This is why I’m in love with Nashville. I’m proud to call it home. I’m proud to be Realtor here. I’m proud of our community. And this is why “We Are Nashville”.

Even fresh clean water is vital and we have it!

If you’d like to help, please visit www.HON.org (Hands On Nashville) or www.NashvilleRedCross.org and find out the best way for you to donate your time, talent or treasure.

Behind the can is Jarrod Lord of Anheuser-Busch helping us give water.

Some particulars about the Mount Juliet Walmart go as follows:

It’s location is: 300 Pleasant Grove Road, Mt. Juliet, TN 37122
It takes up 176,330 square feet of real estate
It employee’s over 350 people
It’s store manager, Bruce Abbott, started with Walmart in 1989
It will be open 24 hours a day 7 days a week
The store phone number is 615-758-1121
There are still (as of today) some full time positions open and you can apply in store or via www.walmart.com

Mt Juliet continues to grow, and as it does, I’ll be bringing the news. Until then, enjoy Walmart!!

With a spectacular +/-1 acre setting this Brentwood Tennessee Luxury Estate is sure to impress even the most discerning buyer. 8,730 of the finest quality square feet that you will find in the Nashville and Brentw00d areas. Heated pool is encompassed by outdoor living areas on two levels. This home has featured over $250K in recent upgrades and renovations including a brand new designer chef’s kitchen with all top of the line DCS appliances. The first floor features the master suite wing with a walkout to one of the balconies and an oversized walk-in closet nearly as big as the master bedroom itself! All new highest grade carpet is protecting the gleaming hardwoods underneath and can easily be pulled up. Four additional bedrooms on the second level are all oversized with three full baths on the second level. The walk-out daylight lower level features an exercise room, nearly full kitchen, and a living room and huge office separated by stacked stone see through fireplace. The backyard is as peaceful as you will find in Brentwood with nearly all of it’s 1 acre fenced with wrought iron. The 3 car garage features Garage Masters flooring and work unit.

• 8730 Square feet
• 5 Bedrooms
• 5 Full Baths and 1 Half Bath
• Daylight Walk-Out Lower Level
• Formal Dining Room
• Formal Study
• Master Suite with Jetted Tub and Oversized Walk-In Closet
• Grand Foyer
• Grand Room
• Family Room
• New Kitchen with DCS Appliances
• 3 Car Garage features Garage Masters Floor and Work Unit
• Heated Pool
• 2 level Outdoor living area with Arbors
• Brentwood High School
• Nearly 1 Acre Lot

Don’t let the summer pass you by without being able to enjoy all that this exquisite estate has to offer. Schedule a showing today with Holly at 615-668-6228 or holly@nashvillehomes.org.

A seller can’t do anything about improving the appeal of a location-it is what it is. They can, however, put price in their favor. Sellers need to focus on what comparable homes in their area have actually sold for (not listed at). If they’re under pressure from a job transfer or expanding family, they should probably price BELOW the prevailing range. The idea is to price aggressively enough that buyers have to check them out. That brings us to condition.

Improvements that make sense to do

In today’s competitive market, sellers aren’t recouping the money they put into upgrades the way they did in the past. But there are still areas where a judicious investment will pay out with a timely sale.

Sellers should start with improving their home’s CURB APPEAL. Today, sellers are finding out that anything they do to make the outside of their property look terrific is money well spent. Ideally, people should fall in love with a home between the car and the front door. New windows, doors and siding will help a home look crisp and well cared for from the street. They also make the home more ENERGY EFFICIENT, a big plus in today’s market. Just having freshly painted trim and new hardware go a long way to making a great first impression.

Sprucing up LANDSCAPING is also important today-especially for an older home. Well-trimmed trees and shrubs can do a lot help older homes compete against new ones with sparse foliage.

Inside and out, any repairs the seller has begun must be completed. An unfinished repair usually looks worse than the untreated problem. Inside, sellers should freshen up paint, clear out clutter and hire a professional stager. These things give the impression a home is well taken care of. STAGING doesn’t really cost a lot-smart sellers look at it like having a car detailed.

Anticipate buyer’s mindset

For repairs or upgrades most buyers will want to make, advise the seller to get CONTRACTOR ESTIMATES for the improvement and present them to interested prospects. You might even suggest the seller HIRE A HOME INSPECTOR before they list, make the essential repairs and show the receipts to serious buyers. Many home inspection companies (like WIN Home Inspection Network: www.wini.com) even offer a free 90-day no deductible home warranty in conjunction with using their services for Nashville homes for sale (check with your local rep for confirmation of services offered).

Sellers should also consider projects that can lower insurance premiums. Electrical and plumbing upgrades may cut rates. If a roof needs replacing, have sellers check with their insurer about discounts for wind, hail and fire-resistant roofing. The same may be true for burglar and fire alarm systems.

Some improvements have regional appeal. In the West and Southwest, after a few seasons of extreme weather, homes with backup power generators got very attractive. Homes with steel replacement roofs are now popular in parts of California subject to wildfires. In tech savvy regions, “wired” homes with broadband access already installed have extra pull.

The goal is to create POSITIVE BUZZ around a listing. The ideas I’ve shared here are the ones that seem to be working to create that “buzz” in the market today.

