Five Reasons a Seller May Reject Your Offer

I just read this interesting article on why sellers reject offers. Those folks are Realtor.com are pretty wise.

http://www.realtor.com/blogs/2010/07/16/five-reasons-a-seller-may-reject-your-offer/

Retirement - Social Security is not...

All old Social Security cards had a "NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION" message.
Our Social Security have had that message removed.

Franklin Roosevelt, introduced the Social Security (FICA) Program. He promised:

1.) That participation in the Program would be Completely voluntary,

It's no longer Voluntary


2.) That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual Incomes into the Program, now 7.65% on the first $90,000


3.) That the money the participants elected to put into the Program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year,

No longer tax deductible


4.) That the money the participants put into the independent 'Trust Fund' rather than into the general operating fund, and therefore, would only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement Program, and no other Government program, and, under Lyndon Johnson's "Fair Deal" the money was moved to The General Fund and Spent


5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income.

Under William Clinton up to 85% of your Social Security can be Taxed

Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are now nearing the time when we will be receiving a Social Security check every month and then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of the money we paid to the Federal government to 'put away.'

______________________________________________________________________________________________

I have never planned on depending on Social Security - it's always been a pipe dream meant for those who have their affairs in order to subsist in times like The Great Depression. As I understand it was supposed to go away in 1968, but was renewed as another governmental income stream.

I just recommend that whoever may be hoping to live off social security will make other plans before they get a rude awakening.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

For me that has been rental homes, even in these tough times people are renting and paying their rent. My rental website is www.robrents.com. I bought primarily around the University of Tennessee, my reasoning was that during good times people send their children to school, during tough times a lot of people go back to school and make it though with school loans and other things like that. The Universities are no longer economical ways to house your students or yourself while you are attending school. I have always loved the area of downtown Knoxville, both North and South, so why not invest in some of the small homes with a ready market.

Investing during the good times has really helped me get through these tough times. I believe that our economy is beginning to pull itself out of this latest "Repression," as I've heard it called. When it does and if government doesn't continue making it nearly impossible for investors to get loans, I recommend you set up your own Independent Security, whether it's rental homes or another self-directed smart small business, it's how my grandparents got through the Depression and it is how we can survive in the future.

Politics: Let's not let them eliminate the Mortgage Interest Deduction

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2820160820100728

A couple hours ago Reuters reported that a panel appointed by President Obama recommended the end of tax breaks for things like Mortgage Interest Deduction. I don't know about your clients, but the this is one of the major reasons many of my clients want to own homes.

On one hand the government tries to spur home sales for a short period of time by offering the $8,000 tax credit - then they discuss finding ways to make homeownership less and less attractive. Not only is it irresponsible, it happened and was a huge failure in the 80s. Sure it would bring another windfall into the treasury - until people stopped buying houses.

I suggest calling your congressman and make sure they know the consequences to this action. I know I'm going to write mine:

John J. Duncan: http://duncan.house.gov/services/contact-information.shtml

Reductions!

I have made reductions at three of the homes I have listed!

4904 Bay Street is now available at $114,900, 2610 Belvedere is now available at $39,500 and 2621 Fairview is now reduced to $99,900. All three of these are priced below market rates. I encourage you to check them out at www.robsellsknoxville.com or give me a call at 8658-385-9070 to take a look.

Easter and the Early-Spring Buying Frenzy.

Spring and Easter time in Knoxville is great. The picture above is my niece Jaylen enjoying her first Easter as more than a "bundle-baby." Real estate in Knoxville is still going well. Lots of people are working to find their perfect starter home before the dreaded April 30th deadline for the first-time homebuyer's tax credit. I am interested in the next couple of months. I suspect they will still be good, but conventional wisdom says that the demand has artificially been pulled forward in time - another way that people who aren't ready to buy homes are getting themselves into trouble.

I am confident that the folks I'm helping to buy their first homes are buying conservatively and they will be able to recuperate their investments and possible make money when they are ready to sell their homes. I just hope that other Realtors are looking out for their buyers, rather than trying to pad their wallets a little more by talking their clients into the bigger, fancier home that will be a statistic rather than a long-term home.

Staging Secrets on HGTV.com

I was recently asked to give some tips on staging your home to sell for HGTV.com. My friend and former client Leslie Judson did a great job editing my tips for print and I really enjoyed working with her. A link to the article:

Staging Secrets: Top 10 Ways To Wow Potential Buyers At Every Showing

Learn from realtors how to prepare your home for resale. Start with these 10 simple and smart tips.

Some of the tips:

Staging sells houses. If you can't hire a stager, there are several ways you can stay ahead of the curve and catch potential buyers the moment they step in your house. Broker Rob Howard has learned the importance of preparing for showings, and here are his top 10 tips.

