evolution of the Summerville Town Hall. The original town hall was on the square and was moved to Carolina Avenue when the new town hall was built. The Town Hall annex is under construction adjacent to the current Town Hall and also includes a large parking garage (not pictured) as well as shops and offices on East Richardson.

Town Hall plaque