Fountain City, Knoxville’s “Norman Rockwell” neighborhood

Posted by Jim Lee, REALTOR® @ 5:23 pm, December 31st, 2006  

One of my favorite parts of North Knoxville is the charming little community of Fountain City.

From Fountain City Lake (which the locals all call “the Duck Pond”) to Litton’s Restaurant; Fountain City has a style and charm all it’s own.

Bordered to the north by Black Oak Ridge and south by Interstate 640, it’s sort of an area where time has definitely slowed down relative to the rest of Knoxville and not in a backwards way.

Boasting lots of longtime, multi generational residents, Fountain Citians always seem to have a friendly hello and a smile for both old timers and newcomers alike.
Fountain City was voted the best suburban community in Tennessee in 1986 by People magazine, and until 1962 it was the largest unincorporated city in the US with a population of around 30,000.

While you’re touring Fountain City be sure and stop by Litton’s restaurant for a burger and fries; they’re my benchmark for best burger & fries combo anywhere.

litton's restaurant fountain city

The beef is fresh ground daily, the buns are baked fresh daily, and the Idaho russet potatoes used for the fries are fresh cut daily & never frozen.

A Litton’s burger platter is a guaranteed delightful dining experience and be sure to save some room for their awesome desert selection too.

Here’s the ‘menu’ to find the perfect Fountain City home for you and your family; be sure and place your order with Fountain City Realtor Jim Lee.

We’ll have a burger platter at Litton’s in celebration of your new home, my treat. 😉

Ready or not here comes 2007, buying a Knoxville home, part II

Posted by Jim Lee, REALTOR® @ 10:58 am, December 27th, 2006  

Knoxville, TennesseeImage via WikipediaNow that you’ve found the perfect Knoxville house, got pre-approved for a mortgage, and you’re ready to make an offer; what’s the first step.

buying a knoxville tn house jim lee

First thing we need to do is a little detective work in the neighborhood and find out what similar homes have sold for within the past 6 months if possible, and no longer than a year ago.

The more recent the comparable sales (called ‘comps’ in the trade), the better handle we can get on what the actual value of the home you’re interested is could be. In most Knoxville neighborhoods the annual appreciation rate is 3-5% so we need to get recent data for valid pricing information.

Next we need to do some prying to find out why the seller is selling. Job transfers, estate sale, job promotion, and divorce are all factors that tend to make sellers more motivated to sell and thus more flexible with their price.

Also if the seller has already bought a new house or signed a purchase contract contingent on selling his current home would be valuable information to know.

Now that we’ve found the house and done some detective work we’re ready to submit an offer.

Initially an offer towards the low end, or maybe just a little below, similar home prices in the area is a good starting point.

At this point there are 3 possible outcomes: 1. Seller accepts, Seller rejects, or, most likely, Seller will make a counter offer below his asking price. This is the beginning of negotiations.

If the Seller flatly rejects your initial offer with no counter that’s often a sign he’s not really serious about selling or is inflexible. There is usually a good selection of Knoxville area houses for sale so at this point it could be a good time to move on to another house.

Next, due dilligence and the closing process.

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Ready or not here comes 2007

Posted by Jim Lee, REALTOR® @ 8:22 pm, December 23rd, 2006  

If buying a new home is on your list of new years resolutions here’s some tips to consider.

knoxville tennessee real estate jim lee

Step 1: and before doing anything else: Call me and let’s sit down in my office and talk. Before going to look at any house, before we write any offers, and before you do anything.

Buying a new home is a very serious financial decision that you’re going to have to live with for several years to come.

 You need to have all the facts in front of you and understand the process before taking the second step.

Step 2: Make sure your credit is in good shape and your finances are in order.

Nothing will spoil your day faster than spending days and even weeks looking for a new home only to find out you can’t buy it because of some ding or problem with your credit that could prevent you from qualifying for a mortgage loan.

A phone call or e mail to Debbie Nieto at CTX Mortgage can ensure you don’t have that problem. (865) 693-6200 or email: [email protected]

Step 3: Now comes the fun stuff, we get to go out and look at some great houses for you to consider.

We’ll look at all the usual sources for a new home. Most Realtors only search the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for current, active listings.

