38 Years, that’s how long I have been Alive so far! It’s also the amount of time I have had to acquire knowledge, experience and perspective in this Crazy world we live in today.
Throughout those 38 years, I’ve noticed a pattern within myself. Each person that has either had the opportunity or taken the time to get to know me, all say the same thing: “You just don’t follow through Thomas!” “You’re absolutely great at starting things; powerful, energetic, inspiring but once you get further along into it you lose momentum & drive. Your motivation begins to dwindle and die off, soon to be replaced by something new and exciting!”
My girlfriend pointed out something very interesting to me today while we discussed this topic. She stated that my persona denotes a playful person, someone who enjoys having fun. Like a kid that never grew up! She said the best job for you is something you truly enjoy doing, every time!
It’s funny when she said that cause it was almost like a “Duh Huh” moment! Something I call a “Brick on a String” moment, cause it’s like getting hit in the head by a Brick on a String, Pow..!!! I realized just how right she was, I only really have followed through with things that were amusing & entertaining.
Now, let me stop you dead in your tracks if you think I’m saying I only want to play. That’s not true! The true meaning behind all of this is that when you (Really) enjoy what your doing and you can make a living doing it, that’s true Success. Because it’s not work, not really! You get up each day with excitement, motivation, drive and ideas on what to do next!
So, the next Big question is: How do you determine what your supposed “Dream Job” is? Hummm, well that just might be the Muti-Million Dollar question! I guess the answer lies in your ability to adapt to Fear! Yes, I said that nasty four letter word: FEAR. From a psychological perspective, Fear has only two effect on us: It either Motivates or Immobilizes! The choice lies in us all. How we choose to react to Fear can either Motivate you to do something you’ve never done before or it can completely Immobilize you, stopping you dead in your Tracks!
The path to finding your “Dream Job” is to learn how to coupe with Fear! Fear stops you from taking Risk in your life and without Risk, you can never find your way. “The bigger the Risk, the bigger the Reward”, remember that saying? How big a Risk are you willing to take in order to find your way to your “Dream Job” ? Playing it safe and skating by doing just enough to stay afloat will not lead you to your final destination!
I’m curious, have you asked yourself the question yet while reading so far? You know, “So Thomas, have you found your Dream Job?” Well, sadly, no I have not! The reason is the same as what I have stated in this Blog. I have yet to change my reaction to Fear! I let Fear Immobilize me instead of Motivating me to go out there and actively search for My “Dream Job”
Does it end here? Am I doomed to drift along, unsatisfied with my life and just “get by”? The answer is hugely NO! All I have to do is take a chance and Risk it! Focus on the talents and strengths I have and move forward. Today very well could be the First day of the rest of my Life!
If you enjoyed reading this and are willing to share. Tell me what your Honest “Dream Job” would be! What would you Love to do everyday?

Peace, Love and Happiness
Thomas Cunningham

As he was getting home, the cat was walking up the driveway.

The next day he decided to drive the cat 40 blocks away. He put the beast out and headed home.

Driving back up his driveway, there was the cat!

He kept taking the cat further and further and the cat would always beat him home. At last he decided to drive a few miles away, turn right, then left, past the bridge, then right again and another right until he reached what he thought was a safe distance from his home and left the cat there.

Hours later the man calls home to his wife: “Jen, is the cat there?”

“Yes,” the wife answers, “why do you ask?”

Frustrated, the man answered, “Put that son of a bitch on the phone, I’m lost! and need directions!”

Normally you would have this type of Insurance in place as this type of Policy covers “walls-in” whereas your HOA Insurance coverage focuses on ” walls-out” The big change that has happened is you will now be required to have a specific amount of coverage needed

Fannie-Mae states that you must have at least 20% of your Appraised Value in the ” Dwelling/Building”portion of your coverage. Mike was nice enough to inculde a “HO-6 Insurance Cheat Sheet ” I’m going to include in this post to help anyone who may be considering buying a Condo in the very near furture!

