Foreclosures & Short Sales

More Signs of the Times, More Great Opportunities.

307 Burroughs Avenue in downtown Beaufort just hit the market this week. This caught my attention, because I had this home listed a few years ago, for $209,000, if memory serves.

The asking price now? $165,000. Back in the 2004 to 2006 range, when real estate boomed in and around Beaufort, it would have been hard to believe you would again be able to own a really nice home, in the mid-$100k range. Now, to be sure, I haven't been in the home in a few years, so I am assuming the property hasn't been run down.

Back when I had the home listed, it was stellar. The hardwood floors had been refinished, some really nifty fixtures adorned the home, the roof  had been replaced, and the garage had been converted into a…

If you are a Realtor, you get asked a lot about what price-range homes are moving. Whether you are in the lock room at the gym, or at a local eatery, everybody wants the skinny on the Beaufort real estate market.

Let me answer this question two ways. From a personal standpoint, it has been foreclosure and short sale city.

I just closed on a house in Shell Point a few days ago, for $116,000. It was a foreclosure. I am working with four other buyers who currently have homes under contract. Three are under $140,000, and one is a new home for $230,000. Aside from the new home, in the terrific new neighborhood of Somerset Point on Lady's Island, all of my pending contracts and recent sales are either short sales or foreclosures.

Foreclosures and short sales…

I was reminded yesterday about the first time I heard the term "short sale," back in late 2007. We all know what a short sale is now -- it's when a seller accepts an offer on his property that is less than that owner owes on the mortgage. So, the bank needs to agree to take a loss on the property, before the owner is allowed to sell.  

I received an email yesterday from a friend who asked me about a property I had sold a few years ago on McTeer Drive in Coffin Point, a spectacular, wooded neighborhood overlooking St. Helena Sound, on St. Helena Island. This home was a 1960s rancher, with unbelievable views of St. Helena Sound, and even better azalea bushes that exploded and crackled in the spring time. Coffin Point may be only 25 minutes away from Historic…

A friend of mine here in Beaufort recently informed me of his desire to buy a home, but he made it clear to me he wanted nothing to do with a short sale. My friend had heard horror stories about short sales dragging out for months, only to end up with the bank turning down the offer, and leaving both buyer and seller frustrated.

A short sale is a situation in which a property owner accepts an offer on his property. However, because the offer to purchase is less than the owner's mortgage,  the offer is subject  to bank approval. It happens all the time in today's real estate market. I just had a deal blow up in Bluffton recently because the bank did not move fast enough to satisfy the buyer, who needed to close in 30 days.

Many Beaufort, SC buyers who…

There seems to be a lesson in every real estate transaction these days.

We had some buyers fall in love recently with a house in the Shell Point area of Beaufort. Shell Point is located just southwest of historic downtown Beaufort, and is home to some great neighborhoods -- Wright's Point, Old Shell Point, Willow Point, and Carolina Village, just to name a few.

This home, which captured the imagination of our buyers, was already under contract, as it turned out, and was scheduled to close in the next week or so.

Our buyers were sorely disappointed. Sometimes, a home just speaks to a buyer, and this home was speaking loud and clear to these folks. The layout was ideal, the yard was spacious, and it had a pool!!

As our buyers reluctantly prepared to resume…

Last week, right here at www.lowcountryproperties.com, I blogged about a condo listing in the Beaufort, SC community of Azalea Square for $38,900. In the same blog, I very sagely predicted the listing was such a steal that it wouldn't last a week.

It lasted a day.

This condo was a no-brainer. There are currently 12 condo homes listed in Azalea Square, from $75,000 to just over $136,000. So, to be able to pick up a condo home -- in excellent condition I might add -- for under $40,000 is an opportunity which may not come available again for a while.

Folks, there is a moral to this real estate story. Mr. and Mrs. Real Estate Buyer, don't think you can waltz in and lowball these foreclosures.

Banks and their Realtors here in Beaufort have had plenty of time to…

I spoke to an agent today who is about to list a homesite in the next week or so, probably for under $3000. The property is in The Settings of Mackey Point, a development in Northern Beaufort County, about 25 minutes from historic Downtown Beaufort, SC.
 
A couple of years ago, I would not have imagined that a community homesite would be available at this price. But, the homesite is a foreclosure, and the real estate market has definitely changed in recent years.

In fact, just a few months ago, a similar lot in Mackey Point sold for $2000. Two thousand dollars for a platted, buildable homesite in Beaufort, SC!! Hard to believe.

The Settings of Mackay Point is located just off Highway 17, just minutes from Interstate 95. This area, in Northern Beaufort County,…

Short sales and foreclosures are on everyone's minds these days. As we mentioned in a recent blog, a foreclosure involves the sale of a property which is owned by the bank, which took back the property after the owner defaulted on the mortgage, while a short sale involves the sale of a property which is still owned by an individual, but is subject to approval by the owner's lending institution because there is a gap between what the property is worth and the outstanding mortgage on the property.

With so many foreclosures and short sales on the market in Beaufort, SC, it is tempting for a prospective buyer to focus only on these type of properties. After all, that is where the best values are.....right?

Not necessarily. A property does not have to be a short…

We in the real estate community get asked often about the difference between a "short sale" and a "foreclosure," two terms used frequently these days in real estate discussions. Beaufort, SC, like most areas of the country, has seen its share of foreclosures and short sales in recent years.

A foreclosure involves the sale of a property which is owned by the bank, which seizes the bank because the previous owner defaulted on the loan. After the bank completes the foreclosure process, it will put the property on the market, either through an auction, or by listing the property with a real estate agent.

A short sale involves the sale of a property which is not bank-owned. But although short sales are not bank-owned properties, they will

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