COME ONE, COME ALL to Drakes Creek Park, Friday, July 3rd beginning at 4 p.m and bring the whole family to the 2009 Freedom Festival presented by RE/MAX Choice Properties. It is fun for the entire family and includes music and the Kidszone featuring inflatable jumps and other great rides and entertainment for the kids at very reasonable prices ($1 per ride or $10 for the 1st armband and $5 for additional armbands). There is also great food available from our local restaurants so no one will go hungry. However, you can’t have a real Freedom Festival without fireworks so make sure you stick around for the fireworks celebration sponsored by the Hendersonville Parks Department that start at 9 PM and will light up the night sky!
It’s wonderful to be a part of an organization that gives back to the community the way RE/MAX Choice Properties does. This is the sixth year to sponsor the Freedom Festival, which raises money for the non-profit arm of the local Chamber of Commerce, the Hendersonville Chamber Foundation. The foundation issues education grants to Hendersonville area teachers as well as multiple grants each year totaling $22,500. It also provides a full scholarship to a Volunteer State Community College student each year. All great causes for a wonderful and active community so come out and enjoy the fun!
There was a time when 15 year mortgages were the rage, if you could afford them. They had higher payments but you would pay off your loan in 15 years instead of 30. While people request them every once in a while we are seeing less and less of them during these economic times. I have asked around and have received a consensus; it seems that people are just unsure about their economic future and would rather have a lower payment with the ability to pay off the mortgage earlier if they choose.
You can get a 30 year mortgage and pay it off in 15 years by consistently paying extra toward your principle each month. If you pay one additional mortgage payment per year, you will knock off approximately 7 years on the original 30, or pay for about 23 years. If you pay 2 mortgage payments extra per year you can knock off a little more than 11 years. There are many mortgage calculators online that can help you calculate your mortgage to 15 years or call your loan officer to help you. This way you can always pay extra and if you find that you can’t pay the extra you can pay the normal 30 year payment.
One of the hardest things for many of us is to “work the room” when there is an event or mixer where we can meet new people. Here are three things you can do to help you make some new contacts.
- Make sure you get to the event a little bit early so you can control how many people you meet in the beginning. There are times that there can be so many people there you are overwhelmed before you ever begin. Dealing with a few early arrivers can make it easier to manage your fear.
- Make sure you take time to really listen as people talk, and oh how they love to talk about themselves! You can get them going with questions that include who, what, where, why, when and how. As long as they are talking you don’t have to and they will think you are the greatest person in the world!
- Have a 60 second intro ready so you can go up to anyone and say hello, introduce yourself and start asking the above questions. Make sure you ask them their name, about their family or their work and let them talk. If silence happens, have an exit line or two ready so you can quietly walk away and introduce yourself to the next person.
These are good ways to over come any fear you might have to be in a large group. You can also try Toastmasters or a group that I am a member of, Business Networking International (BNI), to help you in small groups as well as presentations. Any help you get will be a plus for you and whatever you do.
I recently had a client that lived out of state and was moving to the Middle Tennessee area to be near their family. They had a mortgage approval from an out of state mortgage company and was determined to use that company, which, in the beginning, was okay with me. We found a home that was just perfect and started the process. Everything was going great with the exception of the mortgage and I encouraged them to look at a couple of local companies that I had worked with before that I felt could get the job done in a timely manner.
For over a month and a half this drug on until the seller set a deadline for the buyers. Another week went by until the buyer finally agreed to talk to a lender here in town. This lender was able to get the loan done in a little over a week! We met the seller’s deadline and both the buyers and sellers were happy and relieved. This deal would not have closed if not for the relationships that I have formed over the years in the real estate business. Realtors do much more than “show houses”. We help with negotiations, contracts and bring professionals in to do good and valuable work on your behalf. We have a team of people behind us as well as years of dedicated experience. That’s why you need to work with a Realtor!
There are two places in and around the Nashville area that I adore. One is East Nashville and the other is Hendersonville, which is located north of Nashville. I love them both because of the changes that are always taking place within the communities. East Nashville has reinvented itself and is a fun and retro kind of place where Hendersonville is building an entire new persona!
