Chattanooga Real Estate Blog

Dummy me!  I didn’t realize as long as no one got hurt that committing a federal crime was OK.

Pascal "contends that a sentence of imprisonment is not appropriate under the circumstances of his case"

"Because Mr. Pascal has fulfilled all financial obligations relative to the loans in question, the victim banks have literally profited from the transactions in question."

Pascal "readily acknowledges inflating the selling price of the transactions in question by about 10 percent to cover his down payments, but never in any greater amount."

Now I understand. 

Source

March 6 - April 3
The Civil War in the American Imagination. On Tuesdays for 5 weeks. Pre-registration is required for this program and the deadline is March 2. Course addressing the ways generations of Americans have understood the mid-19th-century conflict and how those understandings continue to shape America’s public sphere. Reading and discussion based. Led by Dr. Daryl Black of Chattanooga Regional History Museum. At CRHM in the Gathering Room. 7 p.m. Free.

March 29
Marnie Pehrson reading and signing, 6 p.m. at Rock Point Books. She will discuss how she incorporates her family history into her novels and her book, Don’t Cover Your Roots, Embrace Them! 401 Broad St. Free and open to the public. 423) 756-2855.

March 30
2nd Annual Connecting the Dots Summit in the Community Theatre – located on the second floor of Soldier’s & Sailor’s Memorial Auditorium. Admission is $15 prior to March 30 ($20 at the door).
Registration begins at 7:45 a.m. The program and the keynote speech will start at 8:50 a.m. Breakout sessions exploring art and social issues immediately follow. A panel discussion investigating and probing ideas created in the breakout sessions concludes the summit. Early morning refreshments and a box lunch will be provided; therefore, reservations must be made by Thursday, March 30, to Laurie Shipley (423) 425-7823 or shipley_l@mail.chattanooga.gov.

March 30
Hank Klibanoff and Gene Roberts discuss their book, The Race Beat, at Rock Point Books. 5:30 p.m. 401 Broad St. Free and open to the public.

March 31
Raining Cats and Dogs fundraiser to benefit the McKamey Animal Care and Adoption Center on the Pier 2 riverboat. Cocktails will be served at 6 p.m. with a gourmet dinner following at 7. The evening will conclude with dancing to the Swingtime Orchestra beginning at 8:30 p.m. $75 per person with corporate tables at $750 each. www.mckameyanimalcenter.org/events.htm, (423) 425-3750.

March 31
Jim Pfitzer Workshop, 10 a.m. The goal of this workshop is to provide the tools for participants to find stored memories and shape them into compelling stories. $25 but those interested may pre-enroll and receive a discounted fee of $20. Rock Point Books at (423) 756-2855 to register. 401 Broad St.

March 31
Test and Tune Cookout with for America’s Fastest Mowin’ Sport, lawnmower racing, 11 a.m. at Goodners Equipment on Hwy 58. http://guestlinetn.com/LawnmowerRaces.cfm

March 31
Rocky the Recycling Raccoon and Team Recycle will educate shoppers at Hamilton Place about the importance of recycling in Chattanooga and recycling the right way, 12-2 p.m. www.recycleright.org.

March 31 (My Pick!)
Outdoor Chattanooga’s Outdoor Expo in Coolidge Park, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will showcase everything you want to know about outdoor recreation in Chattanooga and the area. Over 30 groups will be participating.

April 1
Kiwanis Club of Collegedale Charity 5K Road Race and Fun Walk. Proceeds to benefit The Speech and Hearing Center’s preschool for hearing impaired children. Race begins at 2 p.m. on Apison pike in Collgedale. $10 entry fee. Jennifer Froehlich at 622-6900.

April 1
Free First Sunday at Hunter Museum. Noon-5 p.m.

This is a residential building going up in Singapore.  It’s going to be 36 stories and have 68 high end units.  Kinda scared me when I first saw it but it’s grown on me.  However, I don’t know how comfortable I would be looking out my window knowing nothing was below me

Just read the following article in a Career Institute Newsletter.  Food for thought for you FSBO’s.

This scam targets people who try to sell their homes without real estate agents. The scam comes into play after a seller gets an offer.

“All the scams have the same thing, in that it’s someone you don’t know sending you money, asking you to send money back,” said Cindy Harding, a vice president and bank fraud expert.

