It has been a while since I’ve been on our blog!  One of my goals for 2012 is to stay up to date on my internet presence.  All of my listings are extremely important but one listing is on the top of my list for 2012.  Dang it – I’m gonna sell 283 Brushy Valley Road, Clinton, Tn.!  This is a great house on some absolutely beautiful property.  It is one of the most beautiful mini-farms in Anderson County or even East Tennessee.  As you drive into the property, you’d be reminded of an East Tennessee South Fork (remember Dallas??).  The young owners of this house have taken it down to the brick and studs and totally rebuilt the interior.  It has all the amenities of a new house but has that quaint charm of an old farmhouse.  The huge covered porches on the rear overlook the beautiful pasture.  What a better way to spend those late summer nights, sitting around a fire pit, roasting marshmallows along Hinds Creek?  Well, you can do that at this house!  Have horses?  Trust me, your horses will love this fenced, flat property.  Living in Clinton gives you access to one of the best places in the United States to raise a family!  At 283 Brushy Valley Rd., you are in the county (no city taxes) but only minutes to all your amenites of shopping, schools, Norris Lake, Clinch River, Walmart.   My goal for 2012….sell this house for this family!  Next blog, I’ll update you on my other goals!  Enjoy 2012…it’s gonna be a great year for us!

After a very rough day in the real estate business yesterday, I decided to share some of my views about the mortgage business with anyone that might read this.  First, this program instituted by the government to help home owners reduce their mortgage payments is actually a joke!  I am now in the process of helping a good friend do a modification and we have now submitted the paperwork 5 times!  It’s the same paperwork, sent in a provided envelope, faxed, emailed, fedexed and sent UPS.  They call her each week asking for more stuff…stuff we have already sent!  We call to verify they have rec’d it, if we can leave a message (the mailboxes are usually full), they never call to confirm.  It is understandable why home owners let their houses get foreclosed on!   It is ridiculous!  They give up from all the stress!  I would give up and I do this for a living!  This is the 4th time that I have assisted someone with trying to get a loan modification.  Each time I have prepared them for what is to come and after about the 4th or 5th time of sending the same paperwork in (which in the last fax was 57 pages), they tell me, without my help they would have given up.  It is a joke!  You would think they would be trying to assist these people that actually want to try to keep their homes but instead they make it so blasted hard on them that they lose the will to even try to keep it!  THE LOAN MODIFICATION PROGRAM IS A JOKE! 

Next, when they say there are banks out there wanting to lend money.  That is a joke too!  For example, I have a young couple, getting married this month, wanting to buy a house.  They paid down their debts to qualify on their debt to income ratio.  We were supposed to close this week and then we found out they have to pay off one more debt to satisfy the underwriter plus get a letter from a contractor stating the roof has at least 2 years of life.  First, the home inspector or appraiser, neither of them, asked for a letter on the roof.  The underwriter sitting in who knows where but not our area, asked for it.  She has never seen the house but because we have had storms on the news, she wants the letter.  The roof is less than 5 years old!  Does she think that contractors go out and do these letters for free?  If so, in these days of everyone trying to protect themselves from getting backlash, contractors wouldn’t have any time to do their actual jobs for writing all these letters.  Just because of her wanting this letter, the seller will now have to pay the contractor to go out and write this letter.  Lending has tightened up and I warn my buyers and sellers that in all actuality about 25-50% of the loans get turned down or the houses don’t appraise out.  I understand that the standards needed to be tightened.  At one time, if you could breath and had a credit score, you could get a loan!  But do we actually need to require all of this extra stuff?  Give me a break! 

The moral of this story…play the lottery and buy your house with the proceeds!  Just kidding!  I know a good lender if you need one! 

Well, that is my venting for the week.  It’s a much better day today.  I’ve enjoyed seeing some of my clients today and am looking forward to a wonderful 4th of July!  Hope you have a great 4th too!

We here at Sellers Realty are swelling with pride for our hometown!  Bloomberg BusinessWeek released its list of the Best Places to Raise Kids in the United States.  Our very own Clinton was named the best city in Tennessee!  Bloomberg weighed several factors:  affordability of real estate, good school systems, parks and recreational opportunities, and low crime rates.  Clinton came out on top as one of the top 50 small towns in the country.

Those of us who have called Clinton, Tennessee home for a long time are not surprised.  Clinton is truly a fantastic community…a hidden gem, some might say.  Not surprisingly, real estate was one of the major factors used to determine the top 50.  From small cottages to country estates, Clinton and all of Anderson County provide opportunities for any buyer.  When you think of Clinton and Anderson County real estate, think Sellers Realty!  Let us introduce you to some wonderful communities and some outstanding real estate deals!

Last Thursday evening, the Annual North Anderson County Boys and Girls Club Hall of Fame Dinner was held at the Family Life Center at First Baptist Church in Clinton.   I was thrilled that Bobbie Sellers, my managing broker and “boss” was being inducted into the 2010 Hall of Fame for her work as a local  Business Leader.  I have been fortunate enough to work as an assistant and now as a licensed affiliate broker for Bobbie for over 17 years.  She has taught me everything that I know about the real estate business. 

Not only are we fortunate to have great leaders in our community like Bobbie, but we have a great organization in the Boys and Girls Club helping area children.  As a child, with a working mother, this would have been the place that I would have went for after school care. It is a great organization!  I encourage you to google the North Anderson County Boys and Girls Club and check out their website.

I just read a great article posted on the website of a Realtor whom I am doing a referral to and wanted to share some of the info in the article.  Are you aware that now, 2010, maybe the best time in history to purchase a home?  Home prices and interest rates are both down.  It is a buyers market and buyers have the opportunity to “snatch up” some real deals.  Interest rates are at an all time low.  I am beginning a refinance on my personal home and my interest rate will drop over 1% but the big thing is my payment will drop over $100 per month!  In this time of economic uncertainty, that is a very big deal.  As a buyer you have the possibility to purchase a larger, newer, pricier home for possibly the same payment as your current home.  In my opinion, in 17 years of working in this office, real estate is still the best investment you can make….just make good choices!  

What is the moral of this story?  If you are thinking about buying a home, look past the negativity and see that now is literally the time to buy.

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!