About Knox County, TN

Well . . . in one month (ish) I should be back at home spending time with my wife and starting my Real Estate career. I still cannot give exact dates for security reasons but the song "I'll be Home for Christmas" is a certainty. I have already sent most of my un-needed items home and my bags are practically packed up and ready to go.

Kinda wierd how a year ago this week I took and passed my Real Estate Exam. I was originally supposed to report to my unit for deployment on the first of December last year so I was holding off on paying all the fee's to get my lisence. However on the last day of November I was told that i was taken off of the roster for deployment. I spent the first two weeks of December jumping through all the hoops and paying all the fee's to get my lisence. I started work with my company shortly after Christmas and the first day I sat down at my desk in the office, I get a phone call from the Army telling me that I will be going after all.

Before I was able to deploy I had to get trained up in another job. I had the privelage of spending three weeks in sunny Sierra-Vista, Arizona for training. Then the first week of Feburary I went to Fort Benning, Georgia to report for deployment. By the end of the month I was already in Iraq working with my unit.

I spent the first few months working out of the nicest base up in Baghdad. We had 24 hour gyms with brand new equipment. A superb dining facility that is good enough to make a Soldier fat. One of the biggest Post Exchanges (PX) in Iraq (sort of like Wal-Mart), which is nice to have when you are so far away from everything. Lastly never one sound of explosions or mortar fire.

After my time there I moved down to Basra. We moved onto a base that was just being established. With several thousand Soldiers we only had a PX about the size of your typical gas station. Needless to say it was always out of stock. The gyms were run-down and most did not even have air conditioning (in 130 degree whether). Our dining facility is nice but its the same food week after week and not nearly as nice as Baghdad. Lastly is our reminder that we are in a combat zone by the sounds of explosions and rocket/mortar fire that greets us on about a weekly basis.

It has had some improvements since we moved here. We did get a new gym and PX, a few venders moved on post (Green Beans Coffee - Pizza Hut - Burger King), however I have stayed clear of the fast food while here. We finally got internet available to our Soldiers however it is a mojor rip off (See my post about this, it still gets me steamed up (CLICK HERE), yet I still pay for it). However despite the improvements and everything else, it never really seemed to get better.

Geez, it almost feels like a life-time ago. Its wierd how my last deployment seemed like it flew by. Even while I was there it seemed to come and go so quickly. My guess is the difference between going on missions, living in the field, and constantly working missions, versus, working an eight to five in an office. This year seems to have taken longer than any other. This place is just like the movie groundhog day, (early 90's, with Bill Murry). Everyday wake up 0630, get ready, go to work, go to lunch, get off work, go to gym, eat dinner, go to sleep, all at the same time everyday. If it wasnt for the X's on my calendar I would never even know that time was moving. (By the way, I put the X on the calendar at the same time everyday).

Oh well, its all behind me now. Things are starting to change as we have to attend our mandatory classes, pack and ship items, create planning on how to hand off to the replacements, and other aspects that are added into our daily routines to get ready to go home.

The wife is excited, she already has the timeline that she needs to take off of work, going to try and be there when I get off of the plane in Atlanta, GA. She plans on staying with me in Fort Benning for the few days I will be stuck there, then back to the house we go. Just in time to enjoy Christmas.

Hopefully everything else will be ready to go to and I will have a few listings ready to pick up before the year closes.

As always I want to thank everyone for their support.

I’m back in Knoxville after attending the annual National Association of Realtors (NAR) Conference and Expo in San Diego, California.

View of the San Diego skyline from Coronado Island

One of the most exciting things I saw at the conference was the official unveiling of NAR’s new consumer website, HouseLogic.

HouseLogic is not a listings website like Realtor.com but rather a consumer resource which NAR intends to make the ‘go to’ site for homeowners and buyers to visit for objective and valuable advice, tips, and pretty much everything you need to know about owning and buying real estate.

You can simply visit the site and search to find whatever you’re looking for; it’s laid out very well and easy to navigate. A second option is to sign up for a free account and be able to find more easily projects and tips customized to your area. You’re completely safe signing up with your email address; the site’s privacy statement assures that none of your contact information will ever be passed on to anyone for any reason without your express consent.

I signed up for a free account and was immediately served up some project ideas to save money on energy costs, preventative maintenance on my heating system, and an article on how to receive up to $1,500 in tax credits for replacing an existing heating and air conditioning system. Pretty good stuff and the price was definitely right, FREE.

For buyers NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun had some words about the current market. He said: “said home sales continue to be dominated by lower-priced homes. In fact, NAR data shows nearly 70% of homes sold in September were priced below $250,000.

“The housing market has become much more active at the lower end,” said Yun. “The $8,000 homebuyer tax credit has significantly helped the market and is having its intended impact of stimulating home sales, decreasing high home inventory levels, and helping to stabilize home prices.”

Sales of homes priced below $100,000 are up 22.5% from a year ago. Sales in the upper-end market are still slow, however; homes priced above $500,000 are up only 4% from last year.

Yun projects the homebuyer tax credit will help raise home sales this year by 350,000 to 400,000 among first-time homebuyers—these are buyers who couldn’t have purchased a home without the tax incentive.

“The expansion of the tax credit into 2010 will help raise existing-home sales next year by as much as 15% and increase home prices by 3 to 5%,” he said.

Increased affordability is also helping spur lower end home sales. In September, the national median existing home price was $174,900, down 8.5% from one year ago.

