I'm a professional, single woman.  I depend on my real estate income to pay my bills...no surprise because we all have to make a living.  Some people have a partner with a second income.  Not me.  I worked my way through school, I had a career in advertising some time ago and I've been working full time in Real Estate for 11 years.  I'm successful at what I do.  I grew up with a Real Estate Broker for a mom, I worked in her office as a young adult and I started originating loans in the early 90s.  Experience is my middle name (okay...it's really Michele).  I can anticipate a problem and avoid it well before it actually happens and I can prequalify any buyer you stand in front of me.  If the home you want exists, I'll find it.

I understand that sometimes service people will back-burner their friends when they're busy.  Maybe they think friends will understand because they're friends but I'll bend over backwards in business for my friend-clients and for my client-clients.  It's so important to me that I do the best I can do in everything I do and that I'm recommended by anyone I've worked for because they experienced quality service. 

Oftentimes, friends will use their friends' services just because they're friends.  Loyal friends don't always qualify each other.  Loyalty is important but so is good service.  I want my friends to know that I'm not only a friend but that I'm an excellent negotiator, an experienced educator, a Broker (the highest education for an agent) and that I want to provide references for them, too.  Question me.  Test my knowlege but, more than anything, think of me when it comes to Real Estate.  That's what I do best.  By using my Nashville Real Estate services, you're not doing me a favor, you're getting the best dang (southernism) service there is.  Support me by referring my Nashville Real Estate services to anyone you may hear talking about Nashville real estate (or surrounding areas).  So friends, use my services because I know my business, not just because I'm a loyal friend....and thanks in advance for your credence (and loyalty).  I will think of you, too.

Some 300,000 households who otherwise couldn't have entered the market will buy a home this year because of the $8000 tax credit. First time buyers (or those who haven't owned in the past 3 years) cannot afford to miss out on this opportunity. In order to benefit from this, the home purchase must be closed before December 1, 2009.

Buyers must act quickly to:

A. Get a mortgage pre-approval. You must be prepared when you find your dream home. Sellers will negotiate more when they know you CAN buy their home and banks require an approval letter before they will even look at your offer. You will know how much you can afford, the approximate rate and payments. Apply for free here: http://is.gd/2qj3d-

B. Have your agent, Alyse Sands, search for your dream home from thousands of bank foreclosures, resales and new homes, look at the homes that meet your search criteria, fall in love with one and get it under contract.

C. Time to close: Lenders are backed up and it may take up to 60 days to close a loan these days, especially because thousands of first time buyers will be closing right before the deadline of Dec. 1.

ACT NOW! Call me, Alyse Sands. I specialize in educating buyers. I will explain the process before we begin so there are no surprises. I'm a full-time Broker-Agent and Loan Professional for the past 10+ years.

The only way to know when the market has turned is after it's started going up it so buying at the bottom of the market is possible...but only by accident.  There's no way for anyone to predict exactly when the bottom will hit.

It seems that the market has picked up in Middle Tennessee within the past couple of months.  All of the agents I know, including myself, have been working with more buyers and have started getting offers on their listings.  That's proof positive that activity is up from a few months ago.

This is a tool for the public to use to justify or check on home values for those who are using it for curiosity's sake. It's fine but it is not viable information to use for market value for selling or buying and this is why:

When I, as a licensed Real Estate Professional, prepare a market analysis, I utilize information on recently sold properties that are similar in size, construction, age and area, starting with the same subdivision...APPLES TO APPLES.  I use the MLS information before using the tax records because many times the tax records are not recorded properly and much of the time the square footage is inaccurately listed.  MLS listings usually post square footage that was given by a previous appraisal or measured by the agent and is more accurate.  Agents and appraisers use price per square foot to come up with market value for a property compared with properties that are most like it in every way.  We also search first for homes that have sold within the past few months and, if we cannot find any recent sales, we'll go back six months.

Zillow does not take into consideration the age and construction of the home and it pulls the square footage from the tax records.  This is done without human intervention.  Nobody is checking to see if these comparable properties are truly comparable to the subject property.  Using the square footage from the tax records, it uses all properties close to the size within a radius of the subject property, regardless of age or construction.

You must have accurate information when buying or selling property.  This is one of the biggest purchases you'll ever make.  This is also just one more reason to use a professional when purchasing a home whether you are the buyer or the seller.

Developers in Nashville, TN are suing 3 buyers who did not close on condos they contracted on spec a few years ago.  I noticed a post by a buyers' agent asking why we even have earnest money and that the forfeiture of earnest money should satisfy a breach of contract by the buyer.  This was my response:

I'm not sure why you need earnest money explained to you since you are a licensed agent but I will comment.  I see that you represent only buyers so I understand that you see it from the buyers' perspective. I work with both buyers and sellers so I'm not taking sides; I'm commenting on your predilection. 

We know that earnest money is held in escrow to protect the seller in case the buyer breaches the contract.  Since nothing is black and white and many scenarios can occur that can result in a breach, either party has the right to sue for actual damages (depending on the contract's verbiage) caused by the breach.  The amount of the damages can differ, depending on the amount of loss.  Nobody knows what that will be until the breach occurs so it may end up to be more than the amount of the earnest $.  Since the same laws apply for new condos, resales, etc., here is just one example of why we have both earnest money and contracts:

Say that a seller had received a $10,000 higher offer from buyer B right after signing a contract with buyer A yet had to honor the existing CONTRACT.  What if the transaction wasn't closing for 3 months so the property is off the market for 3 months but buyer A backed out a week before closing. The seller is entitled to keep the earnest money, depending on the verbiage in the contract, but now the house has been off the market for three months plus however long it takes to resell.  The seller now couldn't buy a home that s/he was trying to buy and lost a job because he/she couldn't move because the buyer didn't close.  The buyer's decision has caused a domino effect.  If the contract states it, in this case it is the seller who has the right to sue for specific performance.  A Real Estate expert/guru like you should know this.

