ICON in the Gulch is one of the hottest properties for sale in the Nashville real estate market with 420 condo/lofts ranging from $219,900 to $1.2 million.

The ICON is located at 12th Avenue South.  It  boasts amenities such as a fully equipped fitness center, 2 rooftop pools and convenient covered parking.  Walk to The Station Inn to hear some of the best bluegrass music around, eat fresh seafood at Watermark and shop for fresh whole organic food at The Turnip Truck.  Dry cleaning,  market and coffee shops are conveniently located street level.

West End Lofts located at 117 30th Avenue are urban lofts with exposed ductwork, open floor plans, 19 ‘ high ceilings and oversized windows.  Close to Vanderbilt University, Baptist and St. Thomas hospitals and close to the 440 interstate.  The West End lofts are also close to many delicious restuarants such as Stoney River, The Tin Roof and Maggianos.  

Call Mark Haining (615) 496-8885 for all the latest in Nashville lofts and Middle Tennessee real estate.

What Recession?

Nashville real estate agents  are a little busier than they have been the last 3 years. “I’m actually working 10-12 hours a day again” one Village Real Estate agent recently told me.  Another quipped ”I’ve actually been thinking of bringing on an assistant”.  New construction is certainly not booming, thought here in Tune Town it could be characterized as “solid”. Sellers are in fact in their third month of home sales prices increasing (source: Greater Nashville Association of Realtors).  So what might be the reason for the recent upswing? I think it’s good prices and historically low interest rates. Buyers, who in the past might have been sticking their toe in the the buying pool, are now jumping in head first. Home mortgage rates are prompting Sellers to price homes correctly so eager pre-approved home buyers can snap them up. Currently home loans are more affordable than anytime in recent history

Fed Moves To Lower Rates

The Federal Reserve plans to buy $400 billion in long-term Treasury securities by June 30 in an attempt to drive down longer-term interest rates and pump up the economy. The central bank also will keep the key Fed funds rate between 0 percent and 0.25 percent, probably through June 2013, and buy mortgage-backed securities to keep mortgage rates low.

Fixed-rate mortgages changed very little this past week amid sluggish economic, mixed housing data, and ongoing concerns over the European debt markets. The 30-year fixed remained unchanged at 4.09 percent, the lowest since Freddie Mac started tracking the statistic in 1970, while the 15-year fixed dropped a single basis point to 3.29 percent, marking a new record low.

For more information, CLICK HERE.

[SOURCES: USA Today; Information, Inc.]

If you’re considering selling and you’d like to get an idea of what your home might bring and how long it will take to sell, email me: mh@realtracs.com.

Mark

Music City Lifestyles

2.  Hiring the wrong Realtor.  Many sellers list with the real estate agent who agrees to list their home for the highest price.  What many home owners don’t realize is agents may tell you what you want to hear and list your home for more than the market will bring so they can stick their sign in your lawn.  This does bring in business for the agent and will cost you time in selling your home.   The longer their sign sits in your lawn, the more time they have to reel in business.  You need to choose an experienced agent with a great marketing plan to sell your home for market value.  This will result in the minimum amount of hassles while selling your home in less time and a higher price at the negotiating table.

3.  Over-improving your home before you sell it.  Yes, it’s great to improve upon your home before you sell it, but some sellers spend thousands of dollars doing the wrong upgrades thinking they will recoup the cost.  Consult with an experienced Nashville real estate agent before you spend the money.  Now if you upgrade your home because you like it and are going to live in it for a while that’s a different story.

4.  Failing to prepare the home for market.  A home that is not well maintained or clean is a red flag to buyers.  Buyers think there may be hidden defects that will show up down the road that will increase their cost of ownership.  Sellers are smart to do any necessary  work ahead of time.

5.  Not taking the first offer seriously.  Home sellers think the first offer is that of many more to come and may want to hold out for a higher price.  This is especially true when an offer comes in as soon as the home is put on the market.  A smart real estate agent knows that  the first buyer is most often the best.  Many times sellers who have rejected the first offer have had to accept less money down the road.

6. Not knowing your obligations or rights.  A contract to sell your home is a legally binding, complex document.  Improperly written, it can allow the buyer to void the sale and/or cost you thousands of dollars.  An experienced Nashville, TN real estate agent will know all of the ins and outs and will fully explain the contract to you.

Questions?  Call Nashville Realtor Mark Haining @ 615.496.8885 today.

When selling your home, you want the property to have great curb appeal.  It needs to look good walking up the sidewalk, into the house, in the cupboards and in the closets and attic.  A well cared for home is the impression you want the buyers to get. 

