Brian R Kelly

Tag: Chattanooga Home

  • Discovering Your Chattanooga Home, Work, School, Commute and Community Balance

    Discovering your Chattanooga home, work, school, commute and community balance. Juggling life in 2013 is a challenge. We live in a busy and loud culture. We long for a quiet and peaceful refuge for home. Home represents security, nurture and relationship. At breakfast this morning the conversation turned to finding the “right’ area to live.Brian and Ray with Snow

    Chattanooga is a unique patchwork of communities. I wrote about that in this blog for new comers. People who are new to town have a challenge as they consider different geographic areas and townships.

    I attended a men’s conference at church this weekend. Men were discussing where they lived. One young man commented on his commute time. He lived less than a mile from work. He commented on the fact that he filled up his car every 2 months. He was truly saving a lot of money in his budget because of his short drive.

    Another guy commented that he moved because he cut 45 minutes from his daily drive time and he was thankful to have additional time at home.

    The counter opinion was offered by a friend of mine who decided to move to the country. He has a farm and a 40 minute drive each way to work. He plans time to return phone calls on his blue tooth and listen to certain audio tracks for teaching and encouragement. He commented that he really wants to separate his work from the peace and quiet of his slower lifestyle on the farm away from the office.

    Men are concerned about protecting their family. School and community play an important role.

    The neighborhood that sold the most new homes in 2013 was Prairie Pass in Apison. That is East of Colledgedale, TN. Apison Elementary, East Hamilton Middle and East Hamilton High School are the schools that are zoned for this community. All the schools are very new and young. The “community” is a subdivision. 24 homes sold in the first 9 months of 2013 in Prairie Pass. The sales prices range from $189,000 to $295,000.

    Most of the men agreed that new construction was more desirable than “old” charm. The men were saying their wives liked the charm of older houses. So it is not surprising to me to see new homes being built with an old craftsman style, open eave look. The trade off for this newer home and younger school building is a lengthy commute.

    What is your choice of lifestyle? Discovering your Chattanooga home, work, school, commute and community balance can prove challenging on your journey in life.

  • 7 Things for Home Buyers to Consider

    Buying home at Village Green
    Buying home at Village Green

    7 Things for Home Buyers to Consider

    are as follows:

    1. Construction matters: Types of homes have much different costs to build and the value is not reflected equally by sales prices. One example I always give my first time buyers is a one level home that has 2,000 square feet costs much more than a two story 2,000 square foot home. The 2 story 2,000 square foot house has only a 1,000 square foot foundation and 1,000 square foot roof. The one level that is 2,000 square feet has 2,000 square feet of roof and foundation costs. Regardless of the style of home, I want my buyers obtaining a good value. After all, I want to help them sell when they are ready, so having equity is a strong plus.

    2. Architecture matters: When you are young the multi-level with master upstairs and basement on a hill is a great way to maximize room for money. When you go to sell the property just realize you are limiting your buying audience to the same type of buyer and not the boomer post knee surgery buyer with loads of cash. The split-foyer design is very efficient for a buyer, but not the most desirable or valuable for the seller.

    3. Location matters: Think about and drive your commute from where you are considering your purchase. How much of your precious time do you really want to spend in your car? Generally I am selling homes to 4th and 5th home buyers that are ready to spend more to shave cumulative hours from the road to be closer to their family and friends.

    4. Nature matters: In a word “water”. I am not talking running water versus out house. I am talking water from the roof, drainage fields, underground springs, basement water proofing, landscaping issues, etc. In east Tennessee, we get a decent rainfall annually and the hilly terrain and varied soil types take a toll on unsuspecting home owners. Buyers with me today went into a beautiful home that just did not pass the “marble test”. The marble test in my mind is if we put a marble on a hard wood floor without a push, does it roll. If it does then the water may be compressing the soil in certain places and the foundation may be sinking in certain areas. We do not have sink holes like Florida or the pan clay like Texas, but we certainly see crawl space foundations moving where water has compressed the ground over years.

    5. Inspection matters: Tennessee law requires ALL residential sellers to disclose known defects. Problems with a property that are not disclosed or known by the seller, can be discovered by your inspectors. A good written agreement should allow for all types of inspections prior to purchase. Recently I helped a young couple place a contract on a home. The house had a fairly strong cat odor. We explored possible solutions prior to inspection. Once the carpet was peeled back, we found that the urine was not just in one or two spots in the middle of the floor, it was in multiple corners of rooms. The urine had soaked into the supporting wall timbers and joists and to truly mitigate the issue by replacing the wood instead of encapsulation was estimated at $6,000. The seller not wanting to make up the difference we decided to back out of the deal at no expense to the buyer.

    6. Ownership matters: True “ownership” is not having a mortgage. Your money is your business, but in the last 6 years I have seen the reality of people thinking their deed gives them rights beyond the lender’s. If you have mortgaged your property, remember you are being a steward of the bank’s property. If you are not “feeling” that, try missing 4 payments. Keep some cash reserves for maintenance and payment emergencies. ALL properties, even new homes require money for maintenance and repair. New homes may require window coverings, sometimes shower and towel rods, additional landscaping, etc. Slightly used homes may require repairs not covered by home warranties.

    7. Evaluation of value matters: Do not get caught in the $ per square footage trap. They are good for “rules of thumb” but, A. Not all homes were created equal, B. Deferred maintenance is very expensive, C. Location, location, location

    If you are considering a move to Chattanooga, TN, then read this article more specific to the area.

    There are so many more than these 7 things for home buyers to consider. Take your time, be patient, realize that emotions do play a big part in choosing home. That is great! You should be “emotional” when considering a huge investment that will be your “Home” and where you choose to live life. Enjoy buying your new home!