Bill Lagan walked into my office on Friday, slapped June’s Money Magazine down on my desk, and said, “You’re gonna love this <expletive deleted>.” I knew I was in for something good, since I usually don’t have to censor anything Bill says.

Do you remember the Bugs Bunny cartoons from years ago? I’m thinking specifically of Yosemite Sam hopping mad, jumping up and down, his face beet red, smoke coming out of his ears, yelling, “Oooooh, I HATE that rabbit!”

That’s exactly how I feel right now about the editors of Money Magazine. And it galls me to think of how many of their readers will just accept what they write as excellent advice - and subsequently lose money because of it.

A few examples:

1. They quote a California-based economist who answered the question, “How will people know when it’s okay to get back in(to the real estate market)?” His answer? “Simple. When prices stop falling for six months.” Silly wabbit. His comments may hold true for California, but when it comes to Myrtle Beach real estate, wait six months and all of the great deals will be gone, interest rates will have risen another 50 to 100 basis points, and the Trumps and Buffets will be finished stuffing their real estate portfolios with home runs.

2. How about this zinger? “Face it: The house you buy today will more than likely be worth less next year.” If this smackdown doesn’t make the reader run screaming from a purchase, the writer’s advice to ignore the seller’s asking price and bid 10% below what comparable homes are selling for” sounds great but ignores the basic premise of buying the right home, as opposed to the best-priced home.

3. OK, more agent-bashing: “The real estate game has a built-in conflict of interest, since the listing agent and your agent both get paid by the seller.” Are we really going to debate the value of real estate agents again? In what could be the biggest financial transaction of your adult life, would you rather go it alone or have the knowledge and advice of a professional who does this all the time? True, the seller pays the commission, but nobody gets paid until you find the perfect house and negotiate a 100% acceptable deal. If you’re a serious buyer, using a buyer’s agent (at the seller’s expense) to help search, negotiate and advise just makes good sense.

4. “Up until now, you couldn’t really operate in the residential real estate market without access to the National Association of Realtors’ multiple-listing service. The monopoly meant that only realtors really knew what homes in your area were selling for. They’d be happy to share the data - in return for the standard 6% commission.” Sorry, Money. Each of these three sentences is factually inaccurate. First, there has never been, and never will be, a national multiple listing service. All real estate is local, and the multiple listing services are, too. There is no monopoly. You can research the Myrtle Beach real estate market on our website as well as hundreds of others. You can search a wider area on realtor.com. Want to know what houses are selling for? There are numerous sources for this information - all of them free. And as for that “standard” 6% commission, well, now that’s illegal. All commissions are negotiable, and shame on you for suggesting otherwise.

I could go on, but I’ve come to the conclusion that Money Magazine might best serve their readers by sticking to what it does best: continue recommend the good ol’ stock market with its spectacular returns.
Hey, Money editors! With friends like you, who needs the rest of the national media?

Let’s agree right away that every transaction is unique and probably much more complex than any of the strategies I present here today. But how can you position yourself - whether as buyer, seller, buyer’s agent or seller’s agent - to be dealing from a position of strength? Here are our top three winning negotiation strategies for the Myrtle Beach real estate market right now:

1. Market Expertise. Forget what the national media says about real estate. What’s the state of the Myrtle Beach market right now? Today? This week? The more information you have about what’s selling, what isn’t selling, where and why, the better positioned you’ll be to take advantage of even small fluctuations in the market. Having a well-connected real estate professional in your corner can be to your advantage.

2. Where Is The Leverage? Let’s be honest. If you’re a seller in the midst of a buyer’s market, and your home has been on the market for months, and you aren’t the lowest-priced home in the area, you have no leverage! If, however, you are the seller evaluating offers from three buyers on your spectacular house that’s priced right, you have the luxury of picking the best offer - or negotiating with all of them!

