Richard M. Sander (Your Myrtle Beach Real Estate Expert)

USAirways recently announced changes to its service including new nonstop service between Myrtle Beach and Washington DC’s Reagan Airport.

This is great news for Maryland and Virginia owners of Myrtle Beach real estate, and for Grand Strand residents looking forward to our airport’s expansion.

USAirways didn’t release start dates or other details, but we’re thrilled to be on their expansion radar.

Give them credit for creativity. The FBI says homeowners and prospective tenants should be aware of the newest Nigerian scheme. Here's how it works.

1. Homeowners and Realtors distribute listings through various search sites, such as Realtor.com and Craigslist.

2. Evildoers copy the listings and pictures verbatim, and post them back onto Craigslist under available house rentals.

3. Unsuspecting tenants contact the poster for more information.

4. The scammer claims to have had to leave the country quickly for some made-up reason, and were unable to rent the home prior to leaving, so they'll have to take care of this remotely.

5. The "homeowner" sends a rental application and directs the tenant to send the first and last month's rent via Western Union. If they qualify, they will be sent keys.

6. Once the tenant sends money, the "homeowner" disappears.

This scam is currently being perpetrated in Charleston, Columbia and Hilton Head, so Myrtle Beach real estate can't be far behind. Beware!

Everyone wants a good deal. But wanting it - and getting it - are often more art than science. From the selling side, we see buyers making the same mistakes over and over again. If you are considering buying Myrtle Beach real estate this summer, pay close attention to these five ways to sabotage your deal:

1 - The "Deal Of The Century" Sabotage: Imagine you are having a garage sale, and someone comes along and purchases some old piece of crap for a dollar. You're happy to get it off your hands, and they're obviously happy enough to pay a dollar for it. Now imagine that, prior to giving you the dollar, they say, "I am a collector of (your crap) and I will be able to resell this for about three hundred dollars." Suddenly, you're not feeling so good about the deal. Home buyers -- and their agent -- should NEVER telegraph their enthusiasm to the seller or seller's agent. Enthusiasm inhibits negotiation and concessions!

2 - The "Let's Close Today" Sabotage: If you've ever told a pushy salesperson that you're "Just Looking" when, in fact, you knew that you were going to buy something today, this is a no-brainer. Home buyers -- and their agent -- should NEVER indicate that there is a reason why the buyer must buy soon. The seller (and seller's agent) will use this information against you.

3 - The "Better Deal Just Around The Corner" Sabotage: Home buying is one of the biggest financial transactions most people will ever face. Re-read that sentence. Everyone wants to make sure that they are making the right decision, but sometimes this leads to what I call "Paralysis of Analysis." Home buyers -- and their agent -- must have a very good understanding of the current market, and know that the home they are considering is the best option for them. Failure to do this invites disaster.

4 - The "Of Course I Can Afford It" Sabotage: In today's market, buyers should always be pre-approved by a lender before viewing homes and making an offer. However, submitting a preapproval letter for $180,000 on a $180,000 home, with an offer of $150,000, is a clear signal to the seller to hold firm on price.

5 - The "Big Stick" Sabotage: President Teddy Roosevelt once said, "Speak softly and carry a big stick." But home buyers should hide the stick. People want to work with folks they like. Negotiate in good faith all day long, but beware that an argumentative, confrontational or unreasonable buyer will make the seller walk away from the deal.

Avoiding these five big mistakes and you're well on your way to a great deal!

Seriously, what are you waiting for?

Are you waiting for the New York Times to run a lead article with the title Is This What The Bottom Looks Like? (They did.)

Are you waiting for USA Today to run articles about how the demand for foreclosure bargains is so high in many markets that homes are receiving multiple offers, resulting in sales above the asking price? (They did.)

Or, are you waiting for someone smarter than you to tell you that we’ve hit bottom? (Don’t bother. Anyone who claims to be able to do this is a fraud. If Warren Buffet and Donald Trump haven’t figured it out, fugeddaboudit.)

But, let me also be straightforward today: IF YOU HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT BUYING A HOME, THEN BUY A HOME NOW!!!

Sorry for yelling, but it’s time to get off the fence. If you have been wishy-washy about taking advantage of today’s low prices, now is the time to stop. If you want to buy before the rebound, you should do it now, because the rebound is coming. Here’s why:

1. The markets hit hardest by foreclosures are starting to rebound, and you can be sure other markets will follow. It happened this way with the crash, and it will happen this way with the recovery. From the USA Today article: “What I’m seeing is incredible. At ground zero in Florida, my business has tripled overnight,” says Suzanne White, an agent at ZipRealty in Tampa. “There isn’t grass overgrown and mosquitoes all around in these neighborhoods anymore. First-time home buyers are saying rates are so low they can pay less than rent. The bank-owned properties are getting multiple offers and selling higher than asking price.”

2. If there are multiple offers and bidding wars, prices will rise. This, in turn, will bring out even more buyers. For some reason, home buyers buy when everyone else is buying. And when that happens, it will accelerate the price increases. Which is also why Reason Number 3 is so important …

3. In this day and age, public sentiment and media hype drive markets. We saw it with the dot.com bubble. We saw it last summer with the ridiculous run-up in oil prices. We saw it with the massive sell-off of financial stocks and even with the huge bounce in the price of gold. With the Internet and 24-hour news channels hungry for the next scoop, ANY kind of speculation, ANY suggestion of good news or bad, moves markets.

If the media write stories about the bottom being here, the markets will react as though it’s here. And if one newspaper is reporting good news, the next one will, then the next one — just as they trample over each other to the bad news. And when the media sentiment turns, buyers will return to real estate in droves. How many have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for the news anchors to tell them it’s OK to buy a house again? If you are thinking of buying, buy before this rabid pack of buyers is released into the wild!

If you’re looking for proof specific to the Myrtle Beach real estate market, here it is: For the first five months of 2008, foreclosures accounted for 6.2% of homes sold along the Grand Strand. During the same period in 2009, 24.4% were foreclosures. But what happens when the foreclosures start disappearing? In April, the median price (half sold for more, half sold for less) of homes sold in Myrtle Beach was just above $195,000. In May, that number jumped to $221,000. Why? Because in April, 29% of the 233 homes sold were foreclosures; in May, only 23% of the 296 homes sold were bank-owned. Fewer foreclosures accounting for a smaller slice of a bigger pie… means more “fair market” homes are selling and prices are heading back up.

The writing is on the wall. It’s TimeToGetOffYourAss.com

We make a point of posting outstanding experiences with local businesses.

But today we’re going to do exactly the opposite. The Better Business Bureau makes public a list of businesses who do not answer consumer complaints, and there are a number of Horry County businesses on that list with whom Myrtle Beach real estate owners and buyers might have reason to do business with.

We won’t pass judgement on any business on this list, and we welcome responses from consumers and businesses alike.

Horry County businesses on the list:

A & H Air Conditioning

A&E Appraisals

B. Mitchell Photography

Beach Computer

Big Pines TV

Captains Quarters

Coast-2-Coast Computers

Discovery Vacations

Elite Escapes International

Final Touch Landscaping

Mudpie Photoworks

Myrtle Beach Direct Air & Tours

Nicholas Associates, LLC

Oceania Family Resorts

Rain Soft of Myrtle Beach

Reger Construction