Author Archive

February 4, 2020

When you’re ready to put your home on the market, it’s time to get it ready for listing. Some of the things you should take care of don’t have to cost much money and don’t have to be difficult. Here’s a look at some of the very best cheap ways you can get your home ready for listing.

Clean, Clean, Clean

Before you list your home, you need to clean it. Cleaning is very, very cheap and easy. Yes, it will take some time, if you do it yourself, but it doesn’t cost much, and it’s an easy way to make your home look great before listing it.

You need to go further than the surface cleaning, however. A deep cleaning of the inside and outside of the home is necessary. You can hire someone to do this, or you can do it yourself. Just make sure to pay close attention to the smells in the home from pets and other strong odors.

Paint

Another very cheap and easy way to spruce up your home before listing it for sale is painting. You can paint the inside or the outside. You can paint the entire house or just the front door. You can paint just about anything and make it look better.

A can of paint may cost you $20 to $40, which makes this pretty easy and cheap to do. Of course, you can hire someone to paint your home for you, but you can easily do this yourself, too. Make sure to use neutral colors and get the advice of your real estate agent to ensure you paint the home the right colors.

Make Inexpensive Changes to the Kitchen

Replacing the drawer handles and the cabinet pulls may be an effortless way to make your kitchen look great. You can also replace old fixtures, paint the cabinets or make other minor adjustments to the kitchen to make it look better.

Make Inexpensive Changes to the Bathroom

You can also make small changes to the bathrooms to spruce them up. You can change the shower curtain, add in new towels, replace old fixtures, and even replace the toilet seat to make it look better. Sometimes, it just takes a little scrubbing of the tiles to make the bathrooms look amazing and ready for listing.

Hide the Clutter

Clutter makes your home look smaller and makes it look dirty. When you get your home ready to list, staging it to hide the clutter or remove the clutter will make your listing pictures look much better.

Buyers become distracted by clutter. You want to take out the clutter, and this means more than just the stacks of magazines. Removing unnecessary furniture from each room will help open up the space and make the home look larger. This shows within the listing pictures and makes a difference when selling your home.

Using these tips and others your real estate agent can provide for you will help you get your home ready to list. You don’t have to invest thousands to make your home look right for listing. Use these easy and cheap ways to prepare your home for sale.

January 21, 2020

The name, “Physician Loans” implies that only physicians can apply and use this lending program. While they are primarily designed for podiatrists, optometrists, and physicians, some of the lenders offering this program don’t exclusively cater to just the physicians.

It may be possible to find a physician loan if you’re a lawyer, dentist, pharmacist, or even a professional working in a completely unrelated field. Let’s look at a few of the details and what to expect when it comes to physician loans.

Defining a Physician Loan

Before we go any further, it’s essential to understand what this loan program is and what it provides. Physician loans are designed for those earning a high salary or with the potential of earning a high salary, but with the need to go to school long enough to rack up a significant amount of student loan debt.

Typically, the salary range goes from about $0K to $50K just a few months after graduation. And after residency, salaries can jump to around $260K. Since traditional banks look at student loan debt as a negative, this program was created to give those graduating college with significant student loan debts and guaranteed future high salaries a chance to buy a home.

Physician loans are known as portfolio loans used mainly for medical professionals including:

  • Doctors
  • Podiatrists
  • Optometrists
  • Physician Assistants
  • Veterinarians

While these loans tend to be used by those in the medical field, some banks will allow others to apply.

Who Else Can Use a Physician Loan?

Some banks provide physician loans for dentists, pharmacists, and lawyers. These three professions are common because they do require a large number of student loans for schooling, and most graduates will make a high salary. Not all banks providing physician loans will allow non-medical professionals to apply, but some will.

Characteristics of Physician Loans

The traditional loan process is rather time-consuming and usually requires a larger down payment. This doesn’t work well for physicians or others graduating and looking to buy a house as they step into a profession requiring many hours to be worked every week.

It’s hard enough to find the time to look at homes and hire a good Realtor, let alone fill out loan paperwork. With physician loans, the approval happens quickly, and the process is much faster compared to a conventional loan.

In addition, you will likely get a down payment between 0% and 5% making it much easier to get into a house. Physician loans also don’t require private mortgage insurance, and they don’t factor student loan debt the same way.

Expanded Programs For Other Professions

One of the great benefits of physician loans is the network of Realtors that come along with the mortgages. These Realtors make you a priority, and with the expanded programs working for lawyers, pharmacists, dentists, and other professions, more high salaried individuals with student loan debt can enjoy homeownership.

Finding a home isn’t always an easy process, and the financing comes with plenty of stress. The right Realtor and the right physician loan can make a huge difference.

March 29, 2019

There are several pros and cons that come with buying an existing home and with building a new home. This is often a big decision for those shopping for a new home as they may prefer something specific drawing them to one or the other. If you are trying to decide between buying an existing home or building a new home, it may help to look at the pros and cons of both.

Pros of Buying an Existing Home

Buying an existing home means that it has been lived in before. Sometimes, this home could be just a couple of years old. A few pros for buying an existing home include:

Faster closing and move in – Compared to waiting for your home to be built, you will be able to buy and move into an existing home in about 30 to 60 days.

Better Overall Value – An existing home has already established value, and you will be paying a price based on value, not based on the construction costs of the home.

Established Neighborhood – Most existing homes are found in neighborhoods that are well established.

Potential for Charm – You cannot build a historic home, and some features found in homes from previous decades are not found in new homes today.

There are several other pros to buying an existing home, but these are the main ones.

