Myrtle Beach city council last week gave final approval for something new on the Grand Strand.

Ready just in time for the summer of 2011, Myrtle Beach will be home to the SkyWheel, a 187-foot brightly-lit ferris wheel which will be built on Myrtle Beach’s oceanfront. The wheel is expected to have 42 glass-enclosed gondolas, each holding up to eight passengers. At the top, passengers will be able to see as far as North Myrtle Beach (which, of course, means folks in North Myrtle Beach will be able to see the SkyWheel, too…)

Just when people stopped complaining about highrise oceanfront condo buildings in Myrtle Beach, now they’ll have something else to talk about. And if you own real estate anywhere in Myrtle Beach, you’re about to have a new landmark.

This post has absolutely nothing to do with Myrtle Beach real estate, but the next time you’re at the beach, check this out. If you see it, you’ll want to do it!

The areas of Barefoot Resort hit by last year’s wildfire are being rebuilt and home sales continue with little or no residual impact from the fire.

A wildfire destroyed 69 homes west of the Intracoastal Waterway in April 2009. Of those, 47 have already been rebuilt. Centex, the main builder in the community, took the unusual step of making its house plans available to any builder who was going to rebuild for a homeowner.

County plans show that 27 of the homes are all-brick, and many include fire alarms that would alert the fire department in case of a fire. Centex has also made changes to the way it builds homes as a result of the fire. Official reports cited pine straw used in landscaping as a contributory factor in the spread of the fire. Centex now uses wood mulch in place of the pine straw.

When asked about the fire, many at Barefoot point to the community response to show that the people who live here are a close, caring community.  The approach has paid off. Barefoot Resort continues to thrive, with few, if any reminders of the devastation of a year ago.

Famed #1 audience-participation travel advice website TripAdvisor.com published their annual Top Ten Destinations list this week, and I’ll bet you can’t guess which sleepy little southern town they chose to be #1 on the Top Ten Beach & Sun Destinations this year?

Pardon me while I preen. And with a 50%-off airfare sale from Myrtle Beach Direct Air this weekend, we’ll be seeing you this summer, right? I hear that real estate in Myrtle Beach is a bargain right now!

In my last post, we discussed how sometimes a foreclosure really isn’t a foreclosure. Today, we’re going to dispel another Myrtle Beach foreclosure myth.

This goes against the conventional wisdom of real estate, and it will probably annoy you. Are you sitting down?

Here it is: Most investors, especially Myrtle Beach real estate buyers, believe that making a cash offer on a foreclosed property will get them a better deal. I’m here to tell you that this is not true.

Here’s why: the bank does not want to own the property. The bank wants out, as quickly as possible, and with as much of its money as possible. Everyone – including the bank – knows that the asking price is below fair market value. The bank expects multiple offers, and you must remember that in Myrtle Beach, most of your competition is not first-time homebuyers… your competition is other investors!

So how do you gain an edge? Easy… you have to think like the bank!

Picture this: you are the bank, holding a worthless $200,000 mortgage on a property you’ve just foreclosed on. You list the property with a Myrtle Beach real estate broker, and you receive two offers on the property:

Offer 1: $110,000 cash, contingent upon acceptable property inspection, to close 60 days from today, $1,000 earnest money.

Offer 2: $120,000 with financing, 10-day due dilligence clause, buyer is approved for an 80% loan, to close 45 days from today, $5,000 earnest money.

Not all competing offers are this diverse, but my point should be clear. The bank will accept offer # 2 nine out of ten times for the following reasons:

1. Offer # 2 will net the bank more money against their now-worthless mortgage, and the stronger earnest money deposit screams “I’M SERIOUS!” The bottom line is always the most important to the bank.

2. Offer # 2 will put the money in the bank’s hands two weeks earlier. Two weeks might not seem like a big deal to you, but the bank has 20 more foreclosures to deal with right behind this one. Every minute counts!

3. Since Buyer # 2 has already been approved for a mortgage, and the bank knows that the property will appraise for the asking price (remember, the bank had an appraisal done prior to listing the property), both offers are on equal footing with respect to cash-versus-financing. Cash is not king here.

3. Both buyers intend to have the property fully inspected, but to the bank, the difference between an inspection contingency and a 10-day due-dilligence clause is night and day. The bank couldn’t care less about the property itself, and doesn’t want to deal with repairing or replacing anything. The bank doesn’t want to see any contingencies in your offer. The buyer either agrees to the bank’s bottom-line price or not. A 10-day due dilligence clause tells the bank that you accept their price and terms, but need a few days to make sure that the property is fully acceptable.

This is another example of how a qualified foreclosure specialist can help navigate through the quagmire of foreclosures and help you find the best deal – and then give you an edge over other buyers. And that edge is exactly what you need.

In my next blog post, we’ll talk about more strategies to increase your edge over other buyers.