Knoxville TN Real Estate Buzz -- Find It Here! Sondra Sheckler, Realtor Realty Executives & Assoc.

ADHD It is real

2008-06-13T07:18:01Z

My precious son was recently diagnosed with ADHD and I immediately jumped into research and studies regarding the treatment of ADHD, exactly what it is and best methods of treatment. Prior to his being diagnosed, I had noticed that he was a bit behind for his age, that he had not progressed academically as my other children had, but I thought it was because as I had more children, I had less time to zero in on helping him learn as I did the first three. I would try to sit down with him and go through the preschool workbooks, hanging up letters and numbers all over the house, placing educational CD's to play while in the car, etc., etc., etc., but he just wasn't getting "it".

He began kindergarten and was placed in a room with a teacher that came across to me during the kindergarten introduction meeting as being stern, firm, not very patient and zero sense of humor. However, I thought Landon needed someone that was firm in their rules. I noticed during the first few months of school that Landon began hating going to school, telling me that his teacher yelled at him or how much he was in time out. We had a meeting and they explained that he was not any further along after 5 months of school than when he began.

I knew my son was intelligent (and yes, I am proud of him, but not ignorant to my children's faults) and couldn't understand why he was so slow in learning and retaining information, couldn't sit still in class, was impulsive (now I know all the signs of ADHD), so I agreed to have him tested at my husbands beligerent attitude about it. He went in the dr's office with his guns loaded, much less receptive than I was. Naturally, as I suspected and as his teacher inadvertantly suggested, he was ADHD. NOW WHAT?

My husband wanted him to be "all naturale'" -- I, on the other hand, didn't mind him being "all naturale" at home, but in school wanted him to learn and progress. He, resentfully accepted putting him on medication (a new form, something fairly mild). The first day of school after he received a dosage of his medicine, he, for the first time came home with a "White" card -- the best you could get for the day! He stopped running and hiding his work and began turning it in to be graded. What went from a preschool knowledge base, by the end of the year he was actually passed on to the 1st grade.

NOW, this is not to say that the meds were wonderful because they were not. He was more emotional and much quiter and more focused at night than we were accustomed to and more than my husband comfortably accepted. We were used to this active, on occassion, loud, fast kid running around the house and in the yard, so that change was not and is still not readily accepted. During the summers we have cut his dosage in half because as his parents, we have the patience to work with him more on his impulsive, active behavior.

ADHD is REAL, it is a brain deficiency in nuerotransmitters and my philosophy on this is that children, who have much less self control than adults need help getting through this. My son was hiding his work all over the classroom because he was embarrassed because he didn't know how to finish it. His self esteem bottomed out because his teacher had ZERO tolerance for his impulsiveness and behavior (something I addressed with the school and some school board members), watching him struggle broke my heart.

The school board and teachers etc., need to realize that this is REAL, ADHD needs to be better understood by our educators. They need to learn how to work with these children. It is my understanding that for Knox County, they are not required to receive any additional education and/or training in how to effectively and efficiently work with ADHD children and that is not healthy for the children that are afflicted with this chemical imbalance, they cannot help it and are children and need to receive the respect that the A+ children in behavior and academics receive. In fact, ensuring that their self esteem doesn't bottom out would be and is crucial to their success.

The type of teacher he/she has DOES matter. Many have NO tolerance and NO understanding and NO desire to understand ADHD and its those types of teachers that kill your child's self esteem and "will" to want to learn. I will NOT have a teacher teaching him again that was like his kindergarten teacher and if your child has ADHD, you should ensure through interviewing your child's assigned teacher prior to the start of school (which is what I am doing) their knowledge, understanding and "want to" help a child with ADHD because if they don't have that, your child will be the one to suffer the short term and long term consequences of having a less than understanding teacher. I have already addressed this with the principal and I will be like a duck on a June bug on any other teachers that he has ensuring that they are not breaking his spirit nor crushing his self esteem. He does not need to be in a slow class for learners, his IQ has tested above normal, however, he is ADHD and that requires a little more than children without ADHD and I will ensure that my child is understood and receives the education he is entitled to.

I am working on being an advocate to ADHD, education the general public because I was IGNORANT about it as well and honestly didn't think it really existed until I understood exactly what it was and now it breaks my heart that children who's minds are not developed and are just learning self control and self expression have a deficiency in brain chemistry and cannot control themselves at times. We need to help them through this until they can learn to control themselves better, until they can learn and understand what this is and how to work with it and still be succesful.

Please read this article, it will break your heart: http://www.additudemag.com/adhd-web/article/2039.html

Snake Pit or Swimming Lagoon....Real Estate "Words" and What They Mean

2008-06-07T19:24:42Z

When you are looking for a home and go to the classifieds or the home books or pick up flyers from flyer boxes and try to read the verbiage and decipher what it means, it can be a real challenge. You really have NO idea what you are going to look at unless you know what these "overly enthusiastic" words really mean and at times, these words can make a snake pit sound like a swimming lagoon. Below are some common terms that are used in real estate ads and what these terms mean and what the abbreviations mean so you'll know when you see a house that you "think" you want to view further, you'll know what to expect.

The most misleading words in real estate (and what they really mean)

1. Cozy - basically means small, very close living space

2. Charming - typically means an older home that has characteristics those newer homes typically do not have

3. Original condition - means NEVER been updated, carpet is old, maybe original appliances, heating and air, definitely has room to investigate!

4. Needs TLC - its probably a dump, just kidding, but definitely needs cosmetic repair, maybe even structural, take a home inspetor

5. Conveniently located - close to all the busyness of life, possibly noisy

6. Desirable neighborhood - has "snob appeal" and priced based on its location rather than the condition, style or any curb appeal, definitely paying for location

7. Efficient kitchen - probably too small to fit two adults comfortably

8. One-car garage - you can probably drive in, but don't count on getting out of your car while its in the garage and absolutely NO extra storage space

9. Peek at the park/river/mountains - if you step out on the deck and lean 4 feet over to the left, hanging off the corner on the right, you could see the park, river or mountains

10. Useable land - means stripped of all nature bearing plants & trees

11. Beachfront steal - current owner can't get insurance due to the hurricanes and has to give this house away

12. Country living - out in the boonies

13. Must see inside - don't judge a book by its cover, must go INSIDE to appreciate, outside is a dump!

14. Unique - has some characteristic that makes it hard to sell

15. Just available - surprisingly came available because the precious owner died on the property, did not plan on selling it anytime soon

This was submitted ALL in fun, I have so many buyers asking what this or that word means and the fact of the matter is that ALL words mean something different to most people, its all in the perception. For instance, if you work in a cubicle, that cubicle can feel like a box with no air OR it could feel like 5 acres of land -- its all in your perception, negative or positive and in this example, how busy you are! Charming is a great word and I don't think of it in a negative light because I like charming, but if you're accustomed to a sprawling house with lots of acreage, charming may not be what you are looking for. Again -- its all in our perception.

Knox County School System

2008-05-26T17:45:04Z

When I was growing up in Knox County school system ( a time when God was in school), the most feared things while in school was getting caught chewing gum, running in the halls and being late to class. These days its bringing a gun to school, drugs and sex in the bathrooms. America is on a downward spiral of moral corruption and we just continue falling, turning our heads and being "ignorant" about what is going on. It seems terms that should describe something positive have been taken out of context and twisted to serve those that have other agendas, such as:

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and call it Pluralism.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it choice.

We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.

We have abused power and called it politics.

We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

**Please see full version of text taken from a prayer from Pastor Joe Wright. When he prayed this prayer, the legislature was expecting a "traditional" prayer and what they heard was something very non traditional, but true and some folks just didn't want to hear it and still don't.

As a mother of 4, I worry a lot about what my children see and hear, wanting to protect them from every evil that is out there. Since I am a reasonable person, I know I cannot protect them from everything, but I can set an example for their young, impressionable minds to see and watch and help form them as individuals.

The very busy road below my house, outside of the subdivision that I live in, after 9 p.m. the roads seem like they become littered with every imaginable type of driver or person that one could ever hope to not run into. I was out at this time, by accident (emergency room trip with my daughter/soccer accident) and just getting home in one piece was a chore. I don't want my 16 year old daughter out on these roads, but I know that as a mother, I can make a difference in their lives and if we all just try to make a difference in our family's life, then in time, we will reap the rewards.

