Mark Brian

I thought I would pass this on for those parents looking for a good way to entertain the kids during spring break. Weather permitting, the Clemson Police Department's seventh annual Law Enforcement and Public Safety Expo will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday at Nettles Park. The Pickens County and Anderson County sheriff's offices, the South Carolina Highway Patrol and the Liberty and Mauldin police departments are among the 20 public service agencies that will be on hand. The railroad police will bring a simulator for kids to drive, and K-9 units and a golf cart to demonstrate DUI will also appear. The thing that really caught my eye was that free food - consisting of hot dogs and hamburgers - and free drinks will be provided throughout the day.

We often talk about the joys of owning your own home. Just read a short blurb about Why it is a Still a Good Time to Buy. If I did not believe in the happiness & benefits of owning...I would have never bought a home. Would not be in the business unless I could help other to get the same satisfaction and happiness from owning a home that I have.

All I do every spare moment I have is read internet forums about real estate, housing, etc etc. And the negativity we see regarding housing is understandable for many. They may have gone blindly into a huge financial decision. It is often easier to blame others for our mistakes. We can easily point out the faults of others, but seeing our own shortcomings is often difficult.

Yesterday I got to enjoy a beautiful sunny day tearing down a barn on the back portion of my property. Sledgehammers and crowbars! Tearing stuff up is often more fun than fixing stuff! But it was well past its prime and starting to fall apart. We already have one barn, and this one was an eyesore. My land, my home, my decision. Just like deciding to move a rosebush from the front yard to the side yard several weeks ago. Our decision for our place.

So after a hard day of work, I enjoyed a tasty dinner and settled in to surf the net and watch the Sunday Night Animation Domination on FOX.

But my step son wanted to have friends over to have band practice. So I got to enjoy electric guitar, electric bass and full drum set for several hours. Not sure if this will sell more people on buying there own home, but do you think I could have let them jam for several hours if we lived in an apartment?

Or when I get the rare chance to watch some NASCAR, I could Crank It Up and listen to the glorious sounds of big horse power V8s? Or crank my stereo up loud enough to literally knock pictures of the wall?

Could I get the joys of how great my yard looked after it was cut Saturday?

Could I spend hours talking with my wife about projects and improvements we want to do to our home and the yard? The planning, the dreaming, the what ifs only get better AFTER you find the right home.

If we get a wild hair and decide to paint the walls some hideous color we can! We can be as tacky or tasteful as we want. It is our home, our castle, our kingdom. I often hear the anti-house buying people on internet forums say this is a silly reason. Maybe it is. But many people take pride in making their home a statement of who they are, and display their tastes and a hint of their personality in their decorating choices. Sorry if a renter cannot experience the freedom I can.

If I want another cat or decide to finally adopt a dog, I can. And if I adopt, it will not be some little, must be under 30 pounds ankle biter as per the lease. No need to confer with the landlord. If/when I get a dog, it will be the biggest but cutest, meanest but lovingest, ugliest but sweetest mutt I can find. I will certainly get the OK from my wife but not from a landlord!

I will warn you, it can be addictive. Standing on your porch and imagining what landscaping project to do next. Or thinking about changing the carpet for hardwood or laminate floors. The trips to the home improvement center just to look at the different fixtures, ceiling fans, flooring, the list is endless. And the decision is ours.

For years I took pride in being able to fit every worldly possession in my car. If I wanted to I could pack up and move anywhere I wanted in a moments notice. Young and worry free. And responsibility free. And really nothing to show for my years of debauchery. But as is the case with many of us, I found someone I loved and wanted to have something to call our own. A place to share and grow old together in as we build years of memories.

People obsess about real estate as an investment. It is, and it is a great financial decision. But the intangible things that cannot have a price put on them are the biggest benefits to owning a home.

With this afternoon's meeting with a couple that is looking at buying their first home I thought it would be appropriate to discuss yet again How Much Home Can You Afford? One way to look at this question is with some general rule of thumb guides:

U.S. Treasury:31% front-end DTI (debt-to-income) ratio, and less than 55% back-end DTI
FHA (Federal Housing Administration) Old:29% front-end DTI, and 41% back-end DTI
FHA New:31% front-end DTI, and 43% back-end DTI
Fannie Mae:36% benchmark back-end DTI with a maximum of 45% with "strong compensating factors"
Conventional loans: 28% front-end ratio, and a 36% back-end ratio

My rule of thumb is what are you paying today? Is that a comfortable amount? Then why would a potential home buyer look at going from paying $1000 in rent to making a $1500 house payment? Yes they may be able to afford it. But why change the amount in your budget dedicated to housing by a radical amount? With todays low interest rates, and the bargain homes on the market -you might be able to buy for less a month than you are paying in rent. You need to talk with a lender, if you are not sure whom to call, contact me and I will send contact info for several lenders.

Perhaps a my way to qualify homeowners by looking at the family's existing budget and deciding on realistic & affordable house payment based on current net income and monthly expenses is simplistic. But the cold hard fact is if you are stressed about how much your payment is, how can you truly be happy? You need to make sure your house payment fits your budget, not the other way around. Just because a lender will loan you a certain amount, does not mean you have to spend all of it.

Decide on the price range of homes by researching what mortgage amount matches the monthly payment you are comfortable with. Just because you purchased a home does not mean you can suddenly afford to pay more!

Of course, there are many other questions to ask yourself. But before you start spending Sunday afternoons going to open houses, browsing the internet and picking up the latest real estate books-determine your budget. Do not waste one second of your valuable time until you talk with a lender and determine what you can afford. The decision about how much you will spend is between you, your lender and your budget. I just want you to be happy and find you the best home for the money. If you decide to spend less than the bank will loan you, that is more than OK with me.

House passes bill on property reassessment

The S.C. House passed a bill Thursday that responds to complaints of real estate brokers by removing the requirement that property be immediately reassessed at its fair market value when it's sold.

Called "point of sale," the change would mean newly sold property will not be reassessed until the next regular reassessment for all property, but the bill must also be approved by the Senate and the governor before it can take effect.

The point-of-sale reassessment caused many investors to avoid South Carolina at the prospect of paying higher taxes and to head for neighboring states, said Steven Neeves, government affairs director for the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors. That's been especially problematic for the Grand Strand, whose real estate market relies heavily on investors, he said.

If the legislature eliminates the reassessment, it should stimulate sales, he said.

So now the sale of property may be just a little bit easier. I am sure the next step is the politicians making a new tax for something else to take the place of the funds if they change this law. But at least it is a step along the way. This could be the positive impact that SCAR has wanted to help everyone in SC when they buy or sell real estate. Getting it past the Senate and the Governor may be difficult, but rest assured there are people working to get this law changed.

It might be time to tone down the prayers for rain. I know we have been in a terrrible drought but the heavy rains we have seen lately are taking the blame for the damage to the floodgates of the Broadway Lake dam in Anderson SC.

County officials must determine how much it will cost to fix the gate, or if they should wait and push for $30 million of federal money it would take to replace the lake's dam, bridge and spillway. And in the usual way of politicians doing things, several politicians started pointing fingers at each other in an article in the Independent. yet once again, politicians squabbling instead of solving. No big surprise there.

Somehow I suspect the politicians that push for the $30 million solution have friends or family that will benefit from doing the work. But there is no doubt the work should have been done in the past but isn't hindsight always 20/20? And what does the finger pointing accomplish?

It sure does not help the residents of Broadway Lake.