The 2013 Palmetto Heroes Program for Home Buyers

On March 26, 2013, the South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority (SC Housing) announced the 2013 Palmetto Heroes Program. This program makes funds available for South Carolina's heroes i.e. law enforcement officers, correctional officers, teachers, firefighters, nurses, veterans and EMS personnel - that want to become homeowners. Qualified homebuyers in these categories will get loans at a low interest rate of 3% and $5,000 in down payment assistance - some buyers may even qualify for up to $8,000 in down payment assistance on newly constructed homes.

 

Palmetto Heroes is one way SC Housing salutes members of these professions by offering low interest loans to those who qualify. A huge benefit of the program - the down payment assistance - could even be forgivable over time in some cases, depending on the borrower's income!

"This program is our way of honoring these dedicated individuals who contribute so much to our state," said Valarie Williams, Executive Director of SC Housing. "It's important that we invest as much in them as they do into our state each and every day. We hope this program might even strengthen recruitment and retention in these careers, which are crucial to our state's overall wellbeing."

 

Source: SC Housing

Trader Joe’s opens in Columbia

If you thought that Columbia was provincial and staid, please change your way of thinking. We now have Whole Foods, and yesterday, BIG excitement, Trader Joe opened a store here!

For months, Columbians eagerly anticipated the opening of Whole Foods, and the store did them proud with a WOW opening – acrobats, music, the mayor, et al.

Yesterday, on Forest Drive, one lane was closed and several police officers directed traffic into and out the store. The parking lot was full and I had to drive around and stalk a couple as they emerged from the store to pull into their parking slot. People were parking across the street and in other parking lots and walking to the store.

Unfortunately, I missed the ribbon cutting and the first dash into the store – an adrenaline rush that no serious shopper wants to miss.

The clever folks at Trader Joe’s sent out mailers to residents in the area with an offer of a re-usable carry bag in exchange for a phone number. Plus a funny savvy newsletter – Trader Joe’s Fearless Flyer – with prices of items that were clearly lower than any other grocery store’s. Who would not be tempted?

I saw shoppers of all ages and sizes, from trendy young moms with toddlers to older couples, even one with a walking stick.

So… did the new store meet my expectations? I tried some coffee and spinach dip, and among other things, I bought my dinner - an olive mini-baguette, teriyaki chicken and chocolate covered edamame (to die for!).

So… is Columbia is cool or is Columbia cool? Now all we need is a Costco’s! 

 

A Home Buyer’s Sad Story

We put in an offer on a home for a buyer. Let’s call her Ms Bea.

A little background. Ms Bea is a single mom, has a good job and has worked hard for the last 2 years to get her credit in order. She had to attend classes and take tests, but at the end of it, she was ready to buy a home and also qualified to get a down payment assistance grant from the county.

So… we looked at several houses before settling on this home at 123 Homeseller St. It was perfect for her – 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and a fenced backyard where the kids would be safe. There were hardwoods on the main level and apart from the formal living and dining rooms, it had a large family room.

Bea was excited, as was I.

This was a short sale i.e. the homeowners were heading towards foreclosure, so though the offer was accepted by the seller, it still had to get approved by the seller’s bank that was his mortgagor.

Days went by. Nothing from the seller’s bank.

Then we were told that it would be advisable for the Bea to get a home inspection. This way, if anything showed up as not working, the seller’s bank could be informed.

I was completely against it, but when I put it to Bea, she agreed to have the home inspection. She spent $280 – there was nothing majorly wrong with the house.

And so we waited. Another month went by. The seller’s bank ordered a second appraisal.

And here’s the funny thing. Not ha-ha funny, but weird funny. The appraisal came out much higher than the previous one. And the bank decided to increase the sale price of the house by 30%!

Sadly, Bea could not qualify for the bumped-up price. So, after 4 months of waiting and spending $280 on a home inspection, she is back to square one.

So… buyers beware! Appraisals are coming in higher and banks have no compunctions about increasing the asking price.

