Winter is a great time to look at lake property. Lake houses in the winter are cold and view is not so good or is it?  In the winter when the lakes are drawn down so that you can build a sea wall, dock or do your general lake access clean up.   You can see how deep the water is and whether you are on a channel or a cove.  You can fix up your fish bed, clean up and spread out some sand along the shore and you can build the dock you have always wanted.  Winter allows you to see what you are getting without having to imagine what you are seeing through the water.

There are 3 things you need to do every time the water is drawn down at the lake:

1) check the supports of your dock, make sure ...

You still have one week to appeal this years tax re-assessment.  If you think the value is too high.  Appeal the value, it will be easier now than in future years.

You do not have to have an appraisal showing the value you want you just have to show what properties in your area are selling for and why yours should be less.

Do it today, but if you miss the dead line then do it between January 1 and January 30th of next year.

We all have to pay taxes and I have yet to find a fair tax, so make sure yours is not out of line with what your neighbors are paying. Your research should be from 2009 and 2010.  You cannot use sales in 2011, unless you wait and appeal in January then you can use t...

Rates and Products30 year fixed Conforming                                                                                                  3.99% 20 year fixed Conforming                                                                                                  3.875% 15 year fixed Conforming                                                                                                  3.375% 10 year fixed Conforming                                                                                                  3.25% 5/1  ARM                                                                                                                               3.0% 7/1 ARM                  ...

10 Reasons to buy 280 Colony Lane: A unique country home

1.       4 bedrooms: split bedroom plan, private master bedroom and 3 bedrooms on the opposite side of the house.  Room to grow

2.       3 acres with a creek, hardwoods and space for privacy. County Road access.  Country setting, no close neighbors.

3.       2 bathrooms, the master shower was custom built for two. Ceramic tile and a unique design. 

4.        Less than 5 miles to Keowee Elementary, Walhalla Middle and Walhalla High School.

5.       Eat in kitchen, with room for a computer and piano. The formal dining room that will seat 6.

6.       Decks and a pool.  Entertain at home or enjoy a cool dip in the pool after a lon...

Mountain Rest, SC Active Listing for 9-13-2011

There are currently 37 active listings in Mountain Rest, South Carolina. Currently, the listings range in price from $13,750 to $595,000 and the homes range from approximately 500 square feet to 3500 square feet.  Mountain Rest also includes many properties, which join Oconee State Park or Sumter National Forest.

These listings encompass all areas and styles within the Mountain Rest area.  Mountain Rest features mobile homes, acreage tracts and single-family detached homes.  These properties include everything from homes with smaller lots to large acreage tracts providing for a wide range of lifestyles.

We have 2 new listings this week in ...

We received our tax assessment notices in the mail yesterday.  Oconee County has just finished a year long process of re-assessing properties in the county. State law requires this to be completed every five years to make sure the values of the properties are current.  This also gets new construction and renovations on the books and also finds the construction that has been done without a permit.

This year the notices look like this: 

 

This notice is for your primary residence.  You know this because it is multiplied by 4%.  This amount will then be reduced by your homestead value if you are disabled or over 65 years old. 

The county web site has been set up to tell you what the tax ...

Just listed in time for Labor Day!!  2 bedrooms, 1 bath cottage on 2 very level lots. Close to the picnic area and with views of the lake and dam. This cottage is perfect as the family get away.  Shop out back lets you catch up on the fun projects.  Leisure living at best. Priced at $220,000.

           

These lots are pending to close by Christmas.  We have other lots at Lake Cherokee!!

 

Lots 19 & 20 Evergreen Ridge with 200 feet on the lake.  These lots will have to have a house with daylight basement.  Cherokee Lake requires homes of 1000 square feet so you can build as small or large as you want to.  The location will put you less than an hour to Clemson University, Highlands and Cashiers NC.  2 hours to Greenville or Atlanta.  Great location!!!

Cherokee Lake is a private 222 acre lake with a no boat motor limit and no jet skis.  Great for swimming, fishing or skiing.  This is a family lake and a great place to start family traditions.  Many of the properties are in the 3rd genera...

When you are selling you need to remove the Tchotchke (CHOCH-kee) before the buyers arrive. Did you miss that word in English 101, ok the trinkets, baubles, do dads and distractions.  Buyers need to be able to focus on your house, not your stuff.  

Remove anything you will not use in the next month.  Less is more.  Do you really need 30 pairs of shoes and winter sweaters when the outside temps are in the 90’s?  Remove the Tchotchke. Baby and kids pictures, put them away too.  You want the buyers to focus on the house not you    and your awards or kids.  They may know you or not.  No pictures no distractions. Remove the Tchotchke. Make the yard and front door appealing.  You want them...

School starts this week, August 18th.  A Thursday, not a Monday or Friday, but a Thursday.  I was told it was so that the students who have A-B schedules could at least meet the teachers and get their schedules straight.  They can then start the week ready to go. 