Michael W. Ulman
Senior Mortgage Banker
Direct: (843) 457-2867
Fax: 1 (866) 695-2432
Email: mulman@gofirsthome.com
Required Content Insurance (HO‐6 Policy) for your Condo Explained

You are required to secure “Content” (HO‐6 Policy) Coverage for your new condo.
Why do I need to have this additional coverage?
The Home Owners Association that runs your Condo Complex has secured Insurance Coverage for each
building and common areas of the complex.
The HOA’s Insurance that is in place covers the “Walls Out” of your unit.
The Content (HO‐6 Policy) insurance you are required to obtain will help cover your unit from the “Walls In”.
How much coverage is required?
You will need to have a minimum of 20% of the Appraised Value in the “Building / Dwelling Property”
coverage portion of your policy.
You can have as much or as little coverage in the other portions of your HO‐6 Policy that you want.
What are the different Coverage’s included within the Content Insurance Policy?
1. Building / Dwelling Coverage – This coverage insures your real property, including building additions
and alterations, installations, or additions that are part of your unit and are your insurance
responsibility according to the governing rules of the condo association.
(20% coverage of the Appraised Value of the property required.)
2. Personal Property Coverage – This coverage insures personal property in your home like clothes and
furniture. It also insures personal property you take with you while you are away from home.
3. Loss of Use Coverage – This coverage may pay for certain losses when your home is damaged and
rendered uninhabitable because of an insured loss.
It provides for:
Additional Living Expenses – Covers the actual loss incurred for increased expenses beyond
what you normally spend for food, shelter, and related items for the shortest time required to
repair or replace your home, or for your household to settle elsewhere, up to 24 months.
Fair Rental Value – Covers the actual loss sustained for rental income from that portion of
your home rented to others or intended for rental, for the shortest time required to repair or
replace the part of the home rented or intended for rental, up to 12 months.
>> Once you have secured your policy please let us know the contact information for the company you will be
using as soon as possible, so we can get any documentation needed to finish up your Final Loan Approval.<<
If you should have any specific questions regarding your Content (HO‐6 Policy) Insurance Policy please give
our office a call.

I have been keeping a watch on this community over the past several months and one thing is for certain, this is absolutely the BEST location to find your Dream Home next to the Atlantic Ocean. The Tilghman Estate section of North Myrtle Beach, SC offers some of the best “Location based” homes throughout the whole Grand Strand! Situated between 18th Avenue N and about 4th Avenue N stretching along North Oceans Blvd. sits an area of North Myrtle Beach that is Strictly Single Family Homes. No Condos or Multi-family complexs allowed, which owes to the consistent stable Market Values held throughout this very desirable area.

View Larger
Map

>
Here, Let’s take a look at some Statistics. Below you will see, that over the past three years, there has been diverse Price Points!

Based on this information, you can see that Price Points have ranged from $2,250,000 to as low as $238,000. So, let just see exactly what your money is buying you in those two particular Price Points.

And now on the Low end:

So, what do you think?? You really need to take the time and come visit North Myrtle Beach, SC to see for yourself how this unique Oceanside Community compares to all others. If you have ever given some thought to either Relocating or acquiring that Vacation/Investment Beach Home here along the white Sandy Beaches of the Coastal Carolinas, you owe it to yourself to start looking now before the Market starts to turn upwards; because once that happens, it will already have been too late and you will haved “Missed the Boat!”

Just to keep you updated, there are currently 33 Active Listings for sale in the Tilghman Estates section of North Myrtle Beach, SC.

Out of those 33; the lowest priced house is 808 Jordan Rd at $239,900

The lowest priced Direct Oceanfront home is 1500 N Ocean Blvd at 1.4 Million

The two Lowest priced 2nd Row Beach Homes are 805 N Ocean Blvd at $799,500 and 1203 N Ocean Blvd. at $899,000

Thomas Cunningham Cell: 843-814-1078 Fax: 866-256-4074 Email: homesbythomas@gmail.com Website:

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Dear Homebuyer, New Rules!!

Are you currently searching
and combing the market to find that deal? I wanted to take the
time to apprise you of
the current changes in the Real Estate Market. If you have
been
tracking it for the past four years, you’ve
had the pleasure of witnessing one of the largest shift in National
History!
Never before have we seen such a dramatic change take place in our
National
Real Estate Market.

