More than ever before, buyers are conducting property searches online.  74% of home-buyers who used the web to search for homes drove by or viewed a home they saw online.  Listings lacking multiple photos, or using low quality photos, run the risk of being passed over.  Incorporating new venues, like virtual tours, give buyers a view of the property right from their desk.  Here are some tips to increase the face value of your home's online listing photo: Crop out sidewalks, streets and remove vehicles from the driveway. Steer clear of the shade and get up-close or angled photos. For exterior shots, make sure the kid's toys are put away and remove evidence of pets. If you decide to include a virtual tour, incorporate music or commentary to stimulate interest. With so much research and h... 09/02/2009

We work hard to make our clients feel at ease and treat each as partners through personalized service. "The Guilliams Team" has over 45 years of business experience in marketing, human resources and customer service, giving us the ability to work through issues to lessen the stressful process of buying and selling a home. This extensive business experience gives us a strong competitive edge in negotiations and logistical situations. We strive for win/win situations in every step of the real estate process, and we pride ourselves on honesty and integrity. During our free time, we enjoy watching sports as Gina is a NC State graduate and Tim is a University of Virginia fan. We're also fans of Winthrop University Athletics, Carolina Panthers football, and NASCAR. We're very active with our ... 08/07/2009

Realtors need leads, and lots of them, to run a successful Real Estate Business. Working leads takes time though, and many Realtors struggle once they start getting a high volume of calls or inquiries. Do you harness the power of technology to capture these leads? Or does that one phone call get lost in the shuffle? Do you have a database that keeps all of these leads organized and automatically contacts them on a regular basis, without you having to do anything? No problem, we’ve found the answer! Lead generation and prospect capture are two tools that every Realtor should be utilizing. To that end, we would like to offer up the following synopsis of some tools, as well as our thoughts on the systems. We looked at three services: ProQuest, by RealtyStar; DriveBuy Technologies; and Mic... 08/04/2009

Forbes says people are still relocating. But where are they relocating too? The Charlotte metro which includes the Fort Mill area is ranked 17th in the Top 100 cheapest places to live according to Forbes Magazine Lucy Maher. Maher says; Americans are swapping their expensive lives on the urban coasts and reaching for greener pastures elsewhere. North Carolina and Colorado are a magnet for newcomers. The Charlotte metro area, although slower than the past years, is still gaining in population. The Charlotte metro includes many communities including Fort Mill, Tega Cay, Rock Hill Lake Wylie and more. To see more about how Forbes ranked the cheapest places to live and to see why Fort Mill is one of the best places around the Charoltte metro area... read more at Fort Mill Real Estate Blog.... 07/29/2009

It is definitely a buyer's market, but if you don't have realistic expectations as either a buyer or a seller this can be a disappointing time.  Due to the current state of the economy homes are selling for as a high a price as they may have a couple of years ago.  Having said that, if you are selling and buying you need to remember that even though the house may not sell for the price you are hoping you can recoup on the buyer side of the transaction and end up purchasing more house than possible a couple of years ago.  Be realistic with your expectations and take the emotion out of the deal.  Understand the market in your area and understand that the goal is to offer fair deals to buyers and sellers.  Many people trying to sell their home will believe their home is worth a certain amo... 07/25/2009

Since 1986 I have called York County home and if there is one area that has made a complete transformation, but retained the hometown feel it is Fort Mill, SC.  In the beginning Fort Mill was well known as the home of a textile empire, Springs Industries.  One of the original manufacturing plants burned in the early 1980s and that space, which is near downtown, has been converted into a wonderful community park known as the Walter Elisha Park.  The park is located near the quaint downtown area that still boasts many unique shops great for spending a leisurely Saturday afternoon.  Fort Mill has grown tremendously with residential developments such as Baxter, a new Lowe's store, an unbelieveable Wal-Mart and lots of niche shopping centers and restaurants unique to the Fort Mill area.  Lo... 07/15/2009