Even though the developers didn't lose a job or a home, the same laws apply to this seller. In the case of the condos, nobody could have predicted that the market would change for the worse. Perhaps a buyer decided this price was no longer in their best interests. That shouldn't matter.  A contract is a legal and binding agreement and the seller may be able to keep the earnest money but the buyer still breached a contract. However, to win a case, the seller has to prove damages. The bottom line, though, would be what is decided by the courts.

This is not isolated to Tennessee.  It could be happening all over.

FRAUD ALERT RE Tennessee Association of Realtors(r):

Craigslist by Tennessee Association of Realtor(r)s. Within the past seven days, we’ve received notices of two different, but similar, instances of attempted fraud using Tennessee listings and Craigslist. There is a very good chance these two cases are not isolated incidents!

In both cases that came to our attention (one from Hendersonville and one from Clarksville), properties that had been listed by Tennessee REALTORS showed up - without the listing agent’s knowledge - as rental properties on Craigslist, with an email address to contact for information …although the email address is a fake Yahoo or Gmail address using the actual listing agent’s name as part of the address! The party behind the scam poses, via email, as the listing agent and attempts to collect the first month’s rent and a deposit by email or overnight delivery.

Both Craigslist and (in one of these cases) the FBI have been notified of the scam. In the meantime, it would probably be wise for each firm to scan the rental property listings on Craigslist for their area, just to ensure that none of your listings are being misrepresented.

Rep. Linda Sanchez introduced the Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act last month. The legislation is named after Megan Meier who killed herself in 2006 after becoming the victim of a MySpace hoax created by the mother of a classmate and former friend. 

`Sec. 881. Cyberbullying

(a) Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

I have to rant now:

First of all, we have the right to delete email or block myspace "friends", take away social networking privileges from our kids or place computers in common household areas.  Let me add here that parents have the right and should keep the family computer in a common area of the home...take responsibility for their children's computer use.  Another option: tell the kid to stay away from the computer if he/she's being harassed...now there's a novel idea.

Everyone is spoiled these days. So many parents coddle their children and don't teach them how to handle life situations. Everything is done for them these days.  Mothers sell girl scout cookies, wrapping paper and other school items for their kids,  We have become an impatient society.  We don't discuss problems rationally before retaliating.  We sue restaurants for serving hot coffee.  As kids, we had to deal with bullies. Our parents didn't have them arrested. It made us stronger.  It taught us how to handle these situations later in life.  What kind of world is this going to be when this generation of children grow up and things don't go their way? We need to allow children to learn from experience so they have the tools to make decisions later.

Not only is this violating our freedom of speech, email and the internet are not regulated...yet.  This bill is only the beginning.  This can change our lives. Is Big Brother watching us? Must we be extra careful about everything we say or write? Should we be afraid of expressing ourselves in a way that may offend someone? Hopefully the offended party will have to prove intent. Imagine that.

I just closed a transaction for a buyer.  While we were under contract, the seller received two other offers, both for full price while my buyer was under contract for a good amount less.  Their fingers were crossed that my buyer's loan would fall through...but it didn't.

Last week, in my office sales meeting, we were discussing our businesses and three agents said that they were involved in multiple offer situations in the past week or two, either on the seller or the buyer's side.  That's good news for the Tennessee market and it also means that other areas are experiencing this upswing.  Hopefully it means that the rest of the country will follow suit.

Open House on 811 Lawrence St was rained out today.  We'll be doing it next Sunday. 

By the way, this house is awesome; it's listed in the National Registry of Historic Places, along with some other homes in the "Village" and other Nashville Real Estate.  Here's some very interesting information about Old Hickory Village:

OHV was built in 1918 during the Great War to house DuPont employees.  By 1920, the war was over and the homes were no longer needed so the town was deserted.  The entire neighborhood was bought out by Nashville Real Estate investors and then sold to the DuPont company.  Click here for more detailed information on this historic community.

There is so much to do for the art afficionado in Nashville, TN, otherwise known as "Athens of the South". 

The Frist Museum shows famous collections such as Georgia O'Keefe and the Masters of Watercolor, features Jazz in the lobby and live bands the first Friday of each month.  The Cheekwood Botanical Center offers art showings whil walking through their beautiful gardens while listening to live music.  The First Saturday Art Crawl is a monthly event where art (and wine) lovers walk from gallery to abundant gallery in downtown Nashville.  The Parthenon, a full scale replica of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, located at Centennial Park in midtown Nashville, is also an art museum.

One can also attend the Nashville Film Festival which showcases independent International and local films at the Green Hills Theatres in mid April.  Downtown  is the Tennessee Performing Arts Center which is also the home of the Nashville Ballet, Nashville Opera and The Tennessee Repertory Theatre and also downtown is the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. On a smaller scale you can catch Improv and local theatre regularly at small, black box theatres around town.

These events only scratch the surface as there are showings at the many schools and Universities and, of course, live music everywhere you go in Nashville, as well.

Alyse Sands