The Grand Strand market is moving, values are holding at current levels and there are tremendous buying opportunities.  For those not familiar with The Grand Strand it is a 60+ mile stretch of the Eastern Coastline from Little River to Pawley’s Island.  The Grand Strand includes Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach, Garden City, Murrells Inlet, North Myrtle Beach, Cherry Grove and several other cities.
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Coastal Solutions is a firm dedicated to helping stabilize The Grand Strand Real market by offering risk-management & assessment services of distressed assets. We achieve this by utilizing our staff’s superior knowledge of market conditions & strategies. Working with a network of contractors, inspectors & builders we provide you with a team dedicated to maximizing saleability of your assets.

Not all of our properties are distressed assets — Some are just great deals — Take a look at some of our featured properties and call or email us with any questions.  Please do not forget to try our one of a kind custom Bank Owned and Short Sale Property Search Feature >>

FEATURED PROPERTIES >>

9780 Estep Court | Myrtle Beach, SC 29579
This is a must see. Not a short sale or bank owned home. Has it all, sitting on one of the best golf course home sites in the Members Club Section of the Grande Dunes. Almost 5300 Heated Square Feet and just under 8000 total square feet.
4 Bed, 5 full 2 half bath, study, loft w/wet bar and so much more.
Price $999,900
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9340 Modena Court | Myrtle Beach, SC 29579
Great home located in the Members Club section of The Grande Dunes. Granite, Tile, Hardwood, Fireplace, Viking Appliances, Subzero Refidge, and a Master Bath Room to die for – Floor to ceiling tiled shower is a must see.
4 Bed, 4.5 Bath, Study, 3 car garage, 3650 heated square feet
Price $799,900
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2006 Kilkee Drive | Myrtle Beach, SC 29579
If you own land in Horry or Georgetown County this home owner will consider a trade. Large home located on Parkland #11 golf hole. No detail was left out on this home. Viking Appliances, Wet bars with beer kegartors, Zodiac Counter tops, Sonace sound system, and every other toy you want.
4 Bed, 3.5 Bath, Study, Screen Porch, 4572 Heated Square Feet
Price $799,900
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117 A N. Dogwood Drive | Surfside Beach, SC 29575
Awesome raised beach house with tons of upgrades. 42 inch Plasma TV, Granite, SS appliances, Tile throughout 1st floor, smooth ceilings, private pool with paver deck, TV room with X-box, and much more. Great vacation home – Rent out while you are not using!
4 Bed, 3.5 Bath, 2100 Square Ft
Price: $399,900
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184 Low County Loop | Murrells Inlet, SC 29576
Bank Owned home sits on 2.7 acres and back up to Collins Creek. This beautiful Low Country inspired home Upgrades include hardwood flooring, granite countertops, travertine tile, tile shower, large rooms, home automation prewiring throughout, large 54′x12′ back porch, tech shield roof sheathing, upgraded insulation, solid core doors & more.
4 Bed, 4.5 Bath, Study and great covered back porch, 3200 Heated Square Feet
Price $539,900
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4104 Girvan Drive | Myrtle Beach, SC 29579
Awesome home with a study & large open kitchen on a great fenced golf course home site. Hardwood floors, granite, stainless steel appliances, 2 fire places. Large Master Bedroom has his & her closets, tile shower with rain head, fire place and sitting area. Great covered porch that could be easily screened.
4 Bed, 3.5 Bath, 3400 Square Ft
Price: $449,900
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2030 Kilkee Drive | Myrtle  Beach, SC 29579
Bank Owned not a short sale… A MUST SEE AT THIS PRICE! TRUE VALUE. Lot Location: On Golf Course…Oversized 2 car garage…stainless steel appliances…full bonus room with full bath, easily could be 4th bedroom…large screened in porch…
4 Bed, 3.5 Bath, 3000 Square Ft
Price: $449,900
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This beautiful well appointed community is one of the most dynamic master planned communities on the East Coast. Spanning 2200 acres from Intracoastal to Ocean along the Grand Strand of Myrtle Beach this stunning Mediterranean community has World Class amenities in place.