It is amazing the information that is available on the internet on just about any topic or subject and person may be searching for.  We continue to work on expanding our website so that is full of useful information for potential buyers, sellers or folks just looking to educate themselves on the world of real estate.  On our website, www.theguilliamsteam.com, visitors to the site can obtain information about active properties on the market, relocation inforamtion , statistics on the real estate market in our area, data about many of the surroundings areas and answers to many questions that folks have about real estate.  We even include fun tidbits of information about local restaurants, shopping and other entertainment in the area to help our clients who are new to the area. We encoura... 07/14/2009

As we continue to grow our business, and with our professional background, we both realize the importance of building and maintaining a strong network of contacts.  We have been fortunate in our careers to build relationships with real estate professionals throughout the United States.  How does our network benefit our clients?  Easy.  We are often asked for advice from friends and previous clients who are relocating to another area if we know of a real estate professional who can help them in their new area with finding a new home.  Moving to an area where you don't know any real estate professionals can be a daunting task and many times people will just take potluck and call someone from the yellow pages.  Let us help connect you with a person that we trust who we know will offer you... 07/03/2009

With all the incentives available right now for first time home buyers we are asked all the time by potential first time home buyers if this really is the time to buy.  Without question the answer is YES.  Renting is often a necessity, but when it comes to investing in your future becoming a homeowner is one of the best investments you can make.  Until December of this year first time home buyers may be eligible to receive an $8000 tax credit which most likely will be gone after this year.  There are also a number of great deals right now so home buyers are actually in a position to purchase more house than they originally thought they could.  Purchasing a home can be a scary process no matter whether you are a first time home buyer or you are buying your 10th property.  The process do... 06/21/2009

Interest rates are moving up in Ballantyne and Fort Mill ! Pending sale are up 6.7% across the country and low rates maybe history soon under 6%. Why wait to purchase a home.   Judy Osborne Osborne Realty 704-889-7653 Visit us 06/12/2009

Everyone is invited to preview our website for real estate in York County, South Carolina for all the latest information on a constantly changing market. We look forward to comments on how we can improve the site and to make it a very useful tool in your search for the perfect property. Links are below and we hope you have a great day. Househunt Link      http://www.york-homesforsale.com/   05/28/2009

------------ ©2009 - AmazingVideoTours.com - All Rights Reserved. Any use of this photo, including reproduction, modification, distribution or republication, without the prior written consent of Amazing Video Tours, is strictly prohibited. Amazing Video Tours offers photography and full motion video marketing solutions to Realtors, and other individuals with property to sell, lease, or rent. A departure from the old fashion 360 Virtual Tour, Amazing Video Tours takes online property marketing to the next level. 05/27/2009

Choosing a real estate agent can be daunting task, but in today's market sellers are much better off having a real estate professional representing them verses trying to market and sell a home on their own.  With current economic conditions it takes patience when selling a home and depending on price point, some homes may not sell as quickly as if in better economic times so it makes it even more important to partner with a real estate agent that will work hard to market and get your home sold.  When deciding which real estate professional to partner with here are some good questions to ask *  Do you do visual tours on the internet? *  What kind of weekly data can you provide me to see what kind of internet hits the listing is receiving? *  What kind of stats can you provide that will ... 05/18/2009

Take a 360 Virtual Tour: http://rtvpix.com/RE-6563-426F2W-01 341 Fischer Rd. Fort Mill, SC 29715 Price: $421,500 * Beds: 4 Baths: 3.5 MLS #: 859288 Garage: 2 Total SqFt: 4,800 Acres: 0.28 *REDUCED* Steve Dowe704-299-6255 8604 Cliff Cameron Dr., Suite 110 Charlotte, NC US 28269 Website View My Tour Gallery Powered by Media Tours 360 Your Charlotte Metro Real Estate Marketing Expert! 05/15/2009

