Florence

It has been a while since I have taken the time to write. An article in the Florence Morning News this morning prompted me to take the time.  The article was about the fence sitters who have taken advantage of the “Cash for Clunkers” program that our government has instituted.  The article claimed that many people who have been waiting around to buy because of the economy, have purchased with this incentive.

The incentives in the Real Estate market are even greater. Why do I say that?  The average home in Florence, South Carolina sells for about $150,000.  At 5.25%, today’s rate, and with just a 1% increase the differences are very dramatic.  Many mortgage bankers are predicting gradual rate increases over the next 6 months.  Follow the chart below to realize how acting now can save you money.

The difference of almost $100 per month and $35,000 in interest payments over the life of the loan is huge!  This is a great opportunity to buy and upgrade your home.

The next question asked is………..”Houses just aren’t selling, how can I sell mine to buy another?”  Real estate is a local market.  The market in Florence, South Carolina is good, compared to many other areas in the country.  If your house stands out, is properly staged, and properly priced, it will sell.  If your home is in the entry level, and would be affordable to a first time homebuyer, even more reason to get off the fence.  The terms of the first time homebuyers program states that the home must be closed by the end of November to qualify.

If you are thanking about buying a home, weather a first time homebuyer, or just need or want a larger house, now is the time to act.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 authorize a tax credit of up to – $8,000.00 for qualified first time home buyers purchasing a residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.

This is true tax credit. The amount of the tax credit is determined by using 10% of the purchase price of the home, with $8,000. as a maximum. If you qualify for the full $8,000 tax credit and owe $2,000 on you currant taxes, you will receive a CHECK for $6,000 as refund for the tax return. What a great way to start. Many mortgages allow you reduce the principal and monthly payment one time. Talk to your mortgage banker and see if this is allowable under the loan regulations for which you are applying. By reducing your mortgage principal, you will then be reducing your monthly payment and increasing your equity in the home. All in the first year of ownership!

The definition of a first time home buyer is a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the 3-year period prior to the purchase. That includes both husband and wife. Income limits are $75,000 for single taxpayers and $150,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly.

You can use this credit in 2009, or if you want to, and have already filed you 2008 taxes, you can file an amended return and have the credit faster. What a wonderful opportunity for a first time home buyer. The market would be flooded, if only people understood what a once in a lifetime opportunity this really is.

If you have any questions about any of the details of this program, e-mail or call me directly.

There has never been a time in history, in Florence, that was prime than now to buy a home, and especially for first time home buyers.

The inventory of existing homes is high. That means there is a great choice of homes to choose from and sellers may be more flexible in there selling price. Although home values in the Florence, SC community have held, some sellers are willing to discount more than usual to move their home more quickly.

Interest rates at their lowest in decades and will only stay down long enough for the housing market, nationally, to start recovering. Once the market has started on the upswing again, I feel that interest rates will climb back to more normal ones.

What many first time home buyers do not realize is that they can own their own home for less than they are spending for rent every month. Banks in the Florence market do have mortgage money available. Here is an example of typical home in the Florence, SC market. With a mortgage of $120,000, at 5% interest, the principle and interest payment every month would be $644.19 per month. Depending on the age of the home, this could purchase an 1100-1700 square foot home with 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths.

Now add the new FIRST TIME HOME BUYER TAX CREDIT of $8,000.00 and you have a once in a lifetime opportunity!

In my next blog, I will begin to explain how simple it is to use this tax credit.

Site Selection Magazine Ranks Florence, South Carolina 5th for 2008 ranking of top metropolitan areas, for new and expanding facilities in the United States.

Florence, SC 5th place ranking is for communities in the United States with a population of 50,000 – 200,000.

There were eight announced projects expected to create 1,500 new jobs and bring $161 million in new capital investment.

H.J. Heinz Co is building their first new facility in 30 years to produce “Boston Market” and other frozen meal entrees.

Monster.com, a customer care facility.

