Walking in Knoxville, Tennessee

Posted by Jim Lee, REALTOR® @ 11:45 am, May 9th, 2008

Now that Knoxville gas prices have passed the $3.50 a gallon mark, the huge increases are a frequent subject of conversation (not to mention other words not printable here ;-0).

One way to escape paying the higher gas prices is simply to walk more to destinations. Lots of parts of Knoxville are not particularly “walker friendly” but many are.

Besides being a very healthful exercise, walking is also a great way to get places, especially if they’re nearby. Besides the wonderful fresh air and exercise you get walking, it’s a great way to meet your neighbors and others. I very rarely run into an unfriendly walker, most will wave to you, smile, and speak.

hiking in the great smoky mountains national park, a great walking activity

Don Anderson, one of my fellow Realtors, during a recent hike we enjoyed in the Great Smoky Mountains; hiking is a great walking activity.


Here’s a great website I located that lets you calculate your home or neighborhood’s “walk score“.

We moved last year from the Cedar Bluff Road area to the West Hills neighborhood. One reason we love our new West Hills home is because it’s so conveniently located to everything. According to www.WalkScore.com we now live:

  • .71 miles from a grocery store
  • .22 miles from a restaurant (about 20 actually)
  • .23 miles from a coffee shop
  • .33 miles from Little Ricky’s Sports Bar
  • .80 miles from a movie theatre
  • .80 miles from West Town Mall
  • .31 miles from a school (Bearden Elementary & Middle)
  • 1.29 miles from a park (and it’s an easy walk or bike ride from our new West Hills home.)
  • .42 miles from a public library
  • .44 miles from a bookstore
  • .42 miles from a fitness center
  • .61 miles from a drug store (3)
  • .42 miles from a hardware store

That gives our new home a “walk score” of 66 out of a possible 100; good enough for me. Even if you don’t walk, it’s a super convenient (and economical) drive to any of the above mentioned places.

What’s your Knoxville or Farragut home’s walk score?

If you want to improve it by moving to a more “walking friendly” neighborhood, www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com is a great place to start, no walking or driving involved. ;-)

Welcome Knoxville mortgage banker Debbie Nieto, my first guest blogger.

Posted by Jim Lee, REALTOR® @ 3:16 pm, April 17th, 2008

I’m delighted to have my favorite Knoxville area mortgage banker, Debbie Nieto of CTX Mortgage Company as my first guest blogger.

debbie nieto, ctx mortgage company

Debbie Nieto


Debbie has written a great list of reasons why, despite all the negative real estate news the local and national media keep insisting on promulgating, now is a great time to buy or sell real estate in Knoxville, Tennessee.

And now without further ado; here’s Debbie

“Put the facts on your side!

In today’s housing market, we all know how important it is to get buyers and sellers back into the game. Unfortunately, the media’s continued focus on negative real estate news is keeping many people solidly on the sidelines. But remember, these people aren’t getting the whole story. And the facts they’re missing can alter their mindsets. All we have to do is put those facts out there!

Fact #1: Some six million Americans are expected to buy a home this year. Six million people in the game make up a pretty big game. That’s a level of sales equal to the one we experienced in 1998—by all accounts, a pretty good year.

Fact #2: There is still over $23 trillion of value in u.s. housing stock. Home ownership continues to be the basis of our wealth in this country.

Fact #3: The housing market cannot help but grow. Our country’s tremendous wealth, liquidity, and entrepreneurship will continue to drive our economy. 70-100 million people will be added to our market in the next 40 years.

Fact #4: Real estate is cyclical. The biggest fear in good times is that the fair weather won’t last forever—because it doesn’t. But the reality of a cyclical real estate market also provides its brightest hope in bad times—foul weather won’t last forever either. What’s happening today is a market correction, severe in some places, but it’s not the end of the world. As shown by Fact #1, people are still buying and selling homes. The markets will stabilize.

