What is a Survey, Plat and/or Plot?

When buying land it is important to know where your property boundaries begin and end.   A survey is probably the most accurate illustration of property dimensions.  You will find angles, distances and witness identifiers for property corners on this drawing referred to as a "Plat".  A land survey should be easy to read on paper but more importantly identifiable on land.  Surveyors should cut your property lines, if you are on a wooded lot, and mark the lines with survey tape (or survey ribbon).  Many times we use a tax map number which is usually drawn from the land survey as a reference.  A survey can also include a plot plan which includes the exact...

Carolina Downhome Blues Festival | Camden SC

If you are a fan of the Blues and live music then Camdens Carolina Downhome Blues Festival has got you covered. Historic Camden, famously known for the Carolina Cup Steeplechase races in March, provides a great atmosphere for blues music. Many of Camden's historic homes and buildings have been preserved to maintain the charm of the south. Combine Camden's history with the blues and it will put you right back into the days when a 6-string guitar and harmonica filled the front porches of bungalow houses throughout the south.
The Midlands of Columbia, in which Camden sits, also has a few famous acts that truly capsulates time in a bottle. A Ca...

Video instruction for Columbia SC Real Estate! | MLS Search for Columbia

For those of you that are looking for homes in Columbia, or just wanting to browse the multiple listings in Columbia, I've put together a short video on how to use our Columbia Real Estate site. If you are familiar with the simplicity of our design the you are welcome to search for homes for sale, land for sale, rentals, commercial property and multi-family listings on our free Columbia MLS real estate website.

Having Trouble viewing this video? Watch it on YouTube.

We feel that personal service and knowledge is the key to a good real estate transaction.

Please contact us with any questions that...

Understanding a Tax Map

Parcels of Real Estate in SC are divided into tax maps in each county. This is a drawing that the county keeps on record for real estate tax purposes. Every property is identified by a TMS# or Tax Map Sequence Number. Whenever you call to pay your property taxes online, or look up a property at the courthouse, they will typically ask for this number as a reference. Although this number appears on the recorded deed, it does NOT define the dimensions of the property.  When buying land in South Carolina, always refer to the Legal Description for the most accurate description of your property boundaries.  To locate your property online, visit the GIS section of your c...

Choosing the Right Carpet | Tips for Rehab Properties in Columbia SC

If you are planning on replacing your floor covering with carpet there are several options that you have.  There are now practically endless choices of color to choose from.  Most retailers will loan you a "Sample Board" that has several swatches of carpet so that you match the carpet colors to your walls, furniture, and curtains.

Style: Berber vs. Plush

First you must decide what style and fabric type that is preferable for your home.  There are basically 2 types of carpet, Berber and Plush.  Looking for looped yarn fibers that make up the surface of the carpet will identify Berber Carpet, whereas 'Plush' carpet i...

Planning on digging in or around Columbia SC?

By law you must call Palmetto Utility Protection Service (P.U.P.S.) by dialing 811 locally, or call toll free at 1-888-721-7877, between the hours of 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM Monday-Friday. You may access them online at http://www.sc1pups.org/. You must contact them 72 hours prior to digging (excluding weekends and holidays) so that they can mark all of your utility lines. They will mark the ground with spray paint using the color coding below:

Red paint indicates- Electric Power Lines, Cables, Conduit and Lightning Cables

Yellow indicates- Gas, Oil, Steam, Petroleum, or Gaseous Materials

Orange indicates- Communication, Alarm, or Signal Lines, Cab...

Tips on how to find property corners when buying land.

Planning on buying land? Most of the time when you are looking at land for sale you will want to identify property corners. Although a survey is the best illustration to reference property lines you can sometimes just look at the property and see the natural barriers.

As a land specialist in the Columbia and Blythewood real estate market, I have walked thousands of acres looking for "corners". There are several unique witnesses in identifying property lines. Typically you will find monuments, axles, rebar, and open pipes on the property corners.

Monuments, in my area, are usually ‘blue granite' headstone-like blocks that sta...

What is a Land Home Package? | Manufactured and Modular Homes

A Land Home Package, as I know it, is a term that is primarily used in dealing with the purchase for a manufactured or modular home. In essence, it is a construction-to-permanent financing loan, which means that you have two closings before you are converted to a permanent, fixed rate loan.

Your first closing will allow you to withdraw, or "draw" funds allocated by the bank...at their discretion based on their schedule. Much like a line of credit, it will be an interest only loan. When you buy your land, you will take your first "draw" in the amount of the purchase price (of the land) to pay the seller. At that point y...

MLS Listings Columbia SC | Craigslist Cross-Reference

Looking for Columbia's Craigslist? You better read the paragraph below first!

  If you've ever scanned through the multiple listings on Craigslist that are being offered by a sales person, it may be beneficial for you to cross-reference the Columbia home listing on this website. "Why" you may ask? Well, recently I had someone contact me to double check a home for rent in Columbia. The person that posted the listing said that they required $1000 down as a deposit and $600 per month for immediate occupancy of a home. They requested that the money be wired into their account(since they were on a Christian volunteer mission in Africa...

Finding Lots Land and Acreage on the Columbia SC MLS

Looking for land in South Carolina?  There are many different types of land for sale on the MLS(Multiple Listing Service).   You may not get what you expect from the search results if you don't include the correct parameters on your MLS search.  Below are a few differences and tips.

1. "Lots" are units of real property that are typically in subdivision.
2. "Acreage" is a larger tract of property that may, or may not, have restricted uses.
3. "Land" can fall in both of these categories and usually include commercial property.

