Charleston, SC Posts

And guess whose among them? My beloved, Charleston, SC!! Charleston, SC is #8 among America's 25 Strongest Housing Markets!

The Forbes article stated that it "requested Moody's Economy.com to compile a list of the country's real estate markets that are on the road to recovery. Moody's used the country's Census-defined metro areas--including metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas--with populations over 500,000, and prepared forecasts through 2011. They then compared them to prices in the second quarter of 2008, which are the latest figures available, to calculate how far prices will likely fall before reaching bottom."

Charleston Metro, SC area is esimated to have a popular of 666,900.  Moody's predicts the bottom of the market to be expected in 4th quarter of 2009.  The forecast for the bottom is only a -1.1% change from 2nd quarter 2008 prices.  Can you say, "WOWOWOW!?"  It's time to go ahead and get an additional 1.1% of the price now to match the bottom and take advantage of the low interest rates. 

Michele Reneau - Military Relocation Specialist with Carolina One Real Estate in Charleston, SC.

Contact Michele Reneau, Top Real Estate Agent, North Charleston, SC Relocation Expert, CRS, GRI, ABR. Licensed Realtor® in South Carolina at 843-572-0518 to list your property for sale or to purchase real estate in Charleston, Goose Creek, Summerville, North Charleston, Hanahan, Mount Pleasant and the surrounding areas in Charleston County, Berkeley County or Dorchester County, South Carolina.  Featured on HGTV's House Hunters. Publisher/Author for Charleston Real Estate Update  including featured listings and sold properties, and monthly statistics on Charleston Real Estate Market.  RESA 2009 Staging Realtor of the Year Nominee. The Charleston Relocation Expert specializes in military relocation, first time homebuyers and creating marketing exposure to sell your home in the Charleston SC Real Estate market.  I can also be contacted by email at mreneau@carolinaone.com. To view all Charleston Metro area houses for Sale Click Here and then click on Search for Homes.  With over 25 years of Lowcountry Living, I know the Charleston Metro area. I will help you get your home sold and/or help you buy your Charleston home or land.

I'd proud to be affliated with the Real Estate Staging Assocation (RESA) 2009 Professional Stager of the Year, Melissa Marro.  This coveted national award recognizes the industry's best in their field.  

When I met Melissa, I had no idea how much staging would become such an integral role in my business.  The first time I called her for help was for a vacant property.  It was in 2006 and my client built a gorgeous house in the Old Village of Mt Pleasant listed at $599,000.  After being listed for 3 months after completed construction, it became clear that the problem was some multiple spaces that were hard for buyers to envision.  After staging the formal living and dining combo, family room, breakfast area and the sitting area in the master bedroom, I updated the MLS photos.  In less than 21 days, showing activity increase and we had an offer.  We closed at 99% of list price. It was then that I became a believer.  Time and time again, Melissa's consultations with my sellers help clients understand the importance of a home's first impression.  Her work is exemplary uniquely combining a homes' style with the look needed to attract buyers.  Please join me in congratulating Melissa for this outstanding achievement!

Michele Reneau - Military Relocation Specialist with Carolina One Real Estate in Charleston, SC.

Contact Michele Reneau, Top Real Estate Agent, North Charleston, SC Relocation Expert, CRS, GRI, ABR. Licensed Realtor® in South Carolina at 843-572-0518 to list your property for sale or to purchase real estate in Charleston, Goose Creek, Summerville, North Charleston, Hanahan, Mount Pleasant and the surrounding areas in Charleston County, Berkeley County or Dorchester County, South Carolina.  Featured on HGTV's House Hunters. Publisher/Author for Charleston Real Estate Update  including featured listings and sold properties, and monthly statistics on Charleston Real Estate Market.  RESA 2009 Staging Realtor of the Year Nominee. The Charleston Relocation Expert specializes in military relocation, first time homebuyers and creating marketing exposure to sell your home in the Charleston SC Real Estate market.  I can also be contacted by email at mreneau@carolinaone.com. To view all Charleston Metro area houses for Sale Click Here and then click on Search for Homes.  

