Could Insurance Reform Be On The Way for South Carolina?

In the first serious shot at home insurance reform in six years, a Lowcountry legislator introduced a bill that would provide tax credits to coastal insurers and arm consumers with better information to shop.

Read the entire story in The Post and Courier --
http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20130326/PC16/130329468/sc-home-insurance-reform-bill-sets-stage-for-efforts-to-reduce-premiums&source=RSS

Monthly Update & E-newsletter

Would you like to receive my monthly E-newsletter and a monthly update of the greater Charleston area real estate market, if so please e-mail me the following information at Owen@OwenTyler.com:

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Mount Pleasant Tops for DUI Arrests

Agency recognized for 411 arrests in 2011.

By Adam Crisp April 6, 2012

The Mount Pleasant Police Department has received state recognition for its high number of DUI arrests


The South Carolina Department of Public Safety recognized law enforcement officers and agencies Tuesday for their efforts in 2011 to enforce the state’s DUI laws and remove impaired drivers from South Carolina roadways.

Mount Pleasant, which made 411 DUI arrests in 2011, led the state in arrests for departments with 101 or more officers.

Agency of the Year (five categories based on size of agency):

1-10 officers: Bonneau Police Department, 33 DUI arrests

11-25 officers: Surfside Beach Police Department, 131 DUI arrests

26-50 officers: Clemson University Police Department, 66 DUI arrests

51-100 officers: Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office, 69 DUI arrests

101 or more officers: Mount Pleasant Police Department, 411 DUI arrests

Additionally, officers were given "DUI Angel" awards for their high number of DUI arrests.

BRONZE (10 to 24 DUI arrests)

Officer Kirill Misyuchenko

Officer Jacqui Pastick

Officer Ben Wells

Officer Mark Lamb

Officer William Decker

Officer Jason Brandon

GOLD (50 or more DUI arrests)

Officer A. J. Santos

Officer Joseph Zeitner

SCDPS presented awards to officers and agencies in several categories and held drawings for agencies to win equipment and vehicles during a ceremony that combined its 7th Annual DUI Enforcement and 2011 Law Enforcement DUI Challenge recognitions in Columbia.

Sales Remain Stable, Foreclosur​es Continue to Impact Prices

RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE SALES STABLE, FORECLOSURES CONTINUE TO IMPACT PRICES

CHARLESTON, SC—(March 10, 2011) According to preliminary data released by the Charleston Trident Association of REALTORS® (CTAR) 557 homes sold at a median price of $163,500 in February. Preliminary figures for February 2010 showed 509 homes sold at a median price of $179,900—revised data for February 2010 reflects 561 sales at a median price of $180,000.

The most active price range in February was $160,000-$179,999. Last February, the most active range was $200,000-249,999, when many homeowners were taking advantage of move-up opportunities provided by the homebuyer tax credit.

"As we forecasted, prices have softened in the early months of this year as a result of the foreclosure inventory. Over the next 12 months or so, we’ll continue to work our way through this inventory and see prices begin to move forward" said 2011 CTAR President Rob Woodul.

According to figures released by RealtyTrac, more than 250,000 properties received at least one foreclosure-related notice in February, down 14% from January and down 27% from the same month last year. While the number of homes across the country receiving a foreclosure-related notice has fallen to a 36-month low, it’s likely an artificial dip as many lenders have significantly slowed their foreclosure processes due to increased scrutiny over how lenders are handling the repossessions.

RealtyTrac data currently shows an estimated 23,406 foreclosed homes in South Carolina and an average sale price of $111,503 for foreclosed homes statewide.

Woodul cites job growth and overall economic stability as the necessary catalysts for people to jump back into the real estate market. "It's not a question of demand for housing; it's a question of confidence and capability. As they should, people need to feel secure in their job and financial situation before making what will likely be the largest purchase of their lives" said Woodul.

Nationally, unemployment has declined to a nearly 2-year low of 8.9% but South Carolina's jobless rate still remains ahead of that curve, at 10.5%. The Charleston region saw a considerable improvement in its jobless rate, falling to 8.4 % from 9%.
"We will not see a true recovery of the housing market until we have steady and solid job growth" said Woodul.

There were 8,470 homes listed as actively for sale with the Charleston Trident Multiple Listing Service as of February 28, 2011.

BERKELEY COUNTY
Preliminary figures show that 141 homes sold in Berkeley County at a median price of $137,000 in February.

Click here for a full report on Berkeley County.

CHARLESTON COUNTY
Preliminary figures show that 277 properties changed hands in Charleston County in February, at a median price of $195,900.

Click here for a full report on Charleston County.

