How to Find an Off-Market Property

Are You a Frustrated Home Buyer?

Searching online for off-market properties in Tennessee, can often send you down a rabbit hole.  Your keyword search for off-market or pocket listings will often take you to a particular real estate website, where you will quickly become frustrated as you find that the site does not offer any specific homes for sale that are off-market properties.  

The market has been very fast paced over the last couple of years and many times buyers wondered if they could possibly find an off market property, as they got desperate to find a home.  By having a REALTOR® represent you, you are in a much better position to learn about off-market properties.  Without a REALTOR®, the possibility of finding an off-market home becomes…

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A Win Win Strategy for Buyers and Sellers in 2023

Tackling Higher Interest Rates in 2023

Use the StepUp Mortgage from Acopia Home Loans

2022 has seen a lot of changes in the real estate market.  We have experienced a timeframe where there were multiple offers on the same home.  Those offers were often well over asking price and with few to no contingencies.  If a buyer needed financing, often their offers were not considered if the seller received cash offers.   Fast forward to end of 2022 where homes are staying on the market longer, few or no multiple offer situations and few to no cash offers.  Buyers are once again able to make offers contingent on appraisals, home inspections and financing. 

Now let’s throw in the rapid rising of interest rates over the course of 2022,  and we had a lot of…

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What is Home Staging?

 Home Staging Goes Beyond Decorating and Cleaning...

It is about adding the small details and dressing the house for sale. Staging makes the house look bigger, brighter and warmer; making home buyers WANT to buy it.

 Professional Stagers are highly skilled artisans. They possess skills of a top level designer without breaking the bank. Stagers create dramatic visuals that appeal to all five senses.

 The idea behind staging is to allow the rooms of a house to show potential and what they truly have to offer a buyer. A vacant, un-staged, home is a home without a soul and buyers sense this. You will also need to make sure the outside of your home and especially the front entrance is warm and inviting.  Make the buyer want to walk inside your home!

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A House for a Daughter in a Wheelchair

I would like to tell you my story as a Realtor trying to help a family find a new home.  As a Realtor, you normally will find a happy family excited about finding their new home.  Now lets add one defining fact....one daughter is in a wheelchair.  I have been a real estate agent for almost 17 years.  This situation has come up from time to time, but never with a child. 

I had never realized until this past month just how difficult it is to  maneuver around in many homes.  You would think that the newer homes might have some considerations such as a bathroom door wide enough to accommodate a child's wheelchair!  Not so!  So many floorplans have spacious kitchens, open floor plans, and all the most modern conveniences.....except access to the…

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Purchasing a Home With a Septic System

Not Familiar With How a Septic System Works?

 Wondering what you should do when you purchase a home that is not connected to public sewer?

If you are working with REALTOR, he/she should be aware of the laws regarding septic tank disclosures and make sure your offer/contract addresses the septic system.  Some real estate agents are not familiar with them because they sell properties mostly on public sewer, so be sure to ask about their knowledge of septic systems.

In the Tennessee area, septic systems are based on number of bedrooms, not bathrooms.  The tank holds the solid waste and the liquids drain from the tank out into the field lines(filled with gravel and also underground) The number of field lines determines the number of bedrooms that…

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How Rumba Down Became my Very Special Horse and My Real Estate Mascot

 Rumba's Story

My husband and I have owned horses for over 25 years.  They live with us on our farm in Tennessee.  Most of our horse years, we traveled all over the country riding trails and seeing scenery that you can only begin to imagine.  We have been to some beautiful places in this great Country of ours.

In 2014 my husband and I decided to stop taking such long trips with horses and concentrate on events and places more local.  We actually have two horses that have traveled over 300,000 miles, in the trailer.  It was that year that we decided to go to some local horse shows just to be spectators.  It wasn’t long that we got the show bug and decided to start showing. The event that my husband was most interested in was the Working Cow Horse…

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Equine Grazing Management Tips

Tips to Keep Your Pastures Healthy

Whether you just purchased your first horse or you've owned horses your entire life, it is always great to continue learning new information about your furry friends.  When buying a farm or equestrian property, it is very important to make sure your pasture does not become overgrazed. 

This is especially important on small acreage.  In Tennessee, it is typical to need at least 2 acres per horse to keep your pastures healthy.  This changes dramatically depending on how you take care of your grass.  It will need seeding, fertilizing and weed control at least once per year, but better if you do it spring and fall.  Another aspect is if your horses will be on pasture 24/7 or if you plan to bring them into a smaller…

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House Rental Scams - Don't Be a Victim

Don't Become a Rental Scam Victim

Since I as a REALTOR, have had this happen to several of my home for sale listings, I have decided to write this blog post in hopes of helping those families wishing to rent a home, not fall victim to this very popular rental scam.  Did you see a beautiful home listed on Craigslist or other Classified Online Services that claimed to be for rent?  Be careful, it could very likely be a scam!  And   remember,  if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is....

 The scammer searches current online real estate ads for houses for sale, and  especially those that appear to be empty.  They copy the photos and the description  and then make their own online "for rent" advertisement.  The monthly  rent advertised…

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Why Homes Are Showing Available When Already Under Contract

Contingency Contracts

 As a REALTOR, I get many calls from buyers who have found a house on line and want to get more information.  So many times I have to tell them that the house is already under contract.  Yes, our Nashville TN area real estate is booming and many houses are under contract.  

The issue is that buyers are looking on 3rd party websites that do not show that a home is under a contingency contract and are still showing as Active.  This is because the listing agent will not toggle the listing as a Pending until the buyer contingencies have been satisfied. Those contingencies could be inspection period, financing, or buyer has a home to sell.  The listing agent wants to protect his/her seller and make sure the house remains on the…

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Determining Square Footage to Purchase Your Home

Bigger is Not Always Better

When purchasing a home in the Middle Tennessee area, remember that bigger is not always better when determining usable square footage.  Many buyers feel that the total square footage of a home determines their usable space. Not so.  Smaller houses can actually be bigger. How? By having more usable linear footage, than square footage.

• Linear footage is length of each usable wall in a room.
• Square footage is determined by outside dimensions of heated living space(excluding 2 story foyers, garages, etc. which is not living space) (Over garage bonus rooms are measured differently) Buyers are encouraged to measure wall space rather than concentrate on the total square footage of a home. • Is it a floor plan with…

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