What to do when your Mortgage is Rejected
Don’t be surprised if your friendly lender, the one who invites you to sit down and apply for a mortgage, ushers you politely out the door empty-handed after you’ve chatted a bit. The sudden chill isn’t personal. The Mortgage Bankers Association, or MBA, in...
USA Today: Nashville Works to Liven the Gulch
NASHVILLE — For decades it was little more than an eyesore, a sunken warren of freight railroad tracks and run-down brick warehouses that was home mostly to vagrants and a bluegrass bar with boarded windows. The Gulch, as it is known, is now the focus of a $400...
Home Gyms Offer Excellent Staging Opportunity
Equipping a home with an exercise area can increase its appeal to buyers. Despite the current economic slowdown, retail sales of home gym equipment continue to grow, topping $5 billion in 2007 and rising another 3 percent in 2008, according to the National Sporting...
Mortgages Tailored for Islamic Home Buyers
A few years ago, an Islamic home buyer would have found it almost impossible to get a mortgage compliant with Islam’s sharia law, which prevents the faithful from paying interest. Today, sharia-compliant loans are a growing market.
Realtor Humor
Man Robs Bank After Foreclosure A masked gunman held up an Athens, Ga., bank on Thursday, saying that he was only getting his money back after the lender had foreclosed on his home. The man entered Regions Bank wearing a black ski mask and pointed a handgun at a...
Realtors Spend Money on Print Marketing because Sellers Expect It
I just ran across this old article from 2006 and found it more relavent today than ever. Sellers too should realize that internet marketing now reaches far more potential buyers than do print ads. Marketing should be directed to a targeted group who have a higher...
Nashville Accolade Spotlight
You know, this really is a fabulous place to live. Take a look at some of the recent awards Nashville has won: America’s Friendliest Cities The Today Show named Nashville one of America’s five friendliest cities. May 2008 2007 Competitiveness Award Tennessee is the...
Steph’s Nashville Favorites
I wanted to pass along a few of my favorite things in Nashville to do, see, shop, and eat. Today I tackle “To Do”: Trivia Time! This game, hosted by area bars, is a hoot! A fairly serious competition has formed between rivial teams who compete for the area pennant. My...
East Nashville Crime Rates Drop 8%
In the Metro Nashville area, mayor crime is down for the fourth year in a row, according to the Metro Police Department’s Annual Crime Report and at it’s lowest in 17 years. The report shows major crime was down 2.1% in 2007 compared to 2006, with homicides down 9.9%,...
The Heathiest Housing Markets in 2009
From a recent article on www.Bulider.com : #11. Nashville, Tennessee 2008 total building permits: 8,142 Nashville, the 20th largest home building market, operated under the radar of the national housing boom. It didn’t ramp up wildly during the boom years, and it’s...
The Gulch Certified as Green Neighborhood
"Nashville’s Gulch has been certified as the first green neighborhood in the South and one of only about a dozen in the country. Mayor Karl Dean and Gulch developer MarketStreet Enterprises made the announcement Tuesday morning. The Gulch was one of about 240 projects...
Mortgage Tips: Get Ready
Here’s a warning for potential borrowers: Nervous lenders have tough new rules and are paperwork-crazy. Borrowers are going to have to prove they are the borrower they say they are; homebuyers should consider these things before they apply for a loan. 1. Down payments...
The NEW Home Mortgage. What You Need to Know
Shopping for a home loan? Things have probably changed since the last time you purchased. Here’s a great article for CNN keeping you up on what you need to consider.
Retail Once Thrived at Downtown Loft Residences
“We recently purchased a loft at the Art Avenue Lofts located at 231 Fifth Ave. N. We are trying to figure out what businesses occupied the building and the general history of the building. Any ideas?” — Mike and Stacy For more than 60 years and until 1991 this...
How To Pay Less For Insurance
Fed up with high premiums? Here are some great ways to cut your costs: Tell your agent how your risk became lower. -Did the city install a fire hydrant near your home? That could lower your rates! -Some auto insurance agents offer discounts to drivers who motor less...
Get The Mortgage Facts:
I’ve seen some mis-information in the media lately about the required size of a down payment for a mortgage in today’s market, and the blog world is abuzz with misconceptions. An individual may be required to put down 20 percent based on that person’s financial...
Living in Nashville is Quite Affordable!
The cost of buying and maintaining a home is pretty reasonable if you live in certain Midwestern or Southern cities, according to Forbes magazine’s new report. To determine America’s least expensive places to own a home, Forbes used data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s...
Nashville Named America’s 39th Most Walkable City
By the popular WalkScore website. A nice achievement considering the poor quality of mass transportation here. The neighborhoods rounding out the top 10: Neighborhood Scores: 1. East End 86 2. Edgehill 79 3. Belmont Hillsboro 78 4. Melrose 78 5. Historic Edgefield 74...
Middle TN Condo Prices Exceed Single Family Home Prices
The Greater Nashville Association of Realtors released the June and second quater sales figures today in a press release with big news in the condominium market. For the first time ever, the median price of a condominium is HIGHER than the median price of a single...
FHA may be a hassel, but here’s why it could be right for you…
Here’s a great article from the Washington Post highlighting why FHA is once again becoming a major player in the mortgage market. For the past few months, nearly every loan that Laura Triplett has closed for customers at SunTrust Mortgage has been backed by the...