Last Saturday was a wild and wonderful day in the Life of this Realtor. I was able to watch by lovely daughter complete the Country Music Half Marathon and then go over to the East Park Community Center and witness the kids building a couple of raised beds and planting a learning garden that they will be nurturing throughout the spring and summer months. It was heartwarming to watch these young children clamor for the attention of the adults that were assisting them with their planting.
The pride of ownership they had in “their” plant as well as the enthusiasm they displayed over the watering and caring of these plants was fun to watch and inspiring. I have always been so proud to be associated with the Metro Chapter of BNI (Business Networking International) and the work we do for each other in bringing referrals and business to one another and now have yet another reason to feel blessed to be a part of this great group! If you would like to join us, we are having a visitor’s day on May 19th and I would love for you to be my guest. All my contact information is at the bottom of the page.
This is great news! If you are a first time homeowner and have had a job for at least two years, have a good credit history and score and meet all the THDA income qualifications but don’t have any down payment money, you may be able to utilize a new program from THDA. Basically, THDA is loaning you a second for up to $7,000 for the down payment and closing costs with the understanding that once you file your taxes and get the tax credit back from the government you will pay the second off. It’s a interest free loan and you must pay it back.
You will also be required to attend a home owner education class put on by THDA as well as work with a THDA qualified lender. It’s a great way to own a home as long as you meet all the other qualifications. If you would like to talk to someone about qualifications, let me know and I will hook you up with a THDA lender here in town. You will always want to make sure you qualify for a loan before looking at property. It saves you time and the emotional roller coaster of finding a home to realize you can’t purchase it due to not being able to qualify.
If you have not heard or seen the recent story of Susan Boyle, it will be to your benefit to go to YouTube and watch what happened to this middle aged woman on Britain’s version of American Idol called Britain’s Got Talent. In a nut shell, Ms. Boyle is not much of a looker and doesn’t what one would call “sex appeal” so when she entered the stage, the reaction was less than pleasant. However, she got the last laugh once she opened her mouth and sang “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables. Her voice is simply stunning and with nothing else, she changed an audience and a world.
Now I look around everywhere I go and wonder if the person I am looking at is a hidden Susan Boyle in some form or fashion. Do they have a talent that is just waiting to bust forward if given the chance. Are we holding back someone we love by telling them it will never happen to them because they are too old, too fat, and too homely or not enough (fill in the blank)? Does not everyone have something they do well and it is us who don’t stop long enough to notice or recognize their talents? If we take Susan Boyle’s story to heart, let’s hope it will open ours to the possibility of not only reaching our own dreams but of supporting others to reach their dreams.
I am so proud to be a part of an organization that continually supports our community. That organization is the Metro BNI that meets every Tuesday morning from 7:45 to 9:30 at the East Park Community Center on Woodland Street in East Nashville. We donate money to the after school program for the kids that utilize the center. We are also participating in an ongoing garden activity that will teach the kids how to grow their own food.
On Saturday, April 25th starting at 12:30 pm the members of the Metro BNI Chapter, along with a local e-commerce company, Bevoworks.com, and a raised bed manufacturer from Bell Buckle, TN, Urban Garden, LLC, will be helping the kids at the East Park Community Center build and plant a raised garden that they will be responsible for throughout the growing season. We are planning to get together with the kids several times this year to discuss cooking with the fresh vegetables and herbs as well as just having some fun with the kids who are taking an interest in gardening. If you are in the neighborhood, please join us. I know the children in the area will be extremely excited to see you there.
Oh you know we have all done it; turned something relatively small into a big deal and not ever really stopping to think why we behave in such a way. Sometimes it’s just the principle of the thing. In a recent conversation with several colleagues associated with the real estate industry I discovered some very interesting things people have done at closing to stop a deal from going through.
Can you imagine not closing on a house over a simple $20 repair or a buyer insisting on sitting in the home they put an offer on for an evening just to “get the feel of the house” and walking away because it just didn’t “feel” right to them? What about lady who insisted the buyer was crazy and they no longer wanted to sell their house to the “crazy” lady; even though they had a contract?
It’s interesting how we personalize our homes and believe they are a part of our family and sometimes they are very hard to let go of, especially if you have raised a family within its walls. Though it sometimes cannot be done, it is very important to have someone who understands the dynamic of what a house can mean to a person in order to facilitate the sale of a property. This is especially true for the elders in our population who need a great deal of hand holding to let go of a home and move on to a place where they can get better care. I’ve been there with my mother and know how it feels. I’d be more than happy to help you through such a situation.