So do yourself a favor, pay a visit to HouseLogic and see what it has to offer you. Better yet sign up for a free account and let the site find things relevant to your needs and get a monthly newsletter (optional) filled with timely information.

Buyers and sellers are also invited to visit KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com to see all the Knoxville area homes for sale as well as find buying and selling tips, schools information, local jobs, recreational opportunities, and lots more Knoxville information.

Please feel free to comment or ask a question either here or email me

This time of year I always start to get the same question. Should I sell my house now or just wait until the spring when everyone else sells their houses? This seems like an obvious answer until you see a few key points.

1. It is too cold, no one wants to look at houses in the snow? In Knoxville, Tennessee, where I am from, we really do not get a lot of snow. As a matter of fact, we are lucky if we see any snow at all. Therefore this common hesitation doesn't apply to this area.

2. No one is looking for houses in the winter time. This is plainly not true. There may be less people looking to buy. However, the ones who are looking are more serious. There may be less property visits during the cold months but the ones who are willing to drag their realtor out in the winter must be pretty serious. Wouldn't you rather have less traffic if they are more serious buyers?

Another point is that with less inventory during this time of year means less competition. During the spring there are going to be a lot more homes to compete against. I would rather be a big fish in a smaller pond, than a small fish in a big pond full of other fish.

3. I can't decorate my house for Christmas. I disagree. I say, don't just put out your Christmas decorations, go all out. Make your home the best decorated house on the block. A house can look truly beautiful, warm, and inviting during the holidays. One very strong buyer desire is to be in the new home by Christmas. Last year I had four sales in December specifically for this reason. One of them actually closed on Christmas Eve to make good on my promise to get them in by Christmas.

Another idea would be to put some lights around the realtor's "for sale" sign too. Please make sure that your realtor replaces the holiday pictures in their marketing after the holidays. It looks nice while it is in season, but after that it just looks dated. More on that on point #5.

4. I like to invite friends over for holiday parties. I can't do that if my house is for sale. Are you kidding? This is the perfect opportunity to show off your home to a large group of people. Don't just invite a few people over, host the Christmas party. Your friends might not be in the market to buy a home, but you don't know who they know who might be in the market. It is estimated that most people know at least 150 people very well at any given time.

5. If we don't sell the house over the winter, it will appear stale in the spring. This might be true but there are tricks you can do to lessen the impact. The most effective change you can make is to adjust the price. If the house was listed all winter and it didn't sell, the chances are the price is too high. Have a price adjustment, even if it is just a small one. Also, update the pictures. Most likely the original pictures were taken with leafless trees and plants without flowers. Your house will look drastically different with some fresh blossoms and updated landscaping. Be sure to take the picture of the house from a different angle as well. Someone who saw your house a thousand times on the internet will be forced to pause and look at the house again in a fresh light.

6. That tax credit expired, it won't help me sell my house. Actually, congress decided to extend the tax credit through April. Not only did they extend it, but they opened it up to more people. If you wait until the spring you will miss this large group of buyers.

7. I'm still not convinced. I really need to sell but think we should wait until the spring. My final point is best illustrated with a story. In my past life I worked at a computer retail store. One day our general manager made a surprise visit to our store. He looked around our sales floor and then looked in our stock room. He proceeded to bring out boxes and boxes of inventory that we had in our stockroom that was not on the sales floor. "You can't sell, what your customers can't see!" If someone is not actively trying to sell your home, no one will know it is for sale, and no one will buy it.

These are just a few points to ponder as we head unto the winter months.

HARDER THAN IT LOOKS

With markets so rapidly changing, it's easy to imagine how property appraisers might sit in a darkened room, waving their hands over a crystal ball, and producing the mysterious and all-powerful document of a home's value. Let's dispel the notion of magical figures and look more carefully at the process.

When comparing against similar properties, it's not just the final price that counts. Appraisers also factor in any "incentives" offered, such as sellers who pay closing costs or remodeling allowances.

Perhaps the most important factor that lenders review in an appraisal is the closing dates of the "comparables" (other homes by which yours is measured). Unfortunately, with today’s stricter lending requirements, most "comps" must have sold within the last 60 or even 45 days to carry weight. Markets change so quickly that any sale price over two months old may be completely irrelevant.

Now a few words about how foreclosures in a neighborhood affect determination of value. Technically, appraisers shouldn't consider them, because they don't fit the Appraisal Institute's definition of "a property reasonably exposed in a competitive market." However, if several area homes have been abandoned, we know the negative effect that can have on a home's “perceived” value.

If you're planning to sell, express your concerns about the appraisal process to your representative, who will offer explanations and suggestions for improving your report’s results.

Below is a chart prepared by the National Association of REALTORS ® comparing the new changes to the Homebuyer Tax Credit.

The biggest change is that current Homeowners are now eligible if they sell their current homes and then buy AFTER the date of enactment of this extension which is November 6th, 2009.

Because of widespread incidents of fraud, purchasers must now attach documentation proving they actually bought a qualifying home to qualify for the credit.

Additinally the income guidelines have been increased, now a single taxpayer can qualify if they earn up to $125,000 and up to $225,000 for married taxpayers.

The rationale for increasing the income limits and expanding the credit to existing homeowner is that it should encourage more higher priced home purchases. Currently the existing tax credit was driving mostly lower end purchases.