Jim Lee, Knoxville Tennessee Realtor®

What if evertime someone copied a snippet (or your whole blog posting) your blog platform automatically put a link back to your blog on the end of your material?

Think that would help your SEO? Get credit for your work? Increase your page views and traffic?

Now you can with Tynt. Tynt will create a little bit of javascript code you can paste into your blog platform (works with Blogger, Ning Network, Typepad, Wordpress, WebsiteWorks.com, and Register.com

If someone copies for example, the following from my blog: "The Second Quarter of 2009 real estate sales figures are out now along with the numbers from this past June; let’s take a look. Here’s what this past June looked like in numbers of closed sales in the greater Knoxville area."

What they actually get is this: "The Second Quarter of 2009 real estate sales figures are out now along with the numbers from this past June; let’s take a look. Here’s what this past June looked like in numbers of closed sales in the greater Knoxville area. Read more: http://knoxvilletennesseerealestateblog.com/#ixzz0LlQiWrP9 Under Creative Commons License: Attribution"

And when (if) the reader clicks on the embedded link it not only takes them back to your side but the copied portion is highlighted in yellow!

I copied the following information from Tynt's website describing one of the benefits.

The automatically added link back ensures you get credit for content that you have created. You can’t stop users from copying from your site but you can improve the chances of getting credit for your content. Read more: http://tracer.tynt.com/features-and-benefits-of-tracer#ixzz0LlUPX0cU Under Creative Commons License: Attribution No Derivatives

Give it a try and see who's passing your content around the www. This will not only give you credit but boost your SEO because of the link that goes with it.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently put out a survey to members asking what impact, if any, the new Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) has has on the real estate business.

From the preliminary data received it appears that the HVCC is having a negative impact on real estate sales across the country.

Realtor and appraisers members of NAR are reporting that:

• 75% of Realtors representing buyers or sellers said that the time to obtain a completed appraisal increased after May 1st (when HVCC took effect). 69% reported an increase of over 8 days.
  
• Lost sales were reported by 37% of Realtors trying to get a sale to closing with 20% reporting more than 1 lost sale.
  
• Reports of lost sales will impact teh fallout rate in pending home sales although some of these sales may be completed after a delay of who knows how long.
  
• Increased use of out of area appraisers was reported by 70% of Realtors trying to complete a sale.
• NAR appraiser members say they now obtain over 50% of their appraisal management companies (AMC).
  
• Around half of NAR appraiser members say their fees have been reduced by AMCs. 70% says consumers are now paying higher fees. Of course the AMCs are getting the difference.
• 85% of NAR appraiser members reported a perceived reduction in appraisal quality!
• NAR appraiser members reported that a 'significant' number of their assignments were in unfamiliar areas. 16% said that 11% of their assignments were in unfamiliar areas.
  

There you have it boys & girls. Appraisers are being forced to work in unfamiliar areas for less money while consumers are paying higher fees for a poorer product.

I know lots of you will have antecdotal stories of simiar situations. I had a $135,000 condo I put some folks in last year on a lease purchase. We tried to close and our appraisal came in $8,000 low because an out of area appraiser used some lower end comps.

I supplied the underwriter some more relevant comparable sales and we were able to complete the sale at the original price. Buyer payed $100 more for his appraisl and it took 3 weeks longers to close than it should have.

www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. —

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. —

Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

• He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
  
• He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
  
• He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
  
• He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
  
• He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
  
• He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
  
• He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
  
• He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers. He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
  
• He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
  
• He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
  
• He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation: For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States: For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world: For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury: For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences: For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments: For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
  
• He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
  
• He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
  
• He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
  
• He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
  

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury.

A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren.

We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us.

We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity.

We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.

— And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

You hear a lot these days about lower price, lower price, and lowest price as the only way to get a house sold.

Here are 9 things you can do that will make your house stand out from the crowd, appeal to more potential buyers, and probably sell faster. None of them have anything to do with cutting the price.