Police in Sugar Grove, Ill., say two residents were targeted after listing their homes on forsalebyowner.com. They each received an offer, the scammer sent a large check as a down payment, then instructed the homeowners to send a portion of that money to a real estate broker. The problem is, the broker doesn’t exist and the down payment check turned out to be a fake.

“Anyone can make a check look like whatever they want, so it’s no big deal to give people a piece of paper that’s worthless,” said Harding.

There’s an easy way to avoid falling victim to this scam. Jim Bolin with Carol Jones Realtors says you should never conduct a real estate transaction without a contract.

“It could be letter of intent, where there is an amount of money deposited in an escrow account that will be held under laws of the state until closing, but you’d never accept money up front and hold money yourself,” said Bolin.

And whether you’re selling your home or something much smaller, Harding says always be suspicious.

Remember this? 

You know, the HGTV Dream House that was built on Stringers Ridge.  The engaged couple who found the perfect lot for their dream home.  Applied to HGTV, was accepted,  managed to get her dad to be the builder.  Home built, airs on HGTV, dad gets lots of free national publicity.  The couple get their 15 minutes of fame and a beautiful home.  The American dream.

Guess what?  It’s complete and they are going to sell it for a price in the seven figures.  Scam?  You have to decide for yourself.

My problem isn’t that they are selling it.  My problem is that they were selected based in part on the personal interest part of the story that was, if not a complete lie, a little untrue.  Would they have been chosen by HGTV if their application said:  Dad’s a builder and we have a lot that will be difficult to build on.  We want to build a home on this lot then sell it.  We think the free publicity HGTV can provide will add to the value and help us sell it.

At least live in it for a while and act like you intended for it to be your personal home.

I may have this all wrong so if you know the facts please let me know.  My information was obtained from this weeks issue of the Hamilton County Herald.  They don’t have an online presence to I can’t post a link to the article.  And, for the record, the house is not listed in the MLS as of today.

Well, I’ve been absent for almost 2 weeks.  It’s been rough but I’m sort of back in business. 

I was rear ended by a kid with no insurance and got my car back today.  Of course, since I carry uninsured motorist that took care of the damage but my question is why did I have to pay a deductible?  If my collision deductible is $250 and my uninsured motorist deductible is $200 is $50 worth the additional monies to carry it every year for the last 20+ years?  I don’t think so.  And why am I paying a deductible at all????  I’m sure the kid will get his license pulled then will be driving around with not only no insurance but no license.  Makes no sense to me.

My hard drive on my computer died.  My back up was corrupt due to the problem with the hard drive and I didn’t know it.  We have been able to retrieve a lot of my data but a lot was lost including my entire Outlook files.  So don’t hold it against me if I’m supposed to contact you and haven’t.  I no longer have your email address.  If I was supposed to get with you on something please contact me and I’ll get on it immediately.  Trying to recreate everything is a nightmare!

Anyway, a new hard drive has been ordered and I am slowly getting things in order and will be posting on a regular basis again.

Who in the world could possibly need a 66,000 sq foot private home with a 1000 sq foot dining room?  Apparently Bill Gates.

Forbes.com put together a slide show of some of the homes of several of the wealthiest people in the world.  Bill actually has an underwater music system in his 60 ft swimming pool!

I believe I can honestly say that if I had billions I would not need or want a home like of this.

Warren Buffet is a little more modest.  He is still in the home he purchased in 1958 for $31,500.  Of course, it’s worth $700,000 now.  Not bad

Saturday, March 10
Bachman Community Library, 10:00 - 12:00 Noon; Bachman Community Center, 2815 Anderson Pike; FREE and open to the public. For more information call 886-4842.

Saturday, March 10
Lone Oak Library, Lone Oak Community Center; 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM. A free library open to the public with a great selection of books. Call 886-7250 for details.

Sunday, March 11
Benefit Lunch at Pastaria, All-you-can eat lunch to benefit the annual Strides of March for Chattanooga Cares! Meet at 1 pm and enjoy a wonderful meal while supporting a great charity. Please contact Megan Eades (517-0328 or meganeades@yahoo.com) as soon as possible to purchase tickets ($8 for adults $5 for children).