And you are in Nashville's Berry Hill, then stop by Sam and Zoe's (behind Baja Burrito) and get Natalie to make you a latte with the perfect leaf on top!  Thanks Natalie!  You rock! 02/10/2008

It sure was a lot of fun!  Over the Holidays, I decided that I wanted a change from my boring kitchen counter top.  When I moved into my house a little over a year ago, I knew I had a project ahead of me (I bought it at under market value) and over time I have been improving it.  Pics of the kitchen when I moved in: Can you even fathom the pastel vinyl?  I have at least had some nice tile put in.  And there were big garage-type fluorescent lights.  I had them taken out as well and had my cute chandeliers put in and a nice fixture over the sink put in.  Oh, and I have changed out all of the handles and the sink faucet.  But the pink laminate countertop was really wearing me down.   (Really what the kitchen needs is a complete overhaul.  But I am not quite ready to take on that project so... 02/06/2008

Some have suggested that mold services including testing and assessments are not necessary.  I disagree and here is why. First let me say that mold services are not for everybody.  At HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, we have undergone training at two agencies and I can say that this is a complicated subject and a very serious service to offer.  It is not unreasonable for some to go through the training and find that they simply do not understand the material.  If you are poorly trained, or you just cannot understand the information, then you will not be able to offer a quality service.  I encourage those people not to engage in mold assessments. Second, I agree with those who see a conflict of interest when an individual is trained, tested and "certified" by the same agency (... 02/04/2008

So, you're thinking of remodeling your kitchen?     How much will it cost??????????  In Nashville???????It's up to you.  If you're going for the "Kitchen to die for."  Get ready to spend lots of money.  If you're planning on updating for style and functionality you can set the price yourself.  Also, if you are remodeling for resale. Know the market; Nashville Real Estate is a great market for kitchen remodels with a good return on investment. Knowing the vision of the end result is important and following the suggestions below will help.  Start with the appliances.  Appliances are often a focal point and can be a large portion of the budget.  Also, take into consideration the area of Nashville you are in for real estate resale. Decide what type of counter tops you will install.  Granite... 02/04/2008

Trendy, Trendy, Trendy is what comes to mind when thinking about the Vanderbilt Area of Nashville, TN right in the heart of Davidson County.  If you are trendy at heart and want the urban feel of West End, then here are my top three picks for where you should live if you have between $470K - $550K to spend on a home! First up is 2207 Natchez Trace.  Listed at $479,900 this gorgeous renovated Tudor boasts over 2600 Square Feet, has 4 Bedrooms and 3 Bathrooms!        Love the screened in porch and the outside space as well!   On to 2227 Blair Boulevard!  Listed at $485,000 this darling Craftsman Bungalow from 1930 has been updated and is waiting for a new owner!  This home has over 1700 square feet, 3 Bedrooms, 2.5 Baths and just WAIT until you see this kitchen!        The backyard is fen... 02/04/2008

Nashville real estate company Crye-Leike, REALTORS is proud to announce the Top 25 Sales Producers in the Nashville real estate region for 2007.  The Nashville Realtors honored achieved the highest volume of sales for the company for 2007. The company recognized these associates at the Crye-Leike Nashville Region 2008 Kick-Off Meeting held on Tuesday January 15th at the Nashville Airport Marriott Conference Center. 2007 CRYE-LEIKE, REALTORS TOP 25 SALES PRODUCERS     1.  Lifetime #1 Producer for 2007 - Margaret Dixon - Mt. Juliet #1 Top Sales Producer for 2007 - Chip Kerr - Brentwood Kendra Cooke - Smyrna Jimmy Dugger - Columbia Connie Quillen - Columbia Bob Zimmerman - Franklin Sherry Welch - Spring Hill Kay Schillo - Clarksville Lisa Barron - Spring Hill Jimmy & Gail Settle - Clarksvi... 01/31/2008

The FED met today and cut the Federal Funds Rate and the Discount Rate by a half percent each.  The Federal Funds Rate is an overnight bank lending rate that affects home equity lines of credit, credit cars, and auto loans .  It is now at 3%.  The Discount Rate is what the banks pay to borrow money directly from the FED.  It is now at 3.5%.  This will not, however, directly effect long term interest rates. 01/30/2008

