Archive for the 'General' Category
Park in Honor Of Admiral James David Glasgow Farragut
March 8th, 2010 categories: General
On May 2,2010 there is going to be a new park in honor of Admiral James David Glasgow Farragut. The park area is next to the Town of Farragut. The park area and landscaping is already done and just waiting for the big day. There is going to to be a 7 ft statue of Admiral Farragut. The 7 ft sculpture of Admiral Farragut is being done by local sculptor Linda Rankin.
| Discussion: No Comments »
December 2009 Case-Shiller Data Shows Battered Markets In Bona Fide Recovery
February 24th, 2010 categories: Buyers, Case-Shiller Index, General, Market Trends, Sellers, Statistics
Using data compiled in December, Standard & Poors released its Case-Shiller Index Tuesday. The report shows home prices down just 2.5% on an annual basis, a figure much lower than the 8.7% annual drop reported after Q3.
According to Case-Shiller representatives, the housing market is “in better shape than it was this time last year”, but some of the summer’s momentum has been lost. 15 of 20 tracked markets declined in value between November and December 2009.
Meanwhile, it’s interesting to note the 5 markets that didn’t decline — Detroit, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix and San Diego. Each of these metro regions were among the hardest hit nationwide when home prices first broke. Now, they’re leading the pack in price recovery.
| Discussion: No Comments »
How To Replace Your HVAC Air Filter
February 22nd, 2010 categories: General, Home How To
If you are challenged like I am around the house. I’m always looking for little tips on “How TO” do easy things like replacing and air filter.
Replacing a home’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) air filter is one way to keep the unit’s motor running right. It’s an oft-forgotten part of keeping a well-run home. And, it’s simple, too.
In the two-minute video above, you’ll learn how to replace an air filter from start-to-finish. There’s no need for tools and no need for experience — the job is about as basic as home maintenance jobs come.
Air filters should be changed at least quarterly but it’s okay to change on a monthly rotation, too — especially if your home has shedding pets, or is under construction or repair. Just remember that not all air filters are created equal.
In this famous video, we see how $0.99 filters can fail to get the job done. Spending $10-15 for a filter that works is a better idea.
Save money by buying in bulk.
| Discussion: No Comments »
Knoxville Home Buyers Now Is The Time To Buy!!!
February 18th, 2010 categories: Buyers, FOMC Minutes, General, Home How To, Market Trends
Looks Like Those Low Interest Rates Are Heading North…..
Mortgage markets reeled Wednesday after the Federal Reserve released the minutes from its January 26-27, 2010 meeting. Mortgage rates in Tennessee are now at their highest levels since the start of the year.
The Fed Minutes is a follow-up document, delivered 3 weeks after an official FOMC meeting. It’s a companion piece to the post-meeting press release, detailing the debates and discussions that shaped our central bankers’ policy decisions.
The Minutes is a terrific look into the Fed’s collective mind and, yesterday, Wall Street didn’t like what it saw. Specifically, the report disclosed that:
- The Fed plans to break support for mortgage markets after March 31, 2010
- Raising the Fed Funds Rate will be a key part of the Fed’s strategy to tighten monetary policy
- The fundamentals behind consumer spending strengthened modestly
Furthermore, the Fed Minutes said that there is a growing risk of “higher medium-term inflation”. Inflation, of course, is awful for mortgage rates.
| Discussion: No Comments »
The Best And Worst Cities For Commuters (2010 Edition)
February 17th, 2010 categories: General, Statistics
According to the Census Bureau, 2.8 million people commute to work 90 minutes or more each day, in each direction.
Now, your daily commute may not be as long, but time spent in cars, trains and buses is time away from work and from family. Drive-time can affect a person’s Quality of Life and it’s one reason why Forbes Magazine’s Best and Worst Commutes is worth reviewing.