Although there is NO other country I would rather raise my children in than the United States of America, even with all of its imperfections, there are things that we, as a society can do to make the world a better place. I am a very insignificant bleep on the "map of history", however, what I teach my children and allow my children to witness and learn about NOW will have a generational effect many years down the road, as far down as my great, great grandchildren and it is the growth from these seeds that one would see something positive from one thing I might plant in my child's mind. Planting THOSE seeds, starting with our family can allow us to talk about building self esteem without having to sacrifice much needed discipline and structure, to say the word "ambition" and know that that means someone works hard for what they have, to hear the word "choice" and know that it doesn't mean freedom to choose death over an innocent life. We can change this one family at a time.

A Tribute To Those Who Fought And Are Fighting For Our Country

2008-05-26T07:37:13Z

So many Americans forgot and many do not even know the reason for Memorial Day other than its a day off from work. Today let us remember why we have this "day off from work" and pay due respect to the reason why we have it and to those that we observe it for.

It was over one hundred years ago that Memorial Day was established to commemorate those who died in defending our national ideals. America's ideas of freedom, justice, and equal rights for all. These rights have been challenged many times since this was established and thousands of Americans have given their lives in many parts of the world to protect these rights and insure these rights for our children and our grandchildren to have a lasting peace. These men and women who sacrificed their lives in an effort that we live and have freedom demands that we continue to promote the cause of peace and the ideas for which many courageously fought for and many gave their lives for.

In recognizing these Americans that we are to honor today, Congress, on May 11, 1950 (the official date that this began was May 5th, 1868 when General John Logan began placing flowers on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers that were buried in Arlington cemetery) requested that our President issue a proclamation requesting that the people of the United States recognize and honor those that fought and are fighting for our freedom, be observed on Memorial Day. A day that we are to PRAY (yes, I said the word "pray") for permanent peace, a day to unite with the people across our great Nation, in prayer. President Ronald Reagan designated the exact hour to pray in unity as 11 o'clock a.m.

This brings up another thought, which I hope that no one here would disagree with, but the topic of flag burning. I know that for some this does not mean, in their eyes, "ANTI AMERICAN", but can our soldiers, who fought for us, so that we might live, continue to have the freedoms that we have, can we show respect and never, ever burn an American flag out of protesting something? There are men and women who die for you and for me, so that we can have our freedom. Let's hold our flag with the pride that we should have for it, for what it stands for and for those that died and are dying for it on this very day.

Today is a day of observance, of thankfulness, of paying respect to those that fought diligently for you, me and our country and to those that are still fighting to this day. Those men and women deserve the respect that is owed to them for fighting for our country and our great Lord deserves a prayer of gratitude and thankfulness for the many blessings that have been ours over the many years.

Let us pray at 11 o'clock for those men and women past, present and future that will represent our country on our behalf, defending our rights to freedom and let us be thankful all day long for those men and women and to God for giving us this day to show respect to them, our country and to him.

Have a blessed day.

Knoxville, TN

2008-05-24T19:23:14Z

The housing market in Knoxville is a question that I am often asked about and "just how" the market is affecting me. Last year at this time, there were nearly 600 more closings during the first 5 months of 2007 as compared to the market thus far in 2008. That's a lot of closings that we're missing!!! I am feeling the crunch, yet I can't figure out one thing. The buyers that are looking, the ones that are already approved and ready to roll, WHY are so many sitting on the fence?? From what I've read, the housing market, at least for Knoxville, TN won't take much more of a nose dive, I think we're at our "worst" and reports indicate that housing is going to start going back up. There are deals out there to be had, that is no secret, but keep in mind that sellers are not willing to give their homes away, they are just deciding to stay put rather than take a loss. So, if you want it, go for it before the market changes and there is less "play" in prices.

My parents wanted to downsize and I helped them find a condo that was "in their price range" and honestly, it was a step down rather than at the least, a side step, it was a step down. I couldn't not only picture them in that condo, but they were going to be paying more for something smaller, much smaller. My mother is a praying woman (not to say that I'm not, but you could not compare my faith to hers, not yet) and she just turned it over to God and "didn't worry about it." Time went on and on and on, showings came and went -- they had those insulting offers and then finally realized that they were stepping down, that they were going to pay more for less and why?? They not only would be "losing" on space and financially losing, but they would lose their peace. A peace that they created in their home now. They have a haven on their property now, so peaceful and green and beautiful, 2 acres of land v/s having a neighbor literally 4 feet from you (through walls) at any given time and they decided to stay put. My point in this story is that they nor any other seller is willing to lose on what they've built for their entire lives. They fit into that group of "sellers' in which they don't really "have to" sell, they just want to and the value that the house gave them was much more than buyers, who saw it as a commodity and an investment, rather than a house at that point, just didn't bring to the table what they wanted.

However, if you have to sell, if you have to move on, your home is going to have to be priced appropriately or it will just take a LONG time sell. Average time on the market now is 90-180 days and even at that, as we all know, the longer your home is on the market, the more value it loses in a buyers eyes.

If you have to sell, price it right from the begining. Don't build in a "cushion" to bargain with, have your curb appeal in place (make them WANT to come into your house) and have the inside in shape. The market is "soft" but not desperate and I can only see it going up. Buyers: You have so many options, so much to choose from, stop riding the fence, "deals" are awaiting you and honestly, now is the time to buy.

Flying The Coup

2008-05-17T11:24:39Z

I couldn't resist writing about something that has consumed me to some degree over the last 3 weeks. My very curious 6 year old found a nest of newly hatched mockingbirds and of course, I had to see them. We never touched them or the nest or anything like that, but just peered in at them DAILY. Well, the momma didn't like that much and although she never bothered my son, she would swoop down and brush against me everytime I stepped outside, she was "charge" at me as if to warn me to stay away from her babies. The day came to teach them to fly, a mere two weeks later, she was kicking them out of the nest and teaching them to fly on their own. She would guard them and watch them from afar, flying down to share some wisdom every now and then and then fly away and watch them. I was wondering why they taught theirs so quickly and got them out of the "house" so fast when it take 20-30 years to get our human children out of the "nest" and even then, some never learn to fly and some refuse to leave the nest. My daughter told me yesterday that she was moving out when she turned 18, but that she would come back home to "let me do her laundry" (gee thanks) and rob my cupboards (the locks will be changed).

I just loved looking at them when they were in the nest though, those little black eyes looking back at me, they are so cute and tiny. My husband doesn't think they are "cute" but they are cute and that is why they survive. I am not so sure that my children would have survived if they had not been so cute, especially when the wagons and tricylces went across my flowers beds so many times, or my son decides he'll do rock climbing on our rock/stone covered fireplace only to fall down on the fireplace stone beneath to crack his head open requiring stitches. Being "cute" at that point was a survival tactic that he used against me, otherwise, I might have had to take him out myself! :-)

These tiny little creatures are precious and to watch them during these two weeks reminds me of the evolution of life, of the growth of things. I was trimming another bush only to find a nest INSIDE, I felt so bad because at that point, I had taken away the parts of the bush that sheltered those tiny little fellas from elements and predators, so I check on them even more. The other day it was raining and the little fellas were getting all wet, so I took my HUGE soccer umbrella (yes, I am a "soccer mom") and put it over the bush so that they wouldn't get wet. My husband drove up and of course noticed that one of our front lawn bushes had this huge umbrella over it and laughed after he heard my reasoning, but it truly broke my heart that I had done that to their home. LESSON LEARNED: Do not just charge towards a bush in the early spring cutting and wacking trees, shrubs and bushes down until you see if someone or something is living in there.

