Selling and Moving On With Life!

Last week we closed on our own home that we bought in 2003 and spent much of the past 4+ years in. The closing was fairly easy, but it was the end of a meaningful season in our life and the beginning of new ones.

We had spent those 4+ years living life and growing up. We had our first two kids while living there and saw them start walking and talking. We had hard times and wonderful times. It was life.

The house played a very central role through this time. It was a fixer upper that we bought from a seller avoiding bankruptcy. A wood sided 1920's bungalow in East Nashville with overgrown bushes and chipping paint everywhere. Lots of old trim & windows. Character and charm in every room. It had been through seasons as a duplex and suffered much neglect- but it was "livable"- at least to a young couple wanting a challenge to conquer...

Before/After Photos

We first moved into the dining room while we gutted and renovated the upstairs. This had to happen quickly because my wife was pregnant and we wanted to move out of the dining room! After this we started working downstairs and slowly finished a room at a time. I became a roofer, painter, electrician, foreman, plumber, tiler, landscaper and more!

The final phase began when we moved out of the home last July and were able to gut the kitchen and rooms along the back of the house that needed major work. We refinished floors and had the exterior repainted. There's a lot of me in that house. I became to be good friends with it.

It was quite gratifying to see our vision for the home become reality- to see the job to its successful end, to finish well.

This article may be part of a some kind of grieving process, but it's been a very real transition in our lives. I want to make note of it and remember the emotion, because I work with clients all the time who are experiencing many of the same things. Seasons are changing. They're moving up or moving down. Taking risks or removing risk. Staying close or moving far.

It reminds me again what makes a house a home. It's where LIFE happens!

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

Real Estate Music?

Today was a flurry of last minute chores in preparation for a couple closings next week. I had amendments to fax, tile contractors to meet, and wiring instructions to coordinate. For some reason it reminded me of my years in the music business.

How, you ask? Well, it's kind of like preparing for a new production or a live concert video. To pull it off, a lot of different things must come together- and it's usually a little crazy. (That's an understatement!)

The satisfying part comes later, when the music begins or the closing happens. It's a creative process. We have to work together to make something that we couldn't do on our own.

I usually don't get so romantic about it, but once in a while I pause to consider what an honor it is to do what I do to bring people together to an end that benefits all involved.

I guess you could say, we're making 'music'. :)

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

An (Unnecessary) Foreclosure Victim

I was sad to see a new listing pop up this week. It was one of my previous listings that had since been foreclosed on and was now for sale by the bank. The sad part is that the bank foreclosed even though I had sent them a legitimate offer as part of a short sale.

It was the classic case of getting the runaround from the bank. We listed the property and got offers. I had all the paperwork in order and had jumped through all the hoops to submit the offer to the lender- one of the big players in the sub-prime loan game. However, once it was ready for the banks consideration- no reply.

Worse, when I called them to check on the status (enduring excruciating hold times), if I ever talked to a human they would tell me that I needed to talk to someone in a different department and then proceed to give me the exact phone number that I had just called in the first place.

I don't want to scare you away from attempting a short sale or trying to buy a house this way, but just be prepared to wait. It's not uncommon to wait weeks or months waiting for a response from the bank. In our case, the seller apparently didn't have that kind of time.

I know that the bank's 'loss mitigation departments', as they are often called, are completely swamped at this point. I suppose we may have been moved to the top of the heap if this was a high dollar property. Still, the home was a really big deal to my client and I'm sorry to see it end this way.

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

Are You a Consumer or Investor?

I was rereading parts of Gary Keller's book, The Millionaire Real Estate Investor (MREI) last night. What an incredible book.

What always strikes me is Gary's description of the Investor mindset and how it differs from the Consumer mindset. He says, "Do you work for money, or does money work for you?"

Obviously, we all have expenses and consume things, however, what principles and priorities guide our spending? The difference is in how an investor thinks, making short term sacrifices for long term gains. For example, buy a less expensive car and put that money toward investments. Cut back on lifestyle expenses so you can reinvest your cash flow.

As Dave Ramsy says with much gusto, "Live like no one else so that later you can LIVE like no one else!"

If you need some encouragement, you should get the MREI book and read pages 151-156 where Gary goes through a simple and very conservative investing strategy that shows how you can start small, but end up with a huge payoff if you can follow the plan.

The plan is the key. If you're thinking of investing, it's so important to know what you're doing. Otherwise you may fall prey to speculation and loose your shirt! However, don't be afraid to take steps and learn along the way. You too could enjoy a huge payoff down the road.

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

Why You Shouldn't Believe the Headlines

I just read an AP story about how new home prices are at an 13 year low. It was mostly bad news and then I got to this paragraph:

Sales dropped the most in the Northeast, falling by 40.6 percent. Sales were also down in the Midwest, dropping by 6.4 percent, but posted gains in the South of 5.7 percent and 0.7 percent in the West.

After finding out how bad the Northeast is doing, it says the SOUTH WAS UP 5.7%.

That's good news for us southerners and it helps explain why it doesn't feel like the market is tanking here, in spite of the negative headlines that we see everyday.

So the lesson is:
1. Don't believe everything you read.
2. All real estate is local.

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

Where Few Homeowners Dare to Tread

In 2003 my family moved into a scary fixer upper in East Nashville. The 1920's bungalow had potential, but it was under many layers of bad remodeling and neglect.

Determined to do things right, I went where few homeowners dare to tread- Metro Codes.

Yes, I actually applied for the appropriate permits and had all the inspections done. Having passed my final inspection, today was the glorious day to go pick up the Use and Occupancy permit that says that the house is ready to be lived in.

It's a great feeling, but I must take a moment to make a couple observations:

1. Most homeowners will not have the stomach for the process. It's not that it's so difficult, it's just unknown- What do you need a permit for? What is 'up to code' anyway? What inspections will I need to have? How do I order the inspections? Who can I call to ask questions? The system seems obviously designed to dissuade homeowners from acquiring permits, but probably doing the work anyway, right?

2. The inspections are somewhat lacking. I'm not necessarily complaining here :) , but I stayed awake a night going over the renovations in my head hoping I had done everything right and then the inspector barely took a look before passing my work. Again- It's fine with me, but it's very easy to see how shoddy work can get through the system, especially if it looks good on the surface.

3. One good thing to mention- The codes dept. has greatly improved their accessibility. When first got my permit in 2003, it was impossible to reach anyone by phone. You just had to go downtown to ask even a simple questions. Now, they have posted phone numbers for everyone in the department online so you can usually reach someone by phone. The couple of times that I've left messages, I got calls back the next morning, which is great.

At the end, I'm glad I jumped through all of the hoops. Since I was selling the home, I certainly didn't want anything to come up later about me not having all the right permits for the work I did. It also helped my confidence along the way.

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

A Special Moment in Real Estate

I was recently at a walk through for a condo that a father was buying for his son to live in. These were great clients and I had really enjoyed getting to know them a little over the process of purchasing it.

Anyway, we were looking over the condo just before the closing to make sure everything looked right. It was fine and the father kept remarking about certain things to his wife that their son would really enjoy about the place. I remember him saying something like, "It will be really good for him, won't it?"

It doesn't come across in the text, but as he said it, I could feel the love that this dad had for his son. It gives me goosebumps as I write this. It was indeed a special moment.

Buying a home is more than just the mechanics of the transaction. It's about living life to it's fullest. I'm so honored to be part my client's lives and help to find them a wonderful home for their next 'season'.

I'm also blessed to relate to this father-son love. Something that I share both with my dad and now with my own son.

Life is good.

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com