I have clients who are having some difficult time with their marriage, so they have decided to put their home on the market, and go their separate ways. I stop by and access their property, write up the listing paperwork, and tell them the bad news. The dogs have to go. Why, they asked. My answer, some people don't feel comfortable in a house with dogs, any dogs, do you want to sell the house? If so, take the dogs somewhere else. At that point, they had 3 dogs in the house. The house was clean, and didn't smell or look like dogs lived in it, but they did. The next day, I came by to leave some things, and the owner showed me his new pit bull. I guess he didn't really want to sell, because everyone who's seen the house could only talk about the dogs. I know some people don't get it, but i... 01/28/2008

Tennessee, Davidson County, Nashville, Green Hills: Here are my TOP THREE LISTINGS in the Green Hills area of Nashville - just my opinion - judge for yourself!   First up is a FORECLOSURE - we all LOVE foreclosures, right?  I think this is a wonderful home in beautiful Forest Hills - does need some updating, but for the price, can't be beat! 2160 Timberwood Drive - $464,900 3 Bedrooms, 2.5 Bathrooms, 3334 Square Feet on over one acre!  This home boasts hand-carved pecan woodwork, huge stone fireplace, vaulted ceilings and loads of space!         Next up is 461 Cumberland Place in Burton Hills listed at $467,900! This brick home has 3 Bedrooms, 2.5 Bathrooms and 2914 Square Feet! Completely Updated with a 0.17 acre yard - easy on the maintenance!!       And last, but not least, 812 Hunti... 01/28/2008

Having been an electrical engineer and a licensed electrician in a prior life, I am critical on electrical issues especially when it comes to the safety of my clients. Yesterday, I inspected a new construction property and one that was about 4 years old that did not have an inspection prior to closing. Having had to inspect the wiring practices of electricians under my watch as an electrical engineer, it has always been my practice to give the "tug test" on all wiring connections in panels. I found one of the main leads to the sub-panel was loose at the connecting lug. This is a potential shock and fire hazard as aluminum wiring will expand and contract more that copper and can eventually work its way out of the connection. There were also several breaker connections that pulled loose ... 01/24/2008

Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) devices have been in properties in varying degrees since the early 1970's. Failures in these devices are the number one common electrical issue that I comment on when doing property inspections. Like most items in a home, not too much thought are given to items until they give problems. However; a problem with a GFCI device cannot be detected until it is too late. Every year approximately 300 electrocutions occur and thousands of people are seriously burned due to GFCI failures. Many could have been prevented if monthly maintenance had been administered. ALL manufactures of GFCI devices require monthly testing. To the best of my knowledge, all newer devices built since 2002 have "Monthly Testing Recommended" molded in the plastic facing on the de... 01/23/2008

What do you think of when someone mentions Nashville, Tennessee. I know most of the Active Rain community are thinking, Jan Wood. No, that’s not the correct answer, but that you ever so much for the compliment. What most people think, of course, is Music… as in Music City U.S.A., as in Country Music . You also most likely think of the Grande Ole Opry, and the Ryman Auditorium. The Ryman and The Grand Ole Opry The Ryman is known as the “Mother Church of Country Music”. The auditorium was first opened as the Union Gospel Tabernacle in 1892, It began as a church and hosted the city’s revivals.  The artists and repertoire of the Opry defined American country music. The Ryman was home to the Opry until 1974, when the show moved to the 4,400-seat Grand Ole Opry House, located several miles to... 01/21/2008

With reports of record foreclosures, and more to come, now is a great time to be purchasing investment properties.  Many of the investors I work with have been utilizing Rehab Loans.  They are great for properties that have good potential, but need work.  Distressed properties are great because you can get them for a fraction of the value.With a Rehab Loan you can get cash at closing to do the repairs necessary to help fix and sell the property.  The investor gets up to 80% of the After Repair Value.  This gives plenty of cash to the investor and protects the lender (to an extent) if the loan defaults.Quick breakdown of Rehab Loans (example):Purchase Price - $100,000After Repair Value - $200,000Loan Amount - $160,000You will have $60,000 after purchase to do the repairs, then you can re... 01/21/2008