We’ll go several steps beyond to ensure you’re exposed to as many sources of homes for sale as possible. We’ll check out:

  • For Sale By Owners (FSBOs)
  • Foreclosures and Preforeclosures
  • Pending listings to see if perhaps a sale for a great house might be in jeopardy making that home available
  • Upcoming listings from my Realtor contacts that are not actively for sale yet
  • Expired listings that have been for sale but expired from the MLS unsold. These sellers often still want to sell.
  • And any other avenues that offer great Knoxville area homes for sale that might meet your needs.

Next we’ll talk about making an offer, negotiation, due dilligence, and the closing process.

Who do they think they’re fooling?

Posted by Jim Lee, REALTOR® @ 11:38 am, December 22nd, 2006  

A little local controversy is brewing.

Out in South Knoxville a big, new shopping is under construction anchored by Lowe’s Home Improvement Center.

Although the property is located outside the Knoxville city limits the City recently annexed the whole new center with the exception of Lowe’s (because it was already under contstruction) which effectively diverts the anticipated roughly $900,000 annual sales tax revenues to the City of Knoxville instead of Knox County.

At the heart of the the annexation is the very controversial vote and manner in which the annexation occured.

It seems there was only ONE VOTER qualified to vote in the special annexation election; a construction worker named Garrett Meek who was employed by the firm building the project.

Mr. Meek claimed residency at the site although utility records show his ‘residence’ used no electricity or water from January to May of 2006 and very little during June through August.

According to a story in today’s Knoxville News Sentinel “He voted by paper ballot on October 23rd and his house was demolished on October 24th.” (good thing he didn’t oversleep that day) ;-).

Since the annexation passed as a result of this one person election we can safely assume Mr. Meek voted in favor of it.

Now Mr. Meek has conveniently vanished after several Knox County Commissioners called for an investigation into the election.

A high powered (and high priced) local attorney representing the lone voter is making suing noises in today’s News Sentinel toward fellow Realtor and Knox County Commissioner John Greiss because John had the courage to question this very questionable, 1 person election.

The state attorney general is launching an investigation into this questionable referendum at the request of several Knox County Commission members.

I believe this controversy is not only not over but just getting warmed up.

You can keep up with local news and issues via the online edition of the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Knoxville For Sale By Owner (FSBO) handbook, chapter IV

Posted by Jim Lee, REALTOR® @ 12:33 pm, December 19th, 2006  

So you’re selling your house yourself and lo and behold a nice looking couple walk in, tell you they love it, and they want to buy it.

fsbo sign

Uh oh, what do you do now???

 

 

Before uncorking that champagne and starting the celebration you need to make sure they’re qualified to buy.

It’s pretty common for ‘wanna be’ homebuyers to get the cart before the proverbial horse, rush out, find their dream home, and then…….oops, we forgot all about that……….bankruptcy, job loss, excess debt, bad credit, take your choice of reasons, and all of a sudden your prospective homebuyers turn back into lookers instead of buyers.

To save yourself a possible lost sale, not to mention a potential loss of a real buyer while you’re waiting to learn the sad truth from your ‘would be buyers’, it’s a smart thing to have them contact a local lender (not one of these faraway Internet guys you’ve never heard of) and make sure they can qualify for the mortgage they will likely need to buy your house.

Local mortgage broker Kevin Crisp of the Real Estate Finance Group can talk to them, and in just a few minutes determine if they’re what we term “ready, willing, and most important, ABLE” buyers.

kevin crisp real estate finance group knoxville tn

In fact call him right now and have him work up some financing scenarios for your house, no cost, no obligation.

And when those buyers show up and start wondering about payments, cash to close with, loan costs, PITI, escrow, and all those financing questions; you’ll be prepared with some useful information for them AND Kevin’s phone number.

Keep his local number handy to find out quickly if your would be buyers are for real or just dreaming (and wasting your time).

Call Kevin directly at (865) 237 3947 or you can e mail him at: [email protected]

Making sure you have qualified buyers will let you replace your FSBO sign with one of these. sold sign

NOW, it’s time to pop the cork on that champagne!

And of course if you have any real estate or sales contract questions call me.

Kevin and I are always “ready, willing, and able” to help you.

Jim Lee, REALTOR, Certified Residential Specialist (CRS)

(865) 693-3232 or email: [email protected]

Good luck.

PS, I can display a photo of your home, along with your contact information, on my highly visible website www.KnoxvilleMLS.com and possibly send you some out of town buyers too, no cost, no obligation for this service either. Visit KnoxvilleMLS.com and click “FSBO’s“.

