Fort Mill Tega Cay Lake Wylie Real Estate

What is one of the most important things to do when buying a home? Visualize were your furniture will go in each room. Well… yes that is part of the processes but more importantly hire a professional to do a home inspection.

So even if you manage to find the perfect home a good home inspection can help you understand exactly what’s not so perfect about the home you’re going to buy. That’s a good thing. Because when you’re buying a home you’re also buying all of the home’s problems too.

You’re making a large investment in the property and it’s nice to understand exactly what you’re buying. A structural problem or a heating and air condition system that isn’t functioning properly can be expensive to fix. So conducting a series of thorough inspections is a lot like buying an insurance policy against future expenses or knowing more about what you are buying into. Keep in mind, however, that home inspections are not a warranty or guarantee of the home.

What is a typical home inspection like? A home inspection typically includes an examination of the heating and central air conditioning systems, interior plumbing, electrical systems, the roof, attic, visible insulation, walls, ceilings, floors, windows, foundations, and basements.

A typical home inspection will take about 2 to 4 hours depending on the type of home; an unoccupied one story home on a concrete slab will take about 2 hours, where an occupied two story home on a crawlspace foundation will take about 4 hours to complete.

Although the home inspection report should include detailed descriptions and color digital pictures of any defects in the home, it is best if you are able to attend the inspection for a review and discussion of the findings. You, your agent, the owner/sellers, etc. should attend the entire inspection. Once the inspection is complete, you should walk through the home with the inspector to discuss any concerns or defects that may be present.

Some things that are not included in the general inspection are:

• Appliances that are not installed
• Building Code Compliance
• Environmental issues such as Radon, Mold, Lead, etc. (unless specifically requested) I would recommend including a least a radon test for the Fort Mill/York County area.
• Systems/components/areas that are not readily accessible or readily visible or shut down.
• Cosmetic issues (Acceptability is subjective and should be determined by the client)
• Exterior features such as retaining walls, storage buildings, pools, etc. (Unless their condition may affect the building)
• Low voltage systems/components such as: intercom, security systems, antennas, etc.

You will most likely have to hire a separate professional to do a termite inspection.

If you are selling your home, have an inspection done before you put your home on the market and you may avoid any surprises when potential buyers have a home inspector check it out. You may choose to have any repairs made using a contractor of your choice without having to satisfy a potential buyer or you may choose to disclose the conditions you are not going to repair and protect yourself from liability of nondisclosure claims.

Should you hire a home inspector when buying a new home? Absolutely. Just because the home is new doesn’t mean there aren’t problems. The contractors building a new home are human and make mistakes. There is no better time to catch and fix mistakes or problems than before you close and move in.

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There is good news mixed with bad. The 12 month through March 2008 S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index report released yesterday showed national home values are still in a decline. The national average decline is 14%.

The good news is Charlotte is one of the 20 urban metro market areas showing increases. The Charlotte metro market includes Fort Mill, Tega Cay, Lake Wylie and other outline areas or suburbs.

Our home values in the area have shown modest growth in the last few years which maybe the reason for positive home value growth instead of decreases in todays economy. Charlotte area home prices rose less than one percent but at least it is on the plus side.

More good new, home sales have increased slightly in the the northeast. So why is this good news for us southerners? (more…)

What features help sell your home faster? What features are more desirable to a buyer and bring you more bang for the buck?

The National Association of Realtors® gathered information from over 2500 home buyers nationally that purchased a home in 2007. Repeat buyers placed more importance than first-time buyers on almost all home features.

Here are some of the highlights of the survey:

• The most important feature was central air-conditioning. 74% of the respondents listed central air as very important.  A very important feature surviving the summers in Tega Cay, SC.    
• Next in line was a garage with 2 or more spaces.  This was the most significant change between the NAR’s 2004 survey to the 2007.

Other important features were:

• Walk-in closets in the master bedroom which was ranked higher by older buyers
• Backyard or play area which was more important to younger buyers
• Hardwood floors
• Granite countertops.
• Cable or satellite TV readiness.
• High-speed Internet access.

Respondents said they would pay more for a home that has:

• waterfront property, a no brainer for our area in my opinion.
• Oversized garages.
• Central Air.

 90 percent of the respondents said energy efficiency was important in a buying decision. I bet energy efficiency will now rank higher in future surveys.  

The typical home purchased during the survey period was 12 years old, 1,840

square feet in size, and had three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The national median price was $205,000.

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I have had many request to see the change in home sales data for Tega Cay from this year to last.  So here is the latest info. 

Single Family homes had a 37.5 % drop in the number of home sold to last year. It is now taking on the average 153 days to sell a home which is approximately a 34% increase in days. The good news is the selling price to listing price ratio only changed 4% and is still in the 90’s.

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The Fort Mill School District is rated 9 out of a high score of 10 by greatschools.net. See the ranking of each school on my Fort Mill Info page . One of the reasons those of us who have school age kids picked the Fort Mill or Tega Cay area to live is because of the great public school system.

Rumor has hit with a handful of neighboring Realtors® all Fort Mill Schools are now on a new enrollment freeze. This is absolutely not true!

Yes two elementary schools which are Gold Hill and Orchard Park are currently in a new enrollment freeze. New students will be enrolled in Riverview Elementary. The distirct will fill any available seats that may open over the summer.

New to the freeze list is Springfield Elementary. Any new students after June 2008 will be enrolled to Fort Mill Elemenrary. (more…)

Making a decision to buy or sell a home is full of challenges. So it’s important to be well educated with quality information to make the process successful.

HGTV is airing a special episode this month called The “25 Biggest Real Estate Mistakes”. Carmen and I watched the first showing of the episode and found the show and tips to be accurate and timely. (more…)