DORCHESTER COUNTY
Preliminary figures show that 122 homes sold at a median price of $145,000 in Dorchester County in February.

Click here for a full report on Dorchester County.

With approximately 3,500 members, CTAR’s mission is to promote the highest standards of professionalism, ethics, education and technology, and to ensure that its members are the primary source for real estate services in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Only those who are members of the Association of REALTORS® and its parent organizations are called REALTORS®. To learn more, visit www.CharlestonRealtors.com.

REALTORS Ask Governor To Intervene

Charleston Trident Association of REALTORS ask Governor Nikki Haley to step-up and solve the rail dispute in Park Circle located in North Charleston, SC.

Are McMansions Dead?

moretrees.com

No McMansions for Millennials

By S. Mitra Kalita and Robbie Whelan
Jan 14, 2011 Provided by: , WSJ.com

Here's what Generation Y doesn't want: formal living rooms, soaker bathtubs, dependence on a car.

In other words, they don't want their parents' homes.

Much of this week's National Association of Home Builders conference has dwelled on the housing needs of an aging baby boomer population. But their children actually represent an even larger demographic. An estimated 80 million people comprise the category known as "Gen Y," youth born roughly between 1980 and the early 2000s. The boomers, meanwhile, boast 76 million.

Gen Y housing preferences are the subject of at least two panels at this week's convention. A key finding: They want to walk everywhere. Surveys show that 13% carpool to work, while 7% walk, said Melina Duggal, a principal with Orlando-based real estate adviser RCLCO. A whopping 88% want to be in an urban setting, but since cities themselves can be so expensive, places with shopping, dining and transit such as Bethesda and Arlington in the Washington suburbs will do just fine.

"One-third are willing to pay for the ability to walk," Ms. Duggal said. "They don't want to be in a cookie-cutter type of development. ...The suburbs will need to evolve to be attractive to Gen Y."

Outdoor space is important-but please, just a place to put the grill and have some friends over. Lawn-mowing not desired. Amenities such as fitness centers, game rooms and party rooms are important ("Is the room big enough to host a baby shower?" a millennial might think). "Outdoor fire pits," suggested Tony Weremeichik of Canin Associates, an architecture firm in Orlando. "Consider designing outdoor spaces as if they were living rooms."

Smaller rooms and fewer cavernous hallways to get everywhere, a bigger shower stall and skip the tub, he said. Oh, but don't forget space in front of the television for the Wii, and space to eat meals while glued to the tube, because dinner parties and families gathered around the table are so last-Gen. And maybe a little nook in the laundry room for Rover's bed?

In his presentation, KTGY Group residential designer David Senden showed slide after slide of dwellings that looked like a cross between a hotel lobby and the set of "Melrose Place."

He christened the subset of the generation delaying marriage and family as "dawdlers."

"A house in the suburbs is not for them," Mr. Senden said. "At least not yet."

Places to congregate are more important than a big apartment, he cautioned. He showed one layout of a studio apartment-350 square feet, as big as Mom and Dad's Great Room. Common space has migrated to "club rooms," he said, where Gen-Y residents can host meals and hang out before heading to a common movie-screening room or rooftop swimming pool that they share with the building's other tenants.

The Great Recession and its effects on young people's wages will affect how much home they can buy or rent for years to come.

"Not too many college grads can afford a lot of space in the city," he said. "Think lots of amenities with little tiny units-and a lot of them to keep (fees) down. ...The things these places are doing is constantly coordinating activities. The residents get to know each other and it makes for a much livelier and friendlier environment."

Original Article

Foreclosure Rates Up, South Carolina Ranks 16 in Nation

Foreclosures up more than 31% in S.C. for 2010
By Andy Owens
aowens@scbiznews.com

Published Jan. 14, 2011

Residential foreclosure filings were up 31.4% in 2010 in South Carolina when compared with the previous year, according to a report issued Thursday.

National foreclosure data company RealtyTrac said that the Palmetto State ranked 16th in the nation for highest number of foreclosures for the year.

The company’s annual report on distressed properties showed that 33,063 properties in South Carolina had some sort of foreclosure filing, which can range from a notice of default to a repossession of a home. That number represents 1.6% of the housing units in the state, RealtyTrac reported.

Two Southern states, Florida and Georgia, had a higher percentage of foreclosures per housing unit than South Carolina.

Nevada finished the year with the highest number of foreclosure filings, with 106,160 filings, representing more than 9% of the homes in the state. Nationally, there were more than 2.8 million foreclosure filings issued against distressed properties, indicating the depth and breadth of the housing crisis that sparked one of the longest recessions in the history of the country.