Here’s the one thing you MUST do to get top dollar for your Knoxville area home.

Posted by Jim Lee, REALTOR® @ 2:40 pm, December 12th, 2006  

Make sure it’s in “showhome” condition and polished to perfection.

dress your knoxville home for success

 

 

 

 

 

In my over 28 years of experience selling all sorts of home in the greater Knoxville area, I’ve observed that a typical buyer is more willing to pay top dollar for your home IF they can move in without doing very much in the way of redecorating or repairs.

For that reason I walk through all my seller’s homes with them starting from the curb and ending up at the back yard, suggesting fix up tips, “staging” the home by rearranging or moving furniture & decor, and generally making sure they know to get it ready for inspection by all potential buyers.

A ‘neutral’ decor is best when selling to appeal to the broadest possible base of buyers because you normally do not know which one could be your buyer.

Repaint and remove wallpaper if you must to make the interior as neutral as possible. Buyers see dollars flying out of THEIR wallets if they think they must repaint your red den or strip the flocked wallpaper from your dining room.

Also make any needed repairs; fix that leaking faucet, oil or spray graphite on all your door hinges so they open smoothly without sticking, THOROUGHLY clean any surfaces potential buyers will be touching such as kitchen counter tops, and make sure all the windows are freshly cleaned inside & out.

For potential sellers and anyone else that’s interested, I have a 52 page eBook titled 450 Ideas To Help Your Home Sell FASTER” that tells you how to get your home in ‘ready to show’ (and ready to sell) condition.

Just send an e mail to [email protected] and I’ll get your free copy back to you right away.

Sellers and I start our home inspection tour at the curb because the “Curb Appeal” factor is vitally important to you for 2 reasons.

  • Many times potential buyers drive through a neighborhood before even contacting a Realtor or anyone else, and it’s very important for your home to look its best for interested passers by.
  • A great appearance sets the proper mood for showings. If buyers walk up to your front door and are greeted by bright, shiny fixtures on the door, clean & polished outdoors lights, a new welcome mat, and some cheery seasonal flowers it sets a great tone for the showing. They’re mentally prepared for more of the same inside.

Whereas if they walk up to your front door and there is cobwebs on the doorframe and lights because you always go in through your garage and never check the front; that sets a bad tone for a showing and does not appeal to people driving by your house.

If you’re thinking of selling your Knoxville, Tennessee area house please give me a call; I’ll be happy to come by at your convenience and help you put your home in top notch, “showhome” condition to make it sell faster and put more money in your pocket at closing.

December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor Day

Posted by Jim Lee, REALTOR® @ 1:03 am, December 9th, 2006  

In all the history books students are taught about the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor and and the generally accepted starting time for the attack is around 7:55 AM on Sunday morning, December 7, 1941.

However I learned while watching a Pearl Harbor anniversary special on the military channel that the attack actually began several hours earlier when 5 midget Japanese submarines attempted to breach the anti-submarine nets across the harbor entrance and launch a torpedo attack to be coordinated with the upcoming air attack.

The USS Destroyer Ward was on patrol just outside the harbor mouth on that fateful Sunday morning and spotted a periscope and conning tower of a submarine in a security zone. The Ward’s captain made the decision to attack very quickly and fired several cannon shots at the sub around 6:30 AM, hitting it and sending it to the bottom.

Here are some great photo of that submarine after it’s recent discovery by the Hawaiian Underwater Research Laboratory. The detail is incredible and you can actually see the shell hole the Ward put in the conning tower which sank the sub.
The Ward is credited with firing the first shot of World War II when it sank the submarine.

Soon after the USS Destroyer Monaghan sighted a second midget sub trying to sneak into the harbor by following an American ship. The Monaghan rammed the sub and sank it too.

A third submarine experienced some mechanical difficulties and actually washed up on the beach and was captured by American forces. One of it’s crew was also captured nearby and became the first Japanese prisoner of war.

Japanese midget submarine

Photo from US Archives.

The fourth submarine was discovered some years later off the coast of Hawaii by US Navy divers. It was recovered and returned to Japan.

The fate of the 5 submarine is still unknown but there is some speculation that it actually penetrated Pearl Harbor and was sunk during the ensuing aerial bombardment by Japanese aircraft.

I found that vignette of Pearl Harbor history very interesting and one of those little know facts you don’t normally hear about.