If you’re a seller in a buyer’s market, however, all hope is not lost. You can, for example, improve your home’s curb appeal, or present a potential buyer with an inspector’s report. An experienced real estate professional can make recommendations like these to improve your home’s desirability, make it stand out from the competition, and even justify a higher price. Your Realtor can also represent your home in an unemotional way that could wind up saving you thousands of dollars in the end.

3. Look Beneath The Hood. Price is not always the sole determining factor. Consider two identical homes, in the same neighborhood, that have sold for $155,000. One sold at that price with no concessions from the seller. The other seller agreed to replace the air conditioning unit, paint the downstairs, and cover the first $2,000 of the buyer’s closing costs.

If you’re the buyer, which deal would you prefer? Do you know how to negotiate these items and a dozen more? (Hint: we do.) If you’re the seller, how do you get closer to making no concessions? (Hint: we know.)

These are our top three right now. Keep in mind that we haven’t even touched on sellers negotiating only with pre-approved buyers, or with unrepresented buyers or sellers. And an experienced Realtor knows how to leverage these - and many more - to your advantage.

All you have to do is ask for our help!

Former mayor of Newark, Sharpe James, was found guilty last month of directing the city to sell nine properties to former companion, Tamika Riley, for a fraction of their value.  (Ms. Riley purchased the properties for $46,000 and resold them for more than $600,000.)  Mr. James was convicted on fraud and conspiracy charges and will be sentenced in July. He faces 10 to 15 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines.

What a difference a few years makes!

James left his five-term mayoral post two years ago after twenty years as one of New Jersey’s biggest political power brokers.  The investigation and subsequent trial of Mr. James uncovered numerous scandals, including the affair between Mr. James (who is married) and Ms. Riley, and the accusation of his having used city-issued credit cards to pay for personal trips, meals and other expenses (with Ms. Riley and others) to Rio de Janeiro’s red light district, beachfront resorts in the Dominican Republic, Martha’s Vineyard and Myrtle Beach, where he purchased real estate in The Battery on the Waterway.

Our team is actively looking for property owners of single-family homes (of all sizes and budgets), who are willing to make their properties available for rent.

Many people are in a very difficult situation financially, and may be looking to liquidate their real estate holdings. The slow economy is causing more and more homes to come onto the market, creating more competition and urgency for sellers. We can help!

If you have a property you can rent, and are willing to work with someone who needs a home (and just can’t seem to qualify with a lender), we’d like to talk to you. If you are a Realtor with a client in this situation, or have listings where the Sellers are interested in a lease option, we’d like to talk to you, too!

Please call our office at (843) 272-1266, or e-mail us at info at carolinawaterfront dot net, to discuss the possibilities of this program. We look forward to working with you.

“One man’s loss is another man’s gain.”

From Will Rogers, “…out here I had been putting what little money I had in [waterfrontage], for the sole reason that there was only so much of it and no more, and that they wasn’t making any more…”

So those two quotes may be overused, but there’s no better way to introduce this property…

A pre-development community, The Boardwalk on the Waterway was initially offered in late 2004.  This community is located directly on the Intracoastal Waterway, on the west side (the mainland) of the Waterway, and is tucked away behind the new Hard Rock Park. 

The infrastructure has been installed, and the “boardwalk” (a 6′ walkway traversing the entire water frontage of the community) has been constructed over the protective seawall.  A waterway gazebo, entrance gate and gatehouse have been constructed, and the road paving is completed.

The waterfront homesites were initially offered to the public at $272,880, and sold for as much as $399,880.

At this moment, you can acquire one of these DIRECT INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY homesites for just $229,900. Remember, one man’s loss is another man’s gain…

If you’ve considered purchasing waterfront real estate in Myrtle Beach, it does not get any better than this.  The community is located in the HEART of town, close to shops, entertainment, restaurants, golf courses and more.  It’s so easy to get around using the new highways, bridges and the airport (just a few miles down the road).  You can even WALK to Hard Rock Park.  There is no time frame in which you must build, and you can select your own builder.

If you are interested in one of these incredible deals, don’t wait.  Contact Price & Company Realty today!