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Morristown, TN Real Estate News

By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
\\ 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 specialize in working with Home Sellers in getting their homes listed and sold. We utilize the latest and most up to date marketing materials in assuring the job gets done quickly and with the least amount of hassle. Our homes are listed on over 32 different Real Estate web sites including realtor.com, yahoo.com, trulia.com and many others. Each office independently owned and operated.Elite Realty Group is a full service real estate company serving Morristown TN Real Esta...
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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 For...
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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)
Understanding Preliminary Reports After months of searching, you’ve finally found it -- your perfect dream home. But is it perfect? Will you be purchasing more than just a beautiful home? Will you also be acquiring liens placed on the property by prior owners? Have documents been recorded that will restrict your use of the property? The preliminary report will provide you with the opportunity, prior to purchase, to review matters affecting your property which will be excluded from coverage under your title insurance policy unless removed or eliminated before your purchase. To help you better understand this often bewildering subject, the Land Title Association has answered some of the questions most commonly asked about preliminary reports. What is a Preliminary Report? A preliminary re...
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By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Understanding Foreclosures It is an unfortunate commentary, but when economic activity declines and housing activity decreases, more real property enters the foreclosure process. High interest rates and creative financing arrangements are also contributing factors. When prices are rapidly accelerating during a real estate “bonanza”, many people go to any lengths available to get into the market through investments in vacation homes, rental housing and trading up to more expensive properties. In some cases, this results in the taking on of high interest rate payments and second, third and even fourth deeds of trust. Many buyers anticipate that interest rates will drop and home prices will continue to escalate. It is possible that neither will occur and borrowers may be faced with large b...
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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 se...
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By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Use a Buyer’s Agent It’s important that you choose an experienced agent who is there for you. Your agent should be actively finding you potential homes, keeping you informed of the entire process, negotiating furiously on your behalf, and answering all of your questions with competence and speed. First, find an agent who represents you and not the seller. This is beneficial during the negotiation process. If you are working with a buyer’s agent, he or she is required not to tell the seller of your top choice. In addition, he or she is also focused on getting you the lowest asking price. Also, when you use a buyer’s agent, you will see more properties. Not only are they plugged into their Multiple Listing Service, but they are also actively finding homes that are listed as FSBO, or homes...
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By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
The Advantages of Different Types of Mortgage Lenders What kind of lender is best? If you ask a loan officer, “What kind of lender is best?” the answer will be whatever kind of company he works for and he will give you a list of reasons why. If you meet the same loan officer years later, and he works for a different kind of lender, he will give you a list of reasons why that type of lender is better. REALTORS® will also have differing opinions, and those opinions have and will continue to change over time. In the past, it seemed like most would recommend portfolio lenders. Now, they usually recommend mortgage bankers and mortgage brokers. Most often they direct you to a specific loan officer who has demonstrated a track record of service and reliability. This article discusses the advan...
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By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Understanding Preliminary Reports After months of searching, you’ve finally found it -- your perfect dream home. But is it perfect? Will you be purchasing more than just a beautiful home? Will you also be acquiring liens placed on the property by prior owners? Have documents been recorded that will restrict your use of the property? The preliminary report will provide you with the opportunity, prior to purchase, to review matters affecting your property which will be excluded from coverage under your title insurance policy unless removed or eliminated before your purchase. To help you better understand this often bewildering subject, the Land Title Association has answered some of the questions most commonly asked about preliminary reports. What is a Preliminary Report? A preliminary re...
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By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Underground Heating Oil Tanks Underground heating oil tanks can pose many potential problems to both home buyers and sellers. They have been the source of many environmental problems such as contamination of surrounding soil and ground water. Leaks are generally caused by the rust inside underground tanks or by an electrical condition sparked by electric utility lines. Buyers should always have the tank inspected to make sure that it is structurally sound. Buyers who do not want an underground fuel tank can arrange for an above ground tank to be installed in the basement and the underground tank to be shut off. Cleanup of any leaks will also have to be taken care of. For buyers, the underground heating oil tank should be written in the sales contract. For sellers, your lawyer should mak...
