Terry Edwards

Should I Rent Or Buy A Home?

Columbia SC This has got to be one of the more gut-wrenching decisions everyone must make because it deals with such a large percentage of your income.

I will attempt to break down the numbers to determine financially which is the better option. This will always be determined by your time horizon for living in the home.

Let's say you plan to live in a particular home valued at $150,000 for 3 years. This is a fairly common amount of time for military personnel and recent grads who have landed their first jobs.

If you were to purchase a home you would have the initial costs of the inspections, attorney fees and the escrow account which includes county taxes and the home insurance policy. Assuming the typical seller will agree to pay a portion of these costs let's say the remainder is $1,500 out of pocket plus a down payment of $5,000.

We will call this Expense A=$6,500.

You pay the $900 per month mortgage payment for 36 months, plus $1,800 in repair and maintenance costs ($600/year average). This is a 3 year total cash outlay of $34,200. Because you will be able to recover a large percentage of this from your annual federal and state tax bills let's say your net expense for the 3 years is $14,000. If you qualify for the first time home buyer's tax credit that will shave off another $8,000, leaving you with an actual expense of $6,000.

We will call this Expense B=$6,000

Fast forward to 2012 and your home has increased in value by 2% per year and you sell it for $160,000. The selling expenses will be roughly $12,000.

We will call this Expense C=$12,000

The total net expense for the 3 year period is $24,500.

$160,000 minus the loan payoff of $140,000 leaves $20,000. Subtract the total of Expense A, B and C=$24,500 and your housing costs for the 3 year period was $4,500.

If you were to rent a home for 3 years you would not have to pay for maintenance issues or deal with putting it on the market before you move out. However this convenience comes with a heavy price tag.

Let's assume the rent payment plus the renter's insurance comes to the same $900 each month. At the end of the 36 month period you will have spent $32,400 of your money. None of it recoverable.

This is called a guaranteed loss. The above numbers will fluctuate with market conditions but smart money follows home ownership.

Terry Edwards www.FeaturedColumbiaHomes.com

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Columbia, SC Over the past few months I have attended 3 green seminars and found out a lot about this new industry. Actually it isn't all that new, it's just now catching on with mainstream consumers.

Repeat home buyers are more likely to buy a green home than first time buyers, and over 70% of green home buyers are female.

Green energy efficient homes often feature:

• Energy Star appliances
• High-efficiency central air systems
• Low-flow shower heads and faucets
• Tankless water heaters
• Spray foam insulation
• A balanced air intake and exhaust
• Double paned low-E windows

While these features will add to the price of a home the monthly savings on utility bills more than makes up for the initial expense.

Smart Money

Let's say a home has $10,000 worth of green technology. With a current mortgage rate this would add roughly $60 to the monthly payment.

For an 1800 square foot home the typical power bill here in Columbia runs about $145 each month. The $10,000 spent on energy efficiency will save you about 40% of the power bill each month, or $60 in savings. So right now we are at the break even point. Knowing that energy rates are going to increase over time the savings will mount the longer you are in the home. Add into this the fact that a high percentage of the additional $60 of monthly mortgage payment is tax deductible, and you are in the black already.

This Just In

Food Lion announced this week that they are building Columbia's first green grocery store near the Hardscrabble Road entrance to The Summit in NE Columbia. Food Lion is waiting for LEED approval to meet federal standards and they will announce some of the features at the groundbreaking ceremony in July.

Terry Edwards www.FeaturedColumbiaHomes.com

Shandon Area Homes For Sale In Columbia SC

Columbia SC While driving through the Shandon area of Columbia the other day I stopped to photograph these homes. I knew there was a good variety of homes in the area but I just noticed while looking at these photos side by side what a striking contrast of building styles make up the neighborhood.

There are currently 55 homes for sale in Shandon with a price range of $197,500 up to $998,000. There is everything from a 1 bedroom condo to a 5 bedroom/5 bath home with over 4300 square feet.

Since January 1st of this year 17 homes have sold in Shandon for $159,500 to $434,500.

Contact me for a current list of homes for sale in the Shandon area

Terry Edwards www.FeaturedColumbiaHomes.com

Russell & Jeffcoat Realtors

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Shandon Area Homes For Sale In Columbia SC

Columbia, SC The U.S. east coast could face a rise in sea level this century that would exceed forecasts for the rest of the planet if Greenland's ice sheet keeps melting as fast as it is now, researchers said on Wednesday.

Sea levels off the coast of North America could rise by 12 to 20 inches more. This is an even bleaker assessment than an earlier study indicated. The ice that covers much of Greenland is melting faster now due to global climate change, raising world sea levels.

Greenland's ice melt rate has increased by 7% a year since 1996. This has raised the interest of a number of long-term investors who are now looking at the land in east Columbia as possible beach front property. Talk of new hotel and restaurant development along with business ventures based on activities such as scuba diving and fishing along the Sumter reef are gaining momentum.

Stay tuned!

Terry Edwards

www.FeaturedColumbiaHomes.com

Columbia SC One of President Obama's selling points for the stimulus package is the thousands of projects nationwide that he calls "shovel ready" - meaning the planning is complete, approvals are secured and people could be put to work right away once funding is in place.

For us this means the City of Columbia could receive funding for various projects that have already had the preliminary work completed.

Here is a link to a chart showing what the City of Columbia is ready to move forward on, projected costs per project and how many employees will be required.

Let's go.

http://www.americantowns.com/sc/columbia/news/digging-into-shovel-ready-projects-in-the-columbia-area-169064

Terry Edwards www.FeaturedColumbiaHomes.com