Myrtle Beach Real Estate by Mirela

My daughter is of a different religion, but we share the same God.  On MY Easter Sunday (I am Greek Orthodox), she got baptized in the Ocean, embracing Jesus as her savior.

After immersing herself in bible study for well over a year now, she felt sure that she wanted to take this major step.  When she announced that she will be baptized during my Easter celebration, I wholeheartedly gave her my blessings.  It was so extraordinary to me that her Baptism occurred on one of my most favorite religious celebrations - Easter. 

She is now 15 years old.  I embraced my religion around the same time.  I am Greek Orthodox mostly because that was the only religion available to me in my native Romania and because my grandmother, who was my spiritual mentor, is Greek Orthodox. 

In Communist Romania, the Bible was a rarity and most regular folks had never even seen one.  My grandmother had read the Bible in her youth and she remembered.  She taught me about God and all the wonderful lessons from her memory.  

I used to go to church on my way home from school every day and said my prayers.  I learnt about God and religion from my Grandmother and I followed my heart.  That little church by my school was my place to find the solace and peace I was seeking.  It was my oasis in a World I had difficulty understanding.  My God was loving, understanding and accepting, just like my Grandmother.                                                                                                       

My daughter openly declared her dedication to Him on Easter Sunday, when, alongside her two best friends, she got baptized in the Atlantic...

Although my Grandmother is now 95 and could not come to the Baptism, she was there in spirit and I lovingly dedicate this blog to her.

Myrtle Beach Real Estate by Mirela Monte

      Me and my beloved daughter, Amanda-Miranda. 

Proud Member of The Optimist Group!

For the past...  too many months to count, I've been reporting monthly oceanfront sales of under 1.5%.    All of a sudden, halfway through April, we are seeing an amazing surge of activity, a HUGE increase in sales.  The jump is phenomenal:  from under 1.5% to almost 12%!!!  (in new "pending sales").  2008 Oceanfront activity just got RED HOT again!

In the past two weeks, all my agents, including myself, along with many other top producers in the area, have done nothing but write new deals.  One per day, for me, thank you very much, for the entire last week (and I worked 7 days straight)!  Unbelievable!  What happened?  Did somebody turn on the Myrtle Beach Real Estate Buyer pipeline? 

Before all you Sellers get too excited, cool your jets!  Fantasy pricing is out the window.  Sales are occurring, yes, but at extraordinary discounts.   Here is a prime example:  the lowest price sold in March on Oceanfront was $ 60,000 - yes, only $ 60,000!!! - for an oceanfront 1BR/1BA, fully furnished condo at Bluewater Resort.  This condo was originally priced at $ 113,999, a discount of over 47% !!!  Unbelievable, but true! 

Here is another example:  a 2BR/2BA Oceanfront, fully furnished unit at Baywatch, which in 2005 was selling for $ 540,000, just sold yesterday for under $ 260,000, more than 50% below yesterday's price...  Incredible, but true!  Here is the way it went down:  the unit was put on the market for $ 284,900, the lowest priced 2BR/2Ba unit at Baywatch.  Within two weeks, it was discounted to $ 257,600 and it received multiple bids within hours of the price decrease, selling for a yet to be disclosed price (we'll find out at closing).

Last Monday I was at the monthly foreclosure sale for Horry County.  The Master in Equity, presiding over the affair, proclaimed that to be the largest foreclosure sale in Horry County history for the past 30 years.  These foreclosures are reverting back to the banks and getting sold for pennies on the dollar.  Incredible but true.  They are deluging our market, pushing some motivated sellers to take any low offer.  It is not unusual for sellers to bring $ 30,000 - $ 50,000 to closing.

If you have entertained thoughts of owning an oceanfront condo in Myrtle Beach, now is the time to go on a shopping spree! 

(Written the week of April 19-th, 2008; too busy to post...)

Myrtle Beach Oceanfront by Mirela Monte

http://www.myrtlebeachhomes.us/

At almost $ 4.00 per gallon, the cost of "petrol" has "grounded" many  gas guzzlers.   At  10 mpg, the Hummer, the quintessential "hungry" one is seen mostly parked these days.  The Smart car, at 69 mpg, has made its debut in the US, largely unnoticed.  The Europeans have embraced it wholeheartedly; mostly because of its ease of parking (you can "perpendicular" park it, for it's as long as most vehicles' width).

What about you?  Do you think twice about taking out buyers, or are you embracing a more "eco-friendly" mode of transportation?

Hummer or Smart Car? 

What's your choice?

Which car says: "Smart Realtor Driving"?

Join The Optimist Group!

Your Myrtle Beach Real Estate Connection, Mirela Monte

I just watched an extraordinary documentary called "Born Into Brothels".   Filmed in the miserable red-light district of Calcutta, India, the movie follows a group of children born and raised by their prostitute mothers and grandmothers.  Directors Zana Brinski and Ross Kauffman chronicle the amazing transformation of these children as they discover hopeby being given cameras and photography lessons taught by the loving Zana Brinski. 