Fashioned after Addison Reserve in Boca Raton FL, Grande Dunes offers an unparalleled choice of single family homes, cottages, villas, and condominiums with Ocean, Intracoastal, Marina, and Golf Course views. The Real Estate activity from January 2009 through February 2010 is a testament to the value offered at Grande Dunes.

During the calendar year of 2009 there was over $50,000,000.00 (fifty million) in Real Estate sales at Grande Dunes. Many of these sales were Short Sales (see below for a description) or REO/Bank Owned Homes. Regardless of the homes status this is a large amount of volume considering the current state of the housing market. Year to date, January 28 2010, there have been 19 properties contracted or sold totaling $10,150,000.00 (ten million one hundred fifty thousand). Don’t miss out on this great buying opportunity.

A short sale in real estate occurs when the debt (mortgage) against a property is greater than what the property can be sold for. Short sales are a way for homeowners and or builders to avoid bankruptcy or foreclosure proceeding by convincing the bank to accept a discounted payoff, meaning the lender will release the lien that is secured to the property upon receipt of less money than is actually owed. This situation is a great opportunity for Buyers. Many of the property sale prices at Grande Dunes are less than the replacement cost. Meaning you could not rebuild or duplicate the property you just bought for the same amount of money. There has never been a better time to become a home owner at Grande Dunes.

Short Sales may not be the most attractive thing for Sellers, however it is a way to salvage your credit, avoid or reduce the chance of a deficiency judgment, and/or avoid a costly foreclosure. If you are a Grande Dunes homeowner and need short sale help Contact Us now.

Coastal REO Solutions is a troubled asset liquidation company specializing in Short Sales, REO/Bank Owned Sales and Marketing, Property Preservation, Receivership Management, and other aspects of distressed Real Estate. Contact Us if you are a servicing manager, investor, hedge fund professional, lender, or asset manager so we can put our expertise to work for you.

If you are a Buyer or just thinking about purchasing please take advantage of our one touch proprietary search application. It’s free and you do not have to register to use this service.

Coastal REO Solutions 843-839-8046

A recent article in The Sun News stated the number of Myrtle Beach foreclosures filed by Home Owners Associations (HOA’s) have more than doubled from 181 Myrtle Beach foreclosures in the year 2007 to 481 Myrtle Beach foreclosures last year in 2008, figures they obtained from local Garden City real estate information company, Sitetech Systems. Sitetech also found 260 Myrtle Beach foreclosures in the first nine months of this year by HOA’s. A Home Owners Association is comprised of all the people who own a house or condo in a given neighborhood or building. It is usually started by the developer of the property, and turned over to a committee of homeowners to enforce any covenants, laws or restrictions that are agreed upon by property buyers. They also collect fees for maintenance of common areas, landscaping and any neighborhood amenities, such as pools, walking trails, tennis courts, gyms and playgrounds. Every property owner must abide by the HOA agreement and pay these dues, and failure to do so creates a situation where the HOA has to take action to enforce the rules and collect the outstanding fees. This is where the foreclosure option comes into effect and increases the number of Myrtle Beach foreclosures on the market.

A great many condos, manufactured houses, and townhomes that are on the Myrtle Beach foreclosure market are not primary homes, but rather second homes for people from other areas of the country purchased during the past decade when the U.S economy was riding high. With the current economic downturn, people aren’t able to continue to pay for luxury items, like second homes at the beach, when the cost of necessities has sky-rocketed and out-of-control government spending threatens the small signs of economic recovery that we are experiencing the last few months. Home values continue to trend downward, even as sales have shown an increase from the Home Buyer’s Tax Credit, and many owners could find themselves underwater on not one, but TWO mortgages.