1. Curb appeal, curb appeal, curb appeal! I can’t emphasize this one enough. Buyers have to be attracted to your home to want to see it. I’ve had lots of buyers say: “Let’s pass this one buy.” when we’ve pulled up to a home that was not attractive from the street.
2. Bright, shiny, and inviting entry. Once you get buyers out of the car and walking up to your front door, you want to continue to set a good tone for your showing. Make sure your front entry is spotless, sweep away the cobwebs over your door, clean front door, paint if necessary, bright, shiny new door hardware if necessary, a new light fixture if the old one is rusty. All these things go a long way towards keeping the mood for showing positive.
3. PAINT! Biggest selling bang for your buck possible. Neutral paint is the word of the day, no bright or funky colors. A fresh, uniform coat of paint throughout your house if needed will bring a faster sale and more dollars in your pocket.
4. Your kitchen. Lots of Realtors and buyers say the kitchen is what caused the sale. De-clutter your counter tops, cabinets, pantries, and storage space so buyers can see it.
5. DEEP CLEANING! It’s gotta be not just spotless but “white glove” inspection clean. No grease on kitchen appliances, bathrooms including tubs, showers, and sinks spotless and clean smelling, all light fixtures wiped down or washed including the bulbs, clean the blades on your ceiling fans, cobwebs from along ceilings and underneath. In fact it will likely pay you to hire a professional house cleaner to do the job for you.
6. Straighten up, “lean out” and neaten all your storage areas especially your closets. Don’t forget the fresh paint here too.
7. Let the sun shine in. All blinds and shades should be open for showing even in the evenings. Of course your windows need to be included in the deep cleaning too.
8. Get a pre-sale home inspection. This will alert you to potential problem areas you might not be aware of and let you fix or repair them at your leisure and also prevent a buyer from using some minor issue as a negotiating tool.
9. No funky odors or smells. This one is tough because you live there every day and some odors might not be apparent to you. Ask a friend, neighbor, or real estate professional to give your home the “smell test” to see if there might be something there you’re not picking up on. Don’t get carried away with scents to mask odors; too much is almost as bad as the odors you’re trying to cover up. Get rid of the cause of the odor.

You can find lots selling tips as well as get a free copy of my 52 page e-book titled “450 Ideas To Help Your Home Sell Faster” at www. KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com or just send a blank email to 450Ideas@JimLee.com

It seems every time you pick up a newspaper or turn on the TV these days you're bombarded with news like "housing crisis", "financial crisis", "mortgage crisis", "foreclosure crisis", or "pick your crisis".

The result of all these crises or in layman's terms, a great big mess is that it has created one of the strongest buyer markets in history. A buyer's market is defined as a period where the supply of homes is greater than the demand. A buyer's market means there are lots of homes for sale and not that many buyers.

With underwriter's guidelines becoming more strict and tighter than ever it's also becoming harder for even very well qualified buyers to qualify for a loan.

For instance both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who buy or insure almost 60% of the secondary mortgage market in the US, will only underwrite a loan on a brand new condo where the percentage of owner-occupants is over 70%! The former guideline was 51%. This rule alone is making new condo developments very tough to sell.

Closer to home in Knox County there is a huge number of homes for sale. Today, June 26th for example, there are 4,161 residential listings in all price ranges with an additional 1,068 condos. That's a total of 5,229 homes for sale. The graph below illustrates how many months it will take to sell them at the current sales rate and assuming no new listings come on the market before (which will not happen).

Sellers who want to sell now have a choice. Either sell your house now in the current market at the market price or wait until the market improves (assuming it will improve at some future date) IF you can wait and don't need or have to sell now.

There are some things you can do to put the odds of selling at the best price in your favor. You can get more in depth tips and guides from the "Sellers" and "Free Stuff" section of my website, www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com but here's the 25 words of less version.

1. Face the new reality; it’s a buyer’s market.

2. Price it right! In a buyer’s market it doesn’t matter what you or your Realtor think it’s worth, the only thing that does matter is what a buyer is willing to pay.

3. Research the local market and see which houses are selling and just as important, which ones are not. You’ll usually find that the ones selling are not only price right but are in ‘move in’ condition with no repairs needed and little if any cosmetic touch ups needed either.

4. Have an effective Internet strategy. According to National Association of Realtors latest study of Home Buyers and Sellers in 2008, over 84% of all home buyers began their home search on the Internet. Evidence of my Internet effectiveness in selling homes is provided by the fact you’re reading this information; please give me a call if you’re thinking of selling.

5. Make sure your house makes a great first impression, that ‘curb appeal’ and ’shows great’ thing in action. More tips and a free, 52 page eBook titled “450 Ideas to Make Your Home Seller Faster”, yours for the asking at www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter or just send me at email to 450ideas@JimLee.com and I’ll get one back to you right away.

6. Be flexible. Often buyers will ‘try you out’ with a low ball offer just to see what your reaction will be. Don’t take that as a sign you’re going to have to “give away the farm” to sell. Just counter back at a price you can live with and put the ball back in their court. As Michael Corleone said in that now famous “Godfather” movie: “It’s not personal, it’s just business.”