Fact #5: 2008 is the best year to buy a home in 35 years. 1973 was the last time mortgage rates were this low in a buyer’s market. We had rates this low in 2001 and 2002, but those were strong seller’s markets with little inventory. The last two big buyer’s markets, in the early ‘80s and early ‘90s had much higher rates. Low rates and good inventory make 2008 the best year to buy in decades!

Fact #6: First-time buyers have a real advantage in today’s market. First-time buyers can buy at a reduced price without having to sell at one too. Higher limits on lower cost conforming loans also help first-time buyers purchase more home for their money. Today’s ‘starter’ homes can be pretty impressive.

Fact #7: First-time buyers lose money while they wait on the sidelines. First, renters typically pay more state and federal income taxes than homeowners with a mortgage deduction. Renters are also losing the wealth they could be accumulating as they pay down their mortgage and as their home increases in value over time (as it surely will). Lastly, renters who wait to buy will lose money if interest rates increase by the time they finally act. Higher payments from higher interest rates represent money buyers could have kept if they had bought earlier. Conversely, if they were willing to spend that amount of money earlier, they could have bought more home.

Fact #8: Homes sell when they’re priced right and show well. Buyers are looking for value in today’s market. When sellers make their home’s value obvious, they make a sale—it’s as simple as that.

Use these facts on your website, in blogs, and in conversation whenever you run into reluctance from a prospective buyer or seller. The best way to fight negative media is with the facts they’re leaving out!

… Have a great month!”

Have a great month indeed!

And here’s a link to find some homes for sale to put Debbie’s excellent advice to work for you.

When you find a great home, Debbie has the cash to buy it with and I have the keys; call us please.

Knoxville Tennessee rates in top of “best cities to retire to”

Posted by Jim Lee, REALTOR® @ 9:15 am, December 28th, 2007

Knoxville always rates very highly on those “best cities to do whatever” in.

knoxville tennessee great lakes for boating, sailing, or fishing

Boating on Fort Loudon Lake in Knoxville, Tennessee

One of the latest polls rates the greater Knoxville, Tennessee area as one of the best 25 cities in the country to retire to if you want to keep working after retirement although continuing to work is not a requirement.

This survey was based on the following factors:

  • General employment growth.
  • Revalence of key retirement job opportunities.
  • Presence of age-friendly employers.
  • Unemployment rate
  • Housing costs
  • General cost of living
  • Health-care services

free fishing day for kids of all ages in a Knox County Tennessee park

Free fishing day for kids of all ages at a Knox County park.

Knoxville was classified in the Central/Midwest area along with these cities:

  • Louisville, Kentucky
  • Columbus, Ohio
  • Knoxville, Tennessee
  • Indianapolis, Indiana

Further proof of what Knoxville area residents have known for a long, long time. Knoxville, Tennessee is a great place to work, live, play, and raise a family.” There are lots of fun & exciting things to do in the greater Knoxville area for all tastes and budgets.

And KnoxvilleMLS.com is a great place to look for a new home.

knoxville tennessee housing costs are low with lots of one level homes
Knoxville offers a great selection of one level homes & condos

No Knoxville Tennessee real estate for sale this Saturday

Posted by Jim Lee, REALTOR® @ 6:50 pm, July 26th, 2007

Why? Because it’s time for the 15th annual Grainger County Tomato Festival! (July 27-29th)

My wife and I will be making our annual pilgrimage this coming Saturday to spend the day enjoying this fun for all event (I have other agents covering my business in case you can’t wait until Monday ;-) ).

tomato

Organized in 1993 the Tomato Festival has grown into a huge undertaking to showcase the Grainger County Tomato crop, area artists, craftsmen, and other local enterprises. Today it’s one of the largest local events in the state of Tennessee.

Here’s an aerial photo from last year.

Rutledge tn

This year’s festival features the always popular “Tomato Wars” with lots of overripe tomatoes as ammo. Teams are formed to pelt each other with the squishy veggies. I’m not sure how they determine a winner but everyone comes away dripping tomatoes pulp and juice all over.

grainger county tennessee tomato wars

Everyone is nice and clean at the begining of the Tomato Wars.