While there is always speculation on when the market will turn around, I will admit that I am not a prophet.  I thought this chart presented an interesting picture and I added the years which is my take on the real estate market in Charleston, SC (and probably in a lot of other places also).  Real estate has always been a cycle.  Some cycles are shorter, some are longer.  And you can't really say when what stage begins or ends until it is over.  I purchased my current primary residence in 2005 so I can honestly say that I have personally gone through these emotions as a buyer as well.  We also purchased an investment property in 2006 and yes I was in denial.  Since I understand the real estate cycle, I have not been paralyzed by fear or panic because I realize that the best opportunities are coming.  I hope that by sharing this chart, you also will feel the same.  Well, I admit, I might be panicked if I had to sell a piece of property but I would weather the storm if possible and rent the property out.  Nevertheless, I believe the type of market we are in and will be in this year will present the maximum point of opportunity.  Isn't that what we look for when we purchase investments?  I do not know when it will end but there is an air of hope and optimism with the new administration whether they were your pick or not.  I believe if the hope can be maintained, it will be the mark of coming out of the real estate valley.  As a buyer, this means that it's time to act while prices and interest rates are low.  As the real estate market recovers, I believe interest rates will rise.  If prices rise as well as the interest rates, you'll be paying more for your real estate on the ticket as well as monthly in the price.  You won't know we have come out of the valley until the prices are on the rise and by then, it will be too late to pick up your "deal."  Look for your opportunity and seize it in 2009!  Where do you think we are on the emotional roller coaster as it relates to the real estate market?

Michele Reneau - Military Relocation Specialist with Carolina One Real Estate in Charleston, SC.

Contact Michele Reneau, Top Real Estate Agent, North Charleston, SC Relocation Expert, CRS, GRI, ABR. Licensed Realtor® in South Carolina at 843-572-0518 to list your property for sale or to purchase real estate in Charleston, Goose Creek, Summerville, North Charleston, Hanahan, Mount Pleasant and the surrounding areas in Charleston County, Berkeley County or Dorchester County, South Carolina.  Featured on HGTV's House Hunters. Publisher/Author for Charleston Real Estate Update  including featured listings and sold properties, and monthly statistics on Charleston Real Estate Market.  RESA 2009 Staging Realtor of the Year Nominee. The Charleston Relocation Expert specializes in military relocation, first time homebuyers and creating marketing exposure to sell your home in the Charleston SC Real Estate market.  I can also be contacted by email at mreneau@carolinaone.com. To view all Charleston Metro area houses for Sale Click Here and then click on Search for Homes.  With over 25 years of Lowcountry Living, I know the Charleston Metro area. I will help you get your home sold and/or help you buy your Charleston home or land.

As my stager, Melissa Marro always says, "Selling your house and living in your house are two separate things."  Unfortunately not all buyers can visualize how a floorplan will work for them.  When there is an awkward arrangement, buyers may automatically rule a house out.  Take this example of a 2 year old home in Goose Creek, SC.  There are a couple of issues.  This room is a rectangle and the couch and loveseat were positioned at an angle to view the television. This blocked the natural walkway in this room.  Second, it's hard to ingore the floral furniture, clutter of toys and books, etc.  Third, this room is about as 'vanilla' as it gets with white walls.

This room needed some help.  The owner was particularly opposed to the staging process but eventually came to love the new arrangement.  First Impressions was professional about dealing with a discontent owner and handled it well.  The owner did not want to paint but she used soft window treatments to warm the room.  This new furniture arrangement allowed a clear pathway from the door to the dining area.  The slipcovers were an inexpensive fix to neutralize the floral print. Decluttering this room made this space much more pleasing to the buyer's critical eye.  It's hard for a buyer to look beyond an owner's stuff.  It can be distracting and make a room feel smaller.  This simple change instantly made this space more useful to a broader group of buyers.  In fact, it sold 44 days after the transformation!  Furniture rearrangement and decluttering is one of the least expensive things you can do to improve your home's appeal.  See the difference! Are you ready to do what it takes to get your home sold? 