1. Nothing Personal But Remove the Photos:
People can be very photogenic, but many clients are distracted by portraits of the sellers, and miss out on key selling points of the home. As an amateur photographer, I love displaying my work, but if I'm selling my house, art will be displayed without people in it. No matter how nice the display, personal photos are just that: too personal.

2. Accentuate the Positive:
My clients usually know what they like best about their home. It's usually what they saw that made them want to buy, or it's something that they added to make the home particularly special. Whether it is a staircase, a great view from the kitchen sink, a pergola or a three-car garage, do something to make the buyers linger in that magic space.

3. Smells Like Home:
I've heard of many real estate agents bringing in a toaster oven to bake cookies or fresh bread. One colleague joked about keeping an Easy-Bake oven in the trunk of her car. I usually opt for a few plug-in air fresheners. I like using vanilla in the kitchen, fresh scents in the laundry, apple cinnamon in the living room and such. Specific aromas add a theme to the tour, even when it's not an open house.

4. Ditch the Kitsch and Hide Your Opinions:
My favorite example of unnecessary and unwelcome kitsch is the pink pig sitting on the fridge door asking if you're eating again. It oinks when your potential buyer opens the refrigerator. This and other comical quips are great fun when you're living in your home, not when you're trying to sell it. Especially avoid politically-charged material that expresses strong opinions. You don't want a potential buyer to dislike you for your beliefs, so remove all questionable material out of sight.

5. Clean Up Your Act:
If you are selling your house, cleaning is a no-brainer. And clutter is a killer. Get a head start on packing, and begin boxing up extras that are taking up space on your mantel, table surfaces, etc. Clutter makes a house look smaller, and if you have a small house, it makes it feel claustrophobic. Not advantageous to a quick or profitable sale.

(Five more tips at the website!)


Rob Howard is a real estate agent and broker in Knoxville, Tennessee and has been buying, selling and renting homes for more than 10 years. He advocates the well-executed open house: If it's well-priced and beautiful, it will sell itself! For more real estate tips, visit www.robsellsknoxville.com.

117 Lakeview St. - My own creation

After a few months of work on rehabbing a house that I've owned for several years. I'm ready to reveal it to the world and offer it up for bids. The past few 40+ degree days have really made finishing it up easier. I'm in a quandary - there are two "regular" bedrooms and an office/playroom/storage area that is separated from the other rooms. It could be called another bedroom, but the builders of the house made it long and skinny. I'm talking 8' wide and 17' long! I initially put two large storage units in the room to augment the cabinet space in the kitchen, but I'm going to probably remove one of them because they make the room seem even skinnier. Anyway, all this to say that I've put a lot of effort and have had a great time working with my dad on this project. We brought in the experts when needed, but for the most part did the work ourselves.

See the photos at:

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

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.

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.

Podcast?

I am thinking of putting together a Knoxville podcast - some real estate, some culture, some general info - is there anything you would like to see on it? E-mail me: robsellsknoxville@gmail.com

Government Auctions

There are tons of properties around the nation that are seized or foreclosed with government guarantees. One of the key locations in Knoxville - a significant portion of Market Square is going on the auction block next month. You can see the bidding info here now.

You can also see the government guaranteed property foreclosures for your area here.

Both sites have other things that are to be auctioned than real estate, but

New Format: Real Estate + Life = Rob the Realtor

I think I'm going to loosen you on the requirement for this to be totally about Knoxville Real Estate - I think it will be more toward what I'm thinking about while in or around Knoxville Real Estate.

Today, I am thinking of a new listing I took, but also about how bad Britney Spears looked last night and how I'm really not into VMAs, though it played twice while I was sitting in the room on the computer.

I met with Rexpete - from feedthemonkeys today. He has a great office and some interesting ideas.

The Slump

What a mixed bag of real estate we've found ourselves in. The 80s bail-out looks to be in for a repeat. What does this mean for Knoxville? Well, no doubt the sales have slowed down, many investors looking for a quick flip are holding their breath and not too happily.

I recommend that this is the time to buy. There are tons of foreclosures on the market in all areas of town right now - the interest rates are still low - in the 6%s - that's an awesome rate. The heady days of 4.875% (the lowest rate I've ever gotten on an investment purchase) are long gone, but for those looking to build something real now, I recommend rental investment.

I am purring my money where my mouth is and it's always been in a conservative place. Rentals have always been the way to go if you're buying a house - what does the current real estate slump mean for the rental home investor? More people need to rent your homes. What do real estate booms mean for a rental investor? The cost of the homes that others are buying for you are increasing in value more quickly - making your current investments more easily leveraged for more purchases.

True, I haven't seen the bottom fall out of the market in Knoxville, there's no reason to think it will. Flipping in good times is easy. Renting in good or bad times is not hard.