The first three to four weeks of the listing is when your home gets the most activity.  There are buyers that haven’t found a house just waiting for a new listing to hit the market. Don’t blow it by not having it in tip top shape.  The worst mistake a seller can make is to say well lets just list it and see what happens, if it doesn’t sell then we will fix it up.     The first few weeks are also when the home will sell for the most amount of money.  The longer it sits on the market, the less it will sell for.  After the initial surge of interest, the only other people who will look at it then will be new buyers to the market. 

The competition these days is pretty fierce.  Homes for sale in Nashville are in an abundance.  If a buyer has a choice between a home he needs to fix up and one he doesn’t, he will chose the latter. 

Curb Appeal

So many times when an agent pulls up to a house the buyer will take one look and say I don’t like the way it looks, I don’t want to see it.  That can be pretty frustrating to an agent and very hard to overcome.  So be sure all your shrubs are trimmed to window height and  low tree branches are pruned.  Weed the flower beds and plant a few flats of flowers if you can.  A well manicured home is very inviting.  Be sure there is no peeling paint on the windows and front door.  Give it a coat of paint is possible to make it look new.  Make sure the mail box is clean and looks good, sweep the front steps and porch is you have one, and  get a nice welcome mat for the front door. 

The Inside

Wash your windows, the window sills and air out your home.  If you have animals, make sure it doesn’t smell like it!  Wash and wax your hardwood floors and get your carpets cleaned.  If your walls need a fresh coat of paint, by all means do it.  Stay away from any bright and loud colors.  Neutrals may seem boring to you, but to a home buyer they are perfect.  Make sure all your light bulbs are bright and  working and keep your drapes and blinds open.  Buyers like bright and cheery rooms.

Go through your closets and drawers.  Remove all clutter, box it up and store it somewhere.  Even your off season clothes should be packed away.  The closets and storage space will look bigger if they have space and are not filled to the gills with junk or clutter.  You will have to pack everything up anyway.  This is a good head start and will help sell the house.

Make sure you don’t have too much furniture in any one room.  It will make it look smaller.  Keep only your best pieces  in the house.  Hide all cords, especially around the television, stereo and computer areas.  If you need to rent a small storage space do it for a couple months.

Clean your kitchen as if a health inspector is coming!   Make sure the oven is clean inside and out.  Change the drip pans on the stove.  Clean the outside and inside of the cabinets and again remove all clutter and unnecessary appliances. 

Bathtubs and sinks should be sparkling.  Recaulk if necessary and clean all grout.  Fix all drippy faucets.  Place fresh clean towels in the bathroom and put in some air freshener to make it smell nice.

Show Time

When it’s time to show the home, before you leave make sure all the  beds are made, opent he drapes and blinds  if its daytime, or lights on if it’s night, also turn on the patio and pool lights.  Pick up all the toys and put them away.  Close all cabinets and turn on some soft music.  Open all the doors between the rooms for an inviting feel.  Pick up all newspaper and take the trash out.

When you leave for the day, leave the house as if it’s going to be shown.  I know it’s a hassle, but you may get a last minute showing and you want to be ready.

Go The Extra Mile

I like to have my clients get a pre-inspection if possible.  Yes, it’s typically the buyer’s responsibility, but if you are proactive your home will sell faster and it will save time between contract negotiation and final settlement.  It will also give you a heads up on any problems and give you time to repair them if necessary at a reasonable rate.

Please be reasonable and flexible with your showing times.  Agree to put a lock box on your door.  It makes it so much easier for everyone.

Some of these suggestions may seem like common sense and they are, but you’d be surprised at how many home sellers don’t prepare their home.  Go the extra mile.  In the Nashville real estate market you want to have an edge on the competition.

Consider these important points when pricing your home for the Nashville real estate market:

-Know your local  market!  The current real estate market in Nashville, TN determines the value of your home.  Not the national market or the market 20 miles down the road.  Have your agent do a comparative market analysis of your neighborhood.  Pricing is based on the prices of the homes that have recently sold, that are currently listed and that have expired.

-Prepare your home to sell!  The price is also determined by the condition of your home. Little things can make a big difference.  Put a fresh coat of paint on the walls, make sure everything is clean, put away little knick knacks that clutter up the space.  Take the time to prepare your home.  A good agent will help you detemine what needs to be done. And don’t be offended by anthing he or she says – it’s not personal.  It’s business!

-Find a good real estate agent.  A good agent will bring you the market, which determines your price.  A good agent doesn’t agree to list your home for  too high of  a price just to get the listing so he/she can stick their sign on your lawn.  Yes this happens.  You may not like what the market dictates, but if you really want to sell your home – a good Nashville Realtor will tell you the truth.  Listing it high to “see what happens” and then reducing it a month later is not a great selling strategy.

Call for details…(615) 496-8885.