  When you decide to search the Columbia MLS for land it is important that you remember that the perspective of t...

What is the standard commission for Columbia SC?

If you find anyone that will answer this question you should warn him or her that they may be violating anti-trust laws.  Anti Trust Laws prohibit price fixing and competitors trying to "stifle competition", according to the FTC website.   The reason is because "price fixing" is illegal.  If I were to say that the typical commission in Blythewood SC is X % and in Columbia SC it is Y % then this would imply that all agents and companies use a standard commission rate, which in turn means that they are attempting to set and control a market.  It puts us as real estate agents in a difficult situation sometimes trying to explain what our rates...

Free Google Photo Storage and Backup

As a real estate agent I have found my computer over filled with real estate photos of homes and land for sale that I've collected throughout the years. Many times I have to email photos to a client or post them on a website. Since I have become a huge fan of Google's innovative and user friendly software, I've discovered yet another essential free tool by the name of Picasa. Picasa automatically uploads photos from your computer to an online album with any Google product account information,(such as G-Mail, YouTube, etc.) Picasa has intergrated local software with online software so that all of your information will be in "Sync" and sharing pho...

Gamecock Tailgating Real Estate | 2009-2010 Football Schedule

Columbia is home to the University of South Carolina and is filled with College Football fans.  This year is sure to be an action packed season and tailgaters have claimed their stake at the luxury tailgating spots near Williams-Brice Stadium.  If you haven't already invested in a assigned parking place, condo, townhouse or private facility for the upcoming season...NOW is the time.  There are plenty of tailgating spots for sale in Columbia SC and we can help you with any of the listings that you are interested in.  Just browse our Columbia SC Real Estate MLS website.  Or give us a call!

Here is the proposed schedule ...

Blythewood SC Real Estate | Waterfront Property on 2 Lakes

As this weeks feature property, in the Columbia SC Real Estate Market, we are offering a waterfront property in Blythewood SC. The subject lake property for sale is heavily wooded with mature hardwood trees and consists of 6.81 acres of rolling topography. The back property corners front on a 15-acre, and...

Keep your Email Address with this Free Email Account

Looking for a way to keep all of your email addresses in one place? Well, this isn't exactly an article on how to use our site but should be helpful nonetheless. I've had so many real estate transactions and correspondence between buyers, sellers, customers, clients, attorneys, inspectors, investors and developers that I have found a perfect solution to keeping everything organized and retrievable in seconds. It's a Google product called "Gmail". The reason that I like this so much is that I can check my email from any computer and locate a past email message in seconds. If you are using Outlook or Thunderbird, there is no reas...

Property of the Week- Week 15

Owner Financing | Pelion Land for Sale | Lexington SC

This week's property for sale is a 1.25-acre lot located at Shumpert Mill Road in Lexington County. This property for sale is a level rectangular lot that has about 125 feet of road frontage on Shumpert Mill road, which is a  county maintained & paved road.  It is restricted to homes with a minimum of 960 square feet and an age restriction of 5 years old for manufactured homes.   This property is referred to as "Windy Oaks" and is located approximately 2 miles from the main intersection of Highway 302 (Edmund Highway) and Hwy 178. Each property has been  surveyed and is recorded at th...

South Carolina Real Estate Tax Information

If you own real estate in South Carolina you are probably aware of the annual property tax that gets sent to your billing address each year.  I've always found it a little confusing so below you will find the formula to determine the amount due for your annual tax bill.  A few things that are essential before you rack your brain...

1. Fair Market Value - determined by the county. Check your tax bill by tax map number or your County Website
2. Millage Rate -  or 'mills' (make sure the decimal is in the correct place in the formula for Millage. example: 234 mills should be .234)
3. Assessment ratio -

• Owner Occupied or Primary Residence 4%
• Seco...

Owner Financing Property | Amortization Schedule

If you are owner financing real estate then you will know that there are strict laws on what you must provide. There are several ways to handle a contract or a mortgage and you should check with a local attorney before taking any advice from this website. We are not lawyers and can not suggest how you should handle your assets. There are several legal documents that are required in real estate and a real estate attorney can draw up all of the complicated documents for you to use. You may also want to get advice on how you want to finance the property. You can give a deed it at the closing, or have an "installment sales contract" or "...

Property of the Week- Week 14

Land in Lexington SC | Owner Financing | Pelion

This week's property for sale is a 1.15-acre parcel on Shumpert Mill Road in Lexington County. The land for sale is lightly restricted to 960 square foot homes. If a manufactured home is placed on the property it must be 5 years old or newer unless the developer agrees to grant a variance...upon request. There is also additional 1.25 acres for sale adjoining this property. The lot has 125 feet of paved road frontage on Shumpert Mill road, which is located approximately 2 miles from the main intersection of Highway 302 (Edmund Highway) and Hwy 178. Each unimproved lot is surveyed and recorded at the Lexing...

...or vs. ...ee

If real estate terms weren't confusing enough!  Some terms can completely throw you in a loop wondering if you are the Mortgagor or Mortgagee.  Here is a quick cheat sheet so when you start looking further into real estate you'll be familiar with the terms.  As a basic understanding you should know that the suffix "or" gives and "ee" receives. Try to remember that there are multiple "E's" in "Receive".  Here are a few common uses:

Mortgagor vs. Mortgagee

Mortgagee = Bank - receives a mortgage document...in return for money
Mortgagor = Buyer - gives the bank a mortgage document (in return for the money), usually the buyer.

Lessor vs. Lessee

Lessee = The Renter- The tena...