Cons of Buying an Existing Home

Of course, nothing is perfect and you will find some cons to buying an existing home, such as:

No options – You cannot customize the home to fit your needs.

Renovations/Upgrades – You may need to pay for renovations or upgrades.

Used – It has been lived in before.

While there are not many cons and some may be mitigated based on the home you choose, there are a few cons to buying an existing home.

Pros of Building a New Home

Just like with buying an existing home, building a new home will have its own set of pros and cons. Some of the pros of building a new home include:

Fully Customizable – The only limit to customizing your home will be your budget. You can set it up to be the way you want without any concessions.

It is Brand New – You will be the first and only person to live in the home, which can be a big pro for many people.

More Efficient – Compared to an older home that has not been upgraded, a new construction home will be more efficient.

Warranties – New homes come with warranties making home maintenance much easier and less of a worry for the first few years.

No Worries of Health Hazards – Older homes may have asbestos, moisture issues, mold or even radon. New homes will not come with any of these worries.

Building a new home can have plenty of benefits and these are the main ones.

Cons of Building a New Home

There are some cons to consider if you are thinking about building, however. Some of the main cons of building a new home include:

Appreciation – Resale value may not be so high, and it may take years to gain the appreciation necessary to make it worth the investment.

Closing Costs – Upfront costs will be much higher compared to buying an existing home. 

Delivery Date – It will take longer to build a home than to close and move into an existing home with the average build time taking 120 to 150 days or longer.

Predictability – You may encounter unexpected costs along the way.

Noise – You may be living in a construction zone until the neighborhood is fully developed.

There is plenty to think about when comparing the option of buying an existing home to building a new home. Regardless of your decision, it is best to hire YOUR OWN real estate agent to help you throughout the entire process, even when building a new home.

March 15, 2019

Congrats! You just matched at MUSC! And the #1 City in the World, Charleston!

The Pulse Charleston is a real estate team who specializes in relocating medical professionals to and from the area. Over the years, we have built the largest network of past clients who are currently working at MUSC, and we would love to help you too!

One of us is always available to show houses or answer questions. We copy each other on every email, so don’t be afraid to reach out to either of us and expect both of us to work on your relocation. Two people working on your behalf!

The doctor loan is a fantastic option for you. It is 100% financing with no mortgage insurance. The banks don’t use your student loan debt in your debt to income ratio as long as your loans are deferred, and you are able to close on a home up to 60 days before starting your program. The going rate for a 7/1 year ARM is really low, which is what most of our residents pick because they know they won’t be in the area forever. You will have a lower mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, than your rent would be. It is a fantastic opportunity for you.

Our rental capacity is at 97%, so it is very frustrating finding a rental and then keeping it for the entire residency. Based on your salary alone at MUSC, you can usually qualify up to $300,000 depending on your credit score, and if you don’t have any revolving payments (like a car loan or credit card). Of course, if you have a spouse who has a job in the area that starts around the same time as you, their income can be added as well allowing you to qualify for more.

We saw a lot of our clients leave the area this past year after completing their residencies. After selling their home, all left the closing table with $30,000-%55,000, depending on how long they were in the area. All basically lived in Charleston for free while they were here. That definitely beats sinking that money or more into a rental and never seeing it again.

Most of our clients who are residents/fellows live on James Island, Johns Island, or in Park Circle or West Ashley.  Some choose to live in Mount Pleasant or on Daniel Island, but it is more expensive.

We would be happy to meet with you when you come into town. Feel free to contact us to speak further about your relocation. Congrats again!

February 19, 2019

When you’re ready to sell your home, your real estate agent may inform you that some improvements will help with the process. You may need to make some repairs and improvements to ensure the home will sell fast and for top dollar. If you don’t have a ton of cash to work with, it’s important to understand the top budget-friendly improvements to make before selling your home.

Landscaping

It won’t actually add value to the property in a physical way, but curb appeal is a selling factor. When you add in the right landscaping, you’ll make a much better first impression. You can hire a professional to handle this or do it yourself.

Once the landscaping is done, make sure you keep up on mowing the lawn and trimming the bushes. You should also make sure all plants receive enough water and any other landscaping is kept up.

Give the Kitchen a Facelift

A kitchen remodel isn’t budget-friendly, but there are some things you can do for just a few hundred dollars that make a big difference. Painting is one of the best places to start as you can paint the walls, the baseboards, trim, molding, and even kitchen cabinets to give it a different look.

You can also replace door pulls and handles, along with having countertops repaired if they have cracks, nicks or grout issues. Replacing the appliances may be another way you can upgrade the kitchen without breaking the bank.

Replace Old Carpet

It may not be as budget-friendly as some of the other options on the list, but replacing old carpet can go a long way to helping get your home sold. Flooring takes a beating over time and old carpet often holds onto odors and looks dingy. Replacing it will help to spruce up your home and make it look new again.

Upgrade the Lighting

Often, an upgrade to the lighting will make rooms feel larger and cleaner. It doesn’t have to cost you a ton of cash to make this happen, either. You can change light bulbs, add in a floor lamp or even add in a new fixture to make a room look much better.

Even the exterior lighting should be addressed. Make sure all light bulbs are working and keep the exterior of your home well lit. Most buyers will visit the property at night, as well as in the day.

Paint Walls

A new coat of paint can go a long way and it’s usually very cheap. Having a room or the entire house painted can go a very long way to making your online images better, along with making the home look better during showings. This is one of the most commonly used budget-friendly improvements for homes getting ready to be sold.

If you’re considering selling your home, make sure you have a good real estate agent representing you. They will be able to give you more improvements you can use to make it easier to sell your home faster and for a better price.