Ready, Set, Recharge!  We have put together our Hilton Head Island Getaway including our favorite restaurants, our favorite places to stay and a fun list of things to do on Hilton Head Island.  This time of year is a favorite for weekenders with the temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s, white puffy clouds and a slower pace than the busier summer season.   With easy driving distance from Charlotte and Atlanta and direct flights into nearby Savannah/Hilton Head Airport, our weekenders love Hilton Head because they can arrive to the Island on the same day and in only a few hours.   Read the rest of this entry

A note from Paul Griz, CPA about Short Sales and Taxes

Whenever a debt of a taxpayer is forgiven by a lender, whether the debt is credit card debt, home mortgage debt, or other debt, the forgiven debt, i.e., debt relief, is generally taxable to the taxpayer.  With regard to short sales or foreclosures, if you have reached an agreement with your mortgage lender in which the lender has agreed to forgive your mortgage, you will be subject to income tax consequences.  The lender will typically issue either Form 1099-C “Cancellation of Debt” or Form 1099-A “Acquisition or Abandonment of Secured Property” in the year of the asset sale.  In other words, you should receive one of these forms from your prior lender in the year of the closing of your home.  At that point, the debt forgiveness is reported to the IRS as income. Read the rest of this entry

The Director of Sales at Dunes Marketing Group, Bill Baldwin was recently quoted in the local Island Packet stating that the Hilton Head real estate market bucks the downward real estate trend reported nationally.  Now I really don’t know how a newspaper makes money, but as a Hilton Head homeowner and a realtor on the Island, I think I would read the paper more often and even advertise more frequently if the paper had more news like this in the headlines. Read the rest of this entry

Interested in learning about short sales on Hilton Head Island?

If you are a buyer or seller and are wondering what a short sale is and how you can benefit, shoot us an email at robbie@robbiebunting.com or call us toll free at 800-932-3652.  Essentially a short sale is selling a property for less than what is owed the bank.  We have worked out many short sales for our buyers and sellers and have found that although time consuming, they can be a way for a purchaser to get a great property or a seller to get their otherwise upside down property sold.    Read the rest of this entry

Meaningful conversations are not always easy!

It is said meaningful conversations contribute to happiness.  One agent explained that he has been telling good people some tough stuff lately.  We all seem to dance around the tough subjects, but certainly it makes more sense to have a meaningful conversation before a selling season.  These tough conversations often revolve around issues including access, condition or price with timing on the sellers side for the upcoming fall season!  Read the rest of this entry

Baby boomers will make their move to Hilton Head in 2011

It is not until next year that baby boomers will begin retiring in force and this group will have major impact on areas like Hilton Head Island despite the economy.  With the “oldest” turning 65 years and the “younger” ones turning 50, these boomers will start begin their pilgrimage in numbers next year.  Although we are busy selling real estate on Hilton Head, this is the calm before the storm and we need to prepare ourselves for this deluge.  The economy may have slowed some of this group down, but it is impossible to stop them.  The key though is to be in front of them. Read the rest of this entry

Dear Clients, Friends and Fellow Associates~

Below is our Hilton Head Monthly Market Trend Report for July 2010.  This report is exactly what it’s name implies; it’s an “at a glance” report of current Home, Villa and lot trends for Hilton Head Island. 

This market research tells us where the most robust (busiest) price segments of the market are – i.e. it will tell us where the activity is and where it is not.  It shows the number of listings and the sales that occured last month in each pricing segment.  It also shows negotiatiability, the average listing to sale price, the days on the market and the number of months of inventory.  The last column shows the increase or decrease in the remaining months of inventory from the month prior and helps us spot possible trends.  Take a look below and than call us to explain how this report applies to the timing of your Hilton Head Island purchase or sale. Read the rest of this entry

Do you remember the Sunday Only Island Packet?

We used to tell our friends and clients that had interest in Hilton Head Island to subscribe to the “Sunday” Island Packet because they would mail it anywhere in the country(and in other countries).  Although the delivery often had a lag time, this was one of the best(and only) ways to tap into what was happening on Hilton Head Island.  Although there is no longer a Sunday Only Island Packet, there are now many new ways to tap into the latest and current happenings on Hilton Head.  We have included Hilton Head social networks and online media for you below.  Read the rest of this entry

Hilton Head Real Estate markets move quickly

In the last few years, we all have learned that that the Hilton Head Island real estate market can move very quickly from an extreme “Sellers Market” to an extreme “Buyers Market”.  Most markets bounce a little bit from a “Normal Market” right or left, but Hilton Head has bounced big time.  Just two years ago prices were frothy and somehow we overcompensated for this and our prices now seem extremely low.  The important thing to know is that this too will not last forever and normal will return. Read the rest of this entry

Now is the time to get off the fence!

Last month in June, we rocked and sold eight properties, just Jane and I.  If you are thinking of selling, now is the time to get on the market or price your property to sell.  It will not do any good to evaluate price in December when Hilton Head Island has fewer visitors and everyone is thinking of the holidays.  Hilton Head Island is seasonal and we have buyers looking for properly now. Read the rest of this entry