Chattanooga Real Estate BlogChattanooga Real Estate Today
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Interest rates compliments of:
Owens Financial Group
Melanie Huddleston
1007 Ashland Terrace
Suite 104B
Chattanooga, TN 37415
423-648-7630
Conventional Fixed Rate
30 yr = 6.5%
20 yr = 6.375%
15 yr = 6.25%
FHA and VA
30 yr = 6.5%
ARMS
3/1 = 6.125%
5/1 = 6.375%
100% My Community Program
30 yr = 7%
40 yr = 7.125%
Rates subject to change
I have been waiting to weigh in on this subject basically because I thought I should cool off a little and not say something I would regret. Earlier this month we discussed it in a meeting at the Chattanooga Association of REALTORS Governmental Affairs committee and my blood pressure was up by the time I walked out.
Have the county commissioners forgotten they were elected on campaign promises of not raising taxes? Apparently it doesn’t matter because the election is over and by the time the next election rolls around we will have forgotten that they lied the previous time.
Hamilton County had 2500 new parcels of land platted this year that increased the tax base. And I guess the $10,000,000 extra a year and the one time allotment of $48,000,000 from the BEP program isn’t enough. Yes, all those zeros are correct, as in MILLIONS. Oh right, I forgot, before it was a done deal the commissioners were saying if we got BEP money they wouldn’t need to increase taxes. Well, we got it! Why is a tax increase under consideration again? As usual, county commissioners are using our children as an excuse to take, take, take.
Call your county commissioner about this. It’s insane.
A lot of changes are taking place on Signal Mountain these days. Officials are going to be holding a meeting Tuesday at 7 pm at Nolan Elementary to revisit the current Comprehensive Land Use and Transportation Plan. This will be a public meeting and officials promise it will be a "talk and contribute" meeting for all.
Plan to discuss how the city will handle the new middle and high schools and the growth that this is going to bring. A major issue will be the sewer system. It must be expanded to accommodate the 1500+ new homes expected to go up on the mountain.
Both residents and non residents are encouraged to attend in order to contribute ideas and suggestions. According to Councilwoman Susan Robertson: "Signal Mountain is armed with new ideas and is excited to begin discussions as it moves toward a plan for sustainable growth which will also preserve and protect its mountain character".
I’m a little late getting the weekend activities posted this week. I didn’t have time to do a lot of research so I only have a few.
June 23-24
Lawnmower racing at the Volunteer State Summer Nationals. At Goodners Equipment on Hwy 58.
June 24
Gospel Bluegrass & Singing, featuring The Misfits at 6 p.m. at One Accord Community Church, 343 Sweetland Dr. Red Bank, Tn. Call Elder Jim Christian for more details, 423-875-8377 or www.oneaccordcommunitychurch.org or www.dixielandleadershipcamp.org
June 25
The Southern Literature Book Club holds a meeting at Rock Point Books, 401 Broad St., on the last Monday of every month. This month’s selection is As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. Join anytime. For more information about this book club, please contact Jennifer Hoff at 309-7464 or e-mail SouthernLitClub@aol.com.
June 25-28
Concord Baptist Church’s Adventure Camp 2007 from 8-12 p.m. for kindergartners through fifth graders. $15 per child.
I just love this photo! Wesley Schultz is a Chattanooga photographer and has some great shots on his website.
Article 11
The services which REALTORS® provide to their clients and customers shall conform to the standards of practice and competence which are reasonably expected in the specific real estate disciplines in which they engage; specifically, residential real estate brokerage, real property management, commercial and industrial real estate brokerage, real estate appraisal, real estate counseling, real estate syndication, real estate auction, and international real estate.
REALTORS® shall not undertake to provide specialized professional services concerning a type of property or service that is outside their field of competence unless they engage the assistance of one who is competent on such types of property or service, or unless the facts are fully disclosed to the client. Any persons engaged to provide such assistance shall be so identified to the client and their contribution to the assignment should be set forth. (Amended 1/95)
In a nutshell: I am not a expert in roofing, plumbing, H&A, surveying, etc. I assist with the selling and purchasing of real estate. There are others who are experts in these fields therefore, I will not and can not give advise on anything outside my field. I defer to those who are the experts.
Now, I will not leave you hanging on these issues. I have worked with inspectors, appraisers, and contractors in just about all fields concerned with home ownership and will always advise we call in the experts when needed.
My KarenRhodes.com site has a "Your Home’s Value" button. This is a request for a market analysis on your home to give you an idea of what your home might bring on the open market.
I have been getting a rash of people requesting this information who already have their home listed with another REALTOR®. Unfortunately I have not been able to provide a market analysis to any of these people. I have responded by explaining since they are represented I am unable to assist them at this point. Article 16 of the Code of Ethics addresses interaction with represented parties. Basically, I can’t do it.
I take that back, there is a loop hole in article 16. It’s Standard of Practice 16-6 which says if you contact me I "may discuss the terms upon which they might enter into a future agreement or, alternatively, may enter into an agreement which becomes effective upon expiration of any existing exclusive agreement."
While it is permissible if you contact me, I will not do anything that might be construed as unethical or improper. I have seen too many instances where the the listing agent claims another agent contacted their seller client and the other agent claims the seller contacted them. We call it "going behind someone elses sign". It leads to grievances being filed and damages the reputation of the second agent even if they didn’t do anything wrong. So my policy is don’t do it, period.
If you are nearing the end of your listing agreement and wish to speak to me about your home please, wait till your current contract expires. I’m sorry but my reputation is very important to me and I hope you understand.
From time to time, virtually all homes with basements will have moisture problems or direct leaks in areas below grade. This does not necessarily mean that the home is poorly constructed.
Usually the problem is caused by improper grading that prevents water from effectively draining away from the foundation. Experience has shown that faults can also develop when gutters and downspouts get clogged, depositing unusually large quantities of water on the ground near the home.
A leak is usually obvious, but other moisture problems can sometimes only be detected indirectly, such as finding mold (sometimes hidden by interior finishes) or detecting musty odors (usually when the area has been closed for a period).
Outright leaks can occur under specific conditions, especially in early spring when melting snow can’t penetrate the frozen soil but finds its way down the side of the foundation where heat loss has made the soil permeable. Seepage, which is just a slow leak, can occur in the fall or spring when heavy rainfall or melting snow causes the ground near the foundation to become saturated. Homes built before 1950 seldom have weeping tiles to draw water away from the foundation, and in homes more than 20 years old these tiles may no longer be effective due to deterioration.
A significant source of basement moisture is condensation. When the basement air is humid, moisture will condense on cool surfaces, such as cold water pipes, foundation walls or the floor slab.
THIS IS AN EXCERPT FROM PILLAR TO POST ® HOME INFORMATION SERIES
Doug Quance over at Brokers First Realty has a great post today on why they will not take a listing for 90 days. I couldn’t agree more: Short listing periods are not useful to anyone.
It’s worth the couple of minutes it would take to read if you are in or going to be entering the real estate market as a seller.
RealtyTrac has released it’s market report on May foreclosures. The report shows 176,137 properties nationwide entered some stage of foreclosure during the month, a increase of about 19 percent from the previous month and a huge increase of 90 percent from May 2006. That’s 1 in every 656 households!
Tennessee came in with the 12th highest rate in the nation. 1 in 638 households, an increase over last month of 12.54% and 56.55% over last May.
The 10 highest were:
10 Michigan
9 Indiana
8 Michigan
7 Georgia
6 Arizona
5 Ohio
4 Florida
3 California
2 Colorado
1 Nevada
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