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By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Plan of Action Analyze why you are selling - If you understand your motives, you will be able to better negotiate and to get what it is that you want, whether it be a quick sale, high price, or somewhere in the middle.   Prepare your home for the buyer - Maximize the strengths of your property and fix up its weaknesses. You want the buyer to walk away from your home with a lasting good impression.   Find a good real estate agent that understands your needs - Make sure that your agent is loyal to you, and can negotiate to help you achieve your goals. In addition, they should be assertive and honest with both you and the buyer.   Be prepared for negotiation - Learn and understand your buyer’s situation; what are their motives? Can you demand a big deposit from them? Try to lock in the buy...
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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 Requirements for Insuring Trusts In today’s world of busy probate courts and exorbitant death taxes, the living trust has become a common manner of holding title to real property. The following may help you understand a few of the requirements of the title insurance industry if title to property is conveyed to the trustee of a living trust. What is a trust? An agreement between a trustor and trustee for the trustee to hold title to and administer designated assets of the trustor for the use and benefit of one or more beneficiaries. Can a trust itself acquire and convey interests in real property? No. The trust is an arrangement between a trustee and the trustor. Only the trustee, on behalf of the trust, may own and convey any interest in real property. The trustee may on...
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By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Mello-Roos In purchasing your new home, your future monthly payments will be made up of principal, interest, real property taxes, and insurance. But what is the tax for the Community Facilities District, otherwise known as a Mello-Roos District? The Land Title Association (LTA) has answered some of the most commonly asked questions about the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act. What is a Mello-Roos District? A Mello-Roos District is an area where a special tax is imposed on those real property owners within a Community Facilities District. This district has chosen to seek public financing through the sale of bonds for the purpose of financing certain public improvements and services. These services may include streets, water, sewage and drainage, electricity, infrastructure, schools, pa...
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By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Making a Good First Impression If you want buyers to be interested in your home, you need to show it in its best light. A good first impression can influence a buyer both emotionally and visually, thus prompting them to make an offer. In addition, what the buyer first sees is what they think of when they consider the asking price. A bad first impression can dissuade a potential buyer. Don’t show your property until it’s all fixed up. You do not want to give buyers the chance to use the negative first impression they have as means of negotiation. Ask around for the opinions others have of your home. Real estate agents who see houses everyday can give solid advice on what needs to be done. Consider what architects or landscape designers have to say. What you need are objective opinions, a...
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By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
Is Buying a Home Still a Smart Plan? With the burst of the housing bubble, credit crisis, and millions of foreclosures across the country, you may wonder if buying a home is such a good idea after all. However, it’s important to consider all of the facts. The important message to take away from these events is not that buying a home is a bad idea, but that you must be smart about buying your home. The housing market, like every type of market, unavoidably has its ups and downs. That doesn’t mean buying a home is a bad investment. As a long-term investment, homeownership is still one of the best investments for individual households. Historically, real estate has consistently increased in value, despite shorter periods of depreciation due to local markets and/or national economic conditi...
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By Norma J. Elkins, Realtor - Elkins Home Selling Team
( Elite Realty Group)
FICO® Scores and Your Mortgage Years ago, credit scoring had little to do with mortgage lending. When reviewing the credit worthiness of a borrower, an underwriter would make a subjective decision based on past payment history. Then things changed. Lenders studied the relationship between credit scores and mortgage delinquencies. There was a definite relationship. Almost half of those borrowers with FICO® scores below 550 became ninety days delinquent at least once during their mortgage. On the other hand, only two out of every 10,000 borrowers with FICO® scores above eight hundred became delinquent. So lenders began to take a closer look at FICO® scores and this is what they found out. The chart below shows the likelihood of a ninety day delinquency for specific FICO® scores. FICO® Sco...
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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)
Mechanic’s Liens The Mechanics’ Lien law provides special protection to contractors, subcontractors, laborers and suppliers who furnish labor or materials to repair, remodel or build your home. If any of these people are not paid for the services or materials they have provided, your home may be subject to a mechanics’ lien and eventual sale in a legal proceeding to enforce the lien. This result can occur even when the homeowner has made full payment for the work of improvement. The mechanics’ lien is a right that a state gives to workers and suppliers to record a lien and ensure payment. This lien may be recorded where the property owner has paid the contractor in full and the contractor then fails to pay the subcontractors, suppliers, or laborers. Thus, in the worst case, a homeowner ...
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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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