These little fellas -- they are truly precious, so tiny and vunerable at this stage in life waiting on momma to bring them their food. Watching her nuture them and take care of them and protect them, it is just a natural instinct that animals (this includes most humans) are born with and its such a beautiful thing to watch. I have truly enjoyed watching this part of nature. It does amaze me that they kick them out of the nest so early and then they are gone. It would be a miracle if all parents alike, including humans, would teach their young survival tactics with such intent and determination as these mothers do in teaching their youngins' to fend for themselves, to find food, to fly, to make their home. Children today aren't taught these basic things of life and that is where America is failing our children and that is one reason society is today the way it is. Watching the nurturing of these momma birds to their babies, yet encouraging and teaching independence was a lesson to me with my own children. The world is not getting better, it is not getting easier. We could all learn this parenting lesson from something as simple as a bird. Nuture them, love them, teach them, give them their education, teach them survival skills and then let them fly.

Diagnosis: A.D.D Closets & Pantries

2008-05-08T06:09:28Z

Sellers: You have to know that buyers do open your bedroom closets, your linen closets, your pantry doors and your coat closets and it helps them to see that they are not being used as a landfill and that they are not an overlooked diagnosis of ADD. Embrace this disorder and get it some help because it does matter what they see when they open those doors!

Step One: Admit your closet has ADD and is going to require some intervention and it can't do it alone because having ADD without help is like trying to build a house in a sand storm or driving in the rain with bad windshield wipers, everything is blurry. It will require intervention from someone else. Admittance is the first step towards an anti clutter campaign.

Step Two: PURGE: Yes, that's right, I said "PURGE". And you may need reinforcement, bring a friend in that will help you "let go" of that ratty old shirt that is 17 years old. Do this by taking EVERYTHING out of that closet and putting it in one BIG heap. While the closet is empty, ensure nothing is "growing" in there, if so, clean it out too and ensure no siblings or children are lurking in there. Vacuum it and wipe the shelving off etc., Get 3 containers, one for too old or stained, one for going to donate and the other for keeping. GROUND RULES: if its too small - get rid of it, if it has a stain - get rid of it, if you haven't worn it in a year, get rid of it, if its torn or broken, get rid of it.

FOR PANTRIES: Get a pantry orgranizer, its that simple.

Look at your closets and your pantries as you would look if you were a buyer. If you saw messy closets and messy pantries and could not see the "pantry" or the "closet" -- what would you think? I would be like, "Ugghh and think that if they couldn't take care of this, what else is amiss in the house?" Yes, it is a time consuming effort to be organized, but you cannot sell a house in the manner that you live in it. Your buyer HAS TO be able to picture THEIR stuff there and if they are neat and organized and your closets and pantries look like they suffer from ADD, they cannot possibly visualize their stuff among your mess.

Clean it up, be anti clutter -- anything you are not going to use for the next 6 months, pack and take it to storage, trust me on this one, it will help SO much! The hardest part of my job is telling a seller this, but I want a house I can sell and when things look like this, it doesn't sell or takes longer to sell. I have to be honest, open and upfront about what it is going to take to sell this house. It is going to have to be decluttered, only the essentials left so the buyer can see their "stuff" sitting there and if they can't even see the floor or the shelves, they can't see past the mess. Look at your house through buyers eyes, this is a commodity to a buyer, it isn't their "home", its just a "house" at this point. Being allowed to put their stuff there and surrounding themselves with their stuff will make it a home. Its nothing personal towards sellers, but buyers have to see it as theirs, not yours.

If you would like help or assistance in diagnosis and treatment of your ADD Closets and Pantries, just let me know. I will help you de clutter, depersonalize and stage your home to sell quickly and for top dollar!

Call me at: 865-454-3307 or visit www.sondrasheckler.com

The Journal and Journey of 1 Real Estate Agent and 1 Buyer/Transaction

2008-05-04T16:26:20Z

I am not so sure that the general public is aware of just what it takes to be an efficient Realtor. It disturbs me that so many folks judge the profession, pretty much as a "joke" in that Realtors collect big fat checks for virtually doing what they feel is "nothing." I read recently that Realtors ranked one level below another profession that I know the general public loathes and on a respect level, receive no respect either. I know how this disturbs me as I am sure most Realtors. I feel as though I am very professional, ethical, hardworking, educated and loyal and I take my job very seriously, as others do. We spend a very large amount of money just to stay in this profession, keeping our license active, our insurance in place, additional educational courses that cost money and that are required and we do not get paid on anything we do until closing. We don't have a salary, we don't have a gas allowance, and if you're lucky, you have someone else carrying you for health insurance, otherwise, you have to add that cost in too. We don't get paid for any of the time it takes to find, research and schedule showings, not for our computer, our internet access, board access, nothing for mileage on our vehicles (which is another topic and issue that I have because we are judged by what we drive too) nothing, until we go to a closing. And even after closing, many fees come out of our commission checks and generally speaking, a Realtor pays brokerage fees or franchise fees (or both as I do) as much as 30% of our commission check to our Brokers. So, that "big" nice check buyers and sellers see at closing don't get to see the aftermath of what is left once our fees come out of it and then calculate gas, mileage and time and you'll be lucky if you're making minimum wage on many deals!

So, I kept a journal of one buyer that I am still currently working with that is relocating to Cleveland, TN from Las Vegas and our journey through the home buying process just to give a small glimpse into my life during the course of this home search. Realtors do not just load folks up, find a house, make an offer and kick back and wait on that big fat check to come in -- finding the house (which is a chore since there are so many to choose from) is JUST the beginning, the real work begins when the offer is made. However, a lot of time and energy goes into just getting to that point. For instance, in Knoxville, we do not have one central number to call and schedule showings, we have to call as many offices are listed on each House. For example, for 13 showings, on average, you would make at least 9 different phone calls and EACH phone requires the same info. agent name, company name, agent email, agent fax number, time of showing etc., etc., etc., and then many times you can not get an immediate confirmation, so they have to call back to confirm. You make the same call at least 9 times for ONE buyer or one day of showings. Also, when you are scheduling these showings, it would beehove you to put them in order of proximity to one another, otherwise you will be backtracking. Of course, what really makes scheduling these showings "fun" is when one sellers has to have a 2 hour notice, that really throws a monkey wrench into the showings schedule.

I met this buyer through my website (which I paid for and am still paying for monthly for "perks" I have on it)-- nearly a year ago. We established communication over the course of the year because she was not going to make a move of moving until this time this year. So, without ever meeting her, we communicated via email and phone for nearly 9 months. I would send her mounds of information about the areas she was interested in and this in itself was a chore because she could be within 50 minutes of her work (WATTS BAR DAM). So, for you who have a hard time grasping that, make dot on a map and go out 50 miles from that dot and make a complete circle around the dot and those are the areas we could look in. It was virtually 9-11 different counties (Tennessee has MANY counties) . It was my job to hopefully scale that down before we ever got on the road, otherwise, I would be gone for months.

You also have to know that when you get "out" in the some of these counties, the houses that match their criteria might be 30-90 minutes apart.

We finally met, face to face in March 2008. I drove to Cleveland (90 minute drive) to sit down with her face to face, get a "sense" about her, brought homes that we could look at and critique so I could get a good "feel" about her and what she was looking for and that lasted about 2 hours. Then I drove home (another 90 minutes).

The following two weekends, we met and went out and "looked" and "previewed" and I got to know her taste's much better. The third weekend of buyer agent togetherness, her husband comes to town and we have homes scheduled to see that she/he has picked out and they in 4 different counties. I drive to Cleveland and set out for an all day long adventure. We have 9 homes scheduled to look at and the longest distance between them is about 70 minutes drive time. We set out on our journey, looking for and at the houses that they handpicked to see. Long story short: They didn't like ANY of them, but we did discover which counties that they did NOT want to be in! :-)

So, the next weekend, another drive to Cleveland -- we zero in on a few counties that are side by side and schedule 11 homes to see that day. ZILCH!

The next 3 weekends, we didn't go out because of her work obligations, Easter, she had to go home for a while to get that house on the market etc.,

During this time, I continue handpicking homes for her to look at, our price range was $350k-$500k -- a big difference in what you can get at 350k and what you can get with a 500k house. Very specific things had to be in each house, no vinyl, no carpet, a fireplace, room for an above ground pool or room to put one in, atleast an acre of land between homes, more if possible, within 50 minutes of her employment, there had to be a "flow" that she wanted with the house, ceilings had to be "high" for the Christmas Tree"s" and there had to be "yard" for the pool and the grandbabies to play in. If you know anything about Tennessee at all, to have at least an acre of land between neighbors, you are typically going to have to be off the beaten path of civilization. The bedrooms had to be large, especially the master and there had to be a "workshop" for the hubby. Good, quality cabinets, plenty of closet space, lots of windows, room for family to come and visit and stay............many, many fine details that had to be present. So, I spent a lot of time hand searching through these listings and sending them to her to hand search through and tweaking each time we went out to be certain that these are the ones to see.