Did this literal dark cloud have a silver lining? Well, a lot had to be repaired so I was now presented with the opportunity to meet some local vendors.  I had contacted several for each phase who came out to estimate repair costs. Our foundation was compromised (5 feet of water in our basement cracked a block foundation wall). Our drainage system, gutters and lawns all incurred negative impact as a result of a downpour that Noah and his Arch would have been impressed with. I had 14 different bids on the various jobs. The following is a short list repair people who I’d recommend:

•  Mid–State Ornamental Ironworks

Block and concrete work is their meat and potatoes. Mike and Bruce did a great job saving my basement retaining wall. Rather than rebuilding the entire wall, we lowered the cost by installing “pilasters” in three places where the wall had cracked as a result of the flood. Fast, clean, and good!

• Chuck Thompson

Chuck showed up with a dump truck and Bobcat and leveled the front of my property that had major issues after the storm. He mentored me in re-seeding my front yard. I admit that I had fun growing my first front lawn. Thanks Chuck! (Don’t call me if you’d like help over seeding your lawn)

•  Richard Stein

Contemporary Designs in brick, tile and stone. Not only did he recommend other great vendors, he didn’t rip me off by creating a job for himself when there wasn’t one!  Richard came out and gave me some free advice that will save me thousands. Wow!

•  Alford Roofing.

The gutters needed replacing and I’ve hired Chance at Alford to do the job. He and his father Mark came out Friday to take the old gutters down, and put in the aluminum fascia. The actual gutters will be installed within the next few days. I told Chance that there was no insurance money for these repairs (true) and he worked with me on the price. Call or email me if you’d like to know the results of his efforts.

More soon,

Mark

Fixed mortgage rates have maintained recent lows or set new ones for more than two months now, sinking to 4.42 percent on 30-year loans for the week ended Aug. 19. The rate is down from 4.44 percent the prior week and is the lowest ever recorded since Freddie Mac launched its survey almost 40 years ago. The fixed 15-year average also hit a new low, at 3.9 percent; while five- and one-year adjustable-rate mortgages remained flat at 3.56 percent and 3.53 percent, respectively.
[SOURCES: Wall Street Journal; Information, Inc.]
Many experts predict an upward bump in home prices this fall.  An increase in sales is forecasted as a result of the interest rates continuing to creep downwards.

Mr. Vaughn, slated to VLOG here at Music City Lifestyles about his current home purchase got lucky.  He’s been invited to the hot and wild city of Las Vegas, Nevada for a few days of R&R. Well, coming within an eyelash of buying a home that turned into an aquarium can be stressful. His revelations about his home buying experience will be posted in an upcoming edition. Unless of course he needs a vacation from his vacation. Let’s hope that we’ll be seeing a rested and relaxed new home owner here next week.

See you soon,
Mark

We had a great summer vacation. Where?  Manhattan Beach, California.   The Surf was running low and the California home prices are still, considering the flabby economy, HIGH. $2,000,000 will get you an ocean view/LA view 3 bedroom, 3 bath, about a half mile from the sand.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYthdP0qOaI[/youtube]

Our friend and client, Roscoe Vaughan, will be featued in our next post. We’ll do a video chat on his experience with almost buying a home that was nearly destroyed in the recent Nashville flood.

Go out and buy a home in Nashville, Tennessee. It’ll do you and your personal economy wonders.

Mark

Nashville Realtor®

Village Real Estate Services

 Nashville Real Estate is still transacting at a healthy rate    

 Greater Nashville Association of realtors reports that April proved to be a great month for home sales in the Middle Tennessee region.  There were 2,145 home closings in greater Nashville during April, representing a 33.7% percent increase from the 1,604 closings reported during April of 2009. This marks the seventh consecutive month of home sales increases.  The number of pending sales also rose to 2,505 sales pending at the end of April compared to 1,865 in April of 2009.

Sales have been affected to the positive by the federal tax credit incentive. Currently activity among agents is reportedly consistent if not better that at this time last May. Although realtor input has no numerical value, most agents I speak with are busy with the hopes of an equally summer season.

Home Tours

Here in beautiful Nashville, Tennessee, home tours are often a Spring, Summer and early Fall tradition. Neighborhood Home Owners Associations ask individual members to make their residences available for the general public to tours. The revenues, thought typically modest, go toward Neighborhood Home Association projects and charities. I was lucky enough to have been asked to be a part of last years, Hillsboro/West End home tour. It’s a lot of organization, and planning, but the results can be well worth it. See some wonderful homes, get to know a few new neighbors, and raise some money for one or two worthy causes. For those of you anticipating this year’s tours, thing are expected to be a little different. As a result of the recent flooding, some Neighborhood Associations have yet to schedule home tours for 2010. Nashville Real Estate Search Online will post this years schedules as they are announced.  In the mean time, if you’re interested in a more “casual” approach to touring, check out this recent tour that I conducted with someone very near to me.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoErCWAEERw[/youtube]

Mark