The Savannah Condo Market

Today, condominiums are more popular than ever in Coastal Georgia and South Carolina. Hilton Head Island and other resort areas have always offered condos as affordable ways to own property near the beach. Now urban locales such as Savannah are getting into the game. Savannah has enthusiastically embraced condo culture, with conversions, renovations and new construction resulting in exceptional lofts and condos for every budget.

In June, there were nearly 300 condos listed for sale in the Historic District of Downtown Savannah. Cora Bett Thomas Realty & Associates sold 27% of all condos in the Historic District in 2006. With many new developments on the way, the condo market will only improve, and become even more vibrant and exciting than it already is.

The condo lifestyle is attractive to people in many walks of life, from students to retirees, young professionals to investors. Condos are generally low-maintenance, often have many amenities, and are positioned in great locations. Options in Savannah are varied for every taste, including loft-style studios with modern finishes, renovated Victorians with old-world charm, and luxury residences with city or water views.

If you’re looking to buy, be sure to check out our Condo Gallery for information on condos for sale in Savannah!

Don't Wait, Renovate!

There are all sorts of loans for all types of homes, and "fixer uppers" are no exception. Lenders can offer attractive terms to buyers who want to renovate their purchase. One well-known lender offers three different types of renovation loans, with the most popular requiring a downpayment of only five percent.

So how does it work? Along with their application, borrowers submit architectural drawings of the proposed improvements. Then a completed home value is determined and financing terms are offered, with interest rates usually coming in just slightly higher than those on conventional loans.

Payments are often separated into six parts during the renovation, with disbursements issued at the satisfactory completion of each stage of the project. If you're familiar with construction loans, you'll find that it works in a similar fashion.

What's really attractive about purchase-plus-renovation loans is that some lenders will even roll the first six months of interest into the total loan amount. That can free you from making payments during those first six months while you're heavily involved in your improvement project and may even need to be living elsewhere.

In any case, there is a dizzying array of financing options out there, and it's best to start the discussion with a real estate agent who is well versed in matching homes to buyers and buyers to loans!

Don't Go Stale!

As you prepare to sell your home, you probably expect to have a For Sale sign in the yard, information on the Multiple Listing Service, and perhaps an Open House. If you expect top dollar in today's market, you can count on a real estate professional to provide many more services in addition to those three most obvious elements of successful marketing.

The agent will handle all aspects of the sale, from preparing your home to attract buyers through the negotiation of the purchase offer. Somewhere in the middle of all that is effective marketing through online advertising, targeted mailings, and personal networking, not just on behalf of the agent, but through a whole team of professionals.

When that offer comes in, all the experts in the office spring into action, helping the entire process move along smoothly to a satisfying conclusion. Your agent has a personal stake in selling your home for the highest price possible in the shortest time possible. If your listing languishes on the market, it becomes like stale bread that might sell for half price at the supermarket.

Time and money are directly related, whether we're talking about bread or houses. Price your home competitively from the start, present it in the finest manner possible, and market it through the expertise of a professional supported by a network of experts.

Enter the Buffer Zone!

What is the primary objective for a buyer when negotiating the purchase of a home? Would it be fair to say that the buyers want the lowest price possible with the most liberal terms? And what about the sellers of a home? Would you agree that the sellers want the highest price possible with the terms most favorable to them?

It’s pretty easy to see then that the buyers and the sellers in a real estate transaction each have goals that are diametrically opposed to one another. As a result, they can each become highly anxious, emotional, and especially frustrated by the negotiating process. The solution is to create a "buffer zone," or an arena in which negotiations can be carried out in a logical, businesslike and objective manner.

This can be accomplished through the use of a reputable real estate company and its agent. Here's why: although a real estate agent may represent either the seller or the buyer (or sometimes both) in a purchase transaction, all parties must be treated fairly.

Also, not being emotionally involved in the transaction, the agent becomes an objective or "neutral" participant - the "buffer." Thus, both buyers and sellers can make comments, offers, and counteroffers without fear of raising each other’s anxiety levels. The result can be a highly rewarding home purchase and sale for buyers and sellers.

Stay One Step Ahead!

As a seller, you'd prefer a nice clean, unconditional offer at full price, right? One way to encourage such confidence among potential buyers is to have an inspection report available during showings, as well as any receipts (or estimates) for repairs. Why order an inspection when the buyers will probably do so anyway? Because when you take the initiative and perform repairs before listing, you are basically presenting a clean bill of health for your home.

Prelisting inspections are becoming a popular way to give sellers an edge in competitive markets. Taking such action also provides a great opportunity to take care of problems that otherwise might come back to bite you. Buyers today are armed with more knowledge than in the past, and they recognize the security offered when the seller is forthright and demonstrating that there is nothing to hide.

These are the conditions that are more likely to produce that unconditional offer. While it's probably a given that the buyers' representative will encourage them to order their own inspection, you also have a greater sense of confidence knowing that there won't be any surprises.

If you have any doubts about whether a prelisting inspection will improve your chances for an early sale, discuss it with your real estate representative, who will also undoubtedly have many other suggestions for successfully marketing your home.