Buying Real Estate

Greenville SC Real Estate Buyers have a lot to choose from as far as selection. Properties range from waterfront properties and Greenville condos to golf community homes. Greenville SC Buyers can also choose from new homes, retirement communities, and a wonderful downtown Greenville SC location. Traditional resale home subdivisions are available and tend to be in great school districts. The Cunningham Team knows them all. We are also work with a lot of FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS. With awards for being top REMAX producers we have an awesome track record and the experience that comes with it. Check out our client testimonials and speak with us to understand why we are a top team at REMAX realty professionals year after year. We represent you with excellence. Before you begin your home buying process you might want to familiarize yourself with some Real Estate Terminology with our Real Estate Glossaries and Greenville SC Home Buyer Tools below. Also go to our Real Estate Glossary to gain an understanding of some of the vocabulary you will need to know.

CALL 864-331-8586. Let us help you buy your New Home.

Steps to Buying a New Home

I. Buying | Benefits of Owning Your Own Home in Greenville County

II. Buying | Things to Avoid When Buying a Home

III. Buying | Greenville's Market

IV. Buying | Comparable Sales

V. Buying | Real Estate Pricing

VI. Buying | Making An Offer & Closing

I. Buying |   Benefits of Owning Your Own Home

The Best Investment in Greenville
As a fairly general rule, homes appreciate about five percent a year and the Greenville market is appreciating above average currently. Some years will be more, some less. The figure will vary from neighborhood to neighborhood and area to area within Greenville County.

Five percent may not seem like that much at first. Stocks (at times) appreciate much more, and you could earn over six percent with the safest investment of all, treasury bonds.

But take a second look...
Presumably, if you bought a $200,000 house, you did not pay cash for the home. You got a mortgage, too. Suppose you put as much as twenty percent down ? that would be an investment of $40,000.

At an appreciation rate of 5% annually, a $200,000 home would increase in value $10,000 during the first year. That means you earned $10,000 with an investment of $40,000. Your annual "return on investment" would be a whopping twenty-five percent.

Of course, you are making mortgage payments and paying Greenville County property taxes, along with a couple of other costs. However, since the interest on your mortgage and your property taxes are both partially tax deductible, the government is essentially subsidizing your home purchase.

Your rate of return when buying a home in Greenville is higher than most any other investment you could make.
If you are moving to a home for the first time, you are going to be very pleased with all the new space you have available. A little streching out room is always nice and you can always add more "stuff" slowly over time.

Income Tax Savings for Home Owners
Because of income tax deductions, the government is basically subsidizing your purchase of a home in Greenville. All of the interest and property taxes you pay in a given year can be deducted from your gross income to reduce your taxable income.

For example, assume your initial loan balance is $150,000 with an interest rate of eight percent. During the first year you would pay $9969.27 in interest. If your first payment is January 1st, your taxable income would be almost $10,000 less due to the IRS interest rate deduction.

Greenville County Property taxes are deductible, too. Whatever property taxes you pay in a given year may also be deducted from your gross income, lowering your tax obligation to the federal government and the state of South Carolina.

Stable Monthly Housing Costs in Greenville
When you rent a place to live in Greenville, you can certainly expect your rent to increase each year or even more often. If you get a fixed rate mortgage when you buy a home, you have the same monthly payment amount for thirty years. Even if you get an adjustable rate mortgage, your payment will stay within a certain range for the entire life of the mortgage and interest rates are not as volatile now as they were in the late seventies and early eighties. Imagine how much rent in Greenville might be ten, fifteen, or even thirty years from now. Which makes more sense?

Forced Savings for Home Owners
Some people are just lousy at saving money, and a house is an automatic savings account. You accumulate savings in two ways. Every month, a portion of your real estate payment goes toward the principal. Admittedly, in the early years of the home mortgage, this is not much. Over time, however, it accelerates.

Second, your home appreciates. Average appreciation on a home is approximately five percent nationally and a little more in Greenville currently, though it will vary from year to year, and in some years may even depreciate.. Over time, history has shown that owning property is one of the very best financial investments.

Freedom & Individualism in your Home Purchase
When you rent in the Greenville area, you are normally limited on what you can do to improve the property. You have to get permission to make certain types of improvements. Nor does it make sense to spend thousand of dollars painting, putting in carpet, tile or window coverings when the main person who benefits is the landlord and not you.
Since your landlord wants to keep his expenses to a minimum, he or she will probably not be spending much to improve the place, either.

When you own a home, however, you can do pretty much whatever you want. You get the benefits of any improvements you make, plus you get to live in an environment you have created, not some faceless landlord. In Greenville, SC you also have the benefit of being able to live not to far from the downtown areas and have a brand new home.

More Space in a Home
Both indoors and outdoors, you will probably have more space if you own your own home in Greenville. Even moving to a condominium from an apartment, you are likely to find you have much more room available ? your own laundry and storage area, and bigger rooms. Apartment complexes are more interested in creating the maximum number of income-producing units than they are in creating space for each of the tenants.

If you are moving to a home for the first time, you are going to be very pleased with all the new space you have available. You may have to even buy more "stuff" which you can do slowly over time.

NEXT: II. Buying | Things to Avoid When Buying a Home

III. Buying | Greenville's Market

IV. Buying | Comparable Sales

V. Buying | Real Estate Pricing

VI. Buying | Making An Offer & Closing

CALL US (864) 331-8586

TO HELP YOU Buy your new home.

We have the expertise to get you through it smoothly.

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