Michele Reneau - Military Relocation Specialist with Carolina One Real Estate in Charleston, SC.

Contact Michele Reneau, Real Estate Agent, North Charleston, SC Relocation Expert, CRS, GRI, ABR. Licensed Realtor® in South Carolina at 843-572-0518 to list your property for sale or to purchase real estate in Charleston, Goose Creek, Summerville, North Charleston, Hanahan, Mount Pleasant and the surrounding areas in Charleston County, Berkeley County or Dorchester County, South Carolina.  Featured on HGTV's House Hunters. Publisher/Author for Charleston Real Estate Update  including featured listings and sold properties, and monthly statistics on Charleston Real Estate Market.  RESA 2009 Staging Realtor of the Year Nominee. The Charleston Relocation Expert specializes in military relocation, first time homebuyers and creating marketing exposure to sell your home in the Charleston SC Real Estate market.  I can also be contacted by email at mreneau@carolinaone.com. To view all Charleston Metro area houses for Sale Click Here and then click on Search for Homes.  With over 25 years of Lowcountry Living, I know the Charleston Metro area. I will help you get your home sold and/or help you buy your Charleston home or land.

My AR friend, Nicole Weidauer,  tagged me with this one.

Here are the rules:

1.  Create a blog post with a link to the person who so happily tagged you.  --> (pictured on the right)

2.  List all of these rules in the post. Feel free to cut and paste this.

3.  Share seven things that others may not know about you.  Do I or have I HAD a life outside of real estate? 

4.  Identify seven friends, contacts or near enemies in which to adorn this MEME. Tag them at the end of the post and give a link to their blog.

5.  Contact each of the tagged members and let them know that you were indeed fast enough to catch them and that you did indeed tag them...no matter how much they say you missed them!  No schoolyard rules in this MEME, nope you gotta do it if you are tagged. 

Now, here are my little known facts about me:

1.  My first job in high school was piercing ears for an accessories store at the local mall.  I live close to a military base so had a lot of military guys that would come in and then a lot of baby girls too. 

2.  I bought my first house when I was 24 years old.  I still own that house and it's a rental and it will be paid off in less than 8 years.  

3.  My first big awakening in my adult life came when I was introduced to Financial Peace University through my church.  Now I'm a big Dave Ramsey fan.  I always thought I handled money pretty well but love how Dave packaged "common sense" and sold it.  It has changed our lives.  My husband and I became consumer debt free at the age of 30 years old.  Our next goal is to pay off the mortgage on our home and our rental properties.

4.  When I was a kid, I wanted to be a veterinarian.  In high school, I decided I wanted to run for mayor, governor, and then President.  That's why I pursued a Bachelors in Political Science and Master in Public Administration. 

5.  I love to travel and see new places.  It is my goal to visit at least one new place every two years.  So far, I've been to Venezuela, Utila, South Africa, Italy, and Jamaica.  This year, we are planning 7 days in Bermuda.

6.  I love playing golf with my husband.  I started playing before we dated and he bought a set of clubs during our courtship so we could spend more time together.  We don't seem to get to do it as often as we'd like, but that is a goal this year...to spend more time with Chris on the golf course.

7. Most people know that I'm a very goal oriented person.  I cut out photos to represent my goals and post them on my vision board which is next to my desk.  One of my favorite times of the year is the end of one year and the beginning of the next when I reflect on goals I achieved and the new ones I'll make.  Since I started my vision board in 2004, I have achieve 90% of my goals each year.    

Here are my picks:

Gabrielle (Kamahele) Rhind 

LaShawn Norden

Margaret Woda

Larry Bettag 

Greg Gorman   

Larry Story 

Debi Boucher  

Thanks for the opportunity to share a bit about myself.