Dunline Rubber Products, endless preshrinking rubber belts.

Wellman Plastics Recycling – engineering resins/plastics.

Expansions announced in 2008 were:
McCall Farms – canned and frozen foods.

International Knife and Saw – knife and saw blades.

Assurant Specialty Property – insurance processing center.

GE Healthcare – MRI machinery

With established, well known employers such as Honda, and Roche Pharmaceutical, IREX Pharmaceuticals, Johnson Controls, two State of the art health care facilities (McLeod Hospital and Carolinas Hospital), Darlington Motor Speedway, and many others as important but too numerous to name, Florence, SC is first class city to grow and locate in.

De-clutter – Go through all key rooms picking up all clutter. Do not be concerned about where it should go. Put it all in a closet: catalogs, bills and newspapers, pet toys, handbags, shoes, sports equipment, stray DVDs, etc. 4 minutes

Wipe Down – use a small cleaning caddy with all the products and gloves.

Kitchen – Spray an all-purpose cleaner on kitchen counter top. Remove fingerprints from stainless-steel surfaces.

Dining room – Wipe down the dining room table and other surfaces like china cabinet or server.

Bathroom – Spray bathroom sink, vanity, counter tops with disinfectant. Clean mirror. Spritz all outside surfaces of toilet with disinfectant and wipe down. Using cleaner in water and toilet brush. Scrub under the rim and flush. 10 minutes

Dust – Dust coffee table, TV ( including screen), entertainment center, frames and collectables on display. Then dust the floors in the kitchen, living room, great room, bathroom. Finish up by defurring couches and chairs with a lint roller. 5 minutes

Empty – Clear out the sink and put dishes in the dishwasher. Empty waste basket in the bathroom and take out the trash. 2 minutes

Restock – Put out fresh hand towels, a box of tissues, and hand soap. Put out fresh place mats. 4 minutes

Display – Fluff and arrange throw pillows and push couch cushions that might be out of kilter. Make and instant centerpiece by throwing fruit or vegetables into a decorative bowl in the center of the dining room. 4 minutes

We see green homes advertised in national publications all the time. While it is debatable whether or not the earth is warming, I feel that it is our responsibility to be kind to the Florence environment when we can. While many “green” details cannot be retrofitted to existing construction, there are several simple ways to reduce your “utility footprint” on the world when building a new home in Florence. As a bonus, YOU SHOULD HAVE GREATLY REDUCED HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING BILLS.

If you are planning to build your dream home in Florence, plan to ask your chosen builder about a few easy changes to the norm:

1 – Construct the outside walls using 2 X 6 studs instead of 2 X 4. The extra space will allow the use of R-19 insulation instead of the more common R-15.

2 – Insulate the attic with R-42 value product.

3 – Use Low E, argon insulated windows

4 – Consider a front loading washer. They use 50%less energy and 33% less water.

5 – Tank less water heaters reduce energy consumption by up to 40% by heating water only on demand and avoiding standby loss.

6 – A radiant barrier applied to the attic roof. There is emerging technology in attic roof coatings that will also reduce heat penetration in the Florence, South Carolina summers.

Above chart shows an actual Florence home built using these features, showing the 2007 utility bills. CONSIDER THE VALUE OF A FEW EXTRA CONSTRUCTION DOLLARS OVER THE MONTHS, YEARS, AND DECADES YOU WILL OWN YOUR NEW HOME IN FLORENCE.

Check out these sites to make your home more green: tankless hot water heater, radiant barrier, low-E Argon gas windows, front loading washing machines.

There are so many decisions to be made when getting ready to put your home on the Florence market. One extremely important concept to understand is the difference between house and home. For the years that you and your family have lived there, it has been your “home“. You have decorated it and arranged furniture in it to suit the wants, needs, and tastes of your family.

