Open House - 4904 Bay St. Knoxville, TN 37912

I'll be doing an open house this weekend at the home listed below. To see more photos and get more information on it, check out www.robsellsknoxville.com to see the full listing information.

SUNDAY, Nov. 15, 2009 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.

New listing: 4904 Bay St, Knoxville, 37912 - Pleasant Ridge near Victor Ashe Park!

Make yourself at home in this great tri-level house in the middle of all that Northwest Knoxville has to offer.Three blocks from Victor Ashe Park! Many updates, new wrap-around deck, large garage/workshop with full finished basement. Updated kitchen with many touches. Come take a look!

Directions: South on Pleasant Ridge, left on HoCoTaKe Ln., right on Bay St.

1500 Sq. Ft., 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, great neighborhood.

New listing: 2336 Sylvania - dead-end street in South Knoxville!

Well cared-for home in South Knoxville neighborhood. Tons of space up and down. Workshop/ finished area in the basement. Ready to move in. New roof, hardwood floors, spacious bedrooms, half-bath in the master, open kitchen plan - fantastic home on a cul-de-sac street.

Bedrooms:	3	Baths:	1.5
Sq Ft: 1614		Year Built: 1961

New Listing: 6015 Glennifer - Fountain City

http://www.robsellsknoxville.com/Knoxville/Tennessee/Homes/672272/Fountain_City/Agent/Listing_3580882.html

Check out this new listing! It's a 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath cedar sided home in Fountain City just far enough out of the hustle and bustle of downtown Fountain City, but close enough to be in the middle of town in a couple minutes.

Summer Time and the Windows are Leaky

I live in an old house. It's a 1936 Craftsman in an area claimed by two historic neighborhoods Fourth and Gill and Historic Old North Knoxville. For the longest time I thought that there was an historic overlay that prevented me from getting new windows, mainly because the ones that appear "historically accurate" would be so expensive I couldn't buy them. There are those who disagree and say that the "greenest windows" are the ones in your home already. I can see their point. But historically we didn't have a lot of storm windows around here and I'm not sure I'd like the way they'd look.

Happily, with the stimulus tax credit for efficient windows gives a $1,500 incentive to do it, plus I learned that the overlay is not in effect yet at my house, so any real changes made before it takes effect will be "grandfathered" into the historical home. Check out more information on energy efficient windows here.

Does this mean I'll go buy the cheapest vinyl windows on the market, definitely not, I will want to sell this house some year and while energy efficiency is a big draw in an old house. People buy homes like mine for its character and ugly old houses are not like ugly little puppies. People won't talk themselves into it because they're so ugly they're cute, they just find a cute old house. There is tons of information about preservation from the national park service here.

In fact, houses that are cute in my neighborhood sell in at least 1/2 the time of those with visual deficiencies. It's the same in new neighborhoods. Maybe even more true. So keep in mind that energy efficiency and aestheic are both VERY important when considering your next home project. Character sells homes, high electric and gas bills will keep a home from selling!

As for tonight, I'm sleeping under the fans.

Knoxville values decrease 2.2% versus national average 14% drop.

When is it good news that home "values" are decreasing in your area? When they are decreasing a lot more elsewhere, I suppose. According to a recent report from Zillow.com, Knoxville Tennessee home values have decreased a little over 2% in the first quarter of this year - that is compared to 14.1% nationally.

Knoxville is known as a linear market, where overall effects are less whether it's the "irrational exuberance" touted by Allen Greenspan in the 1990s when our properties were increasing by around 3%-5% annually as opposed to major market 20% jumps. Now when things are not so rosy in those other areas, Knoxville is noticing a small dip.

Anecdotally, I have noticed an increased number of contacts from people moving in-land from those areas with more cyclical markets, probably contributing to a lower price decrease in this area.

For more information on the Zillow report, check out: http://www.zillow.com/reports/RealEstateMarketReports.htm?city=KnoxvilleTN

Spring Festivals - A Great Time To Live In Knoxville

Every music group, it seems, who is traveling around to Charlotte, Atlanta, Bonnaroo or another major venue in the southeast adds a stop in Knoxville. This is largely due to a local company called AC Entertainment. Anyone who isn't aware, should know they are the reason musicians like Phillip Glass, David Byrne, Elvis Costello and others have graced the stage of the Tennessee Theatre in the past year.

Look them up on Facebook and other social media networks twitter.com/ac_ent, for one - it's another great reason to love life in Knoxville!

Whew! Dogwood winter.

It's dogwood time in Tennessee - in you are anywhere near Market Square - go check out a great band Phil Pollard and the Band of Humans - with Cowboy Mouth tomorrow night.

Adventures in Landlording - Ironing the carpet

Adventures in Landlording!
A Realtor's Perspective.


I have started bringing my camera to showings. These pics are from a home I showed recently. It is a foreclosed investment property where, I suppose, some cost-conscious landlord repaired an area of carpet where their renter had left their iron just a little too long. I'd give it a grade-A for resourcefulness and a D- for follow through - this was just laying there - not connected to the floor in any way!

New Listing: 2336 Sylvania Ave, Knoxville, 37920

New listing!

2336 Sylvania Ave, Knoxville, 37920

Fantastic home on a cul-de-sac street in South Knoxville. It's a few blocks from Chapman Highway, about 5 minutes to downtown, near Ijams Nature Center and lots of other amenities in the area. the home has 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths in - half bath is in the master.

It's a well cared-for home in South Knoxville neighborhood. Tons of space up and down. Workshop/ finished area in the basement. Ready to move in. New roof, hardwood floors, spacious bedrooms, half-bath in the master, open kitchen plan - fantastic home on a cul-de-sac street.

Spring, I can tell it's here.

It's been a great real estate time. Lots of folks asking about different places. My fiancee has decided to sell her condo, I wonder if she'll call a Realtor.

It was a beautiful day in Knoxville. Between calls I put on my landlord hat and worked on my house on Moody in SoKno. New closet in place, I pulled English ivy off the brick walls. I'm kinda scarred from that - almost as tenacious as the lovely kudzu that's eaten the south.