RealtyTrac CEO James J. Saccacio said foreclosure filings would have easily exceeded 3 million for the year if not for a documentation problem with several big banks that led to a fourth-quarter drop in foreclosures. Several lenders temporarily halted all foreclosure activity until the veracity of some of the involved foreclosure documents could be sorted out.

“Even so, 2010 foreclosure activity still hit a record high for our report, and many of the foreclosure proceedings that were stopped in late 2010 — which we estimate may be as high as a quarter million — will likely be restarted and add to the numbers in early 2011,” Saccacio said.

Foreclosures in the Southeast for 2010

State National Rank % of Homes in Distress

Florida 3 5.25

Georgia 6 3.25

South Carolina 16 1.61

Virginia 19 1.56

Tennessee 23 1.42

Alabama 33 0.97

North Carolina 34 0.96

The Best Places to Raise Your Kids 2011 - Bloomberg.com

Best place to raise kids in South Carolina: Goose Creek

Nearby city: Charleston
Population: 33,824
Median family income: $66,405
Runner-up: Walhalla

The City of Goose Creek is a sleepy, upscale suburb of Charleston established in 1961. The history of the town, however, dates back to the 1600s. Today the town has a growing bike and trail system through safe, tree-lined streets and curling cul-de-sacs. For kids, recreation includes everything from gymnastics to piano lessons to belly dancing at local community centers.

To see the other 50 Best Place according to Bloomberg.com

3rd Quarter Update 2010

A video update on the trends and activity in the Charleston, SC residential real estate market during the third quarter of 2010.

8 Tips for Finding Your New Home

By: G. M. Filisko

Published: February 10, 2010

A solid game plan can help you narrow your homebuying search to find the best home for you.

1. Know thyself

Understand the type of home that suits your personality. Do you prefer a new or existing home? A ranch or a multistory home? If you’re leaning toward a fixer-upper, are you truly handy, or will you need to budget for contractors?

2. Research before you look

List the features you most want in a home and identify which are necessities and which are extras. Identify three to four neighborhoods you’d like to live in based on commute time, schools, recreation, crime, and price. Then hop onto REALTOR.com to get a feel for the homes available in your price range in your favorite neighborhoods. Use the results to prioritize your wants and needs so you can add in and weed out properties from the inventory you’d like to view.

3. Get your finances in order

Generally, lenders say you can afford a home priced two to three times your gross income. Create a budget so you know how much you’re comfortable spending each month on housing. Don’t wait until you’ve found a home and made an offer to investigate financing.

Gather your financial records and meet with a lender to get a prequalification letter spelling out how much you’re eligible to borrow. The lender won’t necessarily consider the extra fees you’ll pay when you purchase or your plans to begin a family or purchase a new car, so shop in a price range you’re comfortable with. Also, presenting an offer contingent on financing will make your bid less attractive to sellers.

4. Set a moving timeline
Do you have blemishes on your credit that will take time to clear up? If you already own, have you sold your current home? If not, you’ll need to factor in the time needed to sell. If you rent, when is your lease up? Do you expect interest rates to jump anytime soon? All these factors will affect your buying, closing, and moving timelines.

5. Think long term

Your future plans may dictate the type of home you’ll buy. Are you looking for a starter house with plans to move up in a few years, or do you hope to stay in the home for five to 10 years? With a starter, you may need to adjust your expectations. If you plan to nest, be sure your priority list helps you identify a home you’ll still love years from now.

6. Work with a REALTOR®

Ask people you trust for referrals to a real estate professional they trust. Interview agents to determine which have expertise in the neighborhoods and type of homes you’re interested in. Because homebuying triggers many emotions, consider whether an agent’s style meshes with your personality.

Also ask if the agent specializes in buyer representation. Unlike listing agents, whose first duty is to the seller, buyers’ reps work only for you even though they’re typically paid by the seller. Finally, check whether agents are REALTORS®, which means they’re members of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. NAR has been a champion of homeownership rights for more than a century.

7. Be realistic

It’s OK to be picky about the home and neighborhood you want, but don’t be close-minded, unrealistic, or blinded by minor imperfections. If you insist on living in a cul-de-sac, you may miss out on great homes on streets that are just as quiet and secluded.

On the flip side, don’t be so swayed by a “wow” feature that you forget about other issues—like noise levels—that can have a big impact on your quality of life. Use your priority list to evaluate each property, remembering there’s no such thing as the perfect home.

8. Limit the opinions you solicit

It’s natural to seek reassurance when making a big financial decision. But you know that saying about too many cooks in the kitchen. If you need a second opinion, select one or two people. But remain true to your list of wants and needs so the final decision is based on criteria you’ve identified as important.

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer who has found happiness in a brownstone in a historic Chicago neighborhood. A frequent contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.