Chattanooga Real Estate Blog

Happy Home Realty has named its Top Real Estate Agents for the second quarter of 2007. These real estate professionals had the highest real estate sales volume for the months of April thru June. Happy Home Realty’s top agents are: Karen Rhodes, Michael Fraley, Diane Rizzo, Karen Hethcoat, Pam Dietsch, Jennelle Jumper, Judy Wanamaker, Joel Huddleston, Jim Oric, and Sharon Furrow.

Thank you to all the Happy Home Realty agents.  Due to their dedication and hard work the second quarter and the month of June were recording breaking periods for the company said Happy Huddleston, owner and principal broker of Happy Home Realty.

Happy Home Realty, with locations in Chattanooga and East Ridge, is locally owned by Howard “Happy” Huddleston and has over 40 agents serving the Chattanooga metro area. Happy Home Realty is licensed in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama.

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." 

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.

If you are out and about Tuesday and see 26+ people who look like they are on a guided tour of the riverfront and downtown smile and be on your best behavior! 

According to Tallahassee.com David Ramsey (former Chattanooga resident) will be showing off our beautiful downtown and riverfront area to a group of leaders from Tallahassee.  They will be looking at what we have done to revitalize the area with a mind to do some of the same things in their area.

I wonder if they thought about the fact that Riverbend would be going on Tuesday.

My license came last week so it’s official now!  My press release is below:

The Tennessee Real Estate Commission (TREC) announced that Karen Rhodes of Happy Home Realty has received her broker’s license after successfully passing the real estate broker licensure examination.

To become eligible for the examination, Karen met strict experience and education requirements as a broker candidate. Broker candidates must have held an active license as an affiliate broker for a minimum period of 3 years and must have successfully completed 120 classroom hours of real estate education, 30 hours of which must be an office brokerage management course taken at a TREC approved school.

Karen, a Soddy Daisy resident, is a full-time broker affiliated with Happy Home Realty’s Chattanooga office, located at 300 Ashland Terrace. With eight years of real estate experience, she serves the real estate needs of buyers and sellers in Hamilton and surrounding counties specializing in real estate buyer representation, second home purchases as well as assisting families relocating to the Greater Chattanooga area.

Karen’s sales achievements have earned her many awards including being named the number one agent at Happy Home Realty for 2006.  She holds the Accredited Buyers Representative® (ABR) designation and the e-PRO certification both taught and recognized by the National Association of Realtors.

She is a member of the National, Tennessee and Chattanooga Associations of Realtors® as well as the Real Estate Buyers Agent Council (REBAC). As an active member of her local Realtor® association, she currently serves on several committees including Governmental Affairs and Grievance.  She is also a graduate of the 2007 Leadership CAR class.

The city of Chickamauga has worked a deal to purchase the Gordon Lee Mansion for 1.5 million.  There is a lot of history here that needs to be preserved.  The city can get grants along with federal and state funds to preserve it and promote tourism where the private owner was not able to do so. 

I think this is great!  Now the house will be preserved without fear of it being torn down to make room for a big box store or parking lot. 

For those of you not familiar with the Gordon Lee Manion it was an antebellum plantation house built in 1847 by James Gordon.  It is the only structure left standing that was used during the Battle of Chickamauga during the Civil War.  A short history can be found here.

I got back in town Friday evening from my vacation.  I have been running like a mad woman since I got home.  Worked all weekend including the holiday.  It’s been some long hours and I’ve been beat by the time I get home.  I think things are going to calm down a little now so I’ll have time to post. 

Starting tomorrow I’ll be continuing the Code of Ethics series. 

Have a great night!

It’s not about whether you agree or disagree with the war we are involved with at this time.  It’s about all those men and women who went before and paid the ultimate price.

This Memorial weekend take some time to remember the past and if you see a soldier, give them a hug.

BnaBreaker over at SkyscraperPage Forum started a photo thread with some really good shots of Downtown Chattanooga, the Hunter Museum and the North Shore area including Coolidge Park.  Great job, Bna!  And yes, Chattanooga is often under rated!

There have been many different styles of home construction over the years.  Some I like, some I don’t.  I thought I would give you a list of my top 5 styles.  In no particular order:
Victorian

True Victorian homes haven’t been built since the early 1900’s but you can still find design styles from the Victorians today.  Curved towers and spindled porches are a couple of their features we still see today in construction.
Queen Anne

Somewhat similar to the Victorian homes the Queen Anne is a bit more ornamental.  What I love about them is the siding.  It reminds me of a gingerbread house.  This sculpted siding is making a huge comeback today.  The Queen Anne homes have lots of porches, balconies, chimneys and gables.
Craftsman 

The craftsman was popular at the beginning of the 1900’s.  We have tons of them in Chattanooga.  Craftsman homes have overhanging eaves, gable roofs and wide porches with columns.  Little ornamentation.  Very simple in design and function.
French Provincial 

Brick exteriors, steep hip roofs, arched insets for doors and french windows can be found in the more formal French Provincial homes.  We have seen a lot of these built in the Chattanooga area over the last several years.  I think they will always be a popular choice of architecture.
Creole 

Anyone that has ever been to the French Quarter in New Orleans knows a Creole home.  Porches across the front of the home, full length balconies on the second and third floors along with full length windows all the way across each level allow for breezes to cool the homes in the hot, humid, southern summers.  The beautiful wrought iron railings just makes this home "pop" for me.

What do you think?  What style do you like?  The ranch of the Brady Bunch?  Or maybe you prefer a contemporary home?  Colonial, Federal, split level?  I would love to hear your thoughts.