Prudential Carolina Changes to Carolina One Real Estate

Prudential Carolina Real Estate, the largest real estate company in Charleston, recently changed its name to Carolina One Real Estate. The company opted not to renew its 10 year franchise agreement with Prudential which was coming up this year. The name change officially took place May 1. A month after this transition, Carolina One is still the top real estate company in Charleston and has received overwhelming support from its agents as well as its clients.

The company’s 16 offices and almost 900 agents will still operate primarily the same way as before the transition. However, the company will now have more flexibility to incorporate new ideas into the local real estate market. It will also have more national and international networking opportunities, which is important since Charleston’s real estate market has gained more of a global presence in the past five or so years. Getting more exposure should encourage more growth in Charleston’s real estate market, which is already considered one of the top markets in the country.

Carolina One Real Estate will be affiliated with the Chicago-based Leading real estate companies of the World. This network recruits real estate companies that are established and that already have a good market share within their areas. Carolina One’s new network boasts 700 successful real estate companies and approximately 145,000 agents which make up 5,000 offices in 38 countries.

In a business that thrives on independence and local connections, Carolina One has made a name for itself in the Charleston real estate market by having the most closed sales of any company for the past 11 years. Carolina One has gained this position through hard work and a strong focus on customer service. Carolina One will use the good reputation it has earned along with its new affiliation to give its customers the best service possible. Visit our Carolina One website to learn about Charleston and South Carolina real estate in general. We have all 18 of Charleston’s areas, including the most popular, the Mt. Pleasant real estate market!

War of the Worlds: Student Finance versus Life

It’s a worrying time for current and prospective students. Figures from the Prudential, show that a third of UK university students have considered abandoning their studies due to the financial strain they have encountered. It is not surprising that many prospective students are finding the need to seriously think through the merits of going to university. With the increase in course fees, alongside decreases in government financial support, the current crop of graduates can expect huge debts (currently averaging over £13,000) when they enter the employment market, which they hope will reward them with a highly paid job.

However, as more students get pushed on to the higher education production line and undertake degrees, the once elitist qualification becomes devalued. Suddenly employers find themselves surrounded by graduates of ambiguous quality. Prestigious highly-paid careers are rare these days and graduates find themselves increasingly under pressure to jump through a number of hoops, with many interviews relying on an individual’s ability to sell himself, rather than the basis of the academic work.

Students need to take responsibility for their own finances, while the government seeks our recognition of its actions (educating the unemployed is good for the books … and votes), without the state taking on responsibility (“it’s an investment in your own future”).

Too many want to bury their heads in the sand and wait for a lottery win to make it all better. With over one trillion pounds of personal debt in the UK, students need to realise that the, "it could be you!" they pray for, is actually an "it is you … in debt" … with trapped wind more likely than wind-fall.

Part of the problem is hopeful expectation (alias denial), part is a fear of controlling your own personal finances (alias apathy), and part is a lack of knowledge (alias ignorance). The first one is difficult, and needs to be overcome by the individual. The other two however can both be overcome by looking for help. Sources of information need to be made available, actively promoted and sought out by consumers.

It’s not like the information isn’t there… there are plenty of financial product comparison sites loaded with information (and pictures): http://www.moneynet.co.uk for a start, or http://www.moneysavingexpert.com. The Financial Services Authority has its own finance help information for consumers http://www.fsa.gov.uk/consumer/index.html.

As the saying goes, "Seek and you shall find. It may be a hard lesson, but it is one that we must all currently embrace.