Business @ Midday with St Pat flavor

Today's Business at Midday, at The Hall at Senate's End, had a St Patrick flavor with shamrocks strewn over the tables, green balloons and members wearing green jackets and St Pat pins.

 

Lunch, superbly catered by Dupre's, gave everyone a chance for some really good networking.

 

The panel discussion was on Social Media with Keely Saye (Riggs Partners) as Moderator and panel members comprising Nicole Curtis (Columbia Chamber), Kasie Whitener (Clemson Road Creative, LLC), Stefanie Caraviello (Collins and Lacy, PC) and Ryal Curtis (USC - HRSM).

 

Several informative ideas were given by the panel members for engaging clients and prospective customers in an online dialogue.

 

There were 4 components for social media marketing, said Keely, to educate, inspire, incite controversy and comedy.

 

Content is the key, said one panelist, and advised using photographs and videos in all social media.

 

Other dos: participate, follow and comment on Twitter, and be your industry expert with an upbeat attitude.

 

If you are a Chamber member, do attend Business @ Midday - not only do you get a great lunch, but you meet people and learn something at a wonderful venue.

Thoughts on Writing

My new year's resolution was to write something everyday, even if it was just one line.
I have already fallen behind in doing that. Heck, I fell behind on Jan 4th.

The main problem is the voice. Should I write something as though I am teaching something to someone? Or a meandering kind of writing, stream of consciousness writing? Should I be flippant? Funny? Is it going into my blog?

I just don't know.

Then there is the other problem. I think of so many topics during the day, but at night, when I am in front of the iPad, either I have forgotten them or too lazy to write them. 

Thanks to Brain Pickings, here is an excerpt from Virginia Woolf's entry from April 20th, 1919, where she makes a case for the creative benefits of keeping a diary:

What sort of diary should I like mine to be? Something loose knit and yet not slovenly, so elastic that it will embrace anything, solemn, slight or beautiful that comes into my mind. I should like it to resemble some deep old desk, or capacious hold-all, in which one flings a mass of odds and ends without looking them through. I should like to come back, after a year or two, and find that the collection had sorted itself and refined itself and coalesced, as such deposits so mysteriously do, into a mould, transparent enough to reflect the light of our life, and yet steady, tranquil compounds with the aloofness of a work of art. 

So... Here is my new resolution. I will write something everyday after lunch, just something that I will also throw into this beautiful iPad, to be read maybe a year later.

International Women’s Day – A Note to all Young Men

Dear Friend,

 

This year’s theme is ‘A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women.’

Violence against women comes in many forms – please take a pledge NOT to…

1.      …take dowry from your bride: What it really amounts to is that you are selling yourself to the highest bidder!

2.      …harass your wife for not giving you sons. You are responsible for the sex of your children.

3.      …hanker for sons. Believe me, this old adage is still relevant: ‘A son is a son till he gets him a wife, a daughter is a daughter all of her life.’

4.      …talk ill of her parents or siblings. She will never forget it.

5.      …prevent her from taking up a job. She will never forget it nor forgive you.

Do praise her constantly, love and cherish her – she is your soul mate, your companion, your partner on this journey we call life.

 

Sincerely,

Mother of 3 sons, grandmother of 2 (so far)

Sequestration...

...at least we now know how to pronounce it!

What do Home Buyers really want?

Here is a list of must-haves for today’s home buyers, compiled by the National Association of Home Builders:

1.                Energy efficiency: In all forms – energy star appliances, windows and ceiling fans. In fact, the whole house.

2.                Laundry room: If all bedrooms are on the 2^nd floor, then the laundry room should also be on the 2^nd floor

3.                A linen closet in the bathroom to organize towels and linen

4.                An organized garage for sports equipment and gardening tools

5.                A walk-in pantry in the kitchen

6.                A shower and a tub in the master bathroom

 

And here’s what they don’t want:

1.                A 2-story family room

2.                A 2-story entry foyer

But most of all, home buyers want a LOT of home for the LEAST possible price!

Source: Realtor Magazine