The movie is both disturbing and inspirational and at times very painful to watch - seeing a barefooted, naked, two year old shackled and chained to a stone threshold, was a bit more than I could take.   At the end, I was both hungry for more information about those children and the humanitarian programs involved in helping a few of those kids escape a future of "working the line" (prostitution).

When feeling sorry for yourself, please just watch this movie!  The loveliness of these incredible kids will both uplift you AND make you realize just how lucky you are, even if, before the movie you thought that your life sucked.

This movie is NOT about sexual child abuse.  It is simply about stoically accepting one's fate and grappling with the limitations of a life filled with hardship and misery, and the ability to transcend those imposed bounds.  This movie is about the amazing human spirit; it's about resilience, love and most of all, it's about HOPE.

Your Myrtle Beach Real Estate Connection, Mirela Monte       Join The Optimist Group!

I've traveled the World, yet I've never seen any place like Charleston, SC.  If you've watched "Gone With The Wind" (and who hasn't?), you will feel like you fell back in time to that era and THAT place. 

The gentility of the South is never more apparent than in Charleston: cobblestone streets, sprawling Southern mansions adorned by magnolia trees and giant oaks beautifully festooned with Spanish moss.

The winters are mild, the summers are hot and humid and spring is simply enchanting in Charleston. 

Horse drawn carriages peacefully co-exist on the roads here with the latest turbo charged vehicles, for no one is in a hurry in Charleston.  Drivers give you the right of way and they do it with a smile.  Everyone is touched by this easy going atmosphere, even the most stressed out "Yankees"...

What are you waiting for?  The Spoleto festival is right around the corner.  Come down soon ya'll!

For a great place to stay: my very own favorite hotel, The Charleston Place.  For the most amazing, healthiest, tastiest, most nourishing food on the east coast and an easy, playful atmosphere, you absolutely MUST dine at FIG (it stands for "Food Is Good").   Make reservations well ahead of time, for they are booked weeks in advance.   For the "In" place to eat, Oak Steakhouse is the finest dining experience in Charleston.   All the famous folks dine here when they are in town, and Chef Brett McKee is the culinary master to the stars, flying to the west coast to cook for various top events.

Spirit Air has many specials for flights from New York to Myrtle Beach.  Charleston is only an hour and a half away.  You really have no excuses.  Come visit now; thank me later!

Charleston Historic Homes by Mirela Monte

www.CharlestonHomesAndCondos.com

You even translate my flyers into several languages.  Just click on one of the flags at the bottom of the page and "Voila!", within seconds you have the French, German, Spanish version. 

Today I got my first foreign lead from my RealBird flyer.  Wow!  This German client wants a historic home in Charleston.  My hobby is selling historic homes in Charleston, even though my primary market is Myrtle Beach.  Money is no problem...  Just what I like to hear.  It just has to be the right property.  DONE! 

Thank you RealBird!  Did I mention:  I LOVE YOU!!!

Check out my blog:  "Listings Made Easy.  This is AWESOME!", for some great ideas about incorporating this AMAZING vehicle into your marketing. 

Your Myrtle Beach Real Estate Connection, Mirela Monte

http://www.myrtlebeachhomes.us/

I breathe in the air, smelling its freshness, filling my lungs with the essence of the miracle of yet another day.

I listen to all the sounds of the birds chirping and I am joyous to be able to hear.

I stretch my body and rejoice in the wonder of my physical being.

I take in the beauty outside my window and marvel at the loveliness of it all.

I taste my breakfast slowly, enjoying every bite.

I touch my baby's head.

Thank you God for giving me another day!

Join The Optimist Group!

Your Myrtle Beach Real Estate Connection, Mirela Monte

I don't know where the bottom is, and neither do the Big Boys!  We are all exposed to the same information, whether you read "Your Own Small Town Newspaper" or The Wall Street Journal. 

Clients ask me all the time to speculate, to render an opinion.  I don't.  I won't!  I have no crystal ball.  I will, however, give them the current statistics, which I diligently cull on an ongoing basis.  I can recite the percentages of solds vs. active, the pendings, leaving them to read whatever they want to read from the numbers I quote.

It is common sense that buying on the dip is a good idea.  We are currently at a confluence of palatable, although unstable interest rates, (oops, I forgot to check the rates today!), ample inventory to choose from, motivated sellers (some more than others).   For an investment to be successful, you don't have to be at the very bottom of the pricing curve.   You know what comes after the bottom of the pricing curve, right?  Yes, that's right: an upswing in pricing.  Couple that with increased hope and fortitude on the Sellers' side, decreased inventory and more buyers vying for the same properties, and you have a recipe for paying more...

What are your thoughts on this?

Your Myrtle Beach Real Estate Connection, Mirela Monte                          Join The Optimist Group!

I'm sure you've encountered it.  It's a classic problem:  Sellers are all packed up; the movers are coming in the morning and the deal falls through.  How do you avert this problem?

As a standard procedure in my practice, in an owner occupied home, I contractually always ask for the sellers to rent back the home for a week after closing.   Once the loan package is in at the attorney's office, I give them the green light to go to "stage one packing" (start putting away the seldom used items).  Once we actually record, I give them the full green light for packing & moving.  They have a week at their disposal and it usually works out well.  That way I've never had to deal with this problem.  I learnt by watching other agents' mistakes.

