Why Aren’t Buyers Coming to See Your Home?

In previous posts, I’ve discussed some common questions that are asked by First Time Home Buyers.

In this post, I’d like to address one of the most common Home Seller Questions.

Let me set the scene. (Dim the lights. Clear Your Mind. Focus on My Words.)

You have been trying to sell your home for more than 60 days with ZERO SUCCESS! As a matter of fact, you’ve only had about 8-10 buyers visit during this period of time.

You begin to Google information about ways to sell your home with the following question in mind…

Why aren’t buyers coming to see my home?

Let me answer that question with a question.

If buyers aren’t aware about your home being available for sale, what is going to make them interested in seeing it?

For those of you that listed your home with a real estate agent, you probably experienced a listing presentation. Let me see if I can recreate that event for you.


Mr. & Mrs. Seller,

MLS (MULTIPLE LISTING SYSTEM) IS A SYSTEM THAT REAL ESTATE AGENTS USE TO PUT A SELLER’S HOME ON THE MARKET. WHEN YOU ARE LISTING WITH A REAL ESTATE AGENT, YOUR HOME GOES ON MLS SO THAT IT IS SEEN BY EVERYONE!! THERE IS ALSO A SIGN THAT WE PUT IN YOUR YARD THAT TELLS NOT ONLY YOUR NEIGHBORS THAT YOU ARE SELLING YOUR HOME BUT EVERYONE THAT DRIVES BY. WHEN YOU LIST WITH (depending on your experience – you may choose to insert your past or current real estate agent’s name here) I WILL PUT YOUR PROPERTY IN THE NEWSPAPER AND A REAL ESTATE MAGAZINE AS WELL.


Did I come close?

If you are in the process of selling your home in Columbia or Irmo, SC, there are two pieces of information that are vital to your success.

1. In South Carolina, we have a document called the Seller's Property Condition Disclosure Statement. As required by South Carolina law, the Seller must provide the Purchaser this disclosure PRIOR to the acceptance of the Contract of Sale.

2. 86% of home buyers started using the Internet as part of their process BEFORE they started looking for a specific home; the other 14% did after they started looking.

Is it a good thing to have your home in MLS. Yes! However, your home is BURIED with everyone else’s home in MLS! Do you want to be part of the masses or do you want to stand alone to be recognized by the world?

If your are selling your home through a FSBO Strategy or through a listing agent that does not have PERSONAL CONTROL of at least five websites, you might not be getting enough exposure to your home.

Patterson Group Clients have experienced great success in selling their home through our online and viral marketing systems.

Here are some of our success stories and one of many testimonials –


Snow Lane - Sold in 34 Days
Saddlebrooke Road - Sold in 30 Days
Orangeburg Drive - Sold in 22 Days
Cressfell Circle – Sold in Less Than 21 Days
Windsor Point Road - Sold in 15 Days
Curlew Avenue – Sold in 10 Days
Legend Oaks Drive – Sold in 9 Days
Morninglo Lane – Sold in 4 Days

'Patterson Group provides excellent service. Everything was done that could be and was done in a timely, professional manner. Even Mark Thomas (Closing Attorney) did and adequate and wonderful job. Thanks to Patterson Group for changing our negative feelings about buying/selling a home. YOU GUYS WERE AWESOME!' -- SSG Jarrett C. Vandi - US Army


If you would like to discuss the sale of your home, please feel free to call or email me and schedule an appointment to meet at my Forest Acres office.

I look forward to hearing from you soon. P.S. -- Click Here for Part Two of this Series!

Lexington SC Homes for Sale near White Knoll Schools

This Johns Island floor plan is the only Four (4) Bedroom / 2300+ Square Foot home available in the Lexington, SC White Knoll Subdivision that is priced under $160K with TWO spacious Master Bedrooms! Plan includes formals, upgraded kitchen & family room.

Some of the children in this neighborhood are educated by the Lexington One School District.

Click here for a Virtual Tour of 121 Cleyera Drive

Looking for Lake Carolina Homes for Sale? - Visit This Site!!

CLICK HERE TO SEARCH HOMES FOR SALE IN LAKE CAROLINA!!

If you are looking for a home priced in the $180,000 - $265,000 range, Berkeley Hall in Lake Carolina could be worth a look. Berkeley Hall is within walking distance of Lake Carolina Elementary, Kelly Mill Middle School and the NEW Northeast YMCA.

Here is one of the Berkeley Hall homes that's listed by my office.............


Our Featured Listing is Four Bedrooms, 2.5 Bathrooms and 2725 Square Feet (priced at $251,200). This home is located on a Cul-de-Sac lot with hardwoods on the lower interior.


The Master Suite has a Trey Ceiling and Sitting Area. The home has fresh interior paint, a screened porch, an automatic sprinkler system and a finished garage.

Identifying the perfect Lake Carolina Home is like looking for a needle in a haystack. If you'd
like help with searching for "the needle", call the HAY line at (803) HAY-9010.


If you like reading this type of information, SUBSCRIBE to this blog.

The Second Most Common Question of First Time Home Buyers

“Is the current market idea for purchasing a home?”

In the current climate of daily foreclosure stories and “experts” using words and phrases like “recession” and “bursting bubbles”, I am going to answer this question and issue my perception of the current real estate market in Northeast Columbia, South Carolina.

