The assortment of homes for sale in our county gives a buyer a great opportunity to find the house that best suits their needs and wallet!  At this very moment, there are 586 homes in Anderson County for sale.  In the $100,000 to $200,000 price range there are 237 homes for sale.  Look at all the choices you have as a buyer!  Interest rates are at an all time low!  If you were prequalified for a home last year, with the rates even lower now, you can afford more home for the same payment.  At a seminiar I attended earlier this week, they emphasized that home ownership was the best retirement plan you could have.  Doesn’t that make sense?  You have to pay someone to live somewhere, so why not pay yourself?  If you have credit issues, take the time to sit down with a credit counselor at one of the mortgage companies (we can help with suggestions) and get your credit on track.  Start saving some money, cut out the little things and see how quickly your savings add up.  Home ownership is still possible…it is a goal we should all be looking to achieve.  If we can be of assistance to you, please call, email or stop by and we’ll help get you moving in the direction of home ownership!  We’ve been in Anderson County for over 38 years….you are more than clients to us…you are friends that we have built relationships with!  Put our years of experience to work for you….times are tough but we’ve been there before and we’ll be there afterwards too!  Let us help you!

What a wonderful event I attended earlier today.  The City of Clinton hosted the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce member’s coffee.  It was attended by area business leaders along with our local politicians.  Members were talking about new the Confluence Solar plant coming into the I-75 industrial park along with a possible expansion at one of the other local plants.  The need to support our local small businesses was also discussed.  Sellers Realty was represented at the event by Jo Suggs, Joey Smith and myself, Melissa Davis.  It was a great opportunity to network with area individuals. 

The housing market in Anderson County is doing very well right now.  We are very fortunate that we have not taken the “hit” to our market like other areas of the country.  In my opinion, that is due to the fact that we have the industry in Oak Ridge and also, TVA that are not based soley on customer demand.  Sellers Realty is starting out 2010 with a full sales pending board, a feat that is very seldom done in the winter months in real estate. 

Also, Leslie Sellers, the co-owner of Sellers Realty and manager of the appraisal department, was inducted last night as President of The Appraisal Institute.  The Appraisal Institute is an advocacy and education organization that has 91 chapters and more than 25,000 members.  Everyone at Sellers Realty is very proud of this accomplishment.  Who would have thought a man from Clinton, Tn. would achieve such a distinquished honor?  Leslie travels the world advocating the principles and ethics of appraising. 

So this week has been a busy week at Sellers Realty!  Let’s keep the momentum going!

Well, it’s Monday morning…and once again I’m here waiting to here back on a short sale.  Over 14 days ago an offer was submitted on a house in Anderson County, Clinton to be exact and the lender has yet to respond to phone calls or emails.  Is it any wonder that so many homes are going into foreclosure?  As a buyer, you get approved to short sale your house…you submit a ton of paperwork including personal taxes, letters from realtors, anything describing why you cannot pay for this house any longer.  It gets lost 2 or 3 times and you keep submitting it.  You finally get approved and get the house ready to sell.  A few days after it is listed, if it is a good deal, you find a buyer.  Then once again, the offer gets submitted to the mortgage company, you fill out more paperwork along with the buyer filling out extra paperwork and you wait…and you wait…and you wait.  You call the mortgage company daily to hear “don’t leave more than one message or your call will not be returned in a timely manner”.  Well, over 2 weeks later, we are still waiting for a return call. 

If you are wanting to buy a short sale, expect 2-3 months to close and a lot of paperwork.  Is it worth the deal you are gonna get?  You have to weigh that in…and be patient…very patient.  If you are selling in a short sale, be prepared to fill out lots of paperwork over and over again.  As a seller, you are getting rid of the monthly debt without have a “foreclosure” on your credit but you are also accepting a lesser amount and actually recieving a “gift” from your mortgage company that could be taxed. 

There is so much involved in a short sale but the major thing to remember is that you have to have patience.  This is my 3rd short sale deal and my patience is wearing thin.  It is very hard to represent a buyer and feel like you are actually doing your job in their best interest when you go weeks without anything to tell them other than “no news”.  I’m very lucky that my clients know me very well and they know that I’m looking out for their best interests (Thanks Mike and Olivia).

We just have to all remember to be patient!  I understand why the average person just lets their home go back.  It is so disheartening to be in a bad financial situation and have so much paperwork (half of which you don’t even understand) to fill out over and over again and then to wait months and months to even find out anything.  I can’t imagine being in that situation, even I get frustrated and I’ve been trained in it! 

Patience..patience..patience!