Naturally, there were some that were totally different than the pictures depicted, so they just got marked off the list. We went out like this probably 6 times (me driving to Cleveland each time and back to Knoxville and while in Cleveland, literally all over the county) until we found "the one" and we did:

This house was the 3rd to the last one, we had a hard time finding it and finally began a mile long drive down a gravel driveway that was bumpy and very questionable. She said, "Sondra, I think we should turn back because folks get shot for doing things like this in Tennessee." I said, "no, we're not going back, we will see what is at the end of this road." I expected Billy Bob to be sitting on the back of his dilapidated red Ford truck with a big wad of tobacco in his mouth and a shotgun across his leg and saying "where do you think you're going little missy?" Instead, we rounded our last gravel pothole and there she sat, a very large brick house with 13.5 acres of land, 2 car attached and 2 car detached garage, absolutely beautiful. That is what makes days and weeks like I've had rewarding, this was "it."

I traveled back to Knoxville and planned the next Friday with her and hubby, who had to look at it too, but we saw a few others along the way and then we went to look at that "one" and hubby agreed with his wife that this was "the one" and we go back and draw up an offer -- and submit it.

Now, the work really begins. Negotiations went on for a few days and my buyers became frustrated and told me to tell them to "forget it" (..........me hyperventilating)

and that I was wasting my time trying to negotiate. The only thing is that I have already invested a significant amount of time in this transaction and wasn't going to let it go over something silly that just needed to be worked out. So, I and the other agent kept plugging away for three days, back and forth, back and forth trying desperately to get these folks to reach a reasonable agreement.

We finally came to terms on a price. Now, next step and still a step that could break the deal: Home inspection, termite inspection, septic tank inspection, etc etc., etc., So, I got busy getting these things scheduled and arranged and completed. Termite inspection came back good, (1 down), septic (good, 2 down), home inspection, the real tough one -- I chewed on my nails while waiting on this one. It comes in a few minor things, but one of the minor ones could have been a deal breaker for my folks if the sellers didn't agree to take care of it. So, we submitted a Home Inspection Contingency Removal Form with certain conditions that had to be met. They counter -- here we go again, NEGOTIATIONS-- this went on for 2 more days and I am still biting my nails. Once again, my buyer ready to walk if they just didn't agree to one certain item that was very important and would be to any family. So, I relay this and sit and wait........wait.......wait......for the phone call that we reached an agreement and wait.....until I finally get the sigs because without signatures, it isn't done until you get those.

And as most folks know, "It ain't done until the fat lady sings" and for me that is after closing and all signatures are done and the transfer of ownership takes place.

WAIT: Monkey wrench thrown in: I received a disclosure that says that the sellers do not know if the land perks or not and has no knowledge of it ever being tested. Well, panic surrounded me for a few seconds then I jumped into production mode making the phone calls to the city of Cleveland, the inspectors, the environmentalists etc., and finally located the paperwork that was done and filed prior to these sellers obtaining the land indicating that, yes........the land perked and I could provide official documentation to my buyers.

So, now -- there are happy buyers (getting the house they wanted and it is a gem and the sellers getting what they wanted and they get to move on to another city) and two agents that worked hard together to make this happen without hurt feelings. My buyers are really wonderful folks, kind, determined and driven because they know what they wanted, this is their "retirement home", the place their children will come and grandchildren and plenty of room for them all. I wish all my buyers were like these folks are, loyal and kind -- two qualities that I wish all my buyers had.

So, for now -- I have taken a breather and my buyers have too and I am sure that the sellers are more at ease as well, but the point is that finding the house is only 1/3rd of the battle, the rest is getting it to closing without kinks, without hurt feelings, with the buyers and sellers being able to be in the same room and smiling at one another and the agents shaking hands at the end and everyone going home happy - another new homeowner, another successful closing and now my heart can take a small hiatus. At least until tomorrow! Most of all, I hope my buyers respect me more than what the general public thinks of real estate agents. It takes a lot more than just getting your license if you are going to build your clientele, build your reputation and grow in this business!

Ah, the life of a real estate agent!

Knoxville, TN also voted a "HOT" city for business

2008-03-26T17:35:32Z

Knoxville, TN -- One HOT City!!

Expansion magazine, a business magazine fro executives of companies that are actively looking placed to expand and/or relocate their business ranked our great city, Knoxville, TN as one of "America's 50 Hottest Cities" in its January 2005 issue.

Knoxville ranked no. 14 on the list which was complied through site location consultants that were asked to list their top choice cities not even taking into consideration such factors as the business climate, work force quality, operating expenses, incentive programs and the potential of ease in working with local political and economical development officials.

Knoxville seemed to be one of the top cities that offered logistical advantages, a high quality of life, a favorable tax and political climate, available work force and sites to build manufacturing or distribution facilities and/or headquarters.

Knoxville is not only a great place to live and raise a family, it is also a great place to do business in. Visit http://www.sondrasheckler.com/ for more information and/or call 865-454-3307.

Knoxville, TN -- Voted One Of The Best Cities For Relocating Families

2008-03-26T16:59:17Z

How do you determine the cities that are best suited to relocate your family? Sperling's teamed up with Money magazine, Worldwide ERC and Primacy to study and rate cities based on those factors -- short term & long term that determine the success of a relocation.

Traditional factors such as tax rates, average home costs and home appreciation are combined with families' relocation concerns such as ability to qualify for in state tuition, service levels of local utilities, volunteerism and auto taxes. With all of these factors taken into consideration, Knoxville, TN ranked #3 in Large Markets (populations over 500,000), 3rd only to Middlesex/Somerset/Hunterdon, NJ (#2) and Austin/San Marcos,TX (#1). Other TN cities that ranked in the overall study was Memphis, TN, Chattanooga, TN & Jackson, TN.

While I am partial to Knoxville, it really is a great place to live. Visit my website at: www.sondrasheckler.com and click on the various tabs and links within those tabbed communities and see what a great place Knoxville is and all that we have to offer those folks wishing and needing to relocate.

Buyer Handouts

2008-02-27T05:12:57Z

Buying a home can be a daunting experience especially for first time home buyers. Many seek information through the Internet to educate themselves some before contacting a real estate agent for the first time. The Internet is a excellent resources for information HOWEVER it can be overwhelming to many people because there is so much information and at times, it is also contradictory information.

Your best resource is a local real estate agent (me!! :-) who can filter out the unnecessary information that only causes you to be confused and possibly skeptical of buying a house at all. Your home buying experience doesn't have to be that stressful, it can actually be very pleasant with the right information, the right service providers AND the right real estate agent.

I can email you handouts that will calm the process for you and enable you to focus on the important data that you needto know and filter out the unnecessary information that can overburden you during your house hunting process.

For a copy of any of these handouts for FREE & with absolutely NO obligation nor unwanted advice :-) -- email me at sondra.sheckler@coldwellbanker.com and I will send you 1 or ALL of the handouts that you choose to want to review. Here is what is available to help make your home buying process less stress ridden:

10 Ways to Prepare for Homeownership
5 Common Firs Time Home Buyer Mistakes
Why You Should Work With A REALTOR(R)
Questions to Ask When Choosing A REALTOR(R)
7 Reasons to Own Your Home
Tax Benefits of Homeownership
Speciality Mortgages: Risk and Rewards
Loan Types to Consider
6 Creative Ways to Afford a Home
Get Your Finances in Order: To Do List
Budget Basics Worksheet
What You Can Do to Improve Your Credit
5 Factors That Decide Your Credit Score
How Big of a Mortgage Can I Afford?

