New Waterfront Listing

We are pleased to announce the listing of 301 Lord Calvert Drive in West Ashley for the price of $1,600,000. A rare opporunity to create a true Charleston waterfront estate.

Drive through your very own avenue of oaks to your home on Old Wappoo Creek! This property consists of 3.6 total acres of which 1.6 is high land. This home was an architectural wonder for its time and was designed by the previous owner to maximize views while enduring Charleston's coastal weather. With updates to the home, current dock and existing tennis court, this home would be reborn to the palatial estate from its previous years.

To schedule a private showing please call myself at 209-9667 or call Matt Poole at 830-0027.

More Website Exposure for Listings

I am happy to announce that all of our listings will now be featured on www.FrontDoor.com, the official real estate website of HGTV. Front Door partnered nationally with Prudential Real Estate to offer over 140,000 national listings on the website. There will be cross promotion of both Prudential listings and the Front Door/ HGTV products between the two companies. This is another in a long list of powerful websites we can put your home on to reach the largest number of potential buyers locally, regionally and nationally. For more info on selling your home, give me a call at 209-9667 or email me at rsandin@prucar.com

Folly Pier Opening Celebration - March 16

Folly Pier is re-opening today after being closed down for repairs the last few months. There will be many family events along with free fishing and fee parking. An art fair is also occurring in the park from 1-4 pm today with live music and local artists. As always, it will be a great day at Folly.

New FHA loan limits for Charleston

New federal housing limits for the Charleston area were finally announced last week. The new limit for an FHA loan for a single family home is $335,000. Here are some details on the advantages of an FHA backed loan.

The most popular FHA home loan program for a first time home buyer is by far is the 203(b). This is your standard fixed rate loan for 1-4 family owner occupied houses and only requires a minimum of 3% from the borrower. This loan also permits 100% of their money needed to close to be a gift from a relative, non-profit organization, or government agency.

The main advantage to a FHA home loan is that the credit criteria for a first time borrower are not as strict as Conventional Loans sold to Fannie Mae (FNMA) or Freddie Mac (FHLMC). Someone who may have had a few credit problems or no traditional credit should not have a problem obtaining FHA financing. Also, FHA home loans are assumable, allowing a person to take over the mortgage without the additional cost of obtaining a new loan. In addition, the seller or lender must pay for part of the "traditional" closing costs(called non-allowable costs) while a borrower's allowable costs can partially be wrapped into the loan. The monthly mortgage insurance premium is cheaper for an FHA loan verses a conventional loan with 3% down. Finally, FHA loans may may require less income to qualify as they will exceed the Conventional debt ratios of 28/36% as their standard is 29/41%.

Many people make the mistake and assume that FHA loans are only available for first time home buyers. This is not true. FHA loans are available to anyone, whether your first or fifth home and can be used to purchase a home or refinance a home. If refinancing a home the current loan DOES NOT have to be an FHA loan.

For more information, please give me a call at 209-9667 and I can refer you to a qualified mortgage professional.

Searching for Homes

Don't forget you can click on the upper right hand link on this webpage to search all homes in the Charleston multiple listing service (MLS). This is going to be the most accurate and up-to-date information that is available to the public. Most national real estate sites are not updated on a regular basis or only contain the listings of agents who advertise on the website. My search gives you total access to the Charleston market regardless of who the agent is and shows all properties that are currently active in the market.

During your search, if you see a home you would like to learn more about, just hit the "request info" button and an email will be sent directly to me. I can then find out more about the property and help you make the best home buying decision. Thanks again for visiting my webpage and please email or call with any comments or questions.