Do I Need A Realtor?

Have you ever asked yourself or even thought this question? "Do I need a Realtor?" What is the point? I can find a house and tell the owner I want to buy the house, head over to Office Max and pick up a standard purchase agreement for $10.00 and I'm on my way to home ownership. Well, sure you could do that. You could also break your leg, pick up season one of ER on DVD and try to fix it yourself after watching a few episodes. It's simply not smart to do that, right? Well, I'm biased. I'm a realtor, so of course I think you need me. I only think that because I know how risky it is to go about this without expert advice. I think it is very important that you know and have a business relationship with a Realtor, Lawyer, CPA, Doctor, Dentist and a few others. I encourage you to know a realtor. Even if you do not need the services of one today, tomorrow or this year, you will likely need to purchase and/or sell a home a few times in your life. It is smart for you to have a relationship with a realtor for when that time comes. Buying or selling a house is a huge thing! Often times, it is the largest asset you have. How many $100,000, $250,000, $500,000 or $1,000,000 purchases would you make without getting expert advice to help you walk through the process? Please don't take this the wrong way, but it would be next to insanity if you were going to make this proper practice. It puts your investment at total risk. As a realtor, I know your rights, your risks, your opportunities, etc. I have relationships with lenders that I trust, who I know can get your loan closed on time and properly. How would you like to have all of your belongings loaded up on a U-Haul truck only to find out that your lender dropped the ball and will not be able to close your loan on time and it will take an extra 3 days? I have relationships with Lawyers who will be able to make sure that your title is clean. I have relationships with Termite inspectors, Home inspectors, appraisers. All of these people will make your investment that much more protected. I will work with the cooperating agent on the other side of the transaction to make sure we obtain a proper disclosures about the property you intend to buy, so that you know as much as possible about the history of that house. You need to know if there has ever been foundation problems, water damage, etc. A great real estate agent will know how to get the proper and pertinent information on your behalf. So, ask around now. Ask your friends and family if they have a relationship with a realtor. If so, call them up, sit down over coffee and get to know them. You need to have that relationship. I am more than happy to build a relationship with a potential client. I do not need to help you buy or sell a house this week, month or year. But when that time does come, I'd like you to think of me. If you live in the Nashville area and you want to meet, call or email me: 615-479-1639 , steve@steveblair.net. If you do not live in the Nashville area or in Tennessee at al and would like to be referred to a good agent in your town, call me or email me and I'll get you in touch with one.

Home Warranty - Should I or Shouldn't I?

When I think about a warranty or a guarantee, I'm reminded of a funny but very true to the art of sales, movie, Tommy Boy. Even as I type this, I'm laughing! If you'll remember, young Tommy Callaghan, played by Chris Farley, is out trying to sell brake pads to save his late fathers business from a corporate takeover and eventual sale. Tommy is out doing sales calls when he runs into a potential client who does not like the fact that Callaghan does not put a guarantee on the box like their competitors do. The potential client says that people like a guarantee, it makes them feel good. This is true. And this is why potential home buyers like to see that a home has a warranty attached to it. In most cases a warranty will cost about $425. Typically, this money is paid at closing out of the money that you receive as a seller, so you really never miss it. Let's pretend that you are a buyer and you are looking at 2 houses. Both are equal to you in regards to your interest in them. One house is priced at $220,000 and has a warranty. The other is priced at $217,000 and does not include a warranty. Which one do you think you'd be more likely to want to purchase? As a seller, it costs you in the neighborhood of $425, but you are going to make an extra $3,000 or more over your competitors. It is a smart move to offer a warranty as a seller and it is equally as smart to purchase a property with a warranty. All you ned to do is ask your agent to show you how to take out a policy. It is a very simple process that literally takes about 5 mins. to complete.

GM to Re-open Plant in Spring Hill, TN?

In a statement made earlier this week in Detroit. GM's North American President, Mark Reuss announced that the plants that build the Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain and the Cadillac SRX crossover vehicles as well as the Buick LaCrosse are all running at capacity and can not keep up with market demand. He says in the short term he will try to increase output in existing plants. Reuss mentioned the idled plant in Spring Hill, but did not confirm nor deny that GM had plans to re-open the plant. GM recently spent $700 million to re-tool the Spring Hill plant in order to make it a state of the art facility. Stay tuned for more news as I hear about it.

Feature in the Spring Hill Advertiser Newspaper

Hello all! If you are in the Spring Hill area, you can read the feature they did on me and the fact that I am designated by the National Association of Realtors as a resource for Short Sales and Foreclosures. Thanks!

To Buy or Not To Buy?

OK, this might be the shortest blog yet. Reason? It's quite simple. If you have ever wanted to be a home owner and you qualify for the loan, I really can't find a reason why you should not buy. Here's why:

1. The government is providing a tax credit for up to 10% of the value of the purchase, not to exceed $8,000, for first time home buyer(s). This credit does have restrictions on high income earners, but the majority of people certainly qualify.

2. If you have been in your existing home for 5 consecutive years, you may qualify for a $6,500 tax credit if you sell and repurchase a new home by the deadline of April 30th 2010!

3. The interest rates are still at record lows. They will only go up from here.

So, there you have it. If you have not yet made the jump, I hope this has urged you to at least look over the edge. Come on in, the home ownership waters are really nice!

Email or call me today to get you on the road to owning a home! steve@steveblair.net or 615-479-1639

A Bright Spot in Spring Hill, TN Home Sales!

It's always easy to complain about a market. It's easy to find reasons why we should be down and out. It's much harder in a down economy to have a positive outlook. Well, that's why you have me! Here is some pretty good news for the housing market if you are looking and/or living in the Spring Hill area. According to a leading real estate website, Trulia.com, the following trend is pretty nice, and offers a reason to celebrate!

Housing sales were up in Dec! Look at his chart provided by Trulia.

Spring Hill Recently Sold Homes

This chart shows that home sales from December in 2008 compared to home sales in December of 2009 were up sharply by almost 20%! Not only that... Look at the increase from Nov. 09 - Dec 09. The best month of 09 was August, but that is no surprise. The weather was nice, the leaves were still on the trees, just a better presentation when you are trying to sell a home.

The good thing is that things are looking better in Spring Hill. We have much to celebrate, and much to be happy about in our city. Stay tuned for the next blog!

Spring Hill, TN Local Business Feature - Taco Express Grill

One of the things I want to do with this blog, is to highlight some of the great local businesses in Spring Hill and Thompsons Station. One of the great things about living in a smaller town like Spring Hill are the local restaurants. One of my family's recent favorites is Taco Express Grill on Campbell Station Parkway. They have great Mexican food and they are very affordable for anyone, especially families on a budget. On any day of the week, if you pay in cash, for every $10.00 spent, you will receive one free fountain drink. If you go on Tuesday's you can get any Taco for only $0.99! (Excluding Shrimp Taco). Last night my family went. I got a grilled chicken soft taco as well as a carne asada soft taco. Normally, this would have cost me $2.25 each. On Tuesday's it's $.99 each! This is a tremendous value, they pile it high with meat, cheese, pico, and guac on 2 corn tortillas! This is no Taco Bell taco, I assure you. I highly recommend this place.

Taco Express Grill

615.302.2888
2001 Campbell Station Pkwy • Spring Hill, TN 37174
Located behind the old Kroger in Campbell Station

www.tacoexpressgrill.com

Hours:
Sunday 9 am - 9 pm
Monday - Tuesday 8am - 9 pm
Wednesday - Saturday 8 am - 12 am