Knoxville Tennessee Real Estate Blog

                               

If you’re fortunate to finally find a buyer for your Knoxville area home it’s critically important to ensure that your buyer is a real buyer, i.e. a buyer that can perform financially and show up at the closing table with either cash or a loan to pay you for your house.

Believe me when I say there are lots of people running around out there that would love to buy a house, your house, any house, but their credit is so bad they would have trouble financing dinner at McDonalds.

I very highly recommend you call a local lender and enlist their help in preapproving any interested buyers BEFORE you start signing contracts and maybe getting your house tied up legally for several months with someone who has no chance of getting a loan to pay you with.

Trust me, Knoxville & Farragut lenders will be delighted to talk with your buyers and they are trained professionals in the mortgage business who can generally tell in about 15 minutes if you have a “live one” on your hands or another “wanna be buyer” who could never qualify for a loan.

Of course the obvious reason they’re delighted to talk with your potential buyer is that it’s a great chance for them to make them a loan to buy your house. And of course there is no cost or obligation to you unless you have a cash poor buyer who might qualify for a loan but needs some help from you to pay his closing costs.

In case you don’t know any local lenders the yellow pages are full of them. I do not, repeat, do not recommend using any online lenders nor taking as true, any sort of pre-approval documents a buyer may have from an online lender.

Here’s a few, Knoxville area lenders I’ve had success with:

• CTX Mortgage Company
• First Tennessee Mortgage Loans (part of First TN bank)
• Mortgage Investors Group

A lot of these guys like Lending Tree and others are not actual lenders but mortgage brokers who ’shop’ potential buyers and loans to many mortgage bankers in hopes of finding one that will grant their buyer ’suspects’ a loan.

Reputable Tennessee banks and mortgage bankers that have a physical presence in your area are the best way to go.

If you have any questions or concerns about selling your own house or any part of the sales process please give me a call or e mail; no cost, no obligation.

You can find lots of other selling tips & techniques on my website KnoxvilleMLS.com

 

 I got a call yesterday from  Whitney Daniel, a reporter for Channel 8, WVLT television.She wanted to come to my office and interview me about home sales in the Knoxville area and whether they were up or down relative to the so called “national market”.

Being a Knoxville Realtor, local home sales is a subject near and dear to my heart so I agreed.

We talked about the local market and I explained to her there was really no such thing as a “national real estate bubble” because there is no national real estate market. All real estate is local and local prices are mostly driven by what is going on in that particular area.

Usually the most important driving force is the local economy. Fortunately we have a very diverse economy in the east Tennessee area so our economy is most always good. Locally Knoxville had a 4.4% unemployment rate for the 1st quarter of 2006 which is pretty close to full employment so our area is doing well economically with steady jobs growth.

Statistically Knoxville home sales have been pretty robust compared to areas like south Florida where some section have experience as much as a 10% decline in values over the same time periond in 2005.

Since the latest numbers available are for the 3rd quarter of this year I used that for my comparisons.

3rd quarter average sale prices for 3 bedrooms homes

• 2004  $145,000……….Average days on market…..80
• 2005  $157,400……….Average days on market…..65 
• 2006  $169,300……….Average days on market…..78 

You can see from thes figures that home prices in the greater Knoxville area have been increasing steadily over the past 3 years. The days on the market this year are also shorter than they were 2 years ago.

I have all the housing statistics for the past several years posted on my website KnoxvilleMLS.com so you can review them as they change and see how we’re doing locally compared to the mythical “national real estate market”.

No “housing bubbles” bursting in the Knoxville, Tennessee market and with interest rates still at historic lows and currently hovering around the low 6% range for fixed rates, now is a great time to buy a home in Knoxville.

My 15 minute interview got edited down to around 3 five second sound bites, so my 15 minutes of fame turned out to be more like 15 seconds.

Here is a link to my interview with both video and text.

 

One of the most important things you must do to get your house sold is advertise, but where are the best places?? The places professionals use??

For Sale By Owner

Along with a yard sign one of the very best places to advertise your house is the Internet.

According to National Association of Realtor’s most current research, 82% of first time home buyers used the Internet compared with 78% of repeat homebuyers, so the www is a huge piece of the “where do I advertise puzzle?”.

Many local newspapers have an online ad section you can take advantage of. For example our town’s Knoxville News Sentinel currently is running special ad rate of only $236.75 for a 30 day ad that appears both in the print paper and the online edition of The Knoxville News-Sentinel .

Another great online source is Sell Your Home FSBO.com . For only $59.95 they will advertise you home on their website with as much text and photos as you want to include and keep it on the site until it sells.

Another tip; be sure and include lots & lots of pictures where ever you decide to advertise. studies show that buyers like to look at pictures that show the rooms of your house, outside shots including the lawn and neighborhood, and nearby amenities such as your neighborhood swim/tennis club.

One additional, free source of online advertising is my heavily trafficked website www.KnoxvilleMLS.com . Visit the FSBO section to learn how to place your free ad there.

As always, if you have any question about the sale process in general or a specific question, please feel free to call or e-mail me, no cost & no obligation.

Jim Lee, Certified Residential Specialist (CRS)

Welcome to the wonderful world of residential real estate sales.

 

When you decide to sell your house on your own you’re doing the same thing I do everyday; market houses just like yours and show them to prospective buyers.

The first (and most important thing) that you must do is make sure your home is in tip top shape so it will appeal to the broadest base of buyers.

In fact this step is so critically important I strongly recommend you do it first; before you even put your sign in the ground.

Afterwards get a friend or neighbor to walk through your house and ask for an objective opinion; tell him you want the good, the bad, & the ugly.