How about you?  How do you deal with this issue?  Please share your wise ways!

Your Myrtle Beach Real Estate Connection, Mirela Monte                    Join The Optimist Group!

We had a saying in communist Romania: "we act like we're working, and they act like they're paying us."   "They" in that sentence was the government, the sole employer for every single person in the country, whether doctor, lawyer, taxi driver or cleaning person.

It was under this "auspicious" environment of "make pretend work" that I had the great misfortune of attempting to fix a cavity on a permanent molar at the age of 14.  I can still remember it today:  the dentist was smoking a cigarette, drinking a glass of wine and talking to his girlfriend on the phone, while he examined my problem tooth.  In case you are wondering, no, there was no assistant present; that was standard communist medical care. 

Without letting go of the cigarette, the wine, or his phone conversation, he proceeded to pull my tooth.   He didn't ask me what I wanted, he didn't explain what he was going to do, he just pulled the tooth out.   That was the beginning of the demise of my healthy bite.  That one single molar, so centrally placed in my mouth, has had major implications.   Thirty years later, I am still dealing with the repercussions of that one single action of that particular dentist.

Last week I had oral surgery, one of several interventions I've had as a result of the destroyed bite that one missing permanent molar has caused.  As I was recuperating from the procedure, I thought about that horrible dentist who caused all my dental problems.  I am not even a comma in his history, yet he has certainly impacted my life.  As I was reflecting on that, I realized that ANY professional can have a deep impact on someone's life by either doing a great job or a lousy job.   A lawyer who has a bad day and doesn't do his job well could result in an innocent person going to jail.  A doctor who doesn't perform well could kill a person.  A Realtor who doesn't perform well could cost a family their life savings.

It can be as dramatic as that, or less life threatening, but still very unpleasant, like having the Sellers all packed up and ready to move out and having the deal fall through.  To the Realtor who did not take the proper precautions, this is just another deal gone bad, an inconvenience.  To the family, it's a minor disaster. 

The moral of the story is:  each deal mandates your FULL attention.  Diligently follow up on every deal, leave no stone unturned, do your BEST ALWAYS!  No deal is just a deal; to someone it's their life.

Knowledge is key, so study AND consult with other capable professionals.  I propose that we start a Problem and Solution forum right here on AR.  I will start posting blogs titled "Problem & Solution Forum", discussing a problem, then asking you for solutions.  This can be a great way to brainstorm, network, and create a how to manual for keeping all our clients safe and well cared for, regardless of the issues arising.  82,258 minds are better than one!

Your Myrtle Beach Real Estate Connection, Mirela Monte                  Join The Optimist Group!

An acquaintance of mine recently called his new girlfriend "His Soul Mate". 

My ex-husband calls his current girlfriend "his soul mate", even though I was wife nr. 5 and the girlfriend doesn't even have a ring yet...

People throw around the term "Soul mate" to validate a current relationship, giving it a status quo that is fully undeserved. 

Just for the record, I wanted to clarify what a soul mate is and isn't:

Your new girlfriend                                                    Not a soul mate

Your new wife                                                             not a soul mate

Your second, third, fourth, fifth wives:               not soul mates

...Same for any additional wives...

Jayne and Dawson, married for over 50 years and still in love, treating each other with utmost respect and affection:         Yes, Soul Mates

Doug and Kathy, married for over 30 years and still ever so loving to each other:  Yes, Soul Mates

...You get the idea.  Soul Mate implies "The One and Only".  Few couples today have the luxury of legitimately using that term. 

I get along very well with my Boyfriend.  We've been together for over 3 years.  I will NOT call him my soul mate.  If I stay with him for the next 30 years, maybe then I could possibly call him my soul mate.  Maybe...

Serial Monogamists like myself should be entirely disqualified from ever using this most precious label. 

What do you think?  Am I wrong or right on this one? 

Divorce Realtor, Mirela Monte

www.MyrtleBeachHomes.us                                         Join the "Soul Mate Nr.23" Club!

I've been arrested and will be put in jail for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Lock-Up.  Don't even bother asking what crime I've committed - it's not really important.  I just have to raise my bail of $ 3,000 before the Lock-Up and they'll go easy on me, but I need your financial assistance to post my bond.

Your 100 percent tax-deductible donation will help MDA continue research into the causes of and cures for 43 neuromuscular diseases.  Your support of the MDA Lock-Up will also help MDA provide wheelchairs, clinic visits and summer camp for kids in our area.

You can donate on line at:   https://www.mdaevent.org/ParticipantInfo.aspx?j=3a98c863-4df2-4e8c-a970-c68f40547080

...or send a check made out to the Muscular Dystrophy Association and mail it to Buyers' Choice Realty, Help Mirela Get Out of Jail, 702-3 Sea Mountain Hwy, North Myrtle Beach, SC 29582.

On behalf of all mothers with children affected by Muscular Dystrophy, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!   Only $ 1-$ 5 of your money can make a World of difference.  A little bit goes a long way...  Please help!

Your Myrtle Beach Real Estate Connection, Mirela Monte

http://www.myrtlebeachhomes.us/