HOA’s are seeing a marked increase on the number of owners who are behind on their association dues, and under South Carolina laws they have the right to place a lien on the property, and in extreme cases they have the option to file foreclosure proceedings against the delinquent owner. A quick check of any Myrtle Beach foreclosure listing will turn up a significant number of short sales on second homes to try to avoid foreclosure as well. HOA’s are also reportedly seeing an increase in the numbers of owners who simply hand in the keys to the property and just walk away from their second home obligations to secure on their primary residence’s mortgage. Lenders are then sidled with a growing number of bank owned properties that aren’t selling and aren’t producing income.

This is where Coastal Reo Solutions can be of assistance. Our Reo Services team can take the burden off the lender, and our Reo Management agents can secure, preserve, market and capitalize these properties. Visit our contact page to leave us a message or call us concerning Myrtle Beach foreclosures, bank owned and realestate owned properties, or to see how our easy, low-cost comprehensive services compare to other reo asset management companies in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

More significantly, regulators announced that they will not penalize banks for performing loans where the currently appraised value of the mortgaged property is underwater. “Financial institutions that implement prudent CRE loan workout arrangements after performing a comprehensive review of a borrower’s financial condition will not be subject to criticism for engaging in these efforts,” according to the statement that was issued on Friday, Oct 30,2009. These guidelines will help to ease the confusion felt by lending institutions that are under tighter scrutiny to reign in the rampant irresponsible lending of the last few years that have created the current flood of foreclosure properties, both here in Myrtle Beach and throughout America.

The guidelines arrive just as commercial realty losses and foreclosures persist in causing worries for regulators and banking firms. Commercial real estate has shown increasing weakness in recent quarters, since it traditionally lags behind the disruptions in the residential home market. The continued increase in commercial real estate foreclosures and loan defaults are sending shockwaves through the financial sector as well. The default rate and late payments on real estate loans sold as commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) soared to five times the previous rate in the third quarter. Approximately $26.64 billion of outstanding CMBS loans were 60 days or more past due in the last quarter, according to Reis Inc, a commercial real estate analysis firm. The delinquency and default rate rose to 4.52 percent from 0.8 percent just one year ago and 3 percent in the second quarter of 2009.

The firm said commercial property defaults and commercial foreclosures could exceed 6 percent near the end of the year. The Reis report said, “Downward pressure on net operating income and declining property values continue to make refinancing activity for existing loans a challenge.” The third quarter of 2009 became the fifth straight one in which no CMBS deals came to market in the U.S., according to the Ries report. Hotel loans constituted the poorest performers, with $6.83 billion of past-due loans, for a delinquency and default rate of 13.3 % of outstanding balances, said Reis. In comparison, the rates were 4.8 percent for apartments and 2.95 percent for offices in the last quarter. A delinquent loan is a minimum of 30 days and up to 89 days past due, with the loan going into default after 90 days. The Mortgage Bankers Association said the CMBS market represented nearly a quarter of all outstanding commercial loans as of the end of 2008.

The recent real estate market conditions here in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina have been challenging, to say the least, in both the residential and commercial housing sectors. Here at Coastal Reo Solutions, we have been working extremely hard to help our clients through these times. Our recent solution to a commercial real estate foreclosure for Horry Count State Bank was both a triumph and an illustration of the current difficulty many banks and lenders have in the commercial real estate market. We can assist both a borrower and a lending institution with a workable solution to assess, manage and market their foreclosure or pre-foreclosure property. Please contact us so we can start working on a resolution for your particular situation.

If you are a buyer, investor, or speculator looking to purchase foreclosed real estate be sure to use the proprietary search application located on our website. CRS also has access to Bulk REO packages and Bank Notes that may be purchased.

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In April, the National Association of Realtors Pending Homes Sales Index rose 6.7 percent. This index is a forward looking indicator of the housing market and is based on the pending sales of existing homes. This index is based on contracts that have been signed in the last two months. These sales are listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing. April marked the third consecutive month that the Index has risen. The Index rose to 90.3, up 6.7 percent from the 84.6 that was posted in March.

