But first a word on appraisers. back in the day a mortgage broker or loan officer could and did order the appraisal from a lenders approved list of appraisers. They might choose a particular appraiser over another because of their area of expertise within the geographical area. Middle Tennessee is a large area and an appraiser that generally works the Brentwood area for example may not be as articulate in the 12 South area in Nashville. As such, the loan officer would more than likely order the appraisal from an appraiser they knew had a good working knowledge of the area where the home under contract (subject property) was located. Now then, fast forward to today where because of the recent changes to the HVCC (Home Valuation Code of Conduct) through Fannie Mae, mortgage brokers and loan officers can no longer order the appraisal directly. The order comes from the lender who may be out of California or New Hampshire or some other far away state, NOT Nashville TN, and is picking from a hat, so to speak, the appraiser to do the job. If an “approved” appraiser who may not be familiar AT ALL with the area is chosen out of that proverbial hat, you can see where an appraisal may not get the most accurate assessment. What happens next? Well for starters:

1. In Tennessee according to the Tennessee Association of Realtors Purchase and Sale Agreement, if the appraised value does not meet or exceed the sales price the buyer can at their discretion simply terminate the contract and get their earnest money back. …….But what if you (as the buyer) REALLY want the house? Then,

2. The buyer’s agent and seller’s agent do a comparative market analysis and provide to the loan officer additional comparables in support of the sales price in hopes that the lender will review them and ask for a review by the appraiser to adjust the appraised value. AND/OR the buyer, depending on the lender they use, may have an option to pay the difference between the appraised value and the agreed upon purchase price and continue on with the contract. Believe it or not, this happens more frequently than you might think because of what I like to call “botched” appraisals. Meaning we got a bad appraisal (see the first paragraph) and the lender was not willing to re-valuate.

3. The buyer and seller go back to the drawing board and re-negotiate the terms of the contract so that the sales price meets the appraised value. For example, let’s say the seller included $5,000 of the buyer’s closing costs in the purchase and sale agreement, but the appraised value was $5000 less than the sales price. The buyer and seller could agree that the seller would not pay any of the buyer’s closing costs and lower the sales price to the appraised value and it becomes a wash. There are many other ways a buyer and seller could re-negotiate, but that’s a start. If all else fails as the buyer, revert back to # 1. and termite the contract, get your earnest money back and get back out there and find another home to buy!

Sometimes, no matter what we do as real estate  professionals, being the best just isn’t good enough. Especially when it comes to bureaucracy…. (This is one big quote, and I wish I knew the attorney, I would personally call him and thank him for his service.)

Part of rebuilding New Orleans caused residents often to be challenged with
the task of tracing home titles back potentially hundreds of years. With a
community rich with history stretching back over two centuries, houses have
been passed along through generations of family, sometimes making it quite
difficult to establish ownership. Here’s a great letter an attorney wrote to
the FHA on behalf of a client:

You have to love this lawyer………

A New Orleans lawyer sought an FHA loan for a client. He was told the loan
would be granted if he could prove satisfactory title to a parcel of
property being offered as collateral. The title to the property dated back
to 1803, which took the lawyer three months to track down. After sending the
information to the FHA, he received the following reply.

(Actual reply from FHA):

“Upon review of your letter adjoining your client’s loan application, we
note that the request is supported by an Abstract of Title. While we
compliment the able manner in which you have prepared and presented the
application, we must point out that you have only cleared title to the
proposed collateral property back to 1803. Before final approval can be
accorded, it will be necessary to clear the title back to its origin.”

Annoyed, the lawyer responded as follows:

(Actual response):

“Your letter regarding title in Case No.189156 has been received. I note
that you wish to have title extended further than the 206 years covered by
the present application. I was unaware that any educated person in this
country, particularly those working in the property area, would not know
that Louisiana was purchased by the United States from France in 1803, the
year of origin identified in our application. For the edification of
uninformed FHA bureaucrats, the title to the land prior to U.S. ownership
was obtained from France , which had acquired it by Right of Conquest from
Spain . The land came into the possession of Spain by Right of Discovery
made in the year 1492 by a sea captain named Christopher Columbus, who had
been granted the privilege of seeking a new route to  India by the Spanish
monarch, Queen Isabella. The good Queen Isabella, being a pious woman and
almost as careful about titles as the FHA, took the precaution of securing
the blessing of the Pope before she sold her jewels to finance Columbus ‘s
expedition. Now the Pope, as I’m sure you may know, is the emissary of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, and God, it is commonly accepted, created this
world. Therefore, I believe it is safe to presume that God also made that
part of the world called Louisiana . God, therefore, would be the owner of
origin and His origins date back to before the beginning of time, the world
as we know it, and the FHA. I hope you find God’s original claim to be
satisfactory. Now, may we have our loan?”

The loan was immediately approved.

(These are the same geniuses charged with the Government mortgage bailout.)

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.