Measuring travel time, road congestion and travel delays in the 60 largest metropolitan areas, Forbes ranks city commutes from best-to-worst with Salt Lake City topping the list and Tampa-St. Petersburg finishing it.
| Discussion: No Comments »
How To Remove Stickers And Adhesive-Based Price Tags From Just About Anything
February 16th, 2010 categories: General, Home How To
Sometimes, price tags just don’t want to unstick. No matter how hard you scrub and scrape, tacky residence stays behind. Turns out, getting “the stick” off your stickers isn’t so hard when you have the right tools.
| Discussion: No Comments »
Check Out ROUXBARB In West Knoxville
February 15th, 2010 categories: General
I decided to plan a special night out for Valentines Day with Leslie. So I got on Yelp.com and starting doing some research on some different restaurants to try out. I came across ROUXBARB at 130 South Northshore in West Knoxville.
The menu has a variety that is just outstanding like Hunter’s Rabbit and Smoked Breast of Duck. They had a special the night Leslie and I went there Halibut with King Crab. It was highly recommended by our server so we had it and it was outstanding. Chef Bruce Bogartz is the chef and he does and outstanding job along with his staff. They really take the time to prepare the food and you can tell once you dine with them. One other thing we really liked about our experience there was being able to bring our favorite bottle of wine.
Last but not least is the desserts WOW what a way to finish off a great meal. We split a chocolate mousse to finish our meal off but there where lots of choices
If you are looking for a different dining experience that is truly amazing check out ROUXBARB I know we will be going back again because we truly did enjoy our dining experience there.
| Discussion: No Comments »
Northshore Town Center chosen as site of elementary school in West Knoxville
February 12th, 2010 categories: Buyers, General, Market Trends, Sellers
Knox County School Board has chosen the Northshore Town Center as the new location for it’s elementary school in West Knoxville. Knox County Schools had been considering 3 different locations that I wrote about in a previous post
The vote was 7-1 with Cindy Buttry being the only no vote. Frankly I think she voted the right way. The other locations where off Choto and Northshore. From a Realtor’s perspective I think the locations off Choto and Northshore where better choices. I think this location is too close to A.L Lotts Elementary School They will move kids from A. L Lotts and Farragut Elementary. The future growth is happening out West Knox in the Farragut Area.
I don’t think it was the right location for the new elementary school but the Knox County School Board thinks different. How about you what do you think?
| Discussion: No Comments »
Knoxville One Of The Top 5 Cities Real Estate Market To Rebound First….
January 23rd, 2010 categories: Buyers, General, Market Trends, Sellers
The cities that are coming back the strongest are the ones that did not hit have the pricing bubble, which was followed by the foreclosure crisis. Forbes did a study of America’s 100 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) which are defined by US census. One of the key factors in the ranking is the low foreclosure rate. Forbes also looked at the delinquency rate of the city and foreclosures will be much lower and will clear up faster in cities with low delinquency rate. They looked at the trends for these cities to determine the ranking.
| Discussion: No Comments »
FHA To Change Guidelines…How Will It Effect Knoxville Home Buyers??
January 20th, 2010 categories: Buyers, General, Market Trends, Sellers
Patti Francisco with Wells Fargo sent along information on this anticipated announcement from HUD today relaying changes to FHA lending terms in it’s continued effort to shore up the program against increasing financial losses and the threat of needing a government bailout.
The changes being announced are expected to be:
- Increase the Mortgage Insurance Premium which is collected at closing and most often financed with the loan from 1.75% to 2.25% of the loan amount.
- Require that any borrower with a credit score less than 580 put down 10%. 3.5% down will continue to be required by HUD with credit scores equal to and greater than 580. ***Note that most lenders apply their own credit policy overlay on top of the HUD credit score requirements, i.e. Wells Fargo currently has a credit score minimum of 600 for our FHA transactions. Most other lenders have a 620 or 640 FHA credit score minimum.
- Seller concessions will be limited to 3% of the purchase price versus the currently 6% limit.
| Discussion: No Comments »