FINDING THE RIGHT PROPERTY:

8 Tips to Guide for Your Home Search
5 Most Dangerous Hazards in a Home
4 Common Home Hazards
How High Tech is Your Home?
5 Property Tax Questions You Need to Ask
Your Property Wish List (a favorite!!)
Tips for Finding The Perfect Neighborhood
Tips For Buying in a Tight Market
Pros and Cons of Going Condo
10 Questions to Ask Home Inspectors
What A Home Inspection Should Cover

CLOSING AND BEYOND:

5 Things to Know About Homeowner's Insurance
Tips for Lowering Homeowner's Insurance Costs
5 Things to Know About Title Insurance
What's a Home Warranty?
What Not to Overlook on a Final Walk-through
Common Closing Costs for Buyers
Moving With Pets
Closing Documents You Should Keep
17 Tips For Packing Like A Pro

EMAIL ME AT:

sondra.sheckler@coldwellbanker.com

NO OBLIGATION -- JUST HELPFUL INFO!!!

any direct questions: 865-454-3307

New Real Estate Projects with Affordable Prices

2008-02-18T06:28:26Z

It is estimated that thousands of new houses, condominiums and apartments will be built in the Knox Couny region this year. What does that mean to folks wanting to buy or move? It means that despite predictions, housing prices will remain affordable when compared to overhead metropolitan housing markets.

A total of 12,785 residential building permits were issued in eight counties around Tennessee and the trend is expected to continue. "The national media is reporting a housing bubble, but don't believe it." according to Akinds, the president of The Market Edge Inc., a Knoxville based informaion reporting service located here in Knoxville, TN.

Housing demands are expected to increase, some building materials needed to build housing will decrease and rising mortgage rates won't make housing unaffordable.

The wide variety of housing will continue to go up including apartments, condo developments, starter homes, loft style condos and estate home subdivisions.

Some developments that are demanding attention are:

Downtown Knoxville: Central Station lofts, a 20 million dollar project. South side: River Towne Condos, a 50 unit development overlooking the Tennessee River (watching the VOL NAVY). West Knox County, 1 700 single family town home and multifamily units. There are a diverse production of housing units to choose from.

The national media does not accurately depict individual or local real estate news, so trust your local real estate agent to supply you with local real estate news. If you are wishing to purchase in and around Knoxville, TN -- do not hesitate to call me or email me with your questions, concerns or more housing information at:

sondra_sheckler@hotmail.com (email)

865.454.3307 (mobile)

www.sondrasheckler.com

Why Is It A Great Time To Buy Real Estate?

2008-02-03T07:15:57Z

It is a great time to buy because:

(1) There are thousands of homes for sale in the Knoxville Area (Knoxville MLS). Regardless of the price range that a buyer is in, there are many homes to choose from. Several years ago, a buyer was forced to make compromises if they wanted to buy a home and buy it before someone else did, but now there are many to choose from and buyers can take several hours to overnight to make a decision about a home.

(2) There are no bidding wars going on right now unless its a real steal of a bargain and the Knoxville market has not shown any indication of sellers having to under-price their home (so no real bidding wars). Years ago, it was nothing to make an offer on several homes and lose on all of them because of other offers that were often over the asking price. There is NO competitive bidding in this buyer's market.

(3) Years ago, everything was rushed. Find the home of your dreams before someone else snatched it up, hurry and make your offer. Today, buyers can take their time.

(4) Due Diligence is welcomed -- buyers are encouraged to get home inspections, infact even if the home is newly constructed, I still advise my clients to obtain a home inspection. Years ago, these advantageous steps were ignored and bypassed just to beat the other person to the punch.

(5) Specs, Specs, Specs -- There are plenty of specs that are vacant and ready to be sold! Years ago, buyers would sleep in their cars to put in an offer on a home. That isn't necessary anymore, there are specs you can move into right now.

(6) You can make a reasonable offer -- gone are the days of having to "over offer" on a house just to beat out the other offers. Today you can make a reasonable offer for a home and a seller isn't going to be insulted if you make an offer below asking price, yet reasonable.

(7) Repairs requests are "okay" -- today's buyers have the home inspections completed and when the results come back that something needs to be repaired, the idea is received openly if the request is reasonable.

(8) Fewer investors -- years back, it was investors you were competing against. It is estimated that 1/3rd of all sales in 2005 were to investors which caused these non owner occupied homes to inflate and affordability to decline. Mortgage fraud became commonplace. It is a great time to buy a home without having to compete with so many potential landlords.

(9) LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION -- location always matters. Buyers are buying closer to where they work and want to play -- In this market, reasonably priced homes are within walking or biking distance to schools and work.

(10) REAL, DEPENDABLE Financing is back! Gone are the days of the "wink wink" zero down, no documentation needed, adjustable, sub prime loans -- fixed rates are back, FHA loans are back, special loans and programs for our public service individuals are back.

Its a great time to buy real estate these days!

Home Valuation - Fun or Facts?

2008-01-21T04:53:43Z

GET THE FACTS when it comes to putting a value on your home or when you are considering making an offer on another home, don't leave this to guess work, only a true, local agent who has access to the recent sales and history of sales in and around an area can give an accurate picture of the value of local real estate.

In working with a buyer that came from Florida where real estate prices are certainly not at their best and where they took a 30k hit on the sale of their home poses issues/concerns in markets that have not felt this blow to the real estate market. Knoxville, TN fortunately has not taken as hard of a hit than other markets and seems to be slowly picking back up, our sellers (the ones that aren't overpriced) have not reached the point of desperation in giving their house away, knocking 30k off the price nor throwing in a car or all the furniture. Sellers have maintained their stand and are still willing to sell their house for what it is worth.

The frequently usage of AVM's (automated valuation models) gives buyers an inflated sense of "bargaining" room that truly doesn't exist in the Knoxville Market. Sellers still expect reasonable offers and days on the market does not affect their price at this point.

AVM's, (Zillow.com, Realtytrac, Domania, etc.,) are fun to play with, it appears that they are only accurate a very small percentage of the time. The best I've seen in Domania that has been accurate only half of the time or 57% (bankrate.com). So, buyers....a good, sound piece of advice is to contact a local Realtor who can give you most up to date, accurate home value prices and be within 5% of the accurate price. A house is only worth what a seller will sell it for and what a buyer will buy it for and real estate agents can access this information immediately and provide you with an estimate value based on a number of factors that have to be taken into consideration during a home valuation report.

If you are a seller or a buyer wanting the most accurate information available for the estimation of your home or a home you are interested in, please call me and I would be glad to research this for you and provide it to you at no cost. Just call me at 865-454-3307 or email: mailto:sondra_shecklre@hotmail.com and visit me at: www.sondrasheckler.com

Why The Children?

2008-01-19T06:30:08Z

Why are the children suffering at the hands of caregivers that are found to being doing despicable things to them. Caregivers that the children trust, look up to, believe that they are truly caring for their well being. It isn't just molestation, rape, kidnapping, its being thrown off brides, thrown onto interstates and walking into oncoming traffic with children in one's arms to kill yourself and children?? My heart is so burdened right now, it is so heavy when I read the latest of the N.H. woman who took her 4 & 5 year old niece and nephew and walked into oncoming traffic with them. This insanity has got to stop, why the children???

The entire country is under a lot of stress, everyone is feeling the stress of the economy. It doesn't matter how much money you make or don't make, everybody is singing the blues. Gas prices are ridiculous, dining out anymore is insane (I took my son to Krystal's the other day and one meal for him with 4 items was $9, I think that is a ridiculous price), prices have gone up on everything and our salaries have not gone up to keep up with the times. Then add the general stress of life to someone who is or potentially could be chemically imbalanced or just has no value placed on the lives of others for whatever reason and they begin doing things to others that are despicable. This may come across harsh, but if a person is so miserable that they are at the point of hurting others because of their misery -- don't inflict your misery on someone else, especially not the children. Like the guy that threw the children off the bridge because he was mad at his wife, he should have jumped off the bridge and left the children alone. This woman that walked into oncoming traffic for whatever reason should have walked into on her own, not with the children.

I know folks have chemical imbalances and are under medical care or should be and that some have just been known to snap for whatever reason, but typically there is a history of some sort of behavioral indicators that tip off family and friends that possibly they shouldn't be watching children. I am a bit over protective when it comes to my children, I won't go into detail about my involvement in the school system and after school care facilities that they on occasion attended, but suffice it to say that I watched them more than they ever knew and was on them like a duck on a June bug if something was amiss.