Foreclosure.com is reporting 263 foreclosure listings for York County SC which is down from April 23rd’s 292 reported foreclosure listings. There are 180 bankruptcy listings in York County.  The York County area includes Fort Mill, Tega Cay, Lake Wylie, Rock Hill, Clover, York SC. Elsewhere as of May 7th: There are 1,310 foreclosure listings in Mecklenburg County, NC. There are 5,531 foreclosure listings reported in the state of South Carolina. National there are 492, 646 reported  foreclosure listings. All of this weeks reported foreclosures listings are down... read the rest of the article at Homes Fort Mill Carmen S Miller Century 21® First Choice 206 Rockmont Dr | Fort Mill, SC 29708 C: 803-322-3479 carmen@carmensmiller.com www.homesfortmill.com 05/09/2009

I put together a single family homes sales report for the Fort Mill SC area for your review. The data is for March 2009 single family home sales with a comparison to March 2008. The data is from the Charlotte MLS and the area is Fort Mill, SC which includes communities like Baxter Village, Springfield, Knigthsbridge, and other Fort Mill communities except for Tega Cay SC. In March 2009, 36 single family homes sold in Fort Mill compared to 51 sold in March 2008 which is an approx decrease of 29%. The average days a home is on the market has increased 23% to 133 days. The sale price to listing price percent is at 96% of listing price. There are currently 789 single family homes for sale listings in the Fort Mill area on the Charlotte MLS service.  581 are active listings in the combined Y... 05/09/2009

It has been an interesting couple of days in regards to economic headline news. You might say the headlines have been more positive in nature. Which means better news to Fort Mill home onwers. Especially if your home is on the market. See for yourself. Here is a list of positive headlines I wanted to share with you: Wells Fargo expects record 1Q profit report by the Charlotte Business Journal. Wells Fargo: Is This The Play On The Real Estate Recovery? Wells Fargo’s big upside earnings surprise… report by CNBC. Retailers see signs of optimism despite 2.1% sales drop report by the GlobeSt.com. Obama sees “glimmers of hope” in economy report by Reuters. Read the rest of the Story at Homes Fort Mill.   05/09/2009

  ------------ ©2009 - AmazingVideoTours.com - All Rights Reserved. Any use of this photo, including reproduction, modification, distribution or republication, without the prior written consent of Amazing Video Tours, is strictly prohibited. Amazing Video Tours offers photography and full motion video marketing solutions to Realtors, and other individuals with property to sell, lease, or rent.  A departure from the old fashion 360 Virtual Tour, Amazing Video Tours takes online property marketing to the next level. 05/06/2009

Most buyers will sell their homes within 5-10 years due to expanding families, job transfers, or other factors.  Keep an eye out for features that will fetch top dollar in any housing market.  Here are a few features to look for: Look to the view:  Homes with an unencumbered view of nature or city lights sell higher than comparable homes without a view.  The more the merrier:  Demand for homes with three or more bedrooms and at least two and a half bathrooms is greatest. Busy landscaping:  Avoid property that is over-landscaped.  The money you'll invest to keep it up may outweigh the impact on property value. Pool profits:  A pool can yield hours of family fun but don't expect it to increase resale value.  The expensive upkeep and safety issues regarding young children and pools may red... 05/02/2009

Cape Coral, Florida.  As CBS News called it this morning - "Ground Zero of the housing crisis" last year.  But one Realtor is turning that tide with an innovative approach to marketing foreclosures.  Marc Joseph of Foreclosures Tours R Us is shepherding literal boatloads of potential buyers to multiple waterfront foreclosures at one time.  He is making change happen at a local level that has the potential to create a positive ripple effect across the whole nation. Click here for the CBS News article.  (The photo is courtesy of CBS as well.) What an inspiration!  As I watched the story this morning it made me think about what I'm doing to help the economic situation.  Here in Fort Mill, SC my partner Markelle Harden and I are offering a free monthly listing tour to local agents.  We meet... 04/30/2009