Attention homeowners in Surfside Beach and Horry County: Get an Appraisal today!

Here are the top seven reasons SC homeowners use Charles Livingston:

  1. Find the right listing price (whether you're using a real estate agent or selling the home on your own)
  2. To challenge a SC property tax assessment
  3. To reduce their monthly mortgage payment by removing PMI
  4. Reinstate their Home Equity Line of Credit (or HELOC)
  5. Review a different appraiser's report for verification
  6. In the case of a SC divorce, where real estate property needs to be divided
  7. Settle an estate in SC by determining the true market value of property in question

Need help deciding the value of your home in or near Surfside Beach, SC?
Contact Charles Livingston.

We at Charles Livingston understand the special needs of a customer seeking appraisal services. Our business practices and reporting formats are familiar to our business clients like lenders, lawyers, and accountants. But as a general consumer,you will receive extra guidance and explanations through the appraisal process to better understand what we do and how we document our findings.

For-Sale-By-Owner (FSBO) / Pre-Listing Services

It's very hard to be objective about your home because of your emotional attachment to it. Professional appraisers, like the ones at Charles Livingston, will be objective. We will tell you what you need to know, not just what you want to hear. A professional appraisal is a very valuable negotiating tool once you have an attainable buyer, in addition to helping you set a realistic selling price so your property will attract interested buyers. It's something tangible to show your buyer. An appraisal is an independent third party's opinion of your house's price -- not just you saying how much your house is worth. Potential buyers assume that you have an emotional attachment to your home and will be more likely to give credibility to an experienced appraiser's value conclusion than yours.

Appraisals to remove PMI

A preferred way to save money for homeowners is getting the PMI eliminated from their mortgage loan, thus saving them money on their monthly payments. PMI stands for "Private Mortgage Insurance". Your monthly payments will go down once your mortgage loan is less than 80% of the value of your home. In most cases you can apply to a lender to have the PMI eliminated from your loan. We are experienced in helping clients just like you rid themselves of unwanted and unneeded PMI insurance.

Challenge Horry county's assessment of your property

Lets say you live in an area that is going down -- your local tax assessor may have your house overvalued. That only means you are most likely paying more taxes than you should. The quicker you take care of a matter like this, the better off you'll be, since your property assessment may likely go up again in the next period. When contesting your property tax assessment, getting a professional appraisal from Charles Livingston is your best weapon.

Was your HELOC recently frozen?

If your house is near a declining area, your lender just might choose to automatically freeze your home equity line of credit (HELOC) - even if your specific property has not declined in value. This can be be damaging to your credit score since it may appear as though that credit line is maxed out, and also troublesome from a cash flow standpoint. Charles Livingston can help you reinstate your HELOC.

We Offer Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services

Would you wish a second opinion without the charge and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? Or do you want a professional to double-check your appraisal for efficiency? Charles Livingston offers field reviews where we'll go out and check the subject and comps. If you need it immediately, we'll provide you with a desk review and verify as many facts as we can using online data sources as well as our own files.

We can also provide a retrospective review of any appraisal you may have had in the past. While typically requested by banks, you may wish to utilize this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your home.