There are hundreds of stories regarding children being abused, neglected and/or murdered, so this is for all of them too. There is only one thing that can be done for these children that have been killed, abused and/or neglected and the ones that are now being abused, neglected or at the hands of the person that will kill them eventually and that is prayer for them and their safety and well being. They are children, helpless and at the mercy of adults that are supposed to love them, nurture them and protect them. Prayer is one thing that the world (because this isn't just in the United States) can do in unity that could be strong enough to make a difference. Can we all say a prayer for our children, their safety and well being and also for the caregivers who are taking care of them, for their patience in caring for them and for them or others around them to be able to detect or "see" that they should not being caring for children and for them to get the help that they need to bring stability to their life so they are not a danger to children?

There are many folks out there in the "RAIN" -- we can all make a difference. Can you help on this? Just say a prayer for our youth and for the caregivers that they are at the mercy of that might not have their best interests at heart or that have other issues that could cause them to pose a danger to children. And if you can do more then do more and share your information, stories and resources so we can all find small ways to reach out and help.

Thank you.

"Fun Sucker AND Meanest Mom in Powell, Tn Won't Let Daughter Get Drivers Permit

2008-01-13T06:32:43Z

If you've been following the news on the "Mean Mom Sells Car After Misdeed" then you will know what this horrible woman did to her son. If not, then visit: http://www6.comcast.net/news/articles/odd/2008/01/09/ODD.Car.Ad/ and see just how mean she is!

My daughter had a birthday part on Friday, January 11th (her 15th birthday was on Thursday, January 10th which means she is old enough to get driver permit). I had 15 or so 15 year old's at my house for five hours (yes, I survived, but barely). The only thing that got broke this time was the back of the basketball goal as something ALWAYS gets broke when we have friends over. We have informed the children that from this point on, they will be financially responsible for anything else that gets broken or ruined due to them or their friends total disrespect of our property.

ANYWAY........my daughter, who up until the 5th grade (when socializing entered her life), she was an A & B student, since the drama of female hormones invaded her body and the body of her friends, its been a downward spiral on grades, year after year after year. Yes, I am or "was" one of "those" moms that gave opportunity, after opportunity, after opportunity and accepted "I turned that in" story for literally YEARS. Not anymore, no not anymore, I am practicing "tough love" now on her, but if you ask her I am really one of the meanest, strictest, most out there mothers on the planet and you guessed it, I really don't mind being titled that, I am okay with it now.

I have teased her all semester of her choices of classes for her freshman year, she had what I called "basket weaving", "under water ballet" and "texting" classes -- well, this semester, I chose her classes for her and let's just say that she is taking classes that will better prepare her for college and the real life than employment at a local bar and pub. She is now enrolled in Advanced English/College Prep, World History, World Geography, Alegra II and Cosmetology. Her dream since she was 6 was to be a pediatric surgeon, but the history of her grades and choice of classes might prepare her for a job that doesn't even touch her potential in life.

Last semester, the acceptance of "stories" and "excuses" as to why there is a zero on this grade or missing paperwork/class work is unacceptable now. We have what is called a parent portal where I can log on daily, see if she is at school, if she was late to any of her classes and what she did in class while she was there. This tool is utilized frequently because she has proven that she cannot be trusted at this stage in her life and I won't just take her word for it any longer.

She is of age to get her permit, but she has proven that she can't handle being driven to school and maintain her grades, so I don't think I can trust her to drive to school alone and maintain her grades. She also wants a job, well there is NO way she can handle a job and her grades, she can't maintain her grades without a job which means that she doesn't need any more responsibilities put on her that might distract her. Yes, her friends have their permits, some have permits which allow them to drive to school alone because of hardships etc., but this girl will not be driving until her grades are up to par and for me, that means A's and B's. C's are unacceptable in our home unless I know that they are deficient in a certain subject, which she is not and C's are "average" and she is not an "average" student, she has proven this by being placed in advanced classes through testing, so c's are not acceptable, but on occasion and it best be from actually not understanding and not from me looking at parent portal and she just didn't do her work (which has been the case recently).

So, now -- I am the uncool mom who doesn't even let her "practice" driving in our subdivision or even let her "back the car up". I am "too strict", "uncool", "mean", I "don't understand anything", I "don't get it" and a host of other adjectives to describe me. I say, "OH WELL..........." this is a good lesson for my boys too -- now they see what is going to have to be in place for them to get their permit. Oh, I forgot to mention, I also monitor the myspace, I have her login and password and if I ever go to sign on and the password is changed, guess what? NO MY SPACE.........gone, deleted -- no more privleges and yes, I have created a profile just to see what she is saying and doing......that is the mean mom I am.

So, here's to the MEANEST MOM'S IN THE WORLD, Keep Up The Good Work!"

VISIT THIS LINK FOR THE POEM by Bobbie Pingaro: http://mrmom.amaonline.com/poems/meanestmother.htm

"The Meanest Mother"

     I had the meanest mother in the whole world. While other kids ate
candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal, eggs or toast. When others
had cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. As you can
guess, my supper was different than the other kids' also.
     But at least, I wasn't alone in my sufferings. My sister and two
brothers had the same mean mother as I did.
     My mother insisted upon knowing where we were at all times. You'd
think we were on a chain gang. She had to know who our friends were and
where we were going. She insisted if we said we'd be gone an hour, that
we be gone one hour or less--not one hour and one minute. I am nearly
ashamed to admit it, but she actually struck us. Not once, but each
time we had a mind of our own and did as we pleased. That poor belt was
used more on our seats than it was to hold up Daddy's pants. Can you
imagine someone actualy hitting a child just because he disobeyed? Now
you can begin to see how mean she really was.
   We had to wear clean clothes and take a bath. The other kids always
wore their clothes for days. We reached the height of insults because
she made our clothes herself, just to save money. Why, oh why, did we
have to have a mother who made us feel different from our friends?
    The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by nine each night
and up at eight the next morning. We couldn't sleep till noon like our
friends. So while they slept-my mother actually had the nerve to break
the child-labor law. She made us work. We had to wash dishes, make
beds, learn to cook and all sorts of cruel things. I believe she laid
awake at night thinking up mean things to do to us.
     She always insisted upon us telling the truth, the whole truth and
nothing but the truth, even if it killed us- and it nearly did.
     By the time we were teen-agers, she was much wiser, and our life
became even more unbearable. None of this tooting the horn of a car for
us to come running. She embarrassed us to no end by making our dates
and friends come to the door to get us. If I spent the night with a
girlfriend, can you imagine she checked on me to see if I were really
there. I never had the chance to elope to Mexico. That is if I'd had a
boyfriend to elope with. I forgot to mention, while my friends were
dating at the mature age of 12 and 13, my old fashioned mother refused
to let me date until the age of 15 and 16. Fifteen, that is, if you
dated only to go to a school function. And that was maybe twice a year.

     Through the years, things didn't improve a bit. We could not lie
in bed, "sick" like our friends did, and miss school. If our friends
had a toe ache, a hang nail or serious ailment, they could stay home
from school. Our marks in school had to be up to par. Our friends'
report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for
failing. My mother being as different as she was, would settle for
nothing less than ugly black marks.
      As the years rolled by, first one and then the other of us was put
to shame. We were graduated from high school.   With our mother behind
us, talking, hitting and demanding respect, none of us was allowed the
pleasure of being a drop-out.
     My mother was a complete failure as a mother. Out of four
children, a couple of us attained some higher education. None of us
have ever been arrested, divorced or beaten his mate.   Each of my
brothers served his time in the service of this country. And whom do we
have to blame for the terrible way we turned out? You're right, our
mean mother. Look at the things we missed. We never got to march in a
protest parade, nor to take part in a riot, burn draft cards, and a
million and one other things that our friends did.
She forced us to grow up into God-fearing, educated, honest adults.
      Using this as a background, I am trying to raise my three
children. I stand a little taller and I am filled with pride when my
children call me mean.
      Because, you see, I thank God, He gave me the meanest mother in
the whole world.

written by Bobbie Pingaro (1967)

Single Women Buy Homes, Yes they do!