Merry Christmas! Today has been a wonderful time spent with my wife’s parents and family in Nashville. As we were sampling a table-full of holiday treats, my father-in-law posed this question: should he build a family room addition onto the rear of his home? If so, should he add a laundry room? A screened porch? Admittedly, a nice family room complete with fireplace, cathedral ceilings, and open to the kitchen would be a fantastic addition and a very desirable selling point for today’s buyer. He was also considering enclosing a small side porch to create a home office. There are countless changes, additions, and remodeling projects that he could undertake that would really make his home stand out in the neighborhood….but that’s the big question. What’s happening in this neighborhood? Are other homeowners adding on? Does a buyer looking in this neighborhood expect these features in a potential new home? And most importantly….will the money spent on these projects give a good return when the time comes to sell the house? The answers to those questions will vary from city to city, from neighborhood to neighborhood, and from street to street. I encourage him, as I do any homeowner, to do their “homework” before embarking on a major home remodel. Consult your trusted real estate professional to track the trends in your area. You want to make a wise investment in your largest investment…your home!

Well, time is running out on the first time homebuyer tax credit.  If you aren’t locked in to a contract by October 15th, chances are you’ll not make it! 

In my opinion, I’m seeing a change in the market.  I’ve been very fortunate this year to have kept a steady group of buyers and sellers.  The problem that I am having is finding suitable houses for my buyers.  Lots of the houses on the market are “fixer uppers” or need some updating like kitchens, baths, etc.  Buyers are getting pickier about what they want.  They don’t want to do repairs or updates.  They want a house to move in to.  In the past month, I have repeatedly brainstormed to call people that I know that may be interested in selling.  In real estate we call that a “one time show”.   I have set up between 5-6 one time shows on homes for myself and other agents in my office.  This tells me that we are in a sellers market again.  That is just my opinion and it is based on my customer base, but that is the way I feel the market is heading.  When I pull up listings for a client and the majority of them don’t suit their needs, then at that time I pull out my trusty “friend” list and go to calling all the people that I know that might sell their houses.  I’m lucky that I usually find a few that pull through for me.  I guess what I’m saying is that prices have adjusted, we are where we need to be on houses but we need some  listings to sell!  Give us a call if you’d like to sell your house!  And thanks to all my friends that have allowed me to show their houses during this time!

I just went through a short sale on a home and it was definitely a learning experience.  A short sale in my opinion, is the sale of a property for less than what is owed on the property, thus preventing the owners from going into foreclosure.  It was a very long process which actually started with an offer to purchase in April and we closed in July.  Buyers need to understand this is a very long process.  Are you willing to wait a long time to get a deal?  That is basically the question we as agents need to ask our buyers.  Yes, the buyers did get quite a bit of equity in this house but they had to be patient and wait almost 4 months for the process. 

I learned that you must fax documents to the sellers lender a minimum of 3 times to be sure they get them!  The selling agent must call at least twice a week and sometimes every other day to be sure the process is moving along! And be prepared that it won’t close on the date you expect!

It was a very stressful process for all parties involved, a lot of paperwork for all parties involved (about 3 times the normal transaction) but in the end all the parties were happy! 

Just be prepared if you are buying a short sale…it’s gonna be a long process!

The Anderson County Chamber of Commerce held their Annual Recognition Dinner last night.  The event was headlined by guest speaker, Hallerin Hilton Hill, local radio personality.  One hundred forty people attended the dinner which was catered by Catering by Delora.  Fox Toyota graciously hosted the event and First National Bank sponsored the dinner.  Music was provided by the Clinton High School Concert Band.  Several individuals received awards including Derek Keeton of Ameriprise Financial, Debbie Sellers of Mary Kay Cosmetics, Kristin Olsen of Small Paws Bed & Biscuit and Roger Houck of the City of Clinton Parks & Recreation Department.  There was a silent auction and I was lucky enough to be the winning bidder on an item!  Sellers Realty sponsored a table at the event with myself , Patrick Slone, Joey and Susan Smith, Debbie Sellers, Marty and Kim Stooksbury and Victoria Bowling seated at the table.  It was a great time!  I invite local businesses and individuals to join the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce…it’s a great organization and a great network!

We don’t have a bad market,  we  just have a different market.

The Anderson Farmers Co-op held a Chamber of Commerce coffee this morning, celebrating 50 years in business!  Myself, along with Sellers Realty agents, Jo Suggs and Joey Smith attended.  Jeremy Horn gave a brief discussion about how the Co-op was founded, what it takes to become a member and items available at the Co-op.  A great time was had by all!

At what point does it make financial sense to rebuild, as opposed to remodel?

I think we answered this question wrong, and are now stuck with a house that will never be what we want it to be, no matter how much we fix it up.

We started with a 1970’s split-level on a narrow, sloping lot. Ugly. But terrific views: because we’re on a hill overlooking another (unbuildable) hill, we see no neighbors, and very likely never will. We bought this house 12 years ago because we fell in love with the lot and could afford the ridiculously low $105,000 price. The neighborhood is not the best, however (the poorer neighbor of an extremely wealthy college town 4 minutes away, where we work), and the zoning is transitional — a red flag of uncertainty about the future. The house itself was tacky, old, outdated, and oriented in a way that blocked some of the nicest views.

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