We all have goals and dreams for our lives. Some of the items on my “Bucket List” or “Goddard’s List” include visiting all 50 states in The Union, competing on a game show and becoming one of the most trusted real estate professionals in South Carolina.

In my opinion...Anytime is a great time to realize your dream!

If you are looking to own a home and experience the “American Dream” of home ownership, REMEMBER…….Anytime is a great time to realize your dream!

Would you like some facts that support my answer?

In Northeast Columbia during 2007, the number of HOMES SOLD did decrease by about 10% in comparison to 2006 numbers. HOWEVER………….

While those numbers decreased, the average sales price INCREASED by about 4.69%. What does that mean to you?

If you were thinking about buying a home in 2007 and decided that the “television and news experts” were right about your waiting to purchase a home, you LOSS about $8400 in equity through natural appreciation.

Do you need some more convincing? Nibble on these numbers…….

These are the raw Consolidated MLS numbers for Northeast Columbia Zip Codes:
(Zip Codes: 29223 -- 29229 -- 29016)

Year----------Closed Sales----------Average Sales Price
2007__________ 2700_______________ $192,714
2006__________ 3091_______________ $184,072
2005__________ 2929_______________ $168,566
2004__________ 2517_______________ $169,245
2003__________ 2129_______________ $163,100

What do these numbers say?

If you had bought your home in 2003, you could have gained about $30,000 in home equity. Here’s a question for you?

How hard would it be for you to save $30,000 within four years?

In summary, if you are buying a HOME (and not primarily for investment purposes) and you are working with a team of real estate professionals…. Anytime is a great time to realize your dream!

For the most common first time home buyer question, visit my Most Common Question post.

If you like reading this type of information, SUBSCRIBE to this blog.

First Time Home Buyers Share Their Home Buying Experience

Rebecca Levinson is a Corporate Blogger and Community Leader with Connect2Agent in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. She has been nice enough to honor me with being a Guest Contributor of The Patterson Files.

Earlier this week, Rebecca sent me an email to announce the launch of Tales from the Connect2Agent Crib. “Tales” will be a monthly feature that showcases feedback from Connect2Agent employees on relevant real estate topics.

Quoting Rebecca… ”Homeownership is one of the most important goals in life for many people. Even though a home purchase is a business purchase, it is also a very personal decision.”

Rebecca asked some employees of Connect2Agent to tell her about their first time home buyer experience. The responses were enlightening. Here's just a sample......

"One thing I would have done differently is NOT used a family friend as our buyer's agent. I didn't feel like I could voice my concerns or displeasure at all, so as to not "rock the boat" with my parents' friendship with this person

Thanks Rebecca for sharing these experiences with my readers. You are one of the best!

Click Here for more of the Featured Responses

Click Here for Part Two

Click Here for Part 3 (The responses couldn't fit into one installment....ENJOY!)

Are You Selling Your Home in 2008? Don't Forget These Fees!

When determining the amount of net funds finding its way into your pocket from the sale of your home, you must account for the fees charged by the State of South Carolina.

The State of South Carolina Code of Laws (Title 12 - Chapter 24) requires a recording fee to be imposed for the privilege of recording a deed in which any realty is transferred to another person.

Unless negotiated within the Contract of Sale, the homeowner is the party that pays these fees at the closing table.

Question #1 - How much are you "the homeowner" going to pay to the State for selling your home?

In most cases, a homeowner will pay $1.85 per each $500 represented by the sales price negotiated to consummate the realty transaction. For example, if I sold my personal home for $200,000, I would pay a deed recordation tax of $740.



Question #2 - Who gets the money?

Let me share with you the list of recipients.

The South Carolina Heritage Trust Fund (under the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources) receives $.05 from each $1.85 paid.

The South Carolina Housing Trust Fund receives $.20.

The South Carolina Conservation Land Bank receives $.25.

The South Carolina General Fund receives $.80.

The County of Residence (I reside in Richland County) would be the recipient of the remaining $.55 to help pay for the operation and administration of each local deed office.


For more information about the use of these funds, feel free to contact the representative of each aforementioned entity.

First Time Home Buyers Should Know Their Buying Power

One of the biggest frustrations for both parties (buyers and sellers) in a real estate transaction occurs when home buyers are not properly approved and thoroughly educated about their mortgage.

For example, a buyer made a full price offer on a $160,000 home that was accepted by the seller. The lender had pre-approved the buyer for the loan. However, the lender had not communicated the monthly payment on a $160,000 mortgage to the buyer.

When receiving that piece of information about three weeks after entering into the contract, the buyer was floored and nervous about making the purchase.

Needless to say, the buyer did not complete the purchase. Understandably, the seller was less than ecstatic about this turn of events.

Before making an offer on a home, always obtain a copy of the Good Faith Estimate that is required to be given to you by your lender within three days after completing a mortgage application.

What did you say? "You don’t have a lender."

"You haven't applied for a home mortgage by completing a Uniform Residential Loan Application (Fannie Mae Form 1003)."

"You didn’t receive a Good Faith Estimate before shopping for a home."

Do any of the previous statements read like Greek to you (and you don’t speak Greek)?

If any of these statements are true for your situation, you are not properly prepared to purchase a home. You might want to hire a team of professionals that will properly educate and guide you successfully through the process.

If you like reading this type of information,

SUBSCRIBE to this blog.

Click Here for the HOMEPAGE.