A well written article in The Economist was published on Dec 30, 2008 about Charleston's maturity since the closure of the Navy Base in the mid 90s.  Click here to view the article.  It's true that the closure of this base was eminent doom for the military based economy of little ol' Charleston. 

In my humble opinion, three key Charleston's visionary leaders, North Charleston Mayor, Keith Summey, Charleston Mayor, Joe Riley and Mt Pleasant Mayor, Harry Hallman, worked hard to diversify the local economy making a quite recovery.  The article states, "Job growth for the Charleston region was 16.5% between 2000 and 2007; nationally, it was less than half that. Charleston's growth in GDP, wages and bank deposits all outpace national averages. Household income has increased by 30% since 2000. In July Inc, a magazine for entrepreneurs, described it as among the best cities for doing business."  Charleston's Digital Corridor has intentioinly worked to increased tech jobs and many of the security companies have attracted highly skilled workers. 

The charm, beauty and low cost of living added to the diverse economy has contributed to a 10% increase in Charleston population just over 600,000.  The Economist article pointed out that is forecasted to increase another 20,000 by 2010.  National Geographic recently ranked Charleston as being among the 50 best places to live.

The Economist continued that "for the most part Charleston is weathering the economic downturn well." While the military is still the largest employer 12 years later after the base closure, I wouldn't described the town any more as a military town.  At least not compared to town I remember in the 90s.  Charleston, SC has 3 bases: Charleston Air Force Base, Naval Nuclear Power Command and Charleston Coast Guard base.  Charleston has so much to offer, not to mention a low cost of living compared to other similiar cities.  We have rich history, gorgeous architechture, plenty of recreation between the beaches and golf and many events and festivals to celebrate our local culture.  Come and visit and you'll want to make Charleston your home.

Michele Reneau - Military Relocation Specialist with Carolina One Real Estate in Charleston, SC.

Contact Michele Reneau, Real Estate Agent, North Charleston, SC Relocation Expert, CRS, GRI, ABR. Licensed Realtor® in South Carolina at 843-572-0518 to list your property for sale or to purchase real estate in Charleston, Goose Creek, Summerville, North Charleston, Hanahan, Mount Pleasant and the surrounding areas in Charleston County, Berkeley County or Dorchester County, South Carolina. The Charleston Relocation Expert specializes in military relocation, first time homebuyers and creating marketing exposure to sell your home in the Charleston SC Real Estate market.  I can also be contacted by email at mreneau@carolinaone.com. To view all Charleston Metro area Homes for Sale Click Here and then click on Search for Homes.  With over 25 years of Lowcountry Living, I know the Charleston Metro area. I will help you get your home sold and/or help you buy your Charleston home or land.

I'm amazed when someone asks me, "What is staging?"  I know that I should not expect everyone to know, but even more surprising is the number of agents that don't understand it's importance.  After going through some old before and after pictures, I'll post a few since the pictures speak for themselves.

This was an adorable home.  It was actually on the market for 7 months with another company before I took over the listing with few showings.  When I took over the listing, we got higher showing activity due to additional marketing, however no offers.  This home was competing with a lot of homes, including new construction.

My staging partner, First Impressions, came to the rescue and rearranged this living room.  Once the MLS photos were updated, even more showing activity resulted and more importantly an offer!  This home sold in 44 days after this mini makeover.  See the difference.  The after photo makes this living room a warmer space and the coffee table and rug anchor this room.  Removing the piano and adding these chairs helped this room come together. 

Michele Reneau - Military Relocation Specialist with Carolina One Real Estate in Charleston, SC.

