NEW LISTING IN FRANKLIN, TN for $297,000!

Hello everyone. I just listed a new house for sale in Franklin, TN, just outside of downtown Franklin. This is a great house! Built in 2007, very well taken care of, 3 bedrooms, 3 full bathrooms, Granite counters in the kitchen, Hardwood floors in all common areas, high quality carpet in all bedrooms. Master bedroom has a large bathroom with his/hers closets, double vanity, whirlpool tub with separate shower and ceramic tile floors! This house also has a full, finished basement with 2 living areas and a full bathroom. Could easily be used as an in-law suite. Click here for more information and more photos. The house is 2,129 square feet and has a very large 2 car garage with room for not only 2 cars, but also plenty of storage and a work area! To schedule a showing, contact me at the information below.

Steve Blair, SFR, Affiliate Broker, REALTOR

SilverPointe Properties

7105 Crossroads Blvd. #102

Brentwood, TN 37027

Office: 615-377-6330

Cell: 615-479-1639

Email: steve@steveblair.net

Web: www.steveblair.net

Twitter: www.twitter.com/blairtweets

Find me on Facebook and LinkedIn!

Setting Expectations As A First Time Home Buyer

Many first-time home buyers really do not have a grasp on the housing market. This is okay! I was the same way when I bought my first home. I had no idea what I was doing or how much things cost or were supposed to cost. Now that I'm a little older, and have bought and sold a couple more times, and not to mention the fact that I'm a real estate agent now and was not then... I know much more about the market. I'm supposed to. It's my job to know! One of the things that will help you if you are a first time home buyer, is to set you expectations correctly. Here's one of the best ways to do that. Contact a couple of lenders or mortgage bankers, and ask them to get you pre-approved or pre-qualified. They will need to know some personal and financial information, but you will need to do this anyway to get a loan for a home. Once you know what you qualify for, you will know how much house you can afford. With that information, you can get a good Realtor or real estate agent to send you a list of properties that are in that price range of what the bank has qualified you for. It's very important that you know what you can afford prior to looking for houses. It's real tough to think that you can afford a $225,000 home and go look at a few of those only to find out that you only qualify for $175,000. Not that a $175,000 house is a bag thing, but when you compare it to a house that costs $50,000 more, you are not going to be happy with what you can get. So, save yourself some heartache and emotional scaring, get pre-approved before you start the house hunt! If you are a first time home buyer right now, don't forget about the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit. Ask me or a local Realtor or real estate agent if you qualify. This credit will expire very soon! As always, I hope this post was informative to you!

Steve Blair, SFR, Affiliate Broker, REALTOR

SilverPointe Properties

7105 Crossroads Blvd. #102

Brentwood, TN 37027

Office: 615-377-6330

Cell: 615-479-1639

Email: steve@steveblair.net

Web: www.steveblair.net

Twitter: www.twitter.com/blairtweets

Find me on Facebook and LinkedIn!

Great Story From the Tennessean on my Listing!

If you are looking for a great home with a recording studio in Franklin, TN then this is the home for you!

This is really great! Click Here to read the story.

R-410A EPA Mandate And How It Affects You as a Home Buyer or Seller

Twenty years ago the federal government passed legislation that would become effective on Jan. 1, 2010 which would ban the manufacturing of HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) equipment that primarily uses Freon, also known as R-22 and HCFC-22. Those companies must now begin manufacturing parts that are compatible with products such as Puron, also known as R-410A which is the new standard refrigerant for air conditioners. This change will affect you as a buyer or a seller of a home.

This change will cost you more money. Since R-22 parts are now banned from being manufactured, parts are expected to be out of stock by the second quarter of 2010. If for example, your evaporator coil goes out and a suitable part is no longer available, you may have to replace the entire HVAC unit. R-410A parts are not always interchangeable with R-22 parts. Physical changes may be needed to your system in order for it to accommodate the larger equipment required in air conditioners using R-410A refrigerant. The supply of R-22 will be limited and will likely cause the price to increase. As a result of the new changes, new HVAC equipment may be more expensive to purchase and install.

Another way that this might cost you more money is that most manufacturers warranties only cover parts for one year, in most cases. Labor is a significant part of any repair. Most system and appliance home service contracts and/or warranties contain language that effectively excludes the additional costs resulting from this government-mandated change.

How can you protect yourself as a buyer or seller of a home? Your best option is to have a home warranty as part of the transaction. Not all home warranty companies are the same, however, 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty does cover the cost of a replacement unit if a suitable part is not available. Certain qualifications apply, but in most cases they will be able to replace your unit with no extra cost to you. For more information on this change and how it will affect you, feel free to contact me or go to www.R410ASolutions.com.

If you are located in Nashville, Franklin, Spring Hill, Columbia or Nashville, TN outlying cities and would like to speak to an agent directly about your situation, you can contact me at steve@steveblair.net.

Shameless Plug

I ran into an interesting situation on Twitter the other day and I thought I'd share it with you. I saw a persons Tweet that said to the effect, "My friend is moving to Nashville, TN does anyone know of any good churches?" So I responded, "www.fellowshipnashville.org, I've been going there 5 years, great place. Also, I'm a real estate agent as well." His response was "Ah, the ole' shameless plug that Realtors have down pat! nice..." I actually took offense to that. This particular individual was a "church planter" as he says in his profile on Twitter. I must assume that from his response to me, if he heard someone say, "Hey, my friend just became a Christian and is moving to (enter your town here)", this person would not want to at least say, "Hey I'm a church planter (which is to say, I know a lot about churches), you should try my church out." This guy reeks of hypocrisy, and is one reason why I believe people are turned off by those that call themselves Christian, (which is why I choose to use the phrase, "follower of Christ" for myself) Look, as a real estate agent, I see some really good agents, and then some others that just do not put the clients needs first. Example, I'm working on a deal now where I represent the buyer. The sellers agent is asking me to change a couple words in the contract after it has already been agreed upon by both parties. Currently the contract states: "Seller to pay all title expenses" and "Seller to pay up to $3,500 in buyers closing costs." This agent has asked that I change this to read, "Seller to pay all title expenses, except for Mortgagees expenses." and "Seller to pay up to $3,500 in buyers closing costs, including title expenses." Well, if I do that, it would cause my client to pay an addition $1,019 out of pocket at closing. Would some other agents roll over and say, "Well. ok, I want to get the deal done, I'll change it and have my buyers sign off? Yes! I'm sure some would, but not me. I work very hard on behalf of my clients. I look out for them and do my best to protect them in this transaction.

So, if I ever offer my services to you, it's only because I know for a fact that I can protect your interests in your real estate transaction. I know that I will work extremely hard on your behalf. And by the way, my response back to this person was, "No prob, just tell him about the church, no worries." I can tell you this much, if this guy does happen to tell his friend about me, out of principle, I will likely choose to NOT represent him. Yes, I'm in this business to make money, I do not work for free. However, my integrity is worth much more than the commission of one deal.