Special offer

Morristown, TN Real Estate News

By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
 You are not going to make yourself look better by blowing out someone else's candles. Don't let your ice cream melt while you are counting someone else's sprinkles.  Stay clapping for other's until it is your turn to be clapped for.I am big on treating people with respect.  (That means even the people that you may not be fond of). As the old saying goes ... kill 'em with kindness! Smile at the world and the world and the world just might smile back! Happy Hump Day Everyone! The Elkins Home Selling Team with Elite Realty Group provides services with Morristown TN Real Estate For Sale and Morristown TN Homes For Sale to home buyers and home sellers in Morristown Tennessee, Whitesburg, Talbott, Russellville, Sevierville, Bean Station, Dandridge, Pigeon Forge and surrounding communities.We...
Comments 8
By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
FICO® Score - a Brief Explanation When you apply for a mortgage loan, you expect your lender to pull a credit report and look at whether you’ve made your payments on time. What you may not expect is that they seem to be more interested in your FICO® score. “What’s a FICO® score?” is a common reaction. Each time your credit report is pulled, it is run through a computer program with a built-in scorecard. Points are awarded or deducted based on certain items such as how long you have had credit cards, whether you make your payments on time, if your credit balances are near maximum, and assorted other variables. When the credit report prints in your lender’s office, the total score is displayed. Your score can be anywhere between the high 300’s and the low 850’s. Lenders wanted to determin...
Comments 0
By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
The Functions of an Escrow Buying or selling a home (or other piece of real property) usually involves the transfer of large sums of money. It is imperative that the transfer of these funds and related documents from one party to another be handled in a neutral, secure and knowledgeable manner. For the protection of buyer, seller and lender, the escrow process was developed. As a buyer or seller, you want to be certain all conditions of sale have been met before property and money change hands. The technical definition of an escrow is a transaction where one party engaged in the sale, transfer or lease of real or personal property with another person delivers a written instrument, money or other items of value to a neutral third person, called an escrow agent or escrow holder. This thir...
Comments 0
By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Living Trusts Estate planners often recommend Living Trusts as a viable option when contemplating the manner in which to hold title to real property. When a property is held in a Living Trust, title companies have particular requirements to facilitate the transaction. While not comprehensive, answers to many commonly asked questions are below. If you have questions that are not answered below, your title company representative may be able to assist you, however, one may wish to seek legal counsel. Who are the parties to a Trust? A Family Trust is a typical trust in which the Husband and Wife are the Trustees and their children are the Beneficiaries. Those who establish the trust and transfer their property into it are known as Trustors or Settlors. The settlors usually appoint themselve...
Comments 0
By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Insist on a Home Inspection A professional home inspection protects both you and the buyer. It allows both you and the buyer the opportunity to learn about the property’s defects. A home inspection usually covers the following: Plumbing conditions - if there is leakage or clogging Roofing conditions - the extent of deterioration, if there is leakage Electrical conditions - if there are inadequate circuits or potential fire hazards Structural problems - if there are problems with the underlying foundation of your home As a seller, the home inspection reports protect you because it establishes the actual condition of the property at the time of sale.   The Elkins Home Selling Team with Elite Realty Group provides services with Morristown TN Real Estate For Saleand Morristown TN Homes For ...
Comments 0
By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Hot, Normal, and Cold Markets Hot Market This is an extremely competitive market and is advantageous to the seller. Sometimes, homes will sell as soon as they are listed or even before homes are listed. Typically, during a hot market, multiple offers will be made on each home and more often than not, homes will sell for more than the asking price. It is even more crucial to be prepared and to be ready as a buyer when the market is hot. It can be easy to get caught up in the bid for a home, but if you are prepared (pre-approved, solid in price range, realistic about your needs), it is easier to remain focused on your housing needs and price range. Normal Market In a normal market, there is a fairly large number of homes available and an average number of buyers. This market does not nece...
Comments 0
By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Documenting Your Assets - Verifying Your Down Payment When buying a home, it is not enough to just come up with the money. With the exception of no asset verification loans, lenders want to verify where the money for your new home will be coming from. If you can document that the funds are coming from your personal savings, the lender is more confident of your strength as a borrower. In addition, if you can verify that you have additional assets that are not needed for the down payment, it is important to document those, too. Additional assets are reserves you can draw upon during times of trouble, such as unemployment, medical emergencies, and similar occurrences. Additional assets can also help to document that you have a history of saving money, which makes you a more dependable borr...
