The Voice of Tennessee Real Estate

All Blog Posts (30)

Cool Hobbit Hole Home, A Free Rental Application Form, and a Demotivational Poster

How many of you wish you could build a totally unique home all by yourself, at a cost of only $4,200? Simon Dale built a hobbit-hole-like home, complete with solar panels for electricity, with only the help of his father-in-law, a few months, and $4,200. See the link below for his story.
I believe I also promised a free rental application for… Continue

Added by Brian Gregory on February 26, 2010 at 12:29am — No Comments

Friend and TN RealNet Member Barry Dotson Dies

A Murfreesboro Realtor and member of the Tennessee Real Estate Network, who has dedic

… Continue

Added by Jim Gibbs on October 16, 2009 at 7:43am — No Comments

Business is really picking up

In Dyersburg The First time home buyers are coming out of the wood work. It's Great. I haven't been this busy in a while. I'm loving it. I love working with First time home buyers anyway. They are so much fun and they get so excited. Continue

Added by Jennifer Campbell on May 15, 2009 at 8:19pm — No Comments

FHA’s higher loan limits, low down payments entice borrowers

Wags call it government-sponsored subprime. Realtors and mortgage brokers call it the only sign of life in the lending market.

Federal Housing Administration loans are by far the most popular choice for loan borrowers these days, thanks to low down payments and newly raised loan limi

… Continue

Added by Jim Gibbs on March 17, 2009 at 6:03am — No Comments

What explains house prices?

Introduction

50 years ago the correlations between property prices and the business cycle (fluctuations in GDP growth, interest rate changes, etc) began to be explored by economists.

The question: What really explains changes in property prices?

First shot at an answer: The health of the wider economy and financial conditions.

… Continue

Added by TN Real Net on March 8, 2009 at 1:47pm — No Comments

Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight

OFHEO FAQs

What is OFHEO’s mission?
OFHEO's mission is to promote housing and a strong national housing finance system by ensuring the safety and soundness of Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association) and Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation).

… Continue

Added by TN Real Net on March 7, 2009 at 9:03am — No Comments

Police Department Tackles the Foreclosure Crisis

Between 2002 and 2007, the city of Indio, California experienced a housing boom, but by late 2007 found itself on the leading edge of what is now a national foreclosure crisis. Faced with increasing numbers of citizen complaints of poorly maintained properties as well as concerns that neighborhood blight was leading to more serious crime and disorder, the Indio Police Department launched a multipronged project to contain the impact of vacant properties on the surrounding neighborhoods. Indio… Continue

Added by Jim Gibbs on March 4, 2009 at 9:34am — No Comments

New Website

Just got my new website going. Check it out at AngelikaPatton.com Continue

Added by Angelika Patton on February 18, 2009 at 11:30am — No Comments

Good News - U.S. January foreclosures fall: RealtyTrac

U.S. home foreclosure filings in January decreased from December, an indication that an array of efforts to curb the process may be making an impact, real estate data firm RealtyTrac said on Thursday. Foreclosure activity was still 18 percent higher than a year earlier, the 37th consecutive month with a year-over-year increase. Nevertheless, the fall in foreclosure filings last month provides a glimmer of hope for the hard-hit U.S. housing market. Home foreclosure filings in January totaled 27… Continue

Added by Jim Gibbs on February 12, 2009 at 10:15am — No Comments

Anything I can do????

MeetMorristown.com is a social network for Hamblen county. Feel free to create a profile and network. Every outlet helps, God bless you all in these hard times. Continue

Added by Jason Mosier on October 10, 2008 at 8:27pm — No Comments

How the Housing Rescue Bill Can Help You

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 that went into effect October 1st will assist up to 2 million borrowers in danger of foreclosure by allowing them to refinance their current mortgages with a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-backed loan. The bill also allocates funding to assist Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Most borrowers will receive substantial savings on FHA-backed loans, which carry reasonable interest rates that are fixed for the life of the loan. It also would give the FHA n… Continue

Added by Jim Gibbs on October 3, 2008 at 10:25am — No Comments

30-Year Mortgages Rise to 6.10 Percent

Rates on 30-year mortgages have risen for a second straight week, climbing to the highest level in a month. ADVERTISEMENT Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.10 percent this week, up slightly from 6.09 percent last week. It was the highest level since 30-year mortgages averaged 6.35 percent for the week ending Sept. 4. Financial markets have been turbulent in recent weeks as demand for safe-haven Treasury securities has pushed tho… Continue

