Do Open Houses Really Sell Homes in Middle Tennessee?

What Sellers Should Know Before Deciding to Host an Open House

Open houses are often viewed as a standard part of selling a home in today’s real estate market, but they are optional and not required for a successful sale. In my experience working with sellers across Middle Tennessee, most homes sell through private showings with qualified buyers who are already working with a REALTOR®. If you are preparing to sell a home in Middle Tennessee, understanding how buyers actually view and purchase homes can help you make better decisions when listing your property.

In the Middle Tennessee real estate market, buyer behavior varies depending on price point, neighborhood layout, and inventory levels. In some entry-level or highly walkable areas, open…

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The Seller’s Role in Buyer’s Agent Compensation

How Buyer Representation and Compensation Affect Home Sellers in Middle Tennessee

If you are selling a home in Middle Tennessee, understanding the Seller’s role in Buyer’s agent compensation is now an important part of the listing process. Changes in how Buyer representation and compensation are discussed have brought more transparency and clearer choices for Sellers. This guide explains what has changed, how Buyer representation affects your sale, and how compensation decisions are addressed in Tennessee listing agreements so you can make informed decisions from the start.

What Has Changed for Home Sellers and Why Does it Matter?

If you are selling a home, you may have noticed more discussion around Buyer representation and Buyer Agent…

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Best Website for Waterfront Properties in Middle Tennessee

Find Lake Homes and Waterfront Real Estate the Easy Way 

If you’ve been dreaming of life on the water—whether it’s boating on the weekend, relaxing with a lake view, or investing in a waterfront vacation home—Middle Tennessee has a wide variety of beautiful lakeside living options. The challenge? Knowing where to find accurate, up-to-date listings that truly reflect what’s available. That’s exactly why I created the Best Lake & Waterfront Property Search in Middle Tennessee 

As a local REALTOR® with almost 30 years of experience helping clients buy and sell lake homes across the region, I understand how specific your search needs to be. My custom lake property search tool makes it easy to narrow down exactly what you're looking for—by lake,…

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When It’s Time to Downsize or Move a Loved One

Navigating A Life Transition?
A Seniors Real Estate Specialist(SRES®) Can Help

A Seniors Residential Specialist(SRES®) is a licensed REALTOR® who has completed advanced training focused on helping clients aged 50+  to make informed decisions about housing, finance, and life transitions.  Kim Blanton specializes in handling real estate transactions for mature clients in the Nashville and Middle Tennessee area.  I have also created a referral network of specialists such as attorneys, accountants, financial planners, bankers, and other professionals to work with seniors and their real estate needs.

Whether you're approaching retirement, or looking to simplify your home maintenance responsibilities, or helping an aging parent transition into a new home,…

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13 Smart Questions to Ask Before Hiring a REALTOR® to Sell Your Nashville Area Home

The Questions Every Home Seller Should Ask -Before Choosing an Agent

When you're thinking about selling your home in the Middle Tennessee and Nashville areas—including vibrant communities like Hendersonville, Gallatin, White House, Springfield, Mount Juliet, Lebanon and even cities south of Nashville including Wiliamson County—choosing the right real estate agent is one of the most important decisions you'll make. 

This isn’t just a transaction—it’s a major life event. Your home is likely your largest investment, and you deserve to have a professional by your side who will protect that investment every step of the way. While it might be tempting to go with a friend or relative, this should be a well-thought-out business decision. You want an…

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Best Website for Horse Properties in Middle Tennessee | Equestrian Real Estate

Best Website for Horse Properties in Middle Tennessee: EquineHomesByKimBlanton.com

If you are searching for horse properties for sale in Middle Tennessee, EquineHomesByKimBlanton.com is the resource built specifically for that search. While national real estate sites cover everything, this site focuses entirely on equestrian real estate across Middle Tennessee, giving buyers and sellers a targeted, experience-driven platform that general property search tools cannot replicate.

Kim Blanton is a working equestrian, horse owner, and trusted local REALTOR® with over 30 years of experience in Middle Tennessee real estate. Her background combines hands-on knowledge of farm and rural living with deep familiarity with the counties, communities, and land…

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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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Purchasing a Home With a Septic System in Middle Tennessee

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 30 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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Occupancy After Closing Agreement

Seller Occupancy After Closing 

  I want to tell everyone a little story about Occupancy After Closing and why it is so important from a buyer's position to have a written document.  Not to long ago, I represented a buyer who purchased a home in Hendersonville, Tennessee located in a popular lakeside community.  

 Because the seller was building a new home, part of their negotiations to my buyer was that they would like to occupy the home for 3 days after closing in hopes that their nearly finished new home would be ready to move in.

Get it In Writing!

My buyers agreed and we prepared an Occupancy After Closing document that we presented to the sellers and they agreed to sign.  Many times agents and buyers/sellers do not write up a…

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