You see buyers don’t want to have to move into a home and have to do much work, i.e. paint, carpet, minor repairs, etc., and will pay more for a Knoxville home they have to do little work to.

Visit my website, KnoxvilleMLS.com to get “40 Free or Inexpensive Tips That Will Make Your Home Show Better”, click the “Selling” & the “Free Stuff“ links.

You might also want to get a complimentary copy of my 52 page e-Book “450 Ideas To Help Your Home Sell FASTER!”  e-Mail: [email protected] for your free copy.

It’s state law in Tennessee that you provide a disclosure of any defects, issues, non-conforming usages, environmental hazards, and several other items, to any potential buyers of any home you’re selling and have lived in at any time during the past 3 years.

Please contact me if you need the proper form for this; no cost, no obligation. Stay tuned to this blog for following chapters and selling tips.

Need to sell now?? Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have about the selling process; no cost, no obligation.

Scroll to the bottom of the column on the right and enter your e mail address to receive each new posting to this blog; no cost, no obligation, no spam.

And who doesn’t like free stuff?? Most of us do.

If you’re in the market to buy or sell a home my flagship website has lots of free stuff in addition to access to all Realtor listings in the greater Knoxville, Tennessee area.

Want to know what your neighbor’s house sold for?? Click here for a free bi-monthly update plus other great real estate information about your neighborhood.

Fixing to sell and need a list price?? Right here is a great free source for a suggested listing price.

Free copy of my 52 page eBook “450 Ways to Make Your Home Sell Faster” email: [email protected] for your copy    Free eSchool profiles of Knox, Anderson, Blount, and Loudon County schools. Just click here 

Free package of Knoxville area information. All I need is your:

• Name
• Postal Address
• Moving date
• Phone number (for verification)
• eMail me now for your complimentary copy
• [email protected]

Free mortgage pre-approvals before we start looking. I highly recomend my longtime mortgage professional  Debbie Nieto of CTX Mortgage Company.

Debbie Nieto, Knoxville, TN mortgage banker 

Great person, great mortgage banker, great job with your loan.

If you’re moving to the great Knoxville, Tennessee area I would like to help you with that move; please visit KnoxvilleMLS.com for the best source of Knoxville real estate information.

Jim Lee, REALTOR® 

•  Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR)
• Certified Residential Specialist (CRS)
• Graduate, REALTOR Institute (GRI)
• Certified Internet Professional (e-PRO)

Here are 5 things you must do in order to get the best price for your house as well as make it sell sooner rather than later.

1. Realize there are not as many buyers out there right now as there may have been before.

You need to ensure your home is priced competitively relative to your competition AND in tip top condition to appeal to the broadest base of buyers. Visit my website, www.KnoxvilleMLS.com and click the “Selling” link for 40 free or inexpensive things you can do to make your house look better & sell faster.

2. Cash on hand is still an issue to many buyers. An offer to help with some or all of a buyers closing costs or maybe buying their interest rate down may be more appealing to them than a lower price for your house.

3.  Choose the right REALTOR®! (Maybe this should have been number 1.)

There are over 4 million real estate licensees in the US, 1.3 million of them are REALTORS®. There is a difference between having a license and being a REALTOR®.

Also years of experience in the business should have a qualitative difference between a new vs an old licensee/REALTOR® assuming the old licensee has kept up with the times, i.e. has an effective website, advanced designations, track record, etc.

4. The more people that hear about your house the better your chances of getting it sold. A written marketing plan, high traffic website, local marketing materials such as flyers, “just listed” post cards to your neighbors, and other such methods generate more interest in your house; more interest usually means a faster sale at a higher price.

5. Remain objective. Remember, your house is looked at by buyers as a commodity; not the place you’ve raised your children, planted flowers, etc..

The price you feel you have to have in order to buy your next house has nothing to do with the value buyers place on your present house. And just because your neighbor said he “got my price” doesn’t necessarily mean he did and even so, that won’t influence what buyers are willing to pay you.

Make sure you understand and implement the 5 guidelines above and you’ll be on your way to the bank with your proceeds check much faster than you would otherwise.

The default position for a real estate licensee in Tennessee is called “facilitator” or non-agency status.

Unless you have a signed agency agreement between you and your licensee that licensee cannot, by Tennessee law represent you as “your agent”.

You can read all about the nuts & bolts at:

http://www.knoxvillemls.com/agency.htm

Every Tennessee licensee has 7 duties to consumers, no matter what their agency status or non status.

1. To use professional skill and care.
2. To disclose any adverse facts.
3. To maintain confidentially.
4. To provide services with honesty and good faith
5. To provide timely and accurate information.
6. To account for funds and property
7. To not engage in self dealing or conflicts of interest.

When you hire a licensee as your agent they then owe you 2 additional duties:

1. To obey all of your lawful instructions.
2. To be loyal to your interests by placing those interests above all others.

I find that most buyers want this agency level of representation in what is usually the biggest financial transaction in their lives.

Another thing to look for in a buyer’s agent is the ABR or, “Accredited Buyer Representation” designation awarded by the National Association of REALTORS.

Agents who have earned the ABR designation have received additional specialized education to enable them to better represent today’s homebuyers.

In order to earn the ABR a Realtor must:

1. Successfully complete the ABR course.
2. Successfully complete one other elective course.
3. Complete & close 5 real estate transactions acting as a buyers agent.
4. Be a Realtor and a member of the Real Estate Buyers Agent Council (REBAC)

Look for a Realtor with the ABR designation to represent you in your next real estate purchase.