I was showing property recently to a retired oil executive and he was talking about the price of oil shooting up due to the uncertainty in the middle east.  Until there is some stability we might continue to see volatility in this market.   

I realized that this kind of thing is true in real estate – there is a saying in real estate that “a confused customer never buys”. 

I will never forget during the first gulf war how we couldn’t sell anything because people were uncertain of the future.  People thought that we were going into World War 3 and they chose to sit back and wait and see what would come next. 

Uncertainty is good if you are a buyer, and bad if you are a seller – just another reason why NOW is the time to buy. 

P.S. – if you missed my blog yesterday, check out the featured clip – NOW is the time to buy – don’t miss out!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

This morning’s segment on The TODAY Show reinforced the fact that NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY!  Don’t miss your chance to get a great deal in the real estate market…

View some of the great buying opportunities on Hilton Head Island.

With less than two months until the Heritage Golf Tournament on Hilton Head Island, I think it is important to talk about what a great event this is for Hilton Head and how we need to everything we possibly can to make sure that the Heritage stays on Hilton Head.  I saw some recent statistics that were interesting. 

We have had 43 golf tournaments; last year’s tournament with 135,000 people in attendance.  87.7% of those who attended the tournament were college graduates or had some college and 40% had children at home.  58% of the attendees were from the state of South Carolina.   

It is clear to see that this event brings lots of people to Hilton Head Island and brings 10s of millions of dollars to the area. 

Can’t wait for Heritage – it’s right around the corner!

I was recently on a listing appointment with some clients who were interested in selling their home.  We went over a market analysis of their home and came to a conclusion on price. 

They said that they understood my assessment; but that they needed to get more out of their property so they were going to try and sell it on their own and put an ad in the newspaper.

Unfortunately, in a slow market this might not be the best solution.  Often people look at many properties and they sometimes take longer to make up their minds.  Just remember to evaluate what type of market you are in .

Yesterday I was on a flight going from Atlanta to Jackson, Mississippi for a funeral when I overheard the person sitting behind me saying that they hadn’t seen the sun shine in over 30 days when they were in Key West. 

I started to think about it and it made me realize how I sometimes take for granted the sun on Hilton Head.  In fact, I remember when I first moved to the island 30 years ago, the Realtor I was working with threw out the statistics of how many days of sunshine Hilton Head sees every year.  At the time I didn’t think much of it, but now it completely makes sense. 

It is really nice for it to be January or February and while people in some places are digging out of the snow we have 60 and 70 degree weather with bright sunny skies.  Just another reason I love living on Hilton Head Island. 

Come get your piece of Hilton Head Island and enjoy the weather!

I had a villa listed for sale that was a great deal - great condition, great location and beautiful views of the water.  There was one problem; once people heard that the regime fees they steered clear of the property. 

In fact, the extra regime fee could cause the villa to sell for $30,000 to $40,000 less.  Any time there is something out of the normal; whether it be a high transfer fee, high hoa or regime, or taxes, it can throw up some red flags for buyers.  I feel like the people who determine these costs are out of touch with reality – no matter what level it is on – Federal, State, Homeowners Association or POA. 

Remember this when buying or selling…

I recently had a phone call from a homeowner asking for me to come over and list their property.  Before we hung up the phone she started to give me directions to her home.  I stopped her quickly and told her that if I didn’t know how to get to her home that she probably didn’t want to list with me.  She started to laugh and agreed with me. 

Experience is a valuable tool if applied properly. 

It amazes me that people will spend hours researching cars or a television before they purchase, but that they don’t seem to do the same thing when it comes to selecting a Realtor to buy or sell their home. 

I always say that you pay for advice, but that you pay twice as much for bad advice.

I had a friend who called me to list their property and I told them to list at $300,000.  They decided to list with another Realtor who told her the price she wanted to hear.  Unfortunately, she ended up “chasing the market down” and is now upside down on her home.  She said that the bad advice she received was very costly for her.

We recently had a meeting with the Realtors in our company and we discussed how the right property sometimes comes along at the wrong time.

For example, I had a client tell me that they were interested in a home on S. Calibogue Cay.  If you are unfamiliar with this area, there are only around 5 homes on this street so it is rare when an opportunity becomes available. 

One day I was on Hilton Head MLS and I noticed that a great home had just come on the market on S. Calibogue Cay.  I called my client and they said that the timing just didn’t seem right; they wanted to wait a few more years to purchase and move to the island full time. 

I told them that sometimes you have to make a compromise because timing in the real estate world is unpredictable; they could go ahead and purchase the property, or wait the two years and “roll the dice” – maybe not getting the property they wanted. 

They decided to purchase and used the home as a 2nd home and then they retired full-time to their dream home; they tell me to this day that they are glad that timing working out the way it did.

Haven’t signed up yet? 

Don’t worry, there’s still time to register for the Hilton Head Island Half Marathon and 10K on Saturday, February 12th. 

It’s easy to register online - so get out there and get moving!