Jim Lee, Knoxville Tennessee Realtor®

One of the things I enjoy doing and that helps my listings not only sell but stand out from the others is to produce inexpensive and eye catching printed materials like flyers, just listed & sold post cards, brochures, and other printed items.

You don't have to hire a graphic artist or expensive custom printing to produce your own distinctive flyers, post cards, ete., all you need to do is learn how to use a desktop publishing program like Microsoft Publisher. If you don't have Publisher even Word or Power Point can be used to turn out some beautiful and effective pieces of printed materials.

After you create your item you can then transmit it to an online printing company like Kinko's or Express Copy who can turn it into the finished product you're looking for.

Below is an example of a flyer I just did for a new listing. Express Copy will print 100 of these for only 45 cents each and deliver them to you via overnight mail at no extra charge.

I put my sellers in charge of keeping their brochure box full because they live in the house in most cases and are delighted to join in my marketing efforts. Checking the flyer box ever day or so also give them visible evidence that I'm on the job working to get their house sold.

I usually just have Express Copy deliver the printed flyers to the listing which saves me a trip over there to deliver them. I tell the sellers just to give me a call when they only have 20 or so left and I order them another 100.

I love "Just Listed" and "Just Sold" post cards because they're a quick inexpensive way to advertise yourself and your listing in a positive light. Neighbors are also good sources for buyers because they often know people that are looking for a new home.

Express Copy will print in full color on both sides, apply addresses you supply, first class postage, and mail great looking post cards for only 54 cents each including the postage. Here's a sample:

I also promote myself and drive traffic to my website and the new listing on the back side.

And when the listing sells and is closed it's very quick and simple to modify the front of the post card to further advertise your success in getting it sold.

I like just dropping a simple, red "SOLD!" tag on the front of the "Just Listed" post card and send it out again.

I also do my own business cards, brochures, calendars, door hangers, and other printed material this way.

As I was walking into my office today I noticed a yard sign standing beside the front entrance. Nothing unusual there; other agents drop them off all the time from closed listings.

But this one was a little different and too rare these days; it had a big SOLD sign sticking on top.

I often wonder what makes a house sold, what caused buyers to choose this house over the multitude of choices they have in today's market.

Then at the bottom I saw a sign rider that I believed to be the answer to my question. The rider simply said "REDUCED"

If you're a seller in today's market you're far better served to price your house aggressively, that is, a little below what the market value was a few months ago because chances are it's lower now.

If you're had your house on the market for a while now and it hasn't sold chances are it's priced too high. To get one of the sign riders on top of this yard sign you need to seriously consider putting the one on the bottom on your yard sign.

Not a guarantee but REDUCED very often leads to SOLD.

Search www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter to see what your competition looks like and get some great selling tips.

Relocation.com which surprisingly is not a real estate firm or a relocation company, but rather a clearing house for people needing actual moving services, insurance, storage, and related, also keeps track of not only who's moving but where they're going to and from.

Here's their research statistics from last year.

"Research Statistics

Relocation.com analyzed nearly 500,000 moving quote requests in 2008 to determine where people are moving. Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that 34 million people moved between 2007 and 2008; assuming 2.6 persons per household, Relocation.com's moving data represents nearly 3.5 percent of people making moves in the country. The Census Bureau says the vast majority of movers in the U.S. make local moves; according to 2006 data, 62 percent of people making a move stayed within the same county, while 20 percent moved to a different county but within the same state. Fourteen percent moved state to state, while 3 percent moved from abroad."

And from this data they determined that 58% of all interstate move requests for Tennessee involved people who wanted to move to Tennessee from another state; 42 % involved people who wanted to leave Tennessee for another state.

Among Tennessee's major cities Knoxville, Nashville, Chattanooga, and Memphis; there were more people coming than going there except for Memphis which had a net loss of newcomers in 2008.

Here's how that went:

Nashville: 56% of all interstate moves involved people moving to the city; 44% involved people moving out of the city.

Knoxville: 53% of all interstate moves involved people moving to the city; 47% involved people moving out of the city.

Chattanooga: 55% of all interstate moves involved people moving to the city; 45% involved people moving out of the city.

Memphis: 62% of all their interstate moves involved people moving out of the city and only 38% wanted to move there.

Visit Relocation.com to see how your area did.

Visit KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com is you're one of the 53% moving to Knoxville from somewhere else.

If you have ever had any aspirations to own your own home, NOW is the time. Economic factors have all came together to create the proverbial “perfect storm” in the home buying market.

Here's what's going on right now and how it will benefit you as a new home buyer.