Once was
a time when it was common to go through a basic Check-List before you
decided to purchase a Home or Property. As a buyer, you would have
already had a stable, long-term job; some seasoned money was sitting
both,
in a Savings & Checking account with your local
Bank.
You probably had been discussing this matter for some time now;
making plans and getting your finances in order. Then it was time to
make an appointment and meet with a Mortgage Lender.During this
meeting,
you would discuss the finer details of your finances and provide the
Lender with enough information so he/she could determine what your
purchase price would be so that it will not disrupt your personal
financial
health. Once this number was determined, your next course of actions
would be to align yourself with a Real Estate Agent. This too should be
a process; maybe you had already found an Agent that you felt
comfortable enough to work with or you were
still trying to make a decision, either way you should allow yourself
time to interview and preview several different Agents before you
narrow it down to just One! These are successful steps to take when you
are purchasing a property, this very well may be, the largest purchase
of your life, shouldn’t you take the necessary precautions to protect
yourself?

Day in and day out, I have the pleasure of interacting with a
multitude of different people;phone calls, face-to-face meetings and
casual
conversations. One of the most surprising things is how current
Home buyers have not taken any of the above mentioned steps before they
decide to go searching for a home or property to purchase. The reason
for this, I believe, is simply due to the massive housing boom that
took place beginning in 2004 which created a shift in the Home Buyers
way of thinking and planning. Bad financial habits were developed and
continue to plague the National Real Estate Market. A combination of
events took place that helped changed the way Homebuyes made efforts to
purchase a House or Property. Our economy was BOOMING,
the average consumer was generating a solid income and credit was
highly abundant and extremely easy to acquire. People were lulled into
a False-Sense of security. Everything was going great, Jobs were
bountiful, the Stock Market was soring, portfolios were growing and the
future was so bright, we all had to wear Shades!! LOL

Soon,
everyone began running out to look at Real Estate
and see how they could add this to their investment portfolios or maybe
pick up a 2nd home or vacation property. Boom…., it became a Sellers
Market.A high demand for properties and low supply equaled the
beginning
increase in property values. So, off to the races we went. More and
more people  began to get themselves involved in some form of
Real
Estate purchase. First-Time Home buyers were coming out of the woodwork
to take full advantage of  the newly emerging Credit Boom that
was
pairing itself  quite conveniently with the emerging Housing
Boom!
“No Money Down”….. “100% Financing available”….”Low
Credit
Scores, not a problem”……, these were common phrases popping up all
over the place. Predatory Lending was just beginning to get a foothold
and the Consumer was happy to oblige. I mean, why not? It’s hard not to
imagine that with all frenzied activity going on why the Sharks
wouldn’t come out to play! There is no real one
area to blame for this mess that became of it all! Banks, Lenders,
Buyers, Sellers, Real Estate Agents, we were all to blame in some way,
shape or form. Quite simply, greed is the
basis for all that has happened!

This Calvin and Hobbes cartoon strip was published in newspapers back
on April 4, 1993!!!

One area of  responsibility that continually seems
to escape
everyones’ focused attention, was/and is, the Media! The American Media
has had a
huge impact as well as effect on how our economy shifted both
up
and now
plummeting downward. Both the News and Entertainment industry continued
to dramatize pockets of the National Market; classifying it a
nationwide change where it really was only isolated to certain areas
throughout the US. Vacation and Coastal regions had the most dramatic
changes of them all, with massive price increases happening within
months instead of years. Reality TV decided to jump on the bandwagon.
Playing off of the success of several aggressive entrepreneurs in hot
markets across the US. We soon were exposed to “Flip Housing”; a term
that,  at that time, not many people were familiar with. These
shows tended to glorify and incorrectly portray buying a
semi-rugged house in an up-and-coming neighborhood, while investing a
small amount of money and a lot of “Sweat-equity”, you could turn your
property for for a sizable profit. More and more we began to see so
many different shows revolving their focus on Home Ownership and Home
Improvement. Companies like ” Home Depot” and “Lowes” grew
at exponential rates as more and more Americans rushed to Buy,
improve and flip homes. Just like they saw being done on
Television.This was the American dream, right!