Contact Michele Reneau, Real Estate Agent, North Charleston, SC Relocation Expert, CRS, GRI, ABR. Licensed Realtor® in South Carolina at 843-572-0518 to list your property for sale or to purchase real estate in Charleston, Goose Creek, Summerville, North Charleston, Hanahan, Mount Pleasant and the surrounding areas in Charleston County, Berkeley County or Dorchester County, South Carolina. The Charleston Relocation Expert specializes in military relocation, first time homebuyers and creating marketing exposure to sell your home in the Charleston SC Real Estate market.  I can also be contacted by email at mreneau@carolinaone.com. To view all Charleston Metro area Homes for Sale Click Here and then click on Search for Homes.  With over 25 years of Lowcountry Living, I know the Charleston Metro area. I will help you get your home sold and/or help you buy your Charleston home or land.

P.S. I'll provide you with "Questions you should ask ANY agent before hiring" You can also view my newsletter by clicking here with the latest market stats updated on the 5th of each month.

The Real Estate Staging Association^TM (RESA) announces the 2009 Real Estate Staging Industry Award Nominees. 

The Nominees for RESA Staging Realtor® of the Year are: Matt Poole with Charleston Pier Partners in Charleston SC, Michele Reneau with Carolina One Real Estate in Mt. Pleasant, SC, Susan Peters with RE/MAX Mutual Realty in Seattle, WA, and Tim Thompson with MKB, Realtors in Roanoke, VA.

 "RESA congratulates and recognizes each person for their contributions to our industry.  Our Industry Awards are a wonderful way to give back to the Staging Industry as a whole and to recognize some amazing people" said, Shell Brodnax, President/CEO of RESA. 

The Nominees will be reviewed by a panel of Industry Professionals and the winners will be announced at the end of January, 2009.

For more information regarding Real Estate Staging, please visit www.RESA-HQ.org   or call 888-201-8687. 

For more information on Michele Reneau, please visit the Charleston SC Relocation Expert website at www.CharlestonRelocationExperts.com        

If you are falling behind on your mortgage or facing the possibility of foreclosure, there is help! Four clinics are being offered so you can meet with a HUD counselor who will help you discuss options to foreclosure.  Please click on the link to view a flyer about the documentation you should bring with you.

Mortgage Default Clinic

The ONE DAY ONLY clinic will be held on January 10, 2009 at the following times:

9am, 11am, 1 pm and 3pm

Where: First Federal Corporate Center

2440 Mall Drive in North Charleston

An article in the Post and Courier written by Dave Munday on Friday, January 2, 2009 announced some good news for job seekers in the Charleston area.  The Census Bureau is recruiting 300 workers to get ready for the 2010 census. For those looking for a job or extra income, this might be the ideal job because you can work from home either full time or part time with pay expected to start at $14/hr! Workers will start by verifying addresses and eventually knock on doors for those that don't return the forms. The Charleston office will open in November this year.

To set up a time to fill out paperwork and take the test, call the Census Bureau's Charleston office at 323-4020 (1-866-861-2010 for those outside the Charleston area) or visit the Census Bureau web site.

The census is very important on many fronts. It will determine where state and federal dollars will or will not go and well as new district lines being redrawn.  SC has the reputation to be the most uncooperative state in the nation regarding the census with less than 60% of households responding to the 2000 census. That's why the bureau will hire locals to go door to door for those that do not return the census forms.

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Michele Reneau - Military Relocation Specialist with Carolina One Real Estate in Charleston, SC.

Contact Michele Reneau, Real Estate Agent, North Charleston, SC Relocation Expert, CRS, GRI, ABR. Licensed Realtor® in South Carolina at 843-572-0518 to list your property for sale or to purchase real estate in Charleston, Goose Creek, Summerville, North Charleston, Hanahan, Mount Pleasant and the surrounding areas in Charleston County, Berkeley County or Dorchester County, South Carolina. The Charleston Relocation Expert specializes in military relocation, first time homebuyers and creating marketing exposure to sell your home in the Charleston SC Real Estate market.  I can also be contacted by email at mreneau@carolinaone.com. To view all Charleston Metro area Homes for Sale Click Here and then click on Search for Homes.  With over 25 years of Lowcountry Living, I know the Charleston Metro area. I will help you get your home sold and/or help you buy your Charleston home or land.