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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...
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By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
What is a Short Sale Anyway? An increase in foreclosure rates will inevitably bring with it an increase in short sales. But what is a short sale? A short sale happens when you sell your house for less than your remaining mortgage balance, the proceeds of which go to the lender and in return the lender forgives the remaining balance. Selling your home as a short sale is one way to avoid foreclosure. As a general rule, lenders lose money when they foreclose on a property. Consequently, they would rather not have to foreclose if it can be avoided. A short sale represents an opportunity to cut their losses because a short sale usually allows them to recoup more of the cost of the loan than a foreclosure process would. However, don’t think that a short sale is an easy thing to accomplish. In...
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By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
  Why You Should Not Make Any Major Credit Purchases Don’t go on a spending spree using credit if you are thinking about buying a home, or in the process of buying a new home. Your mortgage pre-approval is subject to a final evaluation of your financial situation. Every $100 you pay per month on a credit payment could cost you about $10,000 in home eligibility. For example, a car payment of $300/month could mean that you qualify for $30,000 less in a mortgage. Even if you have accumulated enough savings, you should consider not making any large purchases until after closing. The last thing you want is to know that you could have purchased a new home had you curbed the urge to spend.   The Elkins Home Selling Team with Elite Realty Group provides services with Morristown TN Real Estate ...
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By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Your Savings and Down Payment Your First Step Toward Buying a Home When preparing to buy a home, the first thing many homebuyers do is look at the real estate ads in newspapers, magazines and listings on the Internet. Some potential buyers read how-to articles like this one. The next thing you should do - before you call on an ad, before you talk to a REALTOR®, before you shop for interest rates - is look at your savings. Why? Because determining how much money you have available for down payment and closing costs affects almost every aspect of buying a home - including how you write your purchase offer, the loan programs you qualify for, and shopping for interest rates. Mortgage Programs If you only have enough available for a minimum down payment, your choices of loan program will be...
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By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Why Do You Need Title Insurance? Title Insurance. It’s a term we hear and see frequently - we see reference to it in the Sunday real estate section, in advertisements and in conversations with real estate brokers. If you’ve purchased a home before, you’re probably familiar with the benefits and procedures of title insurance. But if this is your first home, you may wonder, “Why do I need another insurance policy? It’s just one more bill to pay.” The answer is simple: The purchase of a home is most likely one of the most expensive and important purchases you will ever make. You, and your mortgage lender, want to make sure that the property is indeed yours - lock, stock and barrel - and that no individual or government entity has any right, lien, claim to your property. Title insurance com...
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By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Setting the Price The price is the first thing buyers notice about your property. If you set your price too high, then the chance of alienating buyers is higher. You want your house to be taken seriously, and the asking price reflects how serious you are about selling your home. Several factors will contribute to your final decision. First, you should compare your house to others that are in the market. If you use an agent, he/she will provide you with a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis). The CMA will reflect the following: houses in your price range and area that were sold within the last half-year asking and selling prices of houses current inventory of houses on the market features of each house on the market From the CMA, you will learn the difference between the asking price and s...
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By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Thinking About Buying a Foreclosure? With the housing bubble burst and the subprime mortgage crisis, millions of homeowners found themselves unable to make their mortgage payments. Many found themselves owing more on the house than the home was worth. Many just walked away from their homes. As a result of these complicated issues, millions of homes were foreclosed. While this isn’t the only reason for which homes are foreclosed, it has been a widespread one. With all the foreclosed properties, there has also been extensive interest in buying these properties at a bargain price. It is true that foreclosed properties can be priced at a significant discount, but they are also a much riskier investment. Before making an offer on a foreclosed property, do your due diligence. Things you must ...
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By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Items You Need When Applying For a Loan Have These Items Ready When You Apply For a Loan It used to be that lenders mailed out verifications to employers, banks, mortgage companies, and so on, in order to verify the data supplied by borrowers. Nowadays, the interest is often in speed and getting answers quickly so alternate documentation has become more widely used. Alternate documentation means that underwriting answers can be obtained with information supplied directly from the borrower instead of waiting around for verifications to come back in the mail. The following is required for most standardized loans as part of alternate documentation processing. Items may differ according to whether your loan is a conforming (Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac), non-conforming (jumbo) loan, government...
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By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Title Insurance - Where Does Your Dollar Go? Title Insurance: As a homebuyer, the term is probably familiar - but is it understood? What is your dollar actually paying for when you purchase a title policy? Title Insurers, unlike property or casualty insurance companies, operate under the theory of risk elimination. Title companies spend a high percentage of their operating income each year collecting, storing, maintaining and analyzing official records for information that affects title to real property. Their technical experts are trained to identify the rights others may have in your property, such as recorded liens, legal actions, disputed interests, rights of way or other encumbrances on your title. Before closing your transaction, the title company will proceed to clear those encum...
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By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Know Why You are Selling If you know exactly why you are selling then it is easier for you to follow the right plan of action for getting what you want. If you are a seller who needs to close a sale as quickly as possible, then you should know that getting the highest price possible is not one of your priorities. It does not mean that you won’t or cannot get the highest price, but it means that the price is not the deciding factor. A buyer who can give you a quick closing time will appeal much more to you than a buyer who can offer you more money but the negotiation and closing time drag on. It’s always good to know how low you will go, in terms of selling price. This will help to eliminate some of the offers that you find simply offensive or ridiculous. Even though you should consider...
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By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Importance of Inspection As a buyer, you are entitled to know exactly what you are getting. Don’t take anything for granted, not even what you see or what the seller or listing agent tell you. A professional home inspection is something you MUST do, whether you are buying an existing home or a new one. An inspection is an opportunity to have an expert look closely at the property you are considering purchasing and getting both an oral and written opinion as to its condition. Beforehand, make sure the report will be done by a professional organization, such as a local trade organization or a national trade organization such as ASHI (American Society of Home Inspection). Not only should you never skip an inspection, but also you should be present with the inspector during the inspection....
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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 determi...
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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 thi...
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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 themselv...
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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 Sale and Morristown TN Homes For ...
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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 nec...
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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 bor...
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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 w...
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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 ...
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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,...
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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 ...
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