2008-01-12T12:53:28Z

Reflecting over the last year of my career, I have noticed something that appears to be coming more prevalent across the country, single women buying homes, alone. The reason I feel compelled to write about this is because I bought my first home, alone and loved it. I loved being there alone, working there in the yard, yes alone, having pride in my home ownership and the fact that I could "do it on my own". I felt like a kid saying, "I can do it myself' and I did and felt pride in doing so, proving to myself that I can have the American Dream on my own, I didn't have to "wait" on the traditional steps involved in home ownership, that being waiting to get married and then buy, I bought before marriage. My first home was 1800 square foot, new construction home, it had 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a fireplace, a kitchen/dining room combo with an additional sit at breakfast bar, a deck -- the works! You can do it too!

THIS WAS MY FIRST HOUSE!!! Livingroom,fireplace,kitchen area

I have been a buyers agent for 7 single women this year, women who are either new graduates from college or still attending college and/or starting graduate school. What prompted them to buy a house, instead of say a condo or renting until graduation? Their reasons varied, but the bulk of the responses I received was the benefits of owning intead of renting, they had animals, sense of pride, as investments to name just a few.

22% of all buyers in 2006 were women compared to 9% of single male buyers, that is a significant difference. They do come in all shapes, sizes and ages.....some are divorced, some are separated, some are widowed, some have children or other partners living with them and some are alone.

Whatever their reason or motivation, it is only going to continue. I am just one practitioner in Knoxville, Tn working as a buyers agent and to have the % out of all the homes that I personally sold is significant and I am proud to say that I am proud of these women, stepping out of the traditional "mold" that society has put us into and doing it "on our own".

Some trends that single women home buyers are exhibiting:

3 out of 4 spend less than 200k
Most prefer 2 bedrooms or more (I encourage 3, if economically feasible because of better resale)
They are less likely to choose new construction (INTERESTING!!!)
They are more inclined to buy in the city over suburban areas
Will compromise size and cost to be able to have other amenities
Will not compromise on location or quality of neighborhood
They prefer condos with well run homeowners associations over single family dwellings
Small spaces tend to be more acceptable to them
They have a stronger desire for security and/or gated access
Like to engage in social interaction with neighbors
Wants convenience of close proximity to stores, shopping and fitness centers

Whatever their reasons are, it further validates the desire and ability of women to stand on their own and I admire their spunk and desire to have the American Dream without the All American Standard, to be married to buy a home, that just isn't the case anymore!

Here's to the women who do it on their own! Call me, I've been there, done that and would do it again in a heartbeat if I had to and you can do it too!

www.sondrasheckler.com

865-454-3307

Don't Forget About The Yard!

2008-01-08T14:29:00Z

Does your landscaping make buyers drive right past your home or does it make them want to pull in to see the rest of your home? If your yard is high maintenance, it could really provide a challenge for you to sell if it is overgrown with weeds, or foilage or requires constant attention.

I am completely working with a buyer who drives by every home prior to a showing to ensure she wants to see it and IF it doesn't have curb appeal (by her definition), we don't even bother with the inside. While this seems like an opportunity to miss a house that may be perfect with the right curb appeal outside, she won't even give the sellers the chance to show the inside of their home if the outside doesn't provide the curb appeal she is looking for.

Now, "curb appeal" can be defined differently by many folks, but a safe rule of thumb is to follow what the average home owner would have as their curb appeal, nothing too extreme and not a yard that is barren, but somewhere in between. If you have doubts about your curb appeal, not only can your Realtor provide great insight, but ask your neighbors and/or virtual strangers for their opinion. Those that have nothing to lose will be very honest with you.

Many buyers, especially buyers with young children are not looking for a yard with a lot of maintenance. It seems that folks are "getting back to the basics" these days, so a yard with ponds, high maintenance landscaping and invasive plants just makes young home buyers cringe because they do not have the time to maintain that type of landscaping these days. Folks are looking for simpler lives. So, don't let your elaborate landscaping turn off buyers like outdated kitchens do. If in doubt, rip it out!

Then there is the fine balance in how much is enough? Landscaping, provided that it is done right, can give sellers more bang for their buck and make the difference of buyers stopping in or driving on by.

So, what is a buyer to do?

(1) Gone are the days of sticking a few colorful perennials by the door or landscaping that was acceptable in the 60's and 70's, that being rounded junipers, holly bushes and topped off bushes and PLEASE no, poodle like "puffs" in your yard either!

(2) You know how you declutter the inside of your house? Well, declutterting the outside is just as important. You may like the plastic deers laying on your lawn, lawn globes and those cute little gnomes -- take it away, sell it, put it away, store it -- just depersonalize that yard.

(3) Buyers want plants that are disease resistant even though they may appreciate beauty when they are in bloom, to spend an entire weekend bringing one back from being sick is not an ideal way to spend the weekend. Instead, plant more native plants such as continuous blooming hydrangeas, plants that require less time pruning and have more blooming time and spring for the newer types of azaleas that bloom two times per year!

(4) Out of control out door living spaces are great for some folks, but for the average buyer, they don't need or even want a full kitchen outside and this is seen as additional maintenance.

(5) Knowlegeable buyers (and many are very internet savvy and know more than they are given credit for) notice things like ivy (which attracts bugs and causes problems for roofs and windows and can crowd out other plants) or plants/trees with fast growing shallow roots, such as a ficus tree that can wreak havoc on one's driveway.

One of the most important steps you can take in the sale of your home is maintaining your landscaping, overgrown hedges, weeds, dead trees/plants will send the message to buyers that the inside of your home is most likely maintained like the outside of your home. If you don't have time to shape it up, it would be worth your penny to invest in someone that could maintain it for you while it is on the market.

I am a licensed REALTOR in the State of Tennessee and would welcome the opportunity to further assist you in preparing your home for sale in or around the Knoxville Market. Visit me at http://www.sondrasheckler.com/

Fountain City Condo FOR SALE in Knoxville, TN

2008-01-06T06:12:53Z

IF you are searching for a new home that offers privacy, peace, beauty, convenience, low maintenance, yet well maintained then look no further. This 3 bedroom/2ba end unit home offers a 2 car garage, well maintained yard, large covered front porch, beautiful entrance into the closeted, hardwood foyer entrance (crown molding throughout living area) adorned with columns, a formal dining room with trey ceilings and preacher paneling, a large, spacious kitchen with tile flooring, sit at breakfast nook overlooking the spacious living room w/ fireplace. Large hallways lead to 3 bedrooms (even if you don't "need" 3 bedrooms, you could and would certainly use the space!). The 2nd full bath is shared and complete with tiled flooring and is spacious. The two bedrooms that share this bath are complete with double door closets, pewter hardware throughout and spacious. The large master suite w/ trey ceilings offers a peaceful haven to relax in and enjoy the comforts of home. Master bath is spacious, has a separate shower area, tile flooring, large mirror, plenty of vanity space and storage, as well as, a linen closet.

This home is beautifully decorated and completely demonstrates how beautiful a home can be made. It rests in a small development w/ condo development restrictions which offer a means to maintain the quality and value of the development over time. It is conveniently located close to all the necessities of life, recreation, entertainment, shopping and interstate access, yet just far enough back to offer you the peaceful surroundings that you desire. Located in the desirable area of Fountain City (Knoxville, TN). Visit http://www.sondrasheckler.com/ for more pics, more information and to schedule your showing!

This is not a drive by!

You see, not a drive by............this is a must stop and see, priced at market and ready to sell!

Year-round School.....WHY NOT?

2008-01-02T07:12:38Z

Knox County school system although improving has not reached its full potential in educating our youth. More specifically, my children attend school in Powell, TN (one in elementary, 2 in middle and 1 in high school) and they, on average, are about a "C" when evaluated among the Knox County public schools. This is completely unacceptable to me, I don't even accept a "C" from my children (unless I have knowledge of a struggle that they have in a particular subject, such as Math) and I don't want to accept a "C" from the overall school system.

Then I read an article dated Sunday, November 18th, 2007 a couple of months back and the article further validated my concern with my children's education. There is a public out cry that children should start school later in the year (as they did when I was in the public school system) and this outcry changed the start date of the public school system and just like that! A complaint, a "vote' and its a done deal!

