Mount Pleasant Magazine Sept/Oct 2016

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the proper time arrived. Then a three-bedroom, two-bath
gem showed up in Hickory Shadows for $250,000. It was
the only house Hopkins saw in person, and it was love at
first sight. It had the size, location and yard he sought. In a
whirlwind of activity, he and his savvy aunt snapped it up.
His advice for those searching is to “have patience and it
will happen – and have a good agent!”
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“Much depends on negotiating skills at this price range,”
remarked Christine Pettigrew of Agent Owned Realty.
Pettigrew helped her client, Dani Heck, buy a
$200,000 town house in Hunters Trace. All told, they had
looked at 21 homes and had been outbid in three earlier
offers. The experience taught them to make an offer where
the net for the seller would add up to the asking price –
and keep the contract clean of closing costs and warranties.
The town home was on the market for only a few
hours, with eight showings scheduled on the first day.
Using the new negotiation strategy, Heck beat the
competition.
“The search was tougher than I expected, but
everything happened for a reason. With every home I saw,
I became more educated, opened my mind and prepared
myself to move on a home in 15 minutes,” she said.
She is thrilled with her new home.
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allie Franklin and JareD SmitH looked at
10 houses before finding their dream home in Mallard
Lakes. The couple began looking in December of 2015 with
a budget of $320,000 and found the home they wanted
by spring. Franklin said they decided on Mount Pleasant
because of its proximity to the beaches and to Wando High
School, where Smith works as an assistant principal.
“We were willing to take the time to find the location
we wanted,” Franklin explained. “We also were willing to
give up certain things on our wish list to have our ideal
location, which was near the beaches and Shem Creek.”
Franklin and Smith described how they “hounded
Zillow” as well as their agent, Tyler Davidson of Carolina
One. Good fortune seemed to befall the couple when they
discovered a home behind Shem Creek.
“It was outdated, but you could walk to the creek
and it was ideal in many other ways, so we put a bid on
it,” Franklin remembered. “We even wrote a letter, and
explained why we liked it. But we didn’t get it, and I was
heartbroken.”
Fortunately, victory was just around the corner – the
couple found their current home at the end of March.
Thanks to the diligence of their agent, they were able to
see the home one hour before the scheduled open house.
Falling in love immediately with its screened porch,
“beautiful” master bath, spacious yard and more, they put
an offer on it the very next day. Their offer was successful,
and Franklin and Smith have settled happily into their
new abode.
“My words of encouragement for new buyers in East
Cooper are to figure out what’s important to you – narrow
down the list,” Franklin said. “Look at older homes for
their potential. And be patient and persistent.”
Photo by Denise K. James.
Photo by Rick Walo.