Fact #1: Some six million Americans are expected to buy a home this year. Six million people in the game make up a pretty big game. That’s a level of sales equal to the one we experienced in 1998—by all accounts, a pretty good year.

Fact #2: There is still over $23 trillion of value in u.s. housing stock. Home ownership continues to be the basis of our wealth in this country.

Fact #3: The housing market cannot help but grow. Our country’s tremendous wealth, liquidity, and entrepreneurship will continue to drive our economy. 70-100 million people will be added to our market in the next 40 years.

Fact #4: Real estate is cyclical. The biggest fear in good times is that the fair weather won’t last forever—because it doesn’t. But the reality of a cyclical real estate market also provides its brightest hope in bad times—foul weather won’t last forever either. What’s happening today is a market correction, severe in some places, but it’s not the end of the world. As shown by Fact #1, people are still buying and selling homes. The markets will stabilize.

Fact #5: 2008 is the best year to buy a home in 35 years. 1973 was the last time mortgage rates were this low in a buyer’s market. We had rates this low in 2001 and 2002, but those were strong seller’s markets with little inventory. The last two big buyer’s markets, in the early ‘80s and early ‘90s had much higher rates. Low rates and good inventory make 2008 the best year to buy in decades!

Fact #6: First-time buyers have a real advantage in today’s market. First-time buyers can buy at a reduced price without having to sell at one too. Higher limits on lower cost conforming loans also help first-time buyers purchase more home for their money. Today’s ‘starter’ homes can be pretty impressive.

Fact #7: First-time buyers lose money while they wait on the sidelines. First, renters typically pay more state and federal income taxes than homeowners with a mortgage deduction. Renters are also losing the wealth they could be accumulating as they pay down their mortgage and as their home increases in value over time (as it surely will). Lastly, renters who wait to buy will lose money if interest rates increase by the time they finally act. Higher payments from higher interest rates represent money buyers could have kept if they had bought earlier. Conversely, if they were willing to spend that amount of money earlier, they could have bought more home.

Fact #8: Homes sell when they’re priced right and show well. Buyers are looking for value in today’s market. When sellers make their home’s value obvious, they make a sale—it’s as simple as that.

Have you ever been house hunting and, by simply looking at the exterior of the house, you do not even want to go inside? Having an immediate “un-appeal” can be devastating whether you are buying or selling. As an agent, I may know the inside of the home shows much better than it’s exterior, but, more times than not, you can’t convince your buyer to to spend the time to even go inside.

So, sellers, here are some quick and inexpensive tips to help you lure that buyer through your front door and to the closing table!

-Garage Doors: Paint, stain or even replace garage doors as needed. Believe it or not, these doors can be quite an eye-sore if left unattended.

-Exterior Light Fixtures: Change any and all outdated exterior light fixtures and make sure each and every one has a working light bulb for evening showings.

-Driveway: Professionally patch any large holes or cracks in your driveway or even get the driveway re-sealed. You want to make the buyer feel that they can drive the moving truck in with ease!

-Landscaping: Update your landscaping beds according to the season if they aren’t already. Trim all bushes and trees on the lot as needed. The buyer already has enough to do when they move in, the last thing they want to do is landscape!

-Overall Home Exterior: If the house is sided, get it power-washed to make it sparkle. Paint the window shutters if needed and make sure they are not hanging crooked. Clean up any toys and equipment from the yard and store neatly in the garage for the time being.

I know some of these things might seem a bit far-fetched and unimportant, but do keep in mind that most home buyers can’t visualize these changes and slight clean-ups, and the ones who can visualize it will be looking for a reduced price. With all this said, sellers and agents have a common goal; to sell your house at top dollar and as quickly as possible, right? Making simple changes like these can make the home more appealing and inviting to everyone who comes to see it and, in turn, makes your life, the seller, much, much easier! Happy cleaning!

This quaint yet refined restaurant has crisp white table cloths surrounded by high ceilings and walls of exposed brick. The large windows in the front of the restaurant look out onto “downtown.” There’s not much to see except a library and that’s the beauty of it.

I had a nice chat with the extremely polite servers and bartender. Did I mention they were quite handsome? They are.

Allow me to mention some of the entrees on this menu that are revised with each season. All dishes are prepared fresh so if you’re hungry and you don’t live in the area……….well, grab a snack until your next visit. Some starters are Crab Cakes, Pulled Pork BBQ or Wild Mushroom Ravioli. Hmmm mmm good! Just wait. What’s next will make you want to smack Rachel Ray!

Let’s move on to the entrees. How about an 18 oz. Porterhouse Steak, Shrimp & Grits, Cider Glazed Pork Tenderloin or some Burgundy Braised Beef Shortribs? That’s what I’m talkin’ bout!

Good Lord! As if all of that doesn’t sound good enough what about some homemade desserts? Flourless Chocolate Torte, Carrot Cake? Okay, I must cease this immediately. Mack and Kates tonight it shall be!

No cell phones or smoking. It ain’t cheap but this is one of those dining experiences that you get what you pay for.

Although I haven’t dined there yet, a friend of mine went for her birthday and she said the service, food and ambience couldn’t have been better! She’s a new resident of Kingston Springs(less than 6 months).

Check them out at www.mackandkates.com!

Deeeelish!