Chattanooga Real Estate Blog

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".

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’m so disgusted I can’t even comment.  The Chattanoogan has the whole story.

The Chattanooga Hamilton County Planning Commission released their agenda for the March 12th meeting.  The meeting will be 1 pm at the  county courthouse.

Neal Pascal plead guilty today and agreed to assist prosecutors in his mortgage fraud case.  If you are reading from out of the Chattanooga area, Neal Pascal was a weatherman for 20 some years on our local ABC television station.  He resigned a month or so ago when he was charged with mortgage fraud in a federal investigation.

The Chattanoogan has all the details but in a nutshell he preyed on For Sale By Owners who had no idea what they were doing.  He was in cahoots with the title company and his lender.  The FSBO may or may not have know what they were doing was illegal but if they had been represented by a REALTOR® the chances of this scam happening would have been slim to none.  I don’t know any REATLORS® who are willing to risk their license on something like this.  He has plead to only one offense but he bought and sold many many properties.  Speculation is that this was a common practice.

He is facing up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for just one offense.  Remember this if anyone ever asks you to change the sales price and give the difference to the buyer for any reason.  It’s illegal and you could wind up behind bars!

This act, commonly referred to as the “FCRA”, is a list of the rules and regulations that govern lenders and the credit reporting agencies. You should become familiar with your rights under this act which can be accessed at no cost at the Federal Trade Commissions web site. Some highlights are:

      *Permissible Purpose – There are only eight legal reasons why your credit reports can be accessed. These are called “Permissible Purposes.” Some of the more obvious reasons are:

     *Consumer Disclosure – If you ask for a copy of your own credit report then this is a permissible purpose.

     *As Part of a Legitimate Business Transaction – If you fill out an application for credit then this gives the lender permissible purpose to pull your credit reports.

     *Your Right to Dispute Your Credit Information – Every consumer in the U.S who has a credit report also has the right to dispute the information in that report if they feel it is incorrect, outdated or unverifiable. The FCRA lays out the process and requirements on how to file a dispute and what kind of turnaround time your lenders and the credit reporting agencies have to complete their investigation.

      *Your Right to a Free Copy of all Three of Your Credit Reports – Recently the FCRA was amended by an act called FACTA also known as the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act. FACTA calls for national disclosure of credit reports for free. By September 2005 every person in the U.S can get a free copy of his or her three credit reports. Requesting your free copies if very easy. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com to verify your eligibility.

If you’ve been looking at a HUD foreclosure and trying to decide if now is the time to make an offer this news from HUD might just help you decide.  HUD is offering an incentive on all HUD owned homes sold between December 8th and January 5th to owner occupants who purchase wiht an FHA insured loan.  Including in the "FHA Brings the Holidays Home" sales event are a $2500 home inprovement allowance and a minimum $100 down payment. 

Additional information can be found on HUD‘s website.

In a press release yesterday Mark Walsh hits the highpoints on the FTC complaint filed against Zillow by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.  It’s about time  9 months of providing inaccurate home valuations is 9 months to long.  I have posted the press release below and you can access the FTC complaint here.

An amendment to the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act which became effective July 1, 2006 makes knowingly advertising or marketing a residence as having more bedrooms than are permitted by the residence’s subsurface sewage disposal system permit a violation of the Act.

In order to assist home owners obtain needed information, the Division of Ground Water Protection (GWP), with the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation, has developed the “Application for Information Regarding Subsurface Sewage Disposal (SSD) System Permit and Certificate of Completion” form for use across the state.  The data requested on the form will allow the GWP to search their records and provide information they have on file concerning a specific property. 

An application may be obtained at and GWP office or on the GWP website.  The completed application may be delivered or faxed to the local GWP office in the county where the property is located.

This document is required on all homes in Tennessee with a septic tank prior to listing the property.