Over the past few months I realize that many first time buyers think Realtors can give them information or arrange for certain things that they are not licensed to do. In an attempt to clarify what a Realtor can and cannot do for a buyer I have put together a list of things that Realtors may be able to recommend or pass along information to you but cannot actually do these things for you.
Realtors in Tennessee do not:
- quote daily interest rates though we can look averages up or call a loan officer to pass along this information
- lock loans
- take loan applications unless they also have a current mortgage license in the State of TN
- order appraisers though we do let them in the properties to perform their assessments
- choose appraisers or do appraisals
- inspect homes
- do termite letters
There are things we will help you with or find someone who can, however, there are things that have to be done by specialized licensed people outside the realm of what a Realtor is licensed to do. If you have any questions about what a Realtor can or cannot do, please don’t hesitate to ask. After all, the number one thing we should do is be open to answer any and all questions a buyer and answer as best we can or find someone who can.
Over the last several months I have come to realize that many people who are just starting out looking for a home don’t really know what each person does in the process of helping them with a purchase a home. In an effort to educate and help that first time home buyer understand the process, I’d like to start with the Realtor and explain what a Realtor goes to school to learn, and is qualified to do, for the buyer they represent.
Realtors are responsible for:
- discovering what type of properties the buyer is looking for
- the price range the buyer is comfortable with
- setting up and showing the buyer properties
- negotiating on behalf of the buyer and in their best interest
- writing the contract to reflect the agreed upon negotiations
- facilitating the home inspection and termite letter on behalf of the buyer
- being a point of contact for the appraiser if sellers agent is unavailable
- attending the closing procedure with buyer, if at all possible
Though we assist you with some additional choices, if needed, for things like Title Company and mortgage information or recommendations for a good loan officer, it is the buyer who is ultimately responsible for choosing who they would like to use. If you have any additional questions about Realtors and what they will do for a buyer, please don’t hesitate to call.
For the last few years I have had my main office in East Nashville and have had a wonderful time being on that side of town, even though I live on the lake in Hendersonville. Though it has been a great for business and I continue to spend most of my time in East Nashville, I have had to move my office for personal reasons this spring.
Many of you know that my 90 year old mother fell and broke a couple of ribs not long ago and has had a devil of a time healing. This accident has made it imperative that I be closer to where she is and being in the Hendersonville office when I don’t have East Nashville business makes it a lot easier and quicker to get to her if she needs me.
My business focus has always been and continues to be both East Nashville and Hendersonville and that will not change. I will still spend most of my time in one or the other place! The only thing that has changed is where I hang my “shingle” and that is now in the Hendersonville Re/Max Choice Properties Office on Indian Lake Drive. Please call me and see where I am then stop in and see me when you are in the neighborhood; East Nashville or Hendersonville or somewhere in-between!
I have heard from so many people who pay their bills on time that they are getting notices from their credit card providers that the interest rate is being raised on old and new balances. If you need the card and use it frequently, you may be stuck with the changes. However, there are a couple of things you should do.\
Call your credit card provider and talk to a representative about the exact way the changes are taking place and if there is a way that you can avoid them. Some issuers are moving existing credit lines over to another card at the higher rate for new purchases and letting you opt out of the changes on your current card so you don’t pay the higher rate on the current balance. However, you will pay the higher rate on the new card.
Cancel or move automatic payments for cable, phone or other bills that you pay with your credit card because once the card is charged with a purchase, unless otherwise told differently, the card automatically changes to the higher interest rate. It is always best to pay direct and not on a credit card, if you can help it.
The last thing is to stop making purchases on credit cards and get them paid off as quickly as possible so you don’t have to worry about these types of changes it interest rates. At that point it no longer affects you and that will be a relief!
Most people are full of emotion of one kind or another when it comes to selling their house. It is because they are looking at the sell of the property through emotional lenses, they sometimes miss the most important things to do before putting their home on the market. With this in mind, here are four must things to do before selling a house.
- Know what other houses in your area are selling for. You can find this information out one of two ways; ask your local Realtor for a Market Analysis in your neighborhood; or check the local tax records on homes that have been bought recently in your neighborhood. This is a much more accurate way to get a feel for a listing price than looking at what other houses are listing for.
- Box up and store any personal items like pictures, artwork, etc. You want people to be able to see “their stuff” in your house not yours.
- While you are boxing up items, consider taking out some of the clutter that may include furniture to items (including clothes) in your closets. Having space is a great way to show your home as open as possible and bigger than it looks!
- Consider the curb appeal and at the very least, clean up the area outside your home and, if possible, do a little landscaping.
There is help in every area for these services from Realtors, professional organizers, professional stagers and landscaping and lawn services that can help you if you find yourself in a bind to get them done. Not addressing these items can be the difference between selling and not.
