About Clarksville's Exit 1

Sinkholes are a common feature of Montgomery County and the surrounding areas. The following diagrams illustrate the most common sinkhole formation mechanisms for this area.

Sinkholes are the result of water movement through limestone rock formations. As water moves through the natural cracks in these formations, the limestone is slowly dissolved leaving open spaces in the rock structure. When enough limestone has dissolved to weaken the rock, the surface soil collapses into a cone shaped depression commonly called a sinkhole. The size of the sinkhole is dependent on several factors including groundwater level, surface water infiltration rate, overburden depth, and water chemistry (acidity). Once formed, a sinkhole can grow in size unpredictably, based on conditions specific to that area.

Sinkholes are difficult to stabilize permanently because they are chronic features that may grow or reform after filling. The process of filling sinkholes may also cause changes in the existing patterns of surface runoff and ground water flow that should be avoided. It is important that a licensed engineering or geotechnical professional be consulted before making any attempt to alter or "fix" a sinkhole.

In areas zoned for residential use, Montgomery County Storm Water Regulations require a 50 foot undisturbed buffer zone of deep rooted vegetation to help protect ground water quality. The buffer provides significant reduction of total suspended solids, nutrients, and other pollutants being transported into the sinkhole by storm water flows. The water quality buffer also acts to limit activities that might inadvertently increase a sinkhole's instability. This is necessary because the limestone underlying a sinkhole may be unstable, and vibration from construction activity and heavy equipment can result in increased personal and property danger.

Because sinkholes represent a direct path for pollution to enter area water resources, it is illegal to put any substance on the ground that can be washed into any sinkhole, or to dispose of trash, dirt, yard waste, garbage, building materials, animal wastes or chemicals by dumping them in or around a sinkhole. Landowners, farmers, businesses and industries are legally liable for accidental leaks that may result in contamination entering a sinkhole.
Care must be taken to prevent pollution from entering sinkholes. By taking a few basic precautions around sinkholes, you can help prevent water pollution. These precautions include:

· Establish a buffer zone of undisturbed, deep rooted, native vegetation around the sinkhole, which will act as a pollution filter. While the EPA recommends a 100 foot buffer, studies have shown that even 50 feet of vegetated buffer will significantly reduce the pollution that can be carried into a sinkhole by storm water runoff.

· Use fencing to keep livestock from the immediate vicinity of the sinkhole. This will limit the deposition of animal wastes near the sinkhole, which could be carried into the sinkhole and on to our streams by storm water runoff.

· Do not use fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides around sinkholes.

• Do not dispose of trash, dirt, yard wastes, garbage, building materials, animal wastes or chemicals by dumping them in or around a sinkhole.

For more information, please go to:

• EPA's Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water Web Site

• Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Office of Water Pollution Control Web Site

• Montgomery County Storm Water Management and Control Regulation Program Web Site

• Also APSU has a great brochure with information on sinkholes

A word to For Sale By Owner's: I would suggest if you have any questions about your property, to get everything documented and in place before you try to sale on your own. You won't be having anyone representing you, because you are doing it on your own. You will be dealing with either a buyer who isn't represented or a buyer who is. It can get pretty stressful if you don't have everything checked out and in place. It can also come back to haunt you even after the closing, if those important features or defects were not disclosed.

Sinkholes in Montgomery County, TN

Well, we are now with Avalar Real Estate Clarksville. Making the switch from Exit Realty Clarksville to Avalar wasn't an easy thing to do. Saying goodbye but not really goodbye to the associates we built a working and personal friendship with was hard. But sometimes you have to do what is best for your business.

Just like negotiating for your buyers the best deal, we negotiated the best deal for our business. Art is getting ready to retire from the Military after 23 years and we need to get our business on track with numbers and such. Some might not understand that and think there is more to the move but there really isn't.

As Agents we all know that every Real Estate office has their own little problems or you might have a disagreement with how things are running but it isn't our reason.

How many of you have made the move to another company due to negotiating a better deal and was it hard to leave?

What a whirlwind I have been on. It has been since February 14th since I last posted something on AR. I have been so busy with my business and taking care of my clients, I haven't found the time to get on AR and read. A good friend, Roland Woodworth, kept asking me if I read his latest post and after a couple of weeks of telling him I haven't had time to get on, I made time this morning.

The things you find on AR, from pictures of outside urinals, to just learning more about your town in the eyes of another, to what is going on in other REALTORS lives. Such a great wealth of information, humor and friendship.

Thank you for being a friend AR. It's good to be back...

So, you are interested in buying a home but just don't know how to find someone you can trust. You don't want to be taken advantage of and you don't want to work with someone you just can't get along. There are so many sites on the internet that tell you:

"This is what you need to ask in an interview to find the right agent."

Well, here with Team Agnew we decided to take those questions you find everywhere and just do the interview for you, so you don't have to worry about contacting us to find out what we are about.

