Selling Greenville

There is a lot of muted panic right now over whether the real estate market has slowed down. The truth is that yes, it has slowed down, but the full reality is that this slowdown was both predictable and is (arguably) healthy. The real estate market is shifting but it's doing so slowly and seasonally and does not appear to be swinging drastically in a way that will cause a recession, mass foreclos...

Thanks to various house flipping shows and the fact that we've had nearly 10 years of a seller's market, pretty much anyone and everyone thinks they can flip a house. As a result, there are a lot of homes being remodeled by people who have never done a house remodel before. Oftentimes, these novices think you can just replace flooring and paint and then sell a home for $50,000 more than you bought...

"Should I become a REALTOR?" It's a question those of us in the industry get quite a bit, and some take offense to it. Taking offense to the question might be excessive, but we do need to be honest about what the job entails and what it doesn't, for those who have considered getting into it. After all, 90% of licensed real estate agents are out of the industry within 5 years, so it isn't quite as...

Greenville - both the County and the City - have "clipboard warriors" going around and looking for people who are doing work on homes without getting the work permitted. This might seem like a good thing, but oftentimes it does more harm than good. One person recently revealed that he was fined $25,000 and made to write letters to people he had sold homes to in order to let them know he hadn't per...

Bigger homes always sell for more money than smaller homes, right? In some ways, yes, but in some ways no. More specifically, when it comes to assessing the longterm investment potential of a home, it's a major error to assume that a bigger home is a better investment than a smaller one. Oftentimes in the long run the exact opposite is true. Smaller homes are some of the best real estate investmen...

Owning a short term rental (such as a property marketed and "rented" via Airbnb) is a completely different experience and process than owning a long term rental, but many people don't fully understand how different it really is. A short term rental is more like a business, with more overhead, more work, and (hopefully) more income. But the differences don't just end there - from HOA and city regul...

Politics fueled by COVID has turned the world of real estate investing upside-down. Is it a great time to buy rental properties and park your money as a safe-haven against hyper-inflation and a potential economic bubble being created? Or is it a terrible time to be a landlord as the federal, state, and local governments all continue to make it difficult to be a landlord? Two factions have emerged...

There have been whispers within the real estate community that a slowdown has happened in recent months. Things are still pretty crazy, but the data does, in fact, show us that things slowed down this summer - a lot, actually. It's hard to draw any major conclusions from this because the slowdown could be seasonal, it could be from "buyer fatigue," or it could be something bigger than that (such a...

We've had an insane string of difficult appraisals recently. We're not just talking about low appraisals. We're talking about appraisers not accepting jobs, not scheduling their appraisals, mischeduling them, not getting us the appraisal until the day of closing, etc. It's been ridiculous, and it's what happens when you have an industry where people have more work than they can handle but very lit...

Remarkably, despite having quite a few rental properties, Stan has never had to go to eviction court. Until this week. Yes, the streak of not attending an eviction court finally ended, and it was certainly a revealing experience. Did the judge rule in Stan's favor or in favor of the fake tenant who arrived in a new BMW but claims she can't pay rent or afford a moving truck? Check out this (short)...

It's not often that you see a package of 15 condos in Greenville appear on the MLS for all to see, but that's exactly what Stan did in the month of June. And he lived to tell us the tale! In this episode, Stan discusses some of the key takeaways from this unique listing and what insights it gives us into the real estate investing market, not just in Greenville but throughout the US.  As always, if...

Each of us thinks of something slightly different when we think of a "luxury home," but when you really start to look at what's on the market in the Greater Greenville area, you find that the luxury housing market is extremely unique. To say it another way, there are a lot of "dirty secrets" out there that most people don't realize when it comes to purchasing some of the more expensive homes in th...

Purchasing new construction can be a great option for many people that are looking for a house that hasn't been lived in or that they can customize, but there tends to be a lot of confusion about new construction. As a result, there are a lot of things you shouldn't do when it comes to buying a new build, and in this episode, Stan focuses on several mistakes buyers typically make that you need to...