Now, to successfully market your “home” in Florence we need to turn it into a “house“. You may ask, “What in the world is the difference?” Most prospective Florence buyers can only see your home as you have it decorated. The best way to display your Florence home is to make it a neutral palate. That way, prospective buyers can begin to imagine their own furniture and decorations in the house. Their goal is to make it their own “home”. When they can see their things in your house, only then will offers be made.

Why should I pay someone to stage my house? A professional decorator and stager could save you thousands of dollars. By adding or taking away color, rearranging your furniture, helping you de-clutter, a professional stager knows how to make your Florence house show itself off the best it can.

In the Florence market that we have in 2009, with more than normal inventory (competition), you should want to give yourself every advantage. What is going to make your Florence house stand out above all the others? Your floor plan can be arranged to look so much larger than the house next door, when in reality they are the same. A professional stager can accomplish that.

The longer your home stays on the Florence market the more money it costs you. The little it costs to use the services of a professional stager is small when compared to selling your Florence house quickly and all the interest dollars you can save.

We hear over and over that there is no credit available and that banks are not lending. There is a credit crunch! The news, both television and newspapers have stories of woe.

Speaking only of the Florence, SC market, all of my qualified clients have been able to quickly obtain mortgage commitments from both national, regional, and local banking institutions. With as little as zero percent to three and one-half percent down payment, there are numerous varieties of mortgage options.

First time home buyers, buyers moving up to larger housing, and the buyer looking to down size in Florence are all experiencing mortgage rates that equal or exceed HISTORICALLY LOW RATES. Currently, February 2009, 30 year mortgage rates are between 4.5% and 5% to the most qualified buyers. In 1982, I remember buying a house in Florence when prevailing rates were 16% – 18%. Keeping abreast of mortgage rates, options and terms allows me to help guide clients in the process of mortgage shopping in Florence.

My expertise is Florence real estate, not banking. As a first step in the process of buying a new home in Florence, I advise clients to begin talking to mortgage experts to become pre-qualified for a mortgage. This process is as important to the Realtor® as their client. We can then start looking for a home in Florence that fits the Buyers budget parameters and allows me, the Realtor®, more negotiating strength when we do find that perfect home.

Mortgage rates in Florence remain strong with very little devaluation. We have never experienced extreme increases and because we have a growing local economy we have yet to experience great decreases.

“Is now the right time to buy in Florence?” That question is frequently posed. Houses are selling in Florence, although it takes longer than in previous years, which means there is more inventory to select from. Available inventory and HISTORICALLY LOW MORTGAGE RATES make it a great opportunity to buy a home.

The purpose of this blog is to keep you informed on the Florence, South Carolina housing market, the general business conditions here, and in the region called the “Pee Dee”.

Florence is located halfway between New York and Miami, at the intersection of I-95 and I-20, the nations 2 busiest interstates. Approximately one hour from Columbia, and two hours from Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, and Charleston, Florence is ideally located for the housing market. With its’ own airport, a major rail hub, and just 2 hours from 3 major ports, Florence’s housing market and expanding businesses are being recognized for the great environment that they are in.

Many Fortune 50 businesses have chosen to locate here because of the availability of workers, geopolitical location, two outstanding hospitals, favorable tax incentives, a superb climate, and its housing market. To mention just a few companies to expand in the Florence area, Honda, Roche Pharmaceuticals, Johnson Controls, QVC, and Monster.com. Heinz Foods is building there first new facility in 30 years to produce frozen meals such as Weight Watchers®, Smart Ones®, and Boston Market®.

Florence, SC

Moving to Florence, South Carolina can be exciting! With a reasonably priced, stable housing market, few days in which the temperature doesn’t reach 50°, and great employment opportunities, Florence has become a popular destination. Only an hour from one of the best family beaches in the world, Myrtle Beach, and only 3.5 hours from the mountains, 100’s of year round golf courses, are more of the alluring qualities.

Florence Library

Looking to the future, Florence has recently completed and a new public library, a new “Florence Little Theater”, and broken ground on a new, $30 million dollar, Performing Arts Center.