1. First, the nation’s financial crisis has driven mortgage interest rates to their lowest levels ever; currently you get fixed rates below 5% all over Knoxville.
2. A glut of houses has increased inventories of both new and resale homes providing a huge selection to choose from. Currently just in Knox County there are almost 2,000 homes for sale priced under $200,000
3. The federal government, in an effort to stimulate the economy is providing up to $8,000 as a fully refundable tax credit to encourage you to buy a home.
4. The State of Tennessee’s “Tennessee Housing Development Authority” (THDA for short) has a no interest loan program to give you up front to use for a down payment, up to 3 1/2% of the purchase price of your new home which coincidentally happens to be the minimum down payment required for FHA (Federal Housing Authority) financing. So you can borrow your 3 1/2 % down payment at 0% interest and repay it from your $8,000 tax credit.
5. Because of the number of houses for sale I’m usually able to negotiate with a seller to pay most or all of your closing costs to get you into a new home with no cash out of your pocket.

Here’s a few examples of what is on the market today. And like the story above says, they’re starting to move so now would be a great time to get in the home buying game.

This charming home, complete with red door, is located in Knoxville's "Norman Rockwell" neighborhood of Fountain city and is priced at only $124,900.

This attractive north Knoxville home has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a two car garage; it's priced at $159,900.

And yes, you can still find houses in west Knoxville for under $200,000. Here’s just a couple

This home is located in the Town of Farragut, has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a two car garage, it's only $154,900.

This home is in "move in today" condition in west Knoxville and it can be yours for $154,900.

So there you have it; world class interest rates, lots of credits and homes to choose from, time to get moving.

My number is (865) 693-3232, answered 24 hours a day (just not always me. ;-)) and my my email is Jim@JimLee.com. Let’s get started today and have you in a new home with payments probably less than what you may be paying now for rent.

www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com is where you can see all of the greater Knoxville area’s homes for sale. Pick out a few and lets go look at them soon.

In addition to the Robins in our backyard another sure sign that spring is here is the beginning of Knoxville’s annual Dogwood Arts Festival now beginning it’s 49th year.

Best described as a month long celebration of spring, the annual Dogwood Arts Festival offers plenty of excitement and things to do for everyone with dance, film, literary arts, music, theater and visual arts.

This are my two dogwood trees in the front yard with neighbor's redbuds in the background.

According to the Festival website the Dogwood Arts Festival is "a celebration of the region’s natural beauty as well as its rich cultural and artistic offerings in all their vast varieties." One of my favorite things to do is tour the many "Dogwood Trails" which are typically residential areas of the city rich in Dogwood blooms and many other spring flowers, shrubs, and trees like the Redbud tree pictured below.

This is the entrance to my office; I find it hard to concentrate on the spring with the coming of warm weather and all the Dogwoods and Redbud trees blooming.

Listed below are just a few of the many Festival events Knoxville area residents and visitors can look forward to this April:

Events

* » Chalk Walk

* » Dogwood Parade

* » Market Square Art Fair

* » Art in the Park

* » Very Special Arts

* » Diva Luncheon

* » Dogwood Gala

* » Studio Tours

* » Dogwood Mile

* » Rhythm-N-Blooms

* » Jazz Concert

* » Bikes and Blooms Exhibits & Shows

* » Art in Public Places

* » Student Art Show

* » Regional Fine Arts Show

* » Knox County Art Educators Exhibition

* » Gallery Walk * » Historic Tours

* » Art Exhibits

* » Great Performances

* » Cultural Excursions

There's also a powerful legend attached to the Dogwood blossom and the Tree.

If you've ever taken a close look at a Dogwood blossom like the ones pictured below in my front yard, you'll notice each blossom has 4 leaves, 2 long and 2 a bit shorter, and at the end of each one there is a red-brownish area.

So the legend goes when Jesus was hanging from the cross he sensed that being used for the cross had greatly distressed the tree and said: "Because of your sorrow and pity for My sufferings, never again will the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used as a gibbet. Henceforth it will be slender, bent and twisted and its blossoms will be in the form of a cross -- two long and two short petals. In the center of the outer edge of each petal there will be nail prints -- brown with rust and stained with red -- and in the center of the flower will be a crown of thorns, and all who see this will remember."

If you're in the Knoxville area during April be sure and enjoy some of the Dogwood Arts Festival events; there is something for everyone from kids to senior citizens.

If you're in the Knoxville area at anytime looking for a house please give me a call or email and I'll be delighted to help you find one. You can do some searching of your own at www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter

All of the great Knoxville area Realtor listings are included plus information on area schools, mortgage information, and other information for home buyers and sellers.