Our
Governments made adjustments, allowing Lending practice to relax. Money
was easily attainable and just about anyone could get a loan. Lenders
were so relaxed,unmonitored  and unlicensed  that
people were
being allowed to take out multiple loans with extremely little
collateral, if any at all. I wrote a Blog a little while ago called “Myrtle
Beach Condo Market in Peril??“
and in it  I showed how prices began to shift
throughout Myrtle Beach, SC; a Coastal region of the United
States
that is becoming a highly desirable Vacation Destination. In this Blog
I showed the ever changing trends on Direct Oceanfront Condos
throughout the Grand Strand. At first I was simply trying to show how
property prices had dropped so low, there were reverting back to 2003,
even 2000 prices. During the process of pulling statistics, I began to
see patterns develop.Shifts that showed when the Market began
it’s upward climb and soon, it’s downward spiral. I followed
it
from 2003 into 2009 and was fascinated how I could tell when the market
would shift, if you just watch certain precursors.

Well, this Blog has certainly grown far larger than I had thought it
would be….. I’m going to break it up into parts.So, Please look for
Part 2 of  ”Dear Home Buyer, New Rules!

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I wanted to take a moment and reach out to All potential Investors and Home Buyers looking up & down the Grand Strand Area. Some of you may have been watching the market with close observation over the past several months; watching for that moment to get serious in acquiring your beautiful property along the Coastal Carolinas.

Recent activity has spiked a great deal this Month in April. In just the past couple of weeks, I have seen properties in North Myrtle Beach, SC sell for huge discounts! Among these are both Direct Oceanfront and Second Row Single family Homes/Duplexes and Triplexes. Below is a link to some current SOLDS that have taking place in the Cherry Grove section of North Myrtle Beach, SC.

With these current SOLDS, price comparables for other existing properties on the market or soon to come on the Market have dropped dramatically!! Oceanfront prices per SqFt have fallen to at least $244.44 and Second Row prices have dropped to $133.33. If you have been looking for a Oceanfront/Second Row or so Beach Property, just take the Heated SqFt and multiply by my numbers above. You will see, these are huge price drops!!

I’m seeing amazing buying opportunities happening all around. Other people are garnering great deals and beautiful properties up and down the Beach; are you missing the Boat?? If you have been wanting to get that place somewhere along the Grand Strand, now would be the time to get into mix. Don’t become one those people back during 2005-06 that said ” Wow, I could have bought that place for a 100-200K less a year ago”

If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to call on me anytime. I would love the opportunity to discuss matters in more detail with anyone who has interest.

CURRENT SOLDS IN CHERRY GROVE, NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC

Your Myrtle Beach Connection
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]]> http://homesbythomas.wordpress.com/2009/06/21/are-you-missing-the-boat-or-do-you-prefer-the-view-from-the-sidelines/feed/ 0 homesbythomas 5900 N Ocean Blvd.Oceanfront Triplex 5109 N Ocean Blvd 1/2 Duplex 7+ Br /8Ba 4500SqFt 5109 N Ocean Blvd 2405 N Ocean Blvd Duplex 2312 Pointe Marsh Ln 5Br/4Ba 2400SqFt Foreclosure Private (dipping) pool Dinning Room/Kitchen w/ Hardwood Floors Thomas Cunningham Buyers' Choice Realty Thomas Cunningham Real Estate Consultant Thomas Cunningham's Facebook profile http://homesbythomas.wordpress.com/2009/06/21/myrtle-beach-condo-market-in-peril/ http://homesbythomas.wordpress.com/2009/06/21/myrtle-beach-condo-market-in-peril/#comments Sun, 21 Jun 2009 16:27:42 +0000 homesbythomas http://homesbythomas.wordpress.com/?p=27 ]]>

Myrtle Beach Condo Market in Peril??

The beginning of February, our Broker pulled statistics
for North Myrtle Beach
Oceanfront Condo pending Sales. Much to our surprise, that number was 24%……
Wow, 24%
of our current inventory was Pending a sale (having Contracts to
purchase in place) Our average number is normally 2.5%,
so you can see that a
Tenfold increase is a big deal considering how tough the market has
been
lately.

My major
concern with this information was that the majority of these
offers were contingent on Financing (meaning the buyers are applying
with a Lender
and the offer is only accepted if they are approved) So, out of that 24% of
pending sales, how many will actually close?

