Real Estate News

Annual design, home weekend on tap

From “speed dating” to celebrity blueprints, the Charleston Home + Design show tries to come up with programs outside the ordinary.

This year is no exception. The show, in its seventh year, will be Jan. 29-31 at Gaillard Auditorium in Charleston.

According to organizers, highlights include:

• Six “idea rooms” designed by local interior designers for local celebrity authors and chefs including Dorthea Benton Frank, the Lee Brothers and Ken Burger of The Post and Courier.

• Free design consultations for homeowners with ASID interior designers.

• A drawing featuring nine different prizes for the home, valued at more than $5,000.

• Free home and design seminars offered to homeowners.

• Speed “dating” to match consumers with a builder, architect or interior designer.

• Hundreds of custom home products under one roof.

• An evening of “Kitchens, Baths and all that Jazz” on Friday from 7 to 10 p.m. with live jazz from the Frank Duvall Jazz Trio, free wine, ale and catered food. Tickets are $15 at the door.

• A free coupon book with $50 discounts to many vendors at the show (limited to the first 5,000 visitors).

• The Charleston Architect Symposium – for architects only – on Friday where architects can earn continuing education credits.

Show hours are: 11 a.m-6 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, contact Tim Barkley or Julie Sprankles, editor-in-chief of Charleston Home + Design Magazine at (843) 577-7652 or visit www.charlestonhomeanddesignshow.com.

Schwarb heads up Broad Street office

A veteran Realtor in the Lowcountry and Georgia has been picked to run Keller Williams’ downtown digs.

Franne Schwarb is manager of Keller Williams Historic Charleston’s office at 35 Broad St. She has nearly 20 years of real estate experience in Atlanta and metro Charleston.

Contributing to the selection is her extensive knowledge of the resale market and new construction.

Schwarb also has been actively involved in the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors as a committee chair and a member since 1996.

Warner, Grayson join Carolina One division

Recent changes at Carolina One Real Estate will beef up the group that focuses on foreclosed properties.

Matt Grayson and Doug Warner recently joined the company’s Asset Management Services division.

According to Carolina One, the department provides professional full-service management of residential and commercial distressed properties; REOs, or Other Real Estate Owned; and foreclosures. The efforts are is typically on behalf of banks and other lenders.

Warner and Grayson bring years of experience in real estate development, construction, management, finance and sales. They will be able to leverage Carolina One Real Estate’s market depth and strength in greater Charleston.

S.C. State Housing gives breaks to buyers

People looking to buy homes this year could benefit from low interest rates and help on down payments offered by a state finance agency.

The S.C. State Housing Finance and Development Authority came out with the new breaks earlier this month.

As of Jan. 4, the authority set its mortgage rates at 5.25 percent for borrowers earning above 50 percent of the region’s median income and 5 percent for those earning below half and for disabled borrowers. Meanwhile, all categories offer up to $5,000 down payment assistance. It is repayable for people earning 50 percent or more of the median income and forgivable for lower-wage earners.

First-time homebuyers may also take advantage of up to $8,000 in federal tax credits if they purchase a home before April 30, with a 60-day extension if a binding contract is in place. Military service members who are on extended overseas duty or who have been on active duty for more than 90 days in 2008 and 2009 have another year to use the tax credit.

In so-called “targeted” counties, including Berkeley and Dorchester counties and the Ravenel area of Charleston County, a first-time buyer is someone who does not own a home at the time of closing. In the rest of Charleston County, a first-time homebuyer is someone who has never owned a home or who has owned one less than three years.

“This is great news for potential homebuyers and sellers in South Carolina,” says Valarie M. Williams, executive director of the state housing agency. “Selection is good and prices are right for first-time buyers.”

Williams encourages anyone who is considering buying a home to ask their lender or real estate agent if they qualify for a loan under the state housing program.

Since the Mortgage Revenue program started, S.C. State Housing has made more than 37,000 mortgages, for a total investment of more than $2.2 billion. Nearly 13,000 down-payment loans have been made totaling more than $29 million.

For more information visit the S.C. State Housing Web site at www.schousing.com.

Agency owner signs on with Carolina One

After 21 years running a real estate office, Cheryl Paul has chosen to join a large local company.

Paul is a broker associate with Carolina One Real Estate & Mortgage in the Long Point Road office. She has been a Realtor in the metro Charleston area since 1988.

She is the former owner and broker-in-charge of Paul Realty.

Kiawah overview design OK’d

A plan that will govern development of Kiawah River Plantation went into effect last month.

Charleston County Council gave final approval at its Dec. 22 meeting.

Located in Johns Island, Kiawah River Plantation covers more than 2,000 acres, including 920 acres of marshes, ponds and wetlands. The property fronts the Kiawah River for 1.5 miles and is just across the river from the Kiawah Island resort.

The community may include 1,285 homes as well as golf courses, community docks, a boathouse, up to 80,000 square feet of retail and office space and 450 guest rooms in hotels, inns and villas. Hundreds of acres will be preserved as parkland and natural areas.

“We appreciate the public input during the planning process,” says John Darby, president and chief executive of The Beach Co. The development is owned by Kiawah River Plantation LP, an affiliate of The Beach Co.

For more information, visit www.KiawahRiverPlantation.com or call (843) 722-2615.