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Even competing Realtors can run together! Me & my bff Jen Mason of Crye-Leike Realtors

Well, it’s now ONE WHOLE DAYuntil the race. That’s right, the race is tomorrow morning and it’s consumed my nearly every thought (That’s right, Holly White has hardly thought about real estate AT ALL today!).  I could barely sleep last night and have had to stop writing this twelve times so that I could bounce around because the thought of that finish line is making my heart want to come right out of my chest.

And the best news is both Darbi and I met our goals for fund-raising for Big Brothers Big Sisters so every step will be for them tomorrow…okay that’s a lie, some of them will be for me too.

What a beautiful mess we're in!!

UPDATE:

I should have updated this sooner, but well, I digressed for a month (selling real estate is busy business!).

Running backwards for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee at the Country Music Marathon in Nashville. The sign behind me was from Belmont Church and it said "run with perserverence the race marked out for you", "You Can Do It!", and boy did I need that inspiration right about then!

I FINISHED!!  That’s right I made it to the finish line and it was one of the biggest personal challenges on my life.  I got tripped about 1 minute after this photo was taken (about 9 miles into it) and twisted my ankle and then the pain in the knees kicked in.  Those little boogers blew up like balloons!  Those last 4 miles were the toughest I have ever run.

I was going to keep on running and do another couple half’s this year but I think I am going to preserve my knees for the kids again next year.  I don’t want to chance not being able to do it.  Swimming is sounding like a pretty good alternate sport right now…

PS - Darbi finished too! We made it in nearly identical times! From left to right: Darbi Bolton, Holly White and Erica Johnson (another Big Brothers Big Sisters Team runner)

# Standard of Practice 12-10

REALTORS®’ obligation to present a true picture in their advertising and representations to the public includes the URLs and domain names they use, and prohibits REALTORS® from:

1. engaging in deceptive or unauthorized framing of real estate brokerage websites;

2. manipulating (e.g., presenting content developed by others) listing content in any way that produces a deceptive or misleading result; or

3. deceptively using metatags, keywords or other devices/methods to direct, drive, or divert Internet traffic, or to otherwise mislead consumers. (Adopted 1/07)

In most recent events there have been some ethics complaints filed with local Associations of Realtors across the country on Realtors who have websites that contain the letters MLS in the URL; for example, www.citynameMLS.com. A friend, colleague and competitor of mine has been the target of one of these complaints and I’m interested to hear both Realtors thoughts and consumers thoughts on this. As a Realtor who supports fair trade, I personally disagree with the notion of taking down a site merely because it contained the letters MLS in the URL. There are Realtors out there including myself who have invested not only years worth of time building and promoting our sites, but thousands of dollars as well so that the public could have a choice. I feel that these ethics complaints only hurt Realtors in general as this could push to the forefront those sites that are not Realtor owned which contain the letters MLS in their URL or who advertise the MLS and are able to get around the ruling by NAR since they do not belong to the National Association of Realtors. I became a “Realtor” as opposed to just being a real estate agent because I feel strongly about ethics. It would be an injustice to consumers to take sites down merely because they have the letters MLS in their site especially if the website clearly contained all of the disclaimers that it needs to; ie., displaying the brokerage name and contact information, the Realtors name, license number and contact information, and that the site was not an official site of the MLS but merely a site that uses the data from the MLS which each participating brokerage has agreed to to get listings out to world. This is called broker reciprocity by way of IDX (Internet Data Exchange) and only the listings from brokers who have agreed to participate are displayed. According to the Middle Tennessee Regional MLS 99.5% of all MLS listings are included in the IDX listings. That’s nearly every MLS listing available which means that most brokers WANT their listings on as many sites as they can get them on because this only helps in advertising for their clients, the sellers. If you were/are a Seller, wouldn’t you want your home listed everywhere it could be to gain maximum exposure?

I have found that the majority of consumers looking for real estate realize that most websites are operated by Realtors and quite frankly they find it refreshing to be able to obtain the information they are looking for because our sites are so user friendly and information rich not only to the degree of listings but also about the communities we serve. The official MLS site does serve the consumer well when it comes to displaying listings, but try to find a tip about a great restaurant to go to or learn about events going on in the area, there are none. What if you are unsure about what a particular city or suburb has to offer? You can’t find that on the MLS site either. You would have to leave that site and go to a site such as ours. So why not just get everything you need from one site?

This isn’t about consumer complaints because to my knowledge there are none. In my humble opinion, I believe this is about other Realtors out there trying to take unfair advantage of a ruling to better serve their own personal interests. Would I like to see my site at the number one position for all relevant search terms about Nashville real estate and become the greatest real estate agent in the world? Absolutely… but not by doing it unfairly. If you are good at what you do and your website is relevant, you won’t have to use deceptive tactics to gain a better position. May the best sites win, whatever they’re called.