The
increasing restrictions that Lenders are placing on Financing
Investment Property,
2^nd homes or even a regular purchase
are making it harder and
harder for people to buy. The interest to buy may be there, but the
money is
becoming increasingly harder to come by. Take an example: Want to buy a
Condo in Myrtle
Beach, SC? Oceanfront, Oceanview or even Second Row condos
require
quite a bit from you before you will be approved to Finance your new
property.
First, prepared yourself to put anywhere from 25% to 50% of
the Purchase price as a
Down Payment. Second, the Money used as a Down Payment, typically, must
be seasoned
(have been sitting in an Account of yours) for well over 60 days. You
will need
to have a Credit Score very close to 700 or even better and they will
prefer
you to have had Liquid assets(Money in Checking /Saving Accounts,
401Ks,
Stocks, Bonds, Mutual Funds or IRAs) in your account for 12 months or
longer.
The days of 100%
financing for investors is very long gone!!

Let’s go over some figures..
All these figures below
are based on
Oceanfront
Condos only!!
The main reason for that, is simply that Oceanfront properties set the
tone for our market. Let’s face it, that where everyone wants to be and
the reason your looking here!!

• Current number of Active Listings
  for sale: 474
  Avg. Which
  is
  28%
  of our Whole Associations inventory

• Current number of Listings that are
  Pending a Sale: 111
  
  That’s 23% of our
  Inventory

• Current number of Condos that have
  Sold since Jan.1^st :
  20
  
  That’s only 4% !!! Ouch!

Now,
lets pull Statistics for the Entire
Grand Strand (
from Georgetown up to North Myrtle Beach)

• Current
  Active Listings for sale:
  1675

• Current
  number of Listings Pending a Sale:
  143
  This
  is 9%
  of the Inventory

• Current
  number of Condos that have Sold since Jan. 1st:
  45
  This is 3% of our
  full
  inventory

Next,
let’s pull the Myrtle
Beach Proper area
only
(majority of our Condo market share at 60%)

• Current Active Listings for
  sale: 1008

• Current number of Listings Pending a
  Sale: 27
  That is only 3%

• Current number of
  Condos that have Sold since Jan. 1st:
  24
  That is only 2%

Now, after pulling all the Statistics
above, I thought it would interesting to see what numbers were like in
past years. What I found was that we were seeing prices on Oceanfront
condos reverting back to 2003 .
That is a major shift in Market values and an even larger buying
opportunity. Take a look at what I found:

• Jan-Feb.2009 Myrtle
  Beach Area Avg. List
  price:$192,119 Avg Sold Price: $176,399
  • There is an
    8%
    difference in price between Listed and Sold
• Jan-Feb. 2003 Myrtle
  Beach Area Avg. List
  price:$165,712 Avg. Sold Price:$159,433
  • There is only a 4%
    difference between Listed and Sold
    • Roughly, comparing 2003
      to 2009 ,
      Avg. List prices are only different by 13% ;
      Sold Prices were off by 10% .
      Those are small margins considering how high prices were in 2005-2006

• Jan-Feb. 2005 Myrtle
  Beach Area Avg. List
  price:$247,824 Avg. Sold Price:$243,626
  • Only 2% difference
    between Listed and Sold prices
    • • The Avg. Sold price Soared
        53%!!!
        from 03
• Jan-Feb. 2006 Myrtle
  Beach Area Avg. List
  price:$271,709 Avg. Sold Price:$267,932
  • Just 1.3% difference
    • • The Avg. Sold price increased
        another 10%!!
        from 05
• Jan-Feb. 2007
  Myrtle Beach Area Avg. List
  price:$330,617 Avg. Sold Price:$312,114
  • Here we see a Difference of 6%!
    • • The Increase
        from 06 to 07
        was yet
        another 16%!!
• Jan-Feb. 2008 Myrtle
  Beach Area Avg. List
  price:$262,048 Avg. Sold Price:$239,642
  • With the prices just now being to fall, the difference is
    9%!
    • For the first time in Seven
      Years, we see a decrease
      of 23%!!! from 07 to 08

• • The Average Sold
    price increase from 03
    to 05 was 53%!!
    ,
    03
    to 06
    was 68%!!
    03
    to 07 was a whopping 96%!!!! HUGE
    
  • Looking from 03
    to 08 we see a change of only 50%!!
    and to come full circle, form 03
    to 09 we see it just at 11%!!!