The old Hendersonville was a sleepy bedroom community that catered to a lot of the country music stars like Johnny Cash who lived on Old Hickory Lake for years. Then one day it grew up! Now it is quickly becoming a hip and happening place for young singles, families and couples as well as having a very well established middle class and senior population that adds to the diversity of the area. It is perfect for three and four generational families as there is something for everyone. For those who love the lake and water sports, you can’t beat living this close to the water. It’s just a great place to live and becoming a great place to visit!
I learned a long time ago that what we think can determine how we live. If you go around gripping about everything with a bad attitude and a frown on your face, your life will not improve because your thoughts are keeping you down and miserable. On the other hand, creating a way for you to think about things in a positive light can lift your spirits and bring a smile to your face and give you a new way of thinking that can better your situation. I know this works because I have experienced it and I did it through affirmations.
I really didn’t know in the beginning what I was doing but I knew I had to change the way I was thinking for myself and my children. I started by holding on to the words of my creator and repeating verses from the Bible that spoke to me. I also would find little sayings and repeat them to myself throughout the day until it became second nature. With each day I got a little bit stronger and a little bit happier until one day I realized my attitude and life had been transformed. I believe affirmations had a lot to do with it and still use them today.
I wish I was talking about a cruise down the river or to the Caribbean, but I am not. I am talking about buying your first home before rates go back up to the 7 and 8 percent levels. That’s right, historical rates will not stay down forever and, fact is, they have already started to move upward at a pretty fast pace over the last two weeks.
Many people seem to believe that these rates will just stay this low until all the homes are sold and that’s just not true. Rates are based on many factors that are far more than I ever want to get into and all I know is they are going up and no one I am talking to right now thinks they are going to come back down.
If you want to get the first time tax credit up to $8,000, buy a new home and get the best rate possible, the time to look is now. There are still many great homes on the market and prices have come down over the past year. That simply means if you are in the market to own a home you can still take advantage of good rates, good prices and a tax credit if this is your first home. It doesn’t get any better than this!
Whether you plan on staying in your home for a long time or selling your home in the near future, it is important to make the outside of your home appealing. It has been proven that the mental and emotional lift you get from being in a place that has a good aesthetic environment will actually make you calmer and less prone to stress. We don’t realize how much we add to our stressful situation by not living the way we would love to live. If that means spending a little money to better your space, it is worth it in peace and tranquility.
It will also be worth it when you go to sell your home. People are drawn to well designed and thought out outdoor spaces. The curb appeal in your front yard will entice them to look at your home as a potential place to buy and I have seen a great backyard seal the deal! That is not to say that the inside of the home can be overlooked, just don’t overlook what your yard can do when selling your home.
If you have never heard of Facebook then you have been living under a rock. It seems like every time I turn around there is another person claiming to be a relative or wanting to befriend me for some reason. While this is totally okay and within my control, something came up the other day that got me thinking; what do you do if you want to get off of Facebook and get rid of your pictures and such so no one could see or use any of the information or pictures that you have on your page?
Well, I have found such a service and it is part of Facebook. You would need to go to www.Facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=delete_account. This will delete your Facebook.com account and everything associated with it including your photos, wall notes and anything else you have written or posted on the account. For those of you who would like to keep the information but stop the page from being seen or used can choose the “deactivation” button instead of the delete button.
I don’t see many people using this feature but it’s good to know you can if you choose to.
Whether you are getting ready to sell your home, paint your home or just want to really enjoy the outside of your home it may just need a bath. We forget that dirt and grim build up on the surface of our homes at a remarkable rate. I have known people who think they need to paint their home that after they power wash realize that it was all that was required to get the color and feel back to the house.
Of course, as with everything, there are a few things you will want to watch for. First of all, if you have a lot of chipping and peeling paint, power washing will take more paint off so don’t do it unless you are ready to repaint your home. Make sure you get a power washer that has enough power to do what you need it to do. There is nothing like washing your house with something that is no more powerful then a good sprayer! The best cleanings are with good powerful machines that can take the grim and dirt off easily and don’t require you to keep going back over the same spots! You should be able to power wash the average home in about 4 to 5 hours and then watch it shine!