The Mall at Green Hills in Nashville will welcome Burberry, Lacoste, and Juicy Couture this year as these luxury retailers open their first stores in Tennessee.  Burberry will open a 4,500 square foot store in April 2008.  Lacoste's March 2008 opening will showcase its 1,703 square foot boutique.  Juicy Couture's 3,074 square foot store is scheduled to open in September 2008.  Banana Republic and Brooks Brothers, which are also located in The Mall at Green Hills, will be moving to larger mall locations in 2008 as well. 01/20/2008

Just as Nashville continues to grow by leaps and bounds, so does the number of information technology jobs.  According to the Nashville Technology Council, information technology job vacanies have more than doubled.  IT job openings have also increased each year, up 529% in the last five years.  There were more than 1,200 IT job openings in Nashville in 2007.  The technology council is speading the word among the area universities that the curriculums need to be retooled toward the job areas where there is the greatest shortage - business analysis, project management, and dot-net development.  01/20/2008

The Nashville residential market has seen the number of foreclosures more than double in the past year.  From the third quarter of 2006 to the third quarter of 2007, there were 2,118 foreclosures in the eight-county metropolitan Nashville area.  This is up a little more than double from the 1,045 foreclosures in the third quarter of 2006.  These numbes were also up 12 percent from the second quarter of 2007.  Tennessee ranks 12th in the nation for foreclosures.  Williamson County has the lowest foreclosure rate with one filing for every 530 families while Rutherford County (with the largest concentration in Lavergne, TN) has the highest rate of foreclosure with one filing for every 189 families.  The Center for Responsible Lending estimates that nationally 19% of the loans made in 2005 ... 01/20/2008

I had planned to take the Sunday off. I haven't taken a Sunday off in a long time, and I thought it was too cold for people to look for homes. I guess I was wrong, because late Saturday evening, a realtor asked to meet with at Golf view estates to take to her client about Lighthouse Builders, and the homes they have under construction. I also received an offer on my Harpeth Trace condo on Saturday evening, that caught me by surprise. And another realtor wanted to show my listing in Brentwood at 5451 Fredericksburg early  Sunday morning. If buyers are willing to look for Nashville real estate on the coldest day of the year, I think the market is really turning around. This posting and the contents written here are the intellectual property and opinions of Larry Brewer of Benchmark Realty... 01/20/2008

We've all heard "Time is Money!"  But do we use our time at work wisely, so we can make more money?  Using time management better has been one of the single most important business moves I have made.  Here are a few ways to help use your time more wisely.Do not play around on the internet:  It is very easy to waste an hour or three surfing the internet accomplishing nothing at all.  Save this for after hours, or while at home.  The time to work is from 8:00am to 5:00 (maybe 6:00)pm.  Do not email friends, shop, and do the things that can wait,  during those hours.  Focus on the things that need to get done that day.Organize the importance of your tasks:  You need to have a list of things to do daily, but you also need to organize the most important to the least importnat. Doing importan... 01/17/2008

We've all heard "Time is Money!"  But do we use our time at work wisely, so we can make more money?  Using time management better has been one of the single most important business moves i have made.  Here are a few ways to help use your time more wisely.Do not play around on the internet:  It is very easy to waste an hour or three surfing the internet accomplishing nothing at all.  Save this for after hours, or while at home.  The time to work is from 8:00am to 5:00 (maybe 6:00)pm.  Do not email friends, shop, and do the things that can wait,  during those hours.  Focus on the things that need to get done that day.Organize the importance of your tasks:  You need to have a list of things to do daily, but you also need to organize the most important to the least importnat. Doing importan... 01/17/2008

As part of the inspection process, we are required to evaluate and comment on the condition of package units, furnaces and compressor units. Periodically, I come across an older package unit where there is excessive rusting around the exhaust venting for the enclosed built-in furnace. As a rule, I see this condition on units that are typically 12-14 years of age. Depending upon the manufacturer and whether the unit is "contractor grade" one can pretty much assume that there will be excessive rusting in the furnace and probably a cracked heat exchanger. Depending upon the manufacturer, grade and how well the unit has been maintained over its service life, the expected life expectancy of most package unit furnaces will be in the 12-18 year range. When I see this condition I tell my custo... 01/15/2008