In addition to the tomato fights there is a beauty contest, car show, civil war reenactments, arts, crafts, music, food, and lots of good clean (except for the Tomato Wars participants ;-) ) fun for all.

If you’re a fan of good tasting tomatoes, Grainger County grows some of the best around. Started in early season in seemingly endless rows of hothouses, Grainger County Tomatoes are among the first ‘homegrown’ products to hit the markets in early spring and they continue to produce until first frost.

knoxville tn

UPDATE: Here’s some photos I took at the festival today. It was great with record crowds and lots of fun things going on.

Here is the Knoxville News Sentinel’s coverage of the Tomato Wars

Knoxville Tennessee June 2007 Realtor sales report

Posted by Jim Lee, REALTOR® @ 5:41 pm, July 19th, 2007

The Knoxville Area Association of Realtors have released their June 2007 sales report; you access it here.

Looks like volume was down a couple of hundred units over the past month of May and days on the market (time to sell) was up slightly to 90 days. Total volume of homes and condos sold was 1,483 units versus 1,608 units in May of this year.

I talked with my “go to” mortgage banker Debbie Nieto today and she told interest rates were still in the high 6% range with the benchmark 30 year loan at 6 7/8th fixed rate.

Debbie Nieto

There is a great selection of Knoxville, Tennessee and surrounding area homes for sale. If buying a new Knoxville area home is in your future you can view all our area Realtor listings at www.KnoxvilleMLS.com.

Go have a look, pick out a few, and give me a call, we’ll go have a look at them and you can pick one out.

Knoxville Tennessee Home Sales Report, 1st Quarter 2007

Posted by Jim Lee, REALTOR® @ 9:07 pm, May 6th, 2007

The Knoxville Area Association of REALTORS® recently released their 1st Quarter 2007 sales report.

You can access the report here

Compare it to the 1st quarter of 2006

And the 1st quarter of 2005

The good news is this for home sellers. 1st quarter 2007 sales was 3,386 total single family homes & condos sold. This compares pretty favorably to 3,675 sold during the same time period in 2006 and 3,236 during the 1st quarter of 2005.

knoxville tennessee new homes for sale

This beautiful, brand new, 2,500 square foot home is priced at $245,900

The good news for home buyers is that your investment in a Knoxville home is likely to continue to appreciate in value. 1st qtr 2007 average price for a 3 bedroom home was $165,400 compared to $156,900 in 1st qtr 2006 and $146,200 in the same time period for 2005.

Further proof positive that Knoxville is not experiencing any sort of housing bubble and prices continue to escalate modestly as sales stay relatively static.

If you’re thinking of buying a Knoxville area home NOW is a great time. The benchmark 30 year fixed rate mortgages are just under 6% and there is a great selection of homes for sale. But like the figures show, don’t wait too long or your dream home could cost thousands of dollars more than you can buy for today.

knoxville tennessee homes for sale

2,000 square foot, 3 bedroom Cape Cod for only $199,900

Visit my website, www.KnoxvilleMLS.com to view all our Knoxville area Realtor listings currently for sale, including Farragut, Oak Ridge, and Maryville, and then give me a call to help you buy one.

 

“lockbumping”…….is your Knoxville home secure?

Posted by Jim Lee, REALTOR® @ 9:57 am, February 24th, 2007

The latest technique used by burglars and thieves wanting into your home is called “lock bumping”.

Using ordinary house keys with a special cut; almost anyone can open your door locks and be inside your house in less than 2 minutes.


Watch this YouTube video to see how easy it is and how to prevent the bad guys from using it on your door.

Trust me when I say I’m not giving any crooks ideas with this post; it’s their job to know stuff like this.

Hopefully by seeing this you can take some simple steps to make your Knoxville area home more secure for you and your family.

To buy or sell a Knoxville, Tennessee area home visit my website for all the area’s Realtor listings plus tips & advice on how to get your home sold quickly.


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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: Debbie.Nieto@Ctxmort.com

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.

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: kscrisp96@aol.com

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: Jim@KnoxvilleMLS.com

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 Ideas@JimLee.com 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.

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