Sally Morris

What When Where And How Much A Guide To Buying Lake Greenwood Real Estate

The What is whether to buy a lake house, lake condo, or lake lot.

The When is when do you plan to use the property

The Where is where on the lake you want to be.

The How Much depends on how you plan to use the lake property and what your budget allows

First we'll deal with the What. There are many things to consider when you are looking for a lake property. What you buy depends on what your requirements and your lifestyle. Many people want space between them and their neighbors or love to work in a yard for these folks a condo just wouldn't do. Maybe it's just the opposite they may want the camaraderie of other people and don't want to spend their time on lawn care or depend on someone else to take care of it, they just want to come relax and enjoy the water a home, a condo may be just perfect. There are those who will live in the home full time and they will require more than a weekend cabin for year round comfort and then there are those who just want a simple home away from home and it doesn't have to have the amenities they would require if this was their only residence. They are fine with roughing it for a few days. Anothe roption is to buy a lake lot and build a home, put a manufactured home on the lot or maybe an RV. As you can see there is a decision to make before you even begin the search for your lake property. This will lay the foundation for your search.

When is the next priority, you will want to decide when you will be ready to buy if it is right away or you are just shopping you will want to find a real estate agent to work with. You only need one so pick someone who you feel a connection with and stick to that agent. The agent will get to know you, your likes and dislikes and will with communication be able to hone in on the properties best suited for your needs. If you are just beginning and don't have an immediate plan to buy you have time to shop around, set up automated listing notifications through the agent you feel comfortable with,let them know what stage you are in, your timeline and get a feel for what you csn buy for the money you can spend.

Where Lake Greenwood is a big lake with many personalities depending on which part of the lake you are. It goes from shallow as little as 1 ft. to over 60 ft deep. There are areas where there are mostly manufactured homes, campers, fishing cabins to luxurious lake homes in sxclusive gated communities and everything in between. It goes without saying the deep water, docks or ability to have a dock, in gated communities carry a higher price tag,

How Much most importantly how much you can spend will determine the choices you will have. if you want the deep water, a dock & gated community you can plan on spending $300,000 and up. If you want deep water, a dock or ability to have a dock but you don't care about the gated community and you are ok with a small home or even a manufactured home plan on spending from $160,000 up unless you find a fixer upper or foreclosure. You might be fortunate enough to run up on a property priced under market price. A good real estate agent will be invaluable to you in keeping an eye out for those treasures. There is one a client of mine bid on yesterday. Great water! with a dock not so nice manufactured home but definitley fixable with a big beautiful covered deck overlooking the lake. If you are looking for a lake lot you can expect to spend $100,000 and up for year round water that is dockable. Most gated communities will require at least an 1800 sq. ft home, architectural guidelines and no manufactured or modular homes. A nice lot on year round water dock-able outside of a gated community are hard to find and typically will run $100,000 and up too but you won't have the restrictions on what you put on it in most areas around the lake. You can buy a lot in a shallow or narrow cove dock-able or not for less than a $100,000 and use the public boat ramps scattered around the lake for much less but they are not as plentiful. I have seen some lakefront lots not in a subdivision dock-able in a shallow cove ( probably dry in the Winter for as little as $25,000 a little more or a little less. I've also seen small lake homes in similar water for $60,000 a little more or a little less. So there is probably a property for just about everyone's price range.

If you would like someone to guide you trhough the process I would be thrilled to help you, no matter what your budget. I look forward to showing you what Lake Greenwood has to offer.

New HAFA Rules Can Make A Short Sale A Short Sale

There is the usual red tape that one has to wade through but all in all this looks like a definite improvement over the short sale policies previously. This video provided by the NAR lays out the guidelines clearly and in plain speak. If you are a real estate agent, home owner, or a buyer, short sales are looking promising for all parties concerned.

This video compliments of The National Association of Realtors

Greenwood SC Realtor Says "Moving May Not Mean The Same Thing To Everyone"

Are you nearing retirement? Do you have a concrete plan as to how you will live? Where you will live? Many people have all of this worked out at least in their minds but there are also many who live in the day and haven't put much thought into their tomorrows. In the volatile economy we live in it is not wise to take the future for granted. We saw many people who had made their plans, saved and invested in their tomorrow left dumbfounded as they lost it all or most of it all. We are living in a time when nothing is secure. It's time to execute a plan with a safety net. A way to make sure your money lasts for a lifetime. You have to work within the confines of your budget now and then.

1. Get rid of all your debt and stay out of debt, now is the time to clear the books while you have the income to do that.

2. Concentrate on paying off your home, you want to own it outright by the time you retire if at all possible. Or sell your home and downsize. Do you really need the big home you own now? The equity in your home can pay for a smaller more modest home and may even allow you to put any extra money to work for you.

3. Build a budget that will allow for the most savings.

4. Control your spending habits learn to make do on less and conserve what you have. Now is the time to change your ways.

5. Invest wisely and diversify.Some into money you will need in the next few years, money you won't need for say the 15 yrs. Watch the market as a whole not just in individual companies invest some money for the long term be aware that those investments will rise and fall. There is no 100% risk free investment but you can, with sound advice end up with a nice nest egg for retirement.

6. Keep your job s long as possible or if you have already retired get a job every extra money you earn improves your benefits.

7 Don't fall for the reverse mortgage pitch. If you need to do a reverse mortgage put it off until all the rest of your income sources are exhausted and then look into it.

8.Should you consider moving in with your children or have your working, self sufficient children move in with you, extended families can be so much help each other. Your children might love to have help at home with children, housework, cooking, and other activities that you would have the time to do and would love to do and they in turn can help you.

Solutions come with every challenge we face in life and understanding that change is constant you can roll with them if you will be open to thinking out of the box and changing along with your circumstances.