* Turn your thermostat down and throw on a sweatshirt and socks. For every degree that you turn it down you’ll save 3% on your heating bill.

*Don’t let your hard earned money blow out the window. Seal all the windows and doors. Check all of your windows and doors for broken seals and caulk where needed.

* Use mother nature! On the side of your house where the sunlight shines the most during the day open the drapes and blinds so that mother nature heats your house and not you. However, don’t forget to shut them back at sunset, otherwise she’ll be stealing it from you instead of providing it to you!

* Properly insulate. Any area where there is only minimal insulation to no insulation needs to be beefed up. Check with the local hardward store for exactly how much, but a properly insulated home can save up to 30% every month.

* When you leave the house for more than a day, turn the thermostat down a few degrees. No need to heat an empty home.

* If you have a fireplace, use it wisely. Even when you are burning a fire, some of the heat from your vents can still go up the chimney, so only use your fireplace for ambience (unless you are getting free firewood) and be sure and close the damper just enough so that smoke goes up the cimney and not in your house this will push more heat to the house and not up and out. And when the fireplace is not in use, mak sure you close the damper completely off.

* Any rooms that you don’t use should have the vents either closed off completely or opened minimally if the rooms are only used seldomly.

The accelerated growth has been spurred by LaVergne’s location off I-24 and accessible resources in neighboring Murfreesboro and Nashville. Another major attraction for people considering the move is the city’s low property tax at 50 cents per $100 of assessed value. The city’s largest employers, Bridgestone Firestone and Ingram Book, are partially responsible for bringing people to LaVergne and helping to construct Lake Forest Estates, the largest subdivision in the state with more than 3,000 homes.

Rutherford County’s school system recently opened LaVergne Elementary school to alleviate overcrowding, and Department of Transportation plans to compensate for increased traffic by widening Waldron Road. Despite the growth, La Vergne still has that small town feel, without the hustle and bustle of city life. So if your looking for affordable housing, low property taxes, and a city making progress, then look no further. And better yet, La Vergne is just 20 minutes away from NashVegas or as we like to say, just a skip and a hop away.

If foreclosure is something you may be faced with, read below. There is help… and there are options. Listed below are ways to be proactive about your impending situation:

1. Avoid denial. Communicate with your lender and document in writing, the steps that are being taken to correct the problem, and understand that your lender would rather you pay the note than let it go to auction. The lender is usually taking a loss when the house gets foreclosed on because of the eviction process, attorney’s fees, delays from borrower bankruptcy, costs associated with resale, and possible damage to the property.

2. Offer financial information, such as monthly income and expenses and negotiate a payment plan. The mortgage company should be able to rearrange a payment plan based upon your current situation because once again they would much rather see you keep the house especially in this down market.

3. Consider refinancing the loan. Not only may you get a better rate, but you will be able to pay off the lender and get caught back up sometimes with lower payments and/or reducing your credit card or other debt.
4. Inquire about a Partial Claim. A Partial Claim is an interest free loan issued from HUD paid to your lender in the necessary amount to get the mortgage up to date. A lien will then be placed on your property until the Promissory Note is paid in full. The Note does not have to be paid until the mortgage matures or you sell or leave the property. Talk to a mortgage professional about this option.

5. Hire a realtor with Short Sale experience and sell the property out right. Such experience could benefit you, especially if the Realtor can negotiate the payoff with the lender and get the buyer to pay your closing costs. If it’s done right, you would walk away from a potential financial disaster without having to come out of pocket with anything and it once again keeps you out of foreclosure. There are some possible downfalls to Short Sales so look for a blog post regarding this soon.

6. Look into filing for bankruptcy if all other options fail. This temporarily stops your property from going to auction and can buy you a little more time while you seek other avenues.

Beware of people who will try to take advantage of your financial situation. After all, this information is public knowledge and if someone is offering you something that sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

According to The Tennessean, this anti-gang initiative resulted in 51 arrests last week and the confiscation of 27.4 grams of marijuana, 9.1 grams of cocaine, ecstasy pills, several weapons, and $6,024. Of the 51 arrests, 8 involved felony charges, 64 misdemeanors and 4 outstanding warrants. Operation Safer Streets is proving effective as overall major crime is down nearly 11% this year, and building upon last year’s successes that reduced overall major crime to its lowest level since 1991.

However, the median price on home sales in the Nashville area has remained solid, rising to $189,900 in July of 2007, up 5 percent from the previous year. Nashville unlike other areas has not seen any big rises in prices, nor had any substantial drops and the local economy is still strong, with jobs being created and people moving to the area. Home prices in Middle Tennessee have increased from 3 to 6 percent a year according to Richard Courtney, president of the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors. The next challenge in the forth coming months will be to overcome the credit squeeze lenders and borrowers are now facing with loans drying up and lenders shutting their doors.