Comments 0
By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Statements of Information What’s in a name? When a title company seeks to uncover matters affecting title to real property, the answer is, “Quite a bit.” Statements of Information provide title companies with the information they need to distinguish the buyers and sellers of real property from others with similar names. After identifying the true buyers and sellers, title companies may disregard the judgments, liens or other matters on the public records under similar names. To help you better understand this sensitive subject, the Land Title Association has answered some of the questions most commonly asked about Statements of Information. What is a Statement of Information? A Statement of Information is a form routinely requested from the buyer, seller and borrower in a transaction wh...
Comments 0
By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Lead Poisoning Lead poisoning is a serious problem that can lead to adverse health problems. In children, high levels of lead can cause damage to the brain and nervous system, behavioral and learning problems, slow growth, and hearing problems. In adults, lead poisoning can cause reproductive problems, high blood pressure, digestive problems, nerve disorder, memory and concentration problems, and muscle and joint pain. Lead poisoning is especially a problem in cities with older buildings. Typically, lead is present in the paint from older buildings, in the water supply, and in the environment from cars and buses. Preventing lead poisoning in large cities, where there is such widespread possibility for exposure is both difficult and expensive. Federal programs have attempted to address t...
Comments 0
By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Getting the Highest Price in the Shortest Time In order to get the highest price in the shortest time, you need to know how to market your home. The better you market your home, the more offers you will get. And the more offers you get, the more choices you have to get the price and terms you want. The most important factor of marketing your home is pricing it right. Your price should be adjusted to reflect the market and your property’s worth. The key is to get as many people as possible checking out your fairly priced property. If your property is not priced fairly, there will be no buyers because your price is set too high. Another important factor is the condition of your home. Make sure that your home looks ready to be sold. Fix any defects (peeling or faded paint, cracks, stains, ...
Comments 0
By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Getting a Legitimate Lender and Getting Pre-Approved It used to be that buyers could go house shopping and when they have found their dream home, then they go to get pre-approved. However, in today’s market, that has proven to be one of the least effective methods in landing the dream home. Most lenders can pre-qualify you for a mortgage over the phone. Based on general questions about your income, debt, assets, and credit history, lenders can estimate how much mortgage you qualify for. However, being pre-qualified and pre-approved are different things. Pre-approval means that you have applied for a mortgage; you have filled out the mortgage application, received your credit report, and verified your employment, assets, etc. When you are pre-approved, you know exactly what the maximum l...
Comments 0
By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Closing Costs When Buying or Refinancing a Home This is a detailed summary of costs you may have to pay when you buy or refinance your home. They are listed in the order that they should appear on a Good Faith Estimate you obtain from a mortgage lender. There are two broad categories of closing costs. Non-recurring closing costs are items that are paid once and you never pay again. Recurring closing costs are items you pay time and again over the course of home ownership, such as property taxes and homeowner’s insurance. Some of the items that appear here do not traditionally appear on a lender’s Good Faith Estimate and lenders are not required to show all of these items. Non-Recurring Closing Costs Associated with the Lender. Loan Origination Fee - The loan origination fee is often ref...
Comments 1
By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Required Reporting to the I.R.S. Sellers of real property will have certain information regarding the sale reported to the Internal Revenue Service. This required reporting is a consequence of the Tax Reform Act of 1986; it is intended to encourage taxpayer compliance and aid in audit and enforcement efforts by the I.R.S. To help you better understand this subject, the Land Title Association has answered some of the questions most commonly asked about Required Reporting to the I.R.S. Who is required to report to the I.R.S.? Sellers of real property, under guidelines established by the I.R.S., are required to have their gross proceeds from the sale reported on a Form 1099S. When a settlement agent is used, the I.R.S. makes this agent responsible for the delivery of the information on the...
Comments 0
By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Environmental Issues When purchasing a piece of property, it is important to be aware of any environmental liabilities associated with it. For example, you should find out if there are any registered underground tanks within several miles of the property, known contaminated properties in the neighborhood, or property owners who have been fined by the government for failing to meet environmental safety standards. Before, it took a costly site investigation to acquire this type of information, but now there are online environmental databases available at a fraction of the cost. Anyone can access reports on otherwise hard to detect environmental issues. With these databases, it is possible to obtain a list of hazards near a property, or spills and violations attributed to businesses nearby...