 The school calendar can be found at:  http://www.oconee.k12.sc.us/files/filesystem/2011-2012%20Calendar.pdf

The ledger at the bottom explains the red and yellow days, but it took me a little longer to realize that the gray days are holidays. 

Our county has made the school schedule and most anything else about the school system easily available on their web site, http://www.oconee.k12.sc.us/

School Districts can be found in...

We are having an open house for 270 Colony Road, West Union for August 4th from 11-1:30 PM. 

This is a great home, I know every agent says their open house is for a GREAT home, but mine is. The home is a passive solar look with 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, formal dining room, kitchen with breakfast area looking out to the pool and deck. The sunroom also looks out at the deck and back yard.

The master bedroom is large enough for a California King sized bed and all the furniture that goes with it.  The master bathroom has a tiled shower big enough for two.  There is also a walk in closet and the bedrooms are a split pattern so you have lots of privacy.

The double garage has storage nooks all rou...

 

 

 

Walhalla Farmer’s Market is Open!! The summer season is almost over and I finally made it to the farmer’s market today. 

 

 

 

Beans and tomatoes, squash and cucumbers, watermelons and okra…everything a southern garden produces was there. 

 

 

 

The best buy of the day as eggplant.  Henry has promised me eggplant 3 ways.  Everyone knows how to do eggplant Parmesan and roasted eggplant but my favorite is Szechuan eggplant—lots of ingredients but worth it.

 

Medium eggplant cut in 3” x 1” x ½” pieces (measure with precise ruler…yeah right)

½ cup flour

 

Flavoring Mixture:

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 tsp chopped ginger

1 Tbsp chopped onion

1 Tbsp chopped fresh hot pe...

Closing Day!!!

What happens when you go to a closing? You have been so busy and today you will see the results.

 

On closing day we like to do the walk through about an hour before closing.  This allows you to see the house one last time before you buy it.  We have a check list for you to go through to make sure that what was promised in the contract is still there, i.e. the washer, dryer and window treatments.  This should take about 30 minutes.  You will be asked to sign off on the form that everything was correct and left as promised.

 

Then we meet at the attorney’s office.  In South Carolina real estate closings are held at an attorney’s office.  You will already have seen the ...

You have made your list, you have circled dates on the calendar and everything is coming together. 

1) This week you will need to get home insurance.  You will have a clause that you must add which will pay the mortgage off should we have a disaster.  Contact the lender and have them send this to the insurance agent.

2) Visit the property again. Get meter numbers so you can transfer the utilities.  Some companies require a deposit, others just want a letter of good standing or credit from your current provider. You will need to do this about 5 days in advance of when you are closing so that there is not a gap in service.

3) Contact the attorney for a copy of your Settlement Statement a...

You have answered all the questions.  You have sent over copies of all the bank statements, tax returns and dotted all the i's and crossed the t's with the mortgage company.  What happens next?

Home inspection:  When it is complete you go over and decide if the seller needs to make any repairs. Appraisal:  If the appraisal comes in at contract price or above, you are ready to move on to the next step.  If not at the contract price you will need to have your agent renegotiate the contract.  The property has to appraise before the bank will loan money for the property. Termite Inspection:  Must be free of termites and have a moisture level that is acceptable to the bank. Home Warranty...

OK, the mortgage application is finished and forwarded to the mortgage agent.  What comes next?  While you wait on the appraiser to be named, have the home inspected.  This should also be a contingency in the purchase contract.

The home inspection will take about 2 hours.  The inspector will climb up on the roof, in the crawl space, he will check out outlets, take the cover off the panel box.  He will make sure the heating system heats and the cooling system cools.  Check out the plumbing and make sure the floor does not have any soft spots.  He will look for termite damage from past infestations.  He will find problems and give you some solutions.  The home inspection report will have a...

How to make it through the Mortgage Application process
by Henry Brown

In my 20 years in the mortgage industry I have found that the mortgage application is like any other form that has any had any federal government involvement. The easiest and least painful way to approach it is to realize that you are going to have to fill in every box and if you are prepared things will go smoothly the first time without a lot of follow up document gathering.

Here are things that will help you avoid aggravation along the way:

Name – give the interviewer your name as it appears on your driver’s license and/or social security card since this is what they will use to verify your identity and have thes...

Well you have looked at houses and looked at houses. You found one that meets your needs. Your agent wrote up the contract and it was accepted so what is next?

First thing you should do is make a calendar with all the major dates circled so that you do not miss any dead lines.

Home Inspection:  you need to do this first as there is no reason to look for insurance or set up utility accounts till you are sure this house does not have any hidden problems.  This should be completed within 5 days of the contract acceptance.

Choose a home inspector from a list given by your agent and friends who have recently bought.  Call all the inspectors on the list. Ask what they charge and what th...