Yep, it’s official! We have certainly come full circle in prices!!
The question that will continue to be on everyones mind is,
how much more will prices continue to drop? How much longer
do you think you should wait??

Well, if you are still waiting to see if the prices will drop
any further? Be careful, if you wait too
much longer, you very
well may miss the boat and find yourself in that large
category of
people who will have said

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That was the question
that was posted not to long ago on Trulia’s website
by an anonymous person. It was placed in the section of Market
Conditions for Charleston, SC. The full question went like this:

“was
thinking about telling them stuff like (1) interest rates are low (2)
inventory is high so there is great selection and (3) that RE never
goes down in value. Not sure how to get around the fact that prices are
going down, the economy is terrible and nothing is selling. Any ideas
would be helpful.”

One Agent answered  simply along the lines of stating
that if the buyers happen to be currently renting, they could stop
paying thier Landlords mortgage and start paying on thier own and
acquire equity in the new property.

I thought this was a decent enough answer, but just a tad
generic!

My Answer went a little something like this:

“Have
you considered the idea of expressing that Prices on most homes and
properties around here have reverted back to 2001-03. Prices. That with
the influx of Short-sales, REOs ( Bank Owned ) properties, prices are
dropping to amazing points where it’s a huge Buying opportunity?

Nobody
is going to be able to predict how much further prices will continue to
fall or if they continue to fall at all.

Yes,
your statements of “Interest Rates at an all-time low” “inventory is
High” are both true and provide an opportunity! But, the comment on “
RE never goes down in value” is just plan silly!! This economic
situation we’re all facing is new and unique. We have never really seen
an RE market like this and because of that, it makes it impossible to
predict which way it will continue to go.

My strategy is simplistic: Be honest, Be current and more importantly,
Be helpful. Nobody wants a ” Used Car Salesman” The new consumer is
Educated and in most cases, more up-to-date then most of the Real
Estate Agents out there now!! The concept with any investment is
simple, buy Low and Sell High….. So, with that being said, if you
have buyers that have interest but are sitting on the fence; First quiz
them and see if buying is even financial possibility for them and
understand why they want to buy right now. Second, buying an investment
on a downturn is the best time to buy, period!! You already know that
prices have dropped and may continue to drop. If you purchase your
property while the market is down, you are basically insuring
the fact that when the market turns around ( and it will !!! ) your
purchase will garner a nice return, especially if you are buying that
property at a price that was dated almost 10 years ago!!

If my logic here is skewed, by all means share with me if
and where I’m wrong…. Here is my advise,
feel free to either take it or flush it. It is yours
to do with however you please!!”

I feel that I was pretty much on the Money with my statement,
what do you think? How would you have answered the question?? Please
share and discuss!!

UPDATED…….UPDATED….

If you have had the pleasure of stumbling upon my blog here,
lately. Please take the time to see the correspondence developing
between me and this ( anonymous ) person. Absolutely hilarious:

Click here for the
Thread!!

The Bluffs on the
Waterway, luxury living (now) at a Discount!

   
The Bluffs on the Waterway is a gated, waterway community located in
the Carolina Forest  section of Myrtle Beach, SC.Tucked in the
corner between River Oaks Dr and the Intercoastal Waterway and close to
Robert Grissom Parkway The Bluffs on the Waterway proves itself to
be  highly convenient to just about everything the
Grand
Strand has to offer. In less than 20 Minutes, you can find
yourself either at the Beach,one of the many major shopping
areas ( Coastal Grand Mall,
Broadway at the Beach, Tanger Outlet Mall) and many more!!

    Included with this beautiful community
,are plenty of on site ammenties with HOA fees only runining about
$57.00 per month,

• Two
  seperate Recreation buildings to utilize (one that offers a full size
  pool, large patio area along with a Childerns play area and the other
  building is placed Directly overlooking the water with magnificent
  views of the
  Waterway) 
• Private Boat Ramp providing access to the
  Intercoastal Waterway along with community Day Dock
• Private Boat Storage fenced within the Community
• Tennis Courts 

Pulling some current statistics, you will see that The Bluffs on the
Waterway is an opportunity to garner yourself a beautiflly custom home
within a private gated community that sits right on the Intercoastal
Waterway at some amazing discounted prices! But hey, don’t take my word
for it, come see for yourself!!

Your Myrtle Beach
Connection

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