Comments 0
By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
For Sale By Owner - A Good Idea? FSBO (pronounced fizz-bo), or For Sale By Owner, is a way of selling your home without the use of a professional real estate agent or broker. The idea behind FSBO is that by selling your home yourself, you save the approximate 6% that would be the agents’ commission. 6% may not sound like a lot, but it can add up, especially on more expensive homes. But before you run off and decide to sell your home FSBO, you must remember that to get a savings like that, there must be a cost. So what’s the catch? Selling FSBO is hard. A lot harder. Only about 10% of sellers that decide to do FSBO are successful at it. And not all of them end up saving themselves money. FSBO sellers often end up accepting a lower price for their home than they would with an agent. There...
Comments 1
By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Finding the Right Seller The best seller is one who is highly motivated. A highly motivated seller is more likely to sell at a price that is less than his or her house is actually worth. And it matters that you find out why. Learning the reason why can help you get the price you want and help the seller get what they want: a timely sale. When given the opportunity to meet with sellers, ask them why they are selling. The reason could be anything, such as a job change to a new location or financial problems. If you can solve their problem, whether it is cash related or time related, do so. For example, if the sellers are highly motivated because they need to move quickly, give them a fast sale - and a lower price. If you can make an offer, even a low one, that gives them cash in a short t...
Comments 0
By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Adjustable Rate Mortgages - The Basics An adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) has an interest rate that fluctuates periodically. This is in contrast to a fixed rate mortgage, which always has the same interest rate. Every ARM has basic components: An index A margin Adjustment Period An interest rate cap An initial interest rate The Index An ARM’s interest rate is tied to one of many economic indices, some examples of which are the 1-year constant maturity Treasury security, the Cost of Funds Index, or the London Interbank Offered Rate. Different indices move at different rates so know the characteristics of the index used for your ARM. The Margin The interest rate for your ARM will be calculated by adding a margin to the interest rate from the index. The margin is basically the markup charge...
Comments 0
By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Creative Financing Creative financing: You’ve heard of it, and, as a seller, the idea sounds pretty attractive. But, do you know everything you need to know about carrying back a second; essentially, about becoming a lender? You better know the same things that financial institutions know - you better know about lender’s title insurance. It’s time to sell your $150,000 home, a home that you have owned for fifteen years, a home in which you have substantial equity. The loan terms call for a $20,000 down payment from your buyer, a new $100,000 loan from a local savings and loan, and for you, the seller, to carry back a note for the remaining $30,000. Will you, the seller, need title insurance? Yes, you will. Everyone who retains an interest in the property needs title insurance. When you ...
Comments 0
By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Condominium and PUD Ownership Builders, in an effort to combat the dual problem of an increasing population and a declining availability of prime land, are increasingly turning to common interest developments (CIDs) as a means to maximize land use and offer homebuyers convenient, affordable housing. The two most common forms of common interest developments in many states are Condominiums and Planned Unit Developments, often referred to as PUDs. The essential characteristics shared by these two forms of ownership are: Common ownership of private residential property Mandatory membership of all owners in an association which controls use of the common property Governing documents which establish the procedures for governing the association, the rules which the owners must follow in the us...
Comments 0
By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Finding the Right Agent Not all agents work the same way. The most important attribute of an agent is that he/she is well connected to the real estate industry. He/she should know the market and provide information on past sales, current listings, his or her marketing plan, and at least 4 solid references. In addition, you also want to look for an agent that is honest, assertive, and one that best understands your needs. Try to go with a local agent. They can better serve your needs because they should be more familiar with the local market conditions, local prices, and what’s hot or not in your community.   The Elkins Home Selling Team with Elite Realty Group provides services with Morristown TN Real Estate For Saleand Morristown TN Homes For Sale to home buyers and home sellers in Mor...
Comments 0
By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Home > Blogs > Tennessee > Hamblen County > Morristown > 37814 > Morristown TN Real Estate For Sale -  Build a Plan of Action and Get Ready 12,207 views Morristown TN Homes For Sale Morristown TN By Michael Elkins | Broker in Morristown, TN    Morristown TN Real Estate For Sale - Build a Plan of Action and Get Ready Posted under: Home Buying in 37814, Foreclosure in 37814, Investment Properties in 37814  |  July 31, 2014 6:52 AM  |  1 view  |  No comments Email Alerts Send to a Friend Post to Facebook Post to Twitter RSS Build a Plan of Action and Get Ready Buying a home will probably rank as one of the biggest personal investments one can make. Being organized and in control will contribute significantly to getting the best home deal possible with the least amount of stress. It’s impor...
Comments 1
Explore Morristown, TN
Morristown, TN Real Estate Professionals