Randall Sandin, 843-209-9667 ~ Search for Charleston SC Real Estate~

Happy Holidays to All!

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and wonderful holiday season. Now is a great time to give thanks for all our blessings for the past year and for time with friends and family.

Randall Sandin, 843-209-9667, rsandin@carolinaone.com

Serving you real estate needs in Charleston & Folly Beach, South Carolina

http://www.CharlestonPierPartners.com

With rates at an all-time low, many people are buying now or re-financing their current home. The general rule of thumb is that you need to shave 1 percentage point off your current mortgage for it to be worth re-financing.

Here are some of our preferred lenders:

Carolina One Mortgage - Joel Greer, 843-327-1575, joelgreer@gbmail.com, http://www.joelgreerloans.com/

Carolina One Mortgage - Leah Odom, 843-813-0123, leah.odom@gmail.com, http://www.leahodom.com/

First Federal - Ted Honney, 843-708-0250, thonney@firstfederal.com, http://www.tedhonney.com/

New South Mortgage, Greg Schoonover, 843-708-3776, gschoonover@newsouthmtg.com, http://www.newsouthmtg.com/

Goodmortgage.com, Keith Luedeman, 704-523-3886, ext. 201, keith@goodmortgage.com, http://www.goodmortgage.com/

Feel free to call any of the above lenders and they will help you with buying or re-financing.

Happy Holidays,

Randall Sandin, 843-209-9667, rsandin@carolinaone.com
http://www.charlestonpierpartners.com/

Make sure you check out our new website for Charleston, SC real estate:

http://www.CharlestonPierPartners.com

You can search the entire Charleston MLS or just look at listings for certain areas or neighborhoods. There is also general info about the areas where we specialize in real estate buying and selling for our clients.

I hope you check it out and please send any feedback. The site is just starting out and any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Randall

Randall Sandin is a professional Realtor in Charleston, SC.
He can be reached at 843-209-9667 or via email at rsandin@carolinaone.com
View his website at http://www.CharlestonPierPartners.com
Check out his blog at http://www.RandallSandin.com

Charleston just lost the biggest customer of the local port which will have an impact on the local shipping business. Hopefully they will be able to resolve this and keep Maersk in Charleston. Below is the article from the Charleston Regional Business Journal on the situation.

Maersk Line, the S.C. State Ports Authority's largest shipping customer, just announced that it will leave the Port of Charleston when its contract expires at the end of 2010.

The Danish company said it will begin ramping down its business with Charleston in early 2009. Maersk makes more than 400 ship calls here every year and represents about 20% of the port's container business. Its decision to leave is likely to have a profound impact on the local maritime industry and related businesses across the state, including trucking companies and commercial developers.

Its South Atlantic Express service, which calls on Charleston twice a week, will be moved to other nearby ports starting in January. That means the Port of Charleston, which has already been hammered by declining world trade, will lose 104 ship calls next year.

MaerskMaersk has a license agreement with the SPA to operate its own dedicated terminal, largely with labor supplied by the International Longshoremen's Association. Earlier this year, the company said it would take the SPA up on its offer to move to a common-user gate that is operated by SPA employees, which would be a less-expensive alternative for Maersk.

But such a move requires the permission of the three local ILA chapters representing longshoremen, checkers and clerks. They collectively voted against that move last week.

In its statement, Maersk said it could no longer bear the cost disadvantage between the Port of Charleston and its competitors operating out of the common-user gate.

"It would be unfair to our shareholders, customers and our employees to continue to operate in this environment," Maersk spokesman Dana Magliola said.

ILA Local 1422 President Ken Riley did not immediately return a phone call this afternoon. But he said earlier that Maersk's request would be "in violation of an international contract" between labor and shipping companies.

"This is national law," he said. "It would actually jeopardize the relationships between Maersk and the ILA up and down the coast."

He accused the SPA of trying to squeeze out labor and said the quasi-state agency could offer to lower the company's costs in other ways.

SPA spokesman Byron Miller said port executives would issue a comment on the situation later today.

For its part, Maersk blamed the ILA's unwillingness to cooperate.

The SPA offered a "workable solution," Magliola said, but "the local ILA refused to consent, and so we are forced to move."

Randall Sandin, 843-209-9667, rsandin@carolinaone.com

http://www.charlestonpierpartners.com

I posted this event earlier but wanted to make sure everyone saw it and did not miss the event. My family drove through the other night and it was fantastic. More lights and themes then you can imagine along with Santa's workshop where kids can see Santa, you can roast marshmellows, see life size greeting cards and a huge sand castle of Santa. Food is inexpensive and is only $10 per car and you can loop through as many times as you like.

Dec. 1 - Jan. 4: Holiday Festival of Lights at James Island County Park - Magic is the discovery of the extraordinary, a moment when everything else is forgotten, and when wonderment is shared. Magic embraces and connects us. Find your magic in the millions of sparkling lights and hundreds of displays at the Holiday Festival of Lights. Event Website

For all your real estate needs, contact Randall Sandin, 843-209-9667, rsandin@carolinaone.com

http://www.charlestonpierpartners.com