Real Estate Market? (rivertowne) (Charleston, Mount Pleasant: for sale, home owners insurance, loans)

[baldbull]

My wife and I are looking to relocate from California. I have a job offer to work the the southeast and kind of had a choice of where to live...mount pleasant seems like the closest thing to So cal, its got the beach, ocean, fishing, surfing, and great golf.

That being said we have been watching the RE market in developments like Rivertowne and Dunes West. Looks like stuff is just sitting on the market and has been for quite awhile. The interesting thing is that alot of the newer homes in Rivertowne look like they were recently built by smaller spec construction companies. They must be getting nervous huh?

Anyhoo, anybody with information on those areas would be greatly appreciated. We really liked the Pointe in Rivertowne. Only thing that concerned me was that every house on the street has a for sale sign on them.

Time to low ball these guys or what??

[mLeeTaylor]

I make my living selling homes and yes now is and excellent time for low ball. The market is down 20% here. My agency will sell only 2100 homes this year. If done correctly low balling can make for a slam dunk of a deal and all good investors know we make our money on the way in.

[scjj]

It could be a number of reasons. They could be sitting because home buyers can't get them insured or the cost for insuring them is sky high. Rivertowne and Dunes West are surrounded by marshlands and the river. Add that in with the flood insurance, the wind pool and the homeowners dues and you are looking at a nice chunk of change. They are predicting a very active hurricane season this year. One hurricane in this area and you could literally find yourself sitting in a worthless home. More and more people aren't willing to take the chance and are buying inland. Another could be financing, people who bought some of these homes with these "creative loans" are now finding themselves in financial trouble.

[baldbull]

Originally Posted by mLeeTaylor

I make my living selling homes and yes now is and excellent time for low ball. The market is down 20% here. My agency will sell only 2100 homes this year. If done correctly low balling can make for a slam dunk of a deal and all good investors know we make our money on the way in.

What reccomendations do you have for low balling correctly? Are you located in the Mount Pleasant area?

What about what the other posted stated about flood insurance, wind pool, etc? What kind of premium would you be looking at on a $600k home?

[mLeeTaylor]

Originally Posted by baldbull

What reccomendations do you have for low balling correctly? Are you located in the Mount Pleasant area?

What about what the other posted stated about flood insurance, wind pool, etc? What kind of premium would you be looking at on a $600k home?

The perfect low ball would be a cash offer, no contingencies, and a 3 day closing (this is an extreme example and not likely to happen). The objective is to put maximum temptation on the seller. Slight variations to this theme can be made to work to the buyers advantage. I live on James Island and my office is in West Ashley.

Get lots of Insurance quotes. They vary greatly since Katrina. Some agencys are intentionally pricing themselves out of the coastal business. The Insurance companys will quote you the premiums. That is not my business. I show homes, market properties, negotiate, write contracts, etc. Click my name for a link to my website.

The "wind pool" sounds like a term generated to produce fear. Coastal homes surrounded by water, marsh, or flatland will naturally experience more wind
than inland homes.

If you are going to borrow any of the 600k the lender will require hazzard insurance and flood insurance (if you are in a flood zone). The elevation of the land controls the flood zone premium. The premium can vary significantly.

[USCJoe]

As a Realtor, I would rarely recommend that my client "lowball" an offer unless the home were priced substantially higher than the "fair market" value in todays market or unless I had specific knowledge that a particular seller would be willing to negotiate a price substantially under their list price. I have found that more times than not, that a ridiculously low initial offer will result in the seller moving very little in their counter offer. It is the responsibilty of a client's Realtor to develop a comparative market analysis of the home under consideration by looking at recent home sales and make appropriate adjustments to come up with a realistic market value of the home. If the home is grossly overpriced, the Realtor can present the offer along with recent "comps" to justify the offering price.Using a "persuasive argument" rather than coming in with an "insulting" offer generally results in a better result for the buyer. The "Buyer's Agent" should also review the property history of a home to see how long it has been on the market and whether there have been price reductions on the home. All of these facoros should be taken into consideration during the negotiation phase.
The large inventory of homes in the Charleston area is not confined to just those in the Mt. Pleasant area and other coastal cities. The inventory of homes in the Summerville area is also historically high. Neither Rivertowne or Dunes West is in the "Wind Pool." The cost of home owners insurance has certainly risen in the Charleston area, but part of this increase will probably be offset by the 1/3 reduction in property taxes that SC homeowners will see in 2007. Property taxes per dollar assessed value are lower in the town of Mt. Pleasant than in most other areas in Charleston. Flood insurance in most instances is relatively inexpensive, including for most homes in Rivertowne and Dunes West. Home owners association dues in Rivertowne are not much more expensive than found in many of the upscale communities in Dorchester County/Summerville area.
Charleston as well as other coastal cities can be adversely affected by hurricanes. Similar risks are found in other areas of the country affected by earthquakes, flooding and tornadoes. Hurricane Hugo certainly caused massive damage to Mt. Pleasant in 1988, but having resided in the town at the time, I certainly did not find myself sitting in a worthless home. The risk is present, but that is why we have insurance to protect us against such risks.

