Sell cheap, buy cheaper

July 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment

White Gables Summerville homes for saleI 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.

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

Relish Downtown opens in Summerville

May 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Relish Downtown on Short Central in Historic Summerville South CarolinaA 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.

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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 

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 

The original Town Hall is now a home on Carolina Avenue

The Town Hall for the Town of Summerville

The new Town Hall Annex with shops, offices and parking adjacent

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Posted by Howard | Filed Under Blog, Charleston Communities and Neighborhoods, Charleston real estate, Dorchester County, Summerville 

The Ponds in Summerville

April 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment

The Ponds will be one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in the greater Charleston area. Coosaw Creek Country Club and Beresford Hall in the Charleston area and Palmetto Dunes Resort in Hilton Head Island are just a few of the great neighborhoods developed by Greenwood Development.

This weekend is the Summerville YMCA Flowertown Festival sponsored by The Ponds and The Ponds is also donating land and $3 million toward construction costs for a new YMCA facility within the neighborhood.

If you are looking to live in a great Lowcountry neighborhood, consider The Ponds in Summerville. Homes begin in the $300’s and homesites start in the mid $150’s. Not only will you find wonderful homes but lots of activities and amenities in addition to land set aside for green space.

UPDATE: The Ponds has just announced incentives up to $50,000 on the first 8 homes completed and ready to move into through April 30. Call me for more details.

A new YMCA is under construction at The Ponds in Summerville

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

Springtime in Charleston

March 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Sports, culture and fun, take your pick(s) this spring in the Charleston area.

With the Southern Conference Basketball Tournament ending today and after the very successful Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in February and the bigger and better Food + Wine Festival last weekend, there are some great events to look forward to this spring in Charleston.

It will be a busy weekend as always with the Flowertown Festival in Summerville on April 4th through April 6th and the Cooper River Bridge Run from Mount Pleasant to Downtown Charleston on Saturday morning April 5th. Look for the usual quarter of a million visitors to enjoy the azaleas in full bloom and the arts and crafts festival in Summerville and some of the best runners in the world on the new Cooper River Bridge.

The Family Circle Cup Tennis Championship will be held at Daniel Island April 12th – 20th with all the top ladies professionals here as always. Making a return visit to the tennis center in May is the AVP Volleyball Tournament and beach party on May 8th through May 10th.

Do you enjoy golf. The finest ladies golf professionals in the world will be playing the demanding Arnold Palmer designed course at Rivertowne Country Club in Mount Pleasant for one of the largest purses on the LPGA tour. The Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika returns May 26 through June 1.

Last but never least is the Spoleto Festival USA now in its 36th year at various venues throughout Charleston for 17 days and nights from May 23 through June 8 offering opera, music, theatre, dance and special events.

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Posted by Howard | Filed Under Announcements and Events, Blog, Charleston, Daniel Island, Mount Pleasant, Summerville 

Summerville is enjoying an early spring

February 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Summerville historic districtIt’s mid February and we’ve had great weather lately and it looks like spring is starting early in Summerville and across the Charleston area. If you are currently living in the North and Midwest, I hear the temps are cold. Perhaps you might consider relocating to the Charleston area. These pictures should warm you up a little.

In the Summerville historic district, this beautiful home has 2 tulip magnolias in bloom. Tulip magnolias are the earliest to bloom in the spring.

Short Central near the Summerville town square Historic Summerville is only 21 miles from downtown Charleston

Historic Summerville is only 21 miles from downtown Charleston. These pictures are of Short Central, a little brick paved street blocked from automobile traffic with quaint shops and several nice restaurants. It’s early in the day but a few people are already dining alfresco.

Summerville is a growing community with many suburban amenities

Summerville is growing rapidly and Dorchester County is among the top 50 fastest growing counties in the nation. There are several reasons, first, Summerville is in the highly regarded Dorchester II school district and second, an abundance of well priced homes for sale. Homes for sale in Summerville might cost over $100,000 less than a similar home in other areas of Charleston. In Summerville real estate, you can buy a lot of house for your money. 

Featuring the best of new and old, the new Publix Shopping Center at Central and Old Orangeburg Road serves the growing area just west of Summerville. The word is a new McDonald’s is under construction in front of the center. While I’m generally not a big fast food fan, I do enjoy a double cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate shake on occasion. It’s too bad I heard the double cheeseburgers are going off the dollar menu.

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