An economist for the NAR, Lawrence Yun, said “Buyers are responding to very favorable market conditions. Housing affordability conditions have been at historic highs, but now the $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit is beginning to impact the market.” Continuing, he said “Since first-time buyers must finalize their purchase by November 30 to get the credit, we expect greater activity in the months ahead, and that should spark more sales by repeat buyers.”

In other positive news for the housing market, the NAR’s Housing Affordability Index rose to 174.8 in April. It was the second highest monthly reading on record after peaking at 176.9 in January of this year. The Housing Affordability Index is an expansive measure of housing affordability using consistent values and assumptions over time, which examines the relationship between home prices, mortgage interest rates and family income tracking and was begun in 1970.

If you are interested in buying a primary or secondary home in Myrtle Beach, our full service real estate office is ready to assist you. Check out featured properties here ». If you are a lender, banker or asset disposal firm, click here » to learn more about our extremely unique fixed cost “cradle to grave” asset management offer.

…a simple two part solution that will not cost taxpayers a dollar out of pocket

With billions of dollars flowing into various industries and no apparent results or an end in sight, what is the answer? By now, everyone is aware the root cause of the economic downturn is real estate and real estate mortgages.

The solution is simple. The first part everyone will like. The second part will not be so popular, but is an evil we will have to live with.

First, we are all aware that outside of diminishing consumer confidence largely perpetuated by the media; the biggest trouble in the housing industry is SUPPLY. There are simply too many homes for sale! How do we cure this problem? We need demand and urgency…

If Congress would enact a law making every real estate purchase completed prior to December 31, 2009, exempt from Capital Gains, investors would flee the instability of the stock market and flood into the real estate market.

The demand comes from the investors leaving the stock market and others looking to capitalize on the exemption…they have to have somewhere to put their money.

The urgency comes from this being a ONE YEAR exemption. Any home bought in the 2009 tax year will not be subject to Capital Gains Taxes when sold – EVER. With people flooding back into the market not only will inventory/supply dwindle, prices will stabilize, homeowners will regain equity lost, and much more. With regained equity and stability, consumer confidence will be improved and people will start spending money again…and in turn jobs will be created.

The Second part needs a little preamble – A lot of you are going to say this is not “FAIR.” I will retort with my standard answer to this childish word – “NOTHING IN LIFE IS FAIR.” Fair is a word that should only be used by children because the concept or at least the execution of fairness does not exist in the real world.

On to the second part of the solution – Mortgage resets, troubled mortgages, and mortgages in some stage of foreclosure.

These properties are FLOODING the Real Estate market with “For Sale” homes that should not or do not need to be “on the market.”

Congress needs to pass a law resetting every home mortgage for owners that are more than 30 days behind. This means that the deficiency (delinquent payments) would be added to the back end of the mortgage allowing homeowners to get caught up.

Congress also needs to pass a law resetting every Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) to a flat fixed rate in the range of 5.5% to 6.0% and extend out the mortgage term of the loan. This will help the homeowners who qualified at teaser rates, but now cannot afford payments that have increased more than 50%. To stabilize the market, we need these people to stay in their homes and keep them off the market. Is this going to save everyone? Of course not!  Some people can’t be saved and this is just another fact that proves nothing in life is fair.

I know your thoughts – What about me? I have been working my tail off to pay my mortgage on time. Why should they get a break and not me? Well, you are getting a break…just not one that is immediately visible. What good is it if you are paying your mortgage and four of the homes in your neighborhood go into foreclosure and sell at auction for FRACTIONS of their value? If you bought your home for $300,000 and 4 similar homes in your neighborhood sell for $200,000 – your home is not worth the $300,000 that you paid. It is now likely worth $200,000. So, with the loss of property value, your bank may freeze or cancel any equity lines that you have tied to your property. Are you seeing any benefit yet?

Are these two suggestions some magical cure for the economy? No they are not. However, these changes could be a strong foundation to stimulate economic recovery.

Just the ramblings of a Myrtle Beach, SC Realtor®