Gary Burleson - Myrtle Beach-Homes and Condos, Short Sales, Foreclosures

Safety Tips while Showing Your FSBO Myrtle Beach Home

Last week I went on an appointment to meet a woman who had called about selling her home. When I got there, I noticed a FSBO (For Sale by Owner) sign in the front yard. She invited me inside and we sat down to discuss selling her home.

During the conversation, she mentioned that she owned the home, was divorced and living there with her 2 year old son. After talking for a while, she showed me around her home and then we went to the back yard. She showed me where, just a week before, someone had cut the screen to open the door that leads onto her screened in patio. She had awaken and heard a noise and then turned on some lights. She checked her doors, and they were locked. The next day when she discovered that the screen had been cut, she called the police. Of course, they couldn't do very much, but did tell her that "We don't get many calls for this neighborhood."

After leaving, and on the drive back to the office, I couldn't help but think how vulnerable she was to someone who might want to cause harm to her and her son while she showed her house to strangers. She had made so many mistakes that I just had to tell her what she was doing wrong so that she did not put herself, or her son, in danger.

While making up a list of Safety Tips while showing your FSBO Myrtle Beach home, I found these Realtor Safety documents published by the National Association of Realtors and decided to give her a copy. It also has a section of Safety Tips for Clients that applies to FSBO's as well.

Most Realtors know that September was Realtor Safety Month. Showing property to people we don't know can be dangerous. We've all, hopefully, been trained in Safety Tips that we should take to keep us out of, or at least make us aware of, unsafe situations.

Here are just a few FSBO Safety Tips from the National Association of Realtors Safety documents and other sources for FSBO's:

• Don't show properties alone, if possible
• If there are two of you, stay separated in different rooms
• Don't lead someone into rooms, follow them so that they are not behind you
• Have Pepperspray, Mace, or some type of weapon with you
• Don't have doors locked so that you can't get out if you want to
• If you have a fenced back yard, make sure that if you run into the back yard, you don't have the fence gates locked
• Have a Distress Code System set up with your family or neighboors
• Get vehicle tag numbers, pictures or something to help identify the buyers
• Park in the street or on the curb or so you can't be blocked in the driveway
• Use Motion Detector Flood Lights around your home
• Have an alarm system, or at least an alarm company sign

FSBO's and Realtor(R) alike need to watch the video below for additional tips.

Please look at the Realtor Safety documents and develope your own list of Safety Tips while showing your FSBO Myrtle Beach home.

As a For Sale By Owner, what are some Safety Tips that you use when showing your home to strangers? And Realtors(R), what are some FSBO Safety Tips you can offer, either from training or experience?

Did You Accept the First-Time Homebuyer Credit - If So, Beware

I'm currently working with a homeowner in the Myrtle Beach area who lives about 10 miles from Myrtle Beach. She's looking at Myrtle Beach homes and condos within a few miles of the beach that won't require her having to take care of a large home and yard. After discussing the financials of her current home, she mentioned that she had used the First-Time Homebuyer Credit to buy her home. She bought her current home in late 2009 using the First-Time Homebuyer Credit. The credit amounted to $6,500. This through up a Red Flag.

While millions of homebuyers used the First-Time Homebuyer Credit to buy their homes, they may not realize that there are some "gotchas" that went along with accepting that program. The program was available to First-Time Homebuyers who purchased their homes from 2008 to 2010. The eligibility requirements varied each year and there were special benefits for military and some federal employees.

The amount of the tax credit also varied depending on the year you purchased your home and went as high as $8,000. This was a great program that was designed to keep the housing market from getting in worse shape than it was already.

Now for the BEWARE part. There are some stipulations in the program that could affect your First-Time Homebuyer Credit if you do not stay in your home for at least 36 months. Per the IRS, "Repayment of the full amount of the credit is due at the time the income tax return for the year the home ceased to be your principal residence is due. The full amount of the credit is reflected as additional tax on that year's tax return."

The IRS also give examples of when your home may cease being your primary residence:

• You sell the home.
• You transfer the home to a spouse or former spouse in a divorce settlement.
• You convert the entire home to a rental or business property.
• You converted the home to a vacation or second home.
• You no longer live in the home for the greater number of nights in a year.
• Your home is destroyed or condemned.
• You lose your home in foreclosure.
• You die. (But then you don't have to worry about it.)

In some cases, you will have to pay the full amount of the credit to the IRS, but there are exceptions. If you took advantage of the First-Time Homebuyer Credit between 2008 and 2010, and you plan on moving within 36 months of buying your home, you may want to review this IRS Document. And since I'm not an attormey or CPA, please discuss this and any tax related issues with your CPA or tax attorney.

Remember, what the government giveth, the government can taketh away.

When we moved to Myrtle Beach from Charleston, SC in 2003, I decided I wanted to live on a golf course. The Myrtle Beach area has over 100 golf courses. My wife could choose everything else about the house, my only requirement was that it be on a golf course. If you're thinking about living on a golf course in Myrtle Beach it has it's pros and cons and there are a few things you need to know.

Pros of Living on a Golf Course in Myrtle Beach:

• I can sneak onto the course and play a hole or two in the late afternoon.
• My 4 1/2 year old granddaughter has a huge backyard with built in sand boxes.
• When I get tired of working at my desk (I work out of my home office), I can stop work and watch the golfers play for a while.
• I get a lot of free golf balls from my yard.
• I can throw broken limbs from my trees and bushes onto the golf course and they'll pick them up for me.
• We have over a mile of built in walking paths.
• I can watch other golfers hit great shots and get excited about playing another round.

Cons of Living on a Golf Course in Myrtle Beach:

• We normally have to wait until 4-6 PM to get on the golf course since we have to wait for the last group to play the hole we live on.
• Don't buy a Myrtle Beach Home or Condo on a golf course that's too close to the Tee Box or the Green if you don't like loud cursing, shouting and hollering.
• Golf course maintenance picks up those limbs I through on the course between 5-8 AM.
• Golf course maintenance does their mowing, fertilizing, blowing, and aerating the course between those same early hours using loud machines and tractors.
• Make sure you have some trees for defense between the golfers and their tee shots - I've had two windows broken.
• Some golfers will want to play their ball as it lies, even if it's in your yard and out of bounds.

Even when it rains, kids and grandkids will love visiting you when you are living on a golf course in Myrtle Beach.

So, if you want to buy a Myrtle Beach Home or Condo on a golf course, keep these things in mind:

• Living on a Golf Course in Myrtle Beach is fantastic.
• Be aware of your distance from Tee Boxes - over 250 yards from the Tee Box is a safe distance.
• Be far enough away from greens that the "close putts" and the "fantastic putt" screams of joy won't wake you up or bother you.
• More people tend to slice than hook their tee shots, so live on the left side of the hole if possible.
• Try to have some type of protection from tee shots, and second and third shots from hitting your home such as trees or bushes or just plenty of ground.
• Don't get upset with golf balls hitting your house or condo or landing in your yard - after all, you are living on a golf course.
• You may want to choose a home or condo not located right on a fairway or close to a Tee Box.
• Real golfers don't let any of the Cons stop them from living on a Golf Course in Myrtle Beach - just use the above suggestions to choose the best location for you.

Keep in mind that you don't have to be a good golfer to play golf, you just have to enjoy it enough to keep coming back. So to find your Myrtle Beach Golf Course Home or Condo in Myrtle Beach, call or email me and I'll be glad to assist you. We may even have to play a round or two.

Here's a website of golf courses in Myrtle Beach.