[mLeeTaylor]

Originally Posted by USCJoe

As a Realtor, I would rarely recommend that my client "lowball" an offer unless the home were priced substantially higher than the "fair market" value in todays market or unless I had specific knowledge that a particular seller would be willing to negotiate a price substantially under their list price. I have found that more times than not, that a ridiculously low initial offer will result in the seller moving very little in their counter offer. It is the responsibilty of a client's Realtor to develop a comparative market analysis of the home under consideration by looking at recent home sales and make appropriate adjustments to come up with a realistic market value of the home. If the home is grossly overpriced, the Realtor can present the offer along with recent "comps" to justify the offering price.Using a "persuasive argument" rather than coming in with an "insulting" offer generally results in a better result for the buyer. The "Buyer's Agent" should also review the property history of a home to see how long it has been on the market and whether there have been price reductions on the home. All of these facoros should be taken into consideration during the negotiation phase.
The large inventory of homes in the Charleston area is not confined to just those in the Mt. Pleasant area and other coastal cities. The inventory of homes in the Summerville area is also historically high. Neither Rivertowne or Dunes West is in the "Wind Pool." The cost of home owners insurance has certainly risen in the Charleston area, but part of this increase will probably be offset by the 1/3 reduction in property taxes that SC homeowners will see in 2007. Property taxes per dollar assessed value are lower in the town of Mt. Pleasant than in most other areas in Charleston. Flood insurance in most instances is relatively inexpensive, including for most homes in Rivertowne and Dunes West. Home owners association dues in Rivertowne are not much more expensive than found in many of the upscale communities in Dorchester County/Summerville area.
Charleston as well as other coastal cities can be adversely affected by hurricanes. Similar risks are found in other areas of the country affected by earthquakes, flooding and tornadoes. Hurricane Hugo certainly caused massive damage to Mt. Pleasant in 1988, but having resided in the town at the time, I certainly did not find myself sitting in a worthless home. The risk is present, but that is why we have insurance to protect us against such risks.

I have no hesitation to lowball when it makes sense. I will make the seller an offer that he will find hard to refuse. I dont play the ridiculously low intial offer game. Its a waste of my time.

[baldbull]

Originally Posted by USCJoe

As a Realtor, I would rarely recommend that my client "lowball" an offer unless the home were priced substantially higher than the "fair market" value in todays market or unless I had specific knowledge that a particular seller would be willing to negotiate a price substantially under their list price. I have found that more times than not, that a ridiculously low initial offer will result in the seller moving very little in their counter offer. It is the responsibilty of a client's Realtor to develop a comparative market analysis of the home under consideration by looking at recent home sales and make appropriate adjustments to come up with a realistic market value of the home. If the home is grossly overpriced, the Realtor can present the offer along with recent "comps" to justify the offering price.Using a "persuasive argument" rather than coming in with an "insulting" offer generally results in a better result for the buyer. The "Buyer's Agent" should also review the property history of a home to see how long it has been on the market and whether there have been price reductions on the home. All of these facoros should be taken into consideration during the negotiation phase.
The large inventory of homes in the Charleston area is not confined to just those in the Mt. Pleasant area and other coastal cities. The inventory of homes in the Summerville area is also historically high. Neither Rivertowne or Dunes West is in the "Wind Pool." The cost of home owners insurance has certainly risen in the Charleston area, but part of this increase will probably be offset by the 1/3 reduction in property taxes that SC homeowners will see in 2007. Property taxes per dollar assessed value are lower in the town of Mt. Pleasant than in most other areas in Charleston. Flood insurance in most instances is relatively inexpensive, including for most homes in Rivertowne and Dunes West. Home owners association dues in Rivertowne are not much more expensive than found in many of the upscale communities in Dorchester County/Summerville area.
Charleston as well as other coastal cities can be adversely affected by hurricanes. Similar risks are found in other areas of the country affected by earthquakes, flooding and tornadoes. Hurricane Hugo certainly caused massive damage to Mt. Pleasant in 1988, but having resided in the town at the time, I certainly did not find myself sitting in a worthless home. The risk is present, but that is why we have insurance to protect us against such risks.

I agree with most of what you said but....

I think that comps from the last 12-24 months have very little to do with today's current market climate. Substantial construction and speculation have led to a glut of inventory. A glut of inventory usually leads to spec builders getting nervous and wanting to get out of properties with their shirts still on their respective backs. It may even make sense to wait another 6-12 months before the real panic sets in. I noticed in Rivertowne an enormous amount of for sale signs. At some point something is going to give. My bet is further price reductions, spec builders heading for z hills and the low balling investors coming to rule the roast...just my 2 cents...