Added by Jim Gibbs on October 2, 2008 at 1:16pm — No Comments

As Economy Weakens, Resales Fall Again

Existing-homes sales totaled 4.91 million units in August on an annualized basis -- a 2.2% decline from the level recorded in July -- as mortgage financing became more expensive and Americans continued to worry about their jobs. According to figures compiled by the National Association of Realtors, resales fell 10.7% from the level of a year earlier. The bad news on home sales came as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told a joint committee of Congress that U.S. "economic activity appears… Continue

Added by Jim Gibbs on September 30, 2008 at 12:50pm — No Comments

U.S. Attorney Subpoenas Fannie & Freddie

The U.S. attorney in New York has subpoenaed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as part of an investigation into whether fraud contributed to the demise of these now government-owned mortgage investing giants. According to public filings, Fannie and Freddie said they face ongoing investigations from both the U.S. attorney and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The two agencies are seeking information about their accounting, financial disclosures, and corporate governance. Freddie said the subpoena… Continue

Added by Jim Gibbs on September 30, 2008 at 12:44pm — No Comments

Deadline Looms for Down Payment Aid

Homebuilders are always trying to sell their homes, but these days they have an extra incentive — beating the clock. In a few weeks, a financing option used by almost 20 percent of new-home buyers to help scrape together a down payment is going away, making it tougher for many people to become homeowners. It's a loophole in the Federal Housing Administration rules that let builders and other home sellers channel money through a charity to help homebuyers cover their down payment. But lawmaker… Continue

Added by Jim Gibbs on August 31, 2008 at 8:09pm — No Comments

Fake CNN Alert Still Spreading Malware

The massive attack that has infected PCs by tricking users into clicking links in fake messages from CNN.com shows little sign of ending soon, security researchers say. According to MX Logic Inc. , spam posing as CNN.com Top 10 lists peaked at close to 11 million messages per hour early Thursday, but remained at high volumes throughout the day Friday. The Colorado security vendor said it had been tracking an average of 8 million messages per hour since midnight. MX Logic's vice president of in… Continue

Added by Jim Gibbs on August 12, 2008 at 6:54am — No Comments

Relocating to the greater Knoxville, Tennessee area?

We want to be the first to WELCOME you to Knoxville! My team is the “is The Knoxville Area Relocation Experts“. We have helped hundreds of families with their move to the Knoxville area. Put our “Knoxville Knowledge” to work for YOU! Search over 15,000 Knoxville area Realtor… Continue

Added by Jim Lee on July 9, 2008 at 1:11pm — No Comments

Real Estate Networking: Some Realtors Dive into Cyberspace

Recently the New Jersey Association of Realtors reported that it is diving deeper into cyberspace, purchasing virtual real estate in the online world of Second Life, building profiles on networking sites LinkedIn and Facebook, and rolling out audio podcasts for members. The association announced that it has opened a virtual office in Second Life which is a three-dimensional, interactive online world. Other real estate entities, including Coldwell Banker and the California Association of Realtor… Continue

Added by Jim Gibbs on July 7, 2008 at 10:11am — No Comments

Do YOU Want to Spend More on Gas & Education?

I have written recently of the efforts of TAR Government Affairs Director J.A. Bucy to change the rules and or law concerning education for TREC licensing, and my concern over the lack of communications coming from TAR regarding the proposed changes. The recommendations are: • Core Course requirements be extended to from 4 to 6 hours (of the 16 hours of mandatory Continuing Education.), and that this 6-hour course be permanently devoted to Contracts and TN Agency Law instruction. • Only live,… Continue

Added by Jim Gibbs on June 22, 2008 at 7:55pm — No Comments

MLS Standardization Underway

Does your website appear at the top of real estate-related search engine results? If so, enjoy it while it lasts. The adoption of a universal MLS data language could hike the demand for real estate search-engine keywords online. NAR has mandated that all MLS companies nationwide adopt a standardized language called RETS (Real Estate Transaction Standard) by June, 2009. RETS will allow approved Realtors & industry vendors to gain third-party access to MLS listing data like never before. The n… Continue

Added by Josh Carney on June 20, 2008 at 4:07pm — No Comments