There is a lot of negotiation that happens in a real estate transaction, but sometimes the hardest is having to "negotiate" with those closest to you. Unfortunately, rarely do spouses, partners, or children and parents see eye-to-eye on what everyone's real estate needs and wants are and whether they can be afforded. Naturally, as a result of this disagreement, a negotiation of sorts ensues betwee...

It may feel hopeless buying in a seller's market, but it's not. There are a ton of "bidding wars" and "multiple offer situations," but there are tried and true ways to win them. In this episode, Stan discusses how to manipulate the SCR310 contract form to make your offers more attractive with the goal of coming out on top in a "bidding war" type of scenario.  As always, if you have any questions o...

The real estate market hasn't cooled off at all. If anything, it's gotten crazier, and there are very few signs it will get better (for buyers) any time soon. At least, that's what it feels like. But what does the data say? In this episode, Stan discusses why real estate in Greenville has gotten even more difficult to purchase lately as buyers engage in an arms race with each other, where we are n...

Buyers immediately backing out after signing everything. Neighbors getting (angrily) woken up to loud alarms for hours on end. HOAs not doing repairs they are required to do. Lenders being changed multiple times mid-transaction. Appraisers having to be broken into the property via a locksmith. Underwriters rejecting appraisals and HOA financials. Contractors being cussed out by neighbors and threa...

Which is more valuable: a house flip that brings you $50,000 or one that brings you $13,000? Well that's easy - the one that brings in more money! But what if the $50,000 house flip took a year to get your money and involved weeks of your sweat equity, whereas the $13,000 one took 5 hours of your time, and you had the money in hand within 10 days of having purchased the property to begin with?  Ti...

There are a gazillion formulas out there for how to value a real estate transaction. The 70% rule. The 1% rule. This rule. That rule. But you know what pretty much none of them account for? Time. A transaction (such as a house flip) that doesn't fit any of the usual money metrics but that doesn't take much time from the person doing it should be considered more valuable (and vice versa)! And so, i...

One of the hardest parts of doing a real estate transaction is knowing who to trust when you're dealing with so many different parties - lenders, realtors, inspectors, appraisers, contractors, etc. In this episode of Selling Greenville, Stan breaks down five questions he's learned to ask himself about people he's dealing with in real estate. The answers to these questions go a long way in helping...

There is some trepidation that the current real estate market feels like it did in 2006-07, right before it burst, sending the US (and entire world) into a prolonged recession. While there are some similarities to the current market and what we saw 15 years ago, there are more dissimilarities. Whereas there was a lot of easy bank money flowing before the housing market crash of 2008 and many peopl...

Homeowner's insurance companies exist for one reason: to make money. Guess what happens when they don't make as much money as they expect, whether due to increased storm activity, civil unrest, etc.? They start making changes to their policies, and oftentimes, those changes aren't good for the policy-holders. Low and behold, as the Greater Greenville area has had an influx the past couple years of...

We are outcome-oriented people. We set goals for our money, health, family, and yes, real estate, and we try to achieve those goals. But often we don't because focusing on a goal doesn't help you achieve the goal. What does help? Focusing on processes - improvements that you can make every month/week/day that help you reach the point where the outcome (or goal) is attainable. For real estate inves...

You've probably heard that the "real estate market is crazy," but what does that actually mean? What do the numbers say? In this week's (short!) episode of Selling Greenville, Stan dives into the Greenville MLS's numbers to dissect what is going on the market. And yes, it's still crazy! But don't let that discourage you from making the move you need to make. As always, if you have any questions or...

If you've ever considered buying land to build on, there are several things to think through, from how to finance (and potentially refinance) the land, to looking at the zoning and deed restrictions, to ensuring that you have the right contractor in place for when you build, etc. In this episode, Stan discusses the land-buying process from a "30,000 foot view" to explain the major parts of the pro...