It is important to know what your looking for in finding and using an Agent. The reason why is because the relationship between the buyer and Agent is somewhat like a marriage. You must have trust, mutual goals (to get the house that best suits your needs) and understanding. This requires communication, lots of it. So we are going to go over 3 topics and try to make it short for your reading span:

1) What to look for in an Agent

2) Questions to ask a prospective Agent

3) Where to find an Agent

Since the commission for the sale of the home is almost always paid by the seller, buyers are able to get assistance and information from a Real Estate Agent, usually at no cost to them. So, let's get started with our interview...

What to look for in an Agent:

• An understanding of your needs
• A willingness to work with you until your needs are fulfilled
• A sense of professionalism
• A familiarity with the area in which you would like to live
• Someone who is dedicated to their profession
• A familiarity with the sales price range you would like to be in
• Strong references from previous buyers
• Someone that communicates with you and your at ease with them
• Someone that actually calls or emails you with personalized verbiage not computer generated letters

Questions to ask a prospective Agent:

• How long have you been in Real Estate? Team Agnew has combined years of 5 years in Clarksville, TN
• Are you a full time Agent? Yes, I am. Art is still active duty military, so right now he is part time.
• Are you familiar with the area in which we want to work? Yes, we have been in Clarksville for 10 years and I am an alumni of Northeast High School off Exit 1.
• What is the average sold price of homes you sold last year? $150,000. The average depends on what the buyers are buying in that market. I work with all prices.
• Do you normally work with Sellers or Buyers? Our Team works them evenly. Right now I am working with both very effectively and actively. When you don't have a large inventory with Sellers, it is more time you spend on the ones you do have and getting them sold quickly. Art brought his buyer to one of my listings and sold it in 10 days. Currently, out of our listings, we have another that is possibly getting an offer after 8 days on the market. With Buyers, we are actively, with a personal touch, working with them to make sure they get the best in everything they need to choose the home they want.
• How many buyers and sellers are you currently working with? Great questions! We are working with over 9 Sellers and 11 Buyers all within the last 3 weeks! This is our passion, to help bring buyers and sellers together and make a smooth and easy transition to the transaction!
• Where do you feel your strengths lie? For me, I would have to say my strength with the Seller is in marketing your home. I love marketing, the paperwork, being organized and finding better ways of sticking out of the crowd, networking and competing to get the house sold the fastest! I don't want to have the same plan another Agent might have. I am always searching to reinvent my product, making it more noticable and sellable! With Buyers, my strength would be communication, making you feel comfortable and to keep any stress level down. Your trust is in me and I don't like to disappoint anyone! As you read my testimonials, you will see that I care about my clients and their happiness and it shows in my work ethics and morals.
• What 3 buyers that you have worked with can you give me as references? With their permission, contact me and I will send you their information.

Where to find an Agent?

• Be aware: If you think that by contacting a FSBO, the selling agent or even seller, that you will get a better deal, you are doing yourself a disservice. The reason why I say this is because you have no one to represent your best interests, what to ask for, what to look for, and most importantly to be by your side if you have to go to court due to something wrong with the house that wasn't disclosed, among other things. Oh, and don't forget: the Sellers have someone representing them, who is representing you?
• There are many networking sites that Agents can be found on: Zolve, ActiveRain, among many more...
• We also have our Team Agnew which consists of 5 members. Anyone of these Agents are well qualified to keep your best interests at heart. Marissa Fulford, Christy McGill, Jenna Eaton, Art Agnew and me, Thea Agnew.
• You can also put in a search with google to be notified of what is going on in Clarksville with keywords and they will come straight to your email. A lot of Agents that are active with the internet, since 88% of buyers find their home online, can be found by their activity through this search and you will know by reading what they have to say, whether or not you want to get in contact with them to interview. It's best if you go to igoogle, sign up with a gmail account, sign in, at the top right corner click on "my account", then click on alerts. Type in the search anything to do with Clarksville, TN and you will get the email from google. Great way to keep up with people you are interested in. It's not stalking, I promise!

I hope this has helped you with getting ideas on how to find an Agent to work with. If I can be of any assistant, me or my Team, please contact us and we will get back in touch within a few hours.

If you are wanting to search for homes now, please just click here. If you are ready to narrow your criteria down and move forward from the normal search, contact me and we will find what you are looking for.

Interviewing Agents

Congratulations to our Buyers:

Mr. & Mrs. Booth

on the contract for their new home!

Blessings to you and your family and thank you for allowing us to be part of this special event!

Being an out of town buyer can be stressful and time consuming. Having to drive up to an area that is 6 or more hours away to look on weekends plus stay in a hotel room can either be a positive or negative experience. I am here for anyone that is needing that REALTOR who can schedule in the time to show you around, find the home you want, get the offer in and if negotiations are right, have a contract before you leave! This is what I have done for the Booths and what I can do for you.

Call or text me if you are in need of a REALTOR at: 931-206-2156 or email at: teamagnew@bellsouth.net

Another Congratulations!