I, personally stay on top of my children's grades which can be validated through my daughters teachers at Powell High School. I am sure that they are really relieved that she is moving on to other classes this next grading period! Now, I do not attribute all of her grades to the teachers, trust me -- she is a teenager is is much more concerned with what her best friend is doing on Friday night than the test that the teacher is reviewing at the time. However, I was a product of the public school system and graduated from High school NOT equipped for what it took to survive in college. I can honestly share with you that when I graduated high school, I never had written an essay and no, I was not in remedial classes. I took my first essay test in a Western Civilization class and made my first 40 ever! I had NO idea what to do with an essay test. Needless to say, being the ambitious person that I am, I quickly educated myself on writing essays, term papers, research papers etc., and managed to routinely pull out A's on those things. However, I do blame the school system for not ensuring that I graduated with this knowledge already obtained, a necessary skill for college.

This too is ridiculous and absurd. The traditional school calendar pales in comparison to other school systems, including ones overseas. No wonder our children are the way they are regarding work, regarding being outside with physical activity -- more specifically, being L-A-Z-Y! The traditional school calendar was put into effect TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO -- yes, 200 years ago! It made sense then, children worked on the farm, they needed the summer time to do this work so their family could survive in the winter months. These days, our children only focus on vacations and while I have informed my 15 year old and my 14 year old that they WILL be doing SOMETHING constructive this summer, such as working v/s sitting around playing the game stations, on the computer or calling me and harassing me that they "are bored". I told my mother that ONE time in my life, she cured me from that quickly by putting my body to work!

What is wrong with the year around school calendar, it more accurately reflects the real world, not to mention that it assists our children in retaining what they learned the previous year v/s spending the first 9 weeks reviewing what they learned the previous year. The arguments that arise in support of the current, traditional school calendar reminds me of a discussion between parents and children that results in "because I said so" with no validity to the argument other than "we just always done it that way."

I hear the argument that I must be "evil, wanting to steal the summers away from the children" So then the debate ensues between the "SUMMER GRINCH" and the "DO GOODERS" who want to save the summers. I want to do what is best for my children and strongly feel that assisting in education retention (i.e., shorter summers so less time is spent reviewing what was learned last year, but forgotten over the 12 weeks) is the best way to go. Evidence suggest that year around school prevents summer regression, which means................more time spent on learning NEW information v/s re-learning OLD information!

Another argument that I have is that MOST children do not have a parent home all summer with them, so children often sit idle (I know mine do at times), so they sit and play game stations all day, or on my-space or worse things occur along with sitting and eating all day long out of boredom. Over 50% of American are obese and our children these days are not getting smaller, they are larger than I ever was at their age.

To further validate this argument that this would be good for our children in the way of educating them and preparing them for REAL LIFE is that students globally attend schools year around and some for more days than American students and what does this mean? Well, students in India, for example, attend school 225 days v/s our 180 days, this is an additional three years of education by the time they are graduating seniors. China attends 250 days, nearly five more years, equivalent to a college degree.

So, while Knox County quibbles over this issue, emotional thoughts and responses have no place in the factual arguments and we need to engage in more thoughtful debate and ask more questions and put more thought into what the outcome would be rather than just keeping the same educational calendar because that is what we've done for 200 years. Maybe its time for a change!

My Home Value

2007-12-30T07:12:41Z

If you are planning on selling your home in the next few months, you have some homework to do!

First and foremost: What is My Home Worth? That is the million dollar question!

You need to obtain a Market Analysis from a licensed Realtor that is local to you, knowledgeable about the market conditions and has experience in conducting market analysis, as well as, selling homes in your area.

The most common method of determining the value of homes is to have a CMA conducted on your property which is the acronym for Comparable Market Analysis. A CMA will show you exactly what properties that are similiar or comparable to your homes have sold for within a specific and recent time frame. These analysis are based on FACT, rather than opinion and facts will ALWAYS be more valuable to you than an opinion.

This CMA will indicate recently solds, expireds, pending and active listings. The first clue of your home worth is the sold properties, these are the ones that you need to be most concerned with. What homes are listed for is not always a good indicator as to their value, pending home will only tell you what it is listed for and the expireds are great to see what a home was listed for and what it expired under and typically it expired because it was overpriced.

It is not A-typical for sellers to feel that their properties are worth more than what the CMA indicates, however, be forewarned the professionally conducted CMA is again, based on FACT not opinion and gives a more accurate picture as to your home's true market value. As a seller, you have to de-personalize the value of your home because to buyers, your home is a commodity, not a place that they raised their family as you did, it is a piece of property in a buyers eyes, not a "home" yet. Put your feelings aside and look at the facts through a CMA and if you trust your REALTOR (and you better trust them or find a new one) then listen to the facts as they are presented to you.

This is a buyer's market, if you miss the target when pricing your home, not only will the home not sell, you will be angry and frustrated at your agent and your agent will feel helpless and worthless and the house will lose value DAILY! Even in a buyer's market, the average days on the market in Knoxville is exceeding 75 days, the fact still remains that if you have not sold your home within the first 21 days, the "honeymoon period" is over. That means that the first 21 days is when the right buyer who was looking for a house at the right price has moved on and purchased a home that is more accurately priced. After 21 days, the house loses the "new kid on the block" advantage and this is a critical time during listing a home.

Also, in a buyer's market, the seller has to price their home at tomorrow's market price, not yesterday's market prices. If prices are, for example falling at 5% a year, then a $500,000 property will be worth $498,000 next month! Then by the end of a typical escrow it will fall to $495,000. A seller needs to be proactive, see the market at tomorrow's prices and price accordingly -- a seller needs to price the house at $495,000 to begin with so that they can be the next home to sell before values go down again!

If you would like to find our your home's current value at TOMORROW'S market prices so you can be the next home to sell visit: http://www.sondrasheckler.com/ or click here to go to the seller's direct page.

CALL ME AT 865-454-3307 and let me conduct a complimentary

CMA

for you!

EMAIL YOUR ADDRESS TO ME AT: sondra@knoxvillehomesandneighborhoods.com

Thankful In Knoxville, TN

2007-11-22T09:51:55Z

Although we should be thankful for each and every day of our lives, today was the "designated" day to acknowledge publicly that you are thankful and as a family tradition many folks say what they are thankful for in front of family and friends before a Thanksgiving Feast. I wanted to take this opportunity to very publicly announce what I am thankful for............it'll help those that know me know me better and those that are just getting to know me, know me better and these are in no particular order:

My health
My children, spouse and their health
The roof over my head
My career -- Real Estate
My mother -- what a saint, I could go on and on about this special woman, but suffice it to say that she is a model of the woman described in Proverbs 31:10
The rain today, it makes it all cozy inside
Thankful for the many things that our jobs allow us to provide for: house, cars, electricity, water, lunch money for our children, clothing, gas for our cars, food. On occasion one takes these things for granted, but when you don't have the money to pay for the basics of life, it makes you realize how wonderful it is just to have those basic necessities. I have struggled before with having the basics and that struggle left me stretched outside of my comfort zone and made me realize how unimportant some things were that I thought were important and how important it is just to have the basics, life a simple life and enjoy life more without having the constant worry about paying for a house that stretches my budget, paying for a car that is more than I need -- it takes getting down to learn to appreciate the simple things and I appreciate simplicity.

I understand that there are many folks/families and foks that are alone as God has put some in my path to help and assist with. My hope today is that those who remain alone or struggling to just find enough food for the day not even able to consider or fathom the feasts that are going on all over the country, my hope is that someone found them, that they find a comfortable, warm place to be today and that they know that someone, somewhere is thinking of them.

I am thankful for this wonderful city, for the beauty that surrounds Knoxville, TN and the many outreach programs that we have throughout this great city, including all the churches that do an outreach themselves for others.

I wish you all a peaceful, warm and Happy Thanksgiving, hoping that you remember those that aren't as fortunate, hoping you realize how fortunate you may be and being thankful for what you do have in your life, knowing there is a purpose for everything, including you being here, alive and able to read this.

All My Best,

Sondra