Nashville Real Estate Talk

Not all Real Estate Agents are Realtors!

I had a call this morning from a very distressed Wilson County  home seller.  She’s said she needed a new Realtor, the one she has doesn’t seem interested in her home and has been avoiding her!

Protect the investment!

I wasn’t sure what to make of this.  I listened for a while and told her I would look up her property and see if we could improve on the marketing being done by her present Realtor.

After getting off the phone I went to the Nashville are MLS and put in the property address.

“No Listing”, came back.  Next I did a thorough property search on her address and all that turned up was the previous listing when she had bought the property in 2006.  No other listing had taken place, no “Withdrawns” or “Expireds” were to be found either?

Now I was really interested.  I looked up the agent in our MLS roster, “No Listing”.

Bingo. The home seller had been hoodwinked.  Thinking she was signing up with a Realtor, she had instead signed a long term contract for exclusive marketing of her home for months with someone who had no access to the MLS Listing service, no website and apparently, no other listings!

The entire marketing effort for the past 90 days was simply a crude sign at the end of her street with a pointer, and a sign in her front yard.

Non- Realtor agents do exist. They just have to pass the Tennessee Real Estate Commissions test and just like that they are legal to assist in the buying and selling of property. However; there are many limitations , mainly to the people they work with.

Such  as:

1. Only Realtors can list your home on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Here in Nashville we have the Middle Tennessee Multiple Listing Service or MTRMLS.  That is reserved for Realtors in good standing.

2. Only Realtors have a Code of Ethics.  While the state of Tennessee maintains a set of codes for Real Estate Agents and Brokers, the Realtor Code is much more stringent and demands obeyance.

3. Only Realtors have access to the Sentri-Lock system. This is the most effective and safe way to co-ordinate the showings of your home. Only Realtors have access to them and each access is electronically recorded and Time Stamped.

4.  Only Realtors have the right to use that word Realtor.  It is trade marked.  If you are approached by someone to list your home or help you find a home, make sure they are a Licensed Realtor. Ask them for their National Assoc. of Realtors ID #.  Then call your local Chapter ( Greater Nashville Assoc. of Realtors, GNAR )and verify their standing.

If my caller today had known to do this, she might have already sold her home and be in that new home she is dreaming about by now.

I’m going to call her back now and ask her to bring over her contract to see if there is anything we can do to help her.  If her agent mis-repesented himself, she might be able to withdraw from the contract, but she has still missed valuable time on the market.

How did this happen?  On one hand we Nashville area Realtors need to make more information known about the advantages we offer. On the other hand Nashville area home buyers and Nashville area home sellers need to be more demanding when they interview agents.  Your home may be the largest investment you own,  don’t trust it to anyone but a professional.

Mt. Juliet home buyers time is running out if you want to get the $8,000 Tax Rebate for buying your first home or first home in 3 years.  Or, if you qualify for the $6,500 Move up buyer incentive.

 

You must have a home under contract by April 30th

You must close by June 30th

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Luxury home buyers in Mt. Juliet, Brentwood  and the Greater Nashville area are starting to see some attractive Interest Rates on home Loans, once again.

According to Tom Matthews of HomeTown Lenders in Mt. Juliet, ” these are the lowest rates on luxury homes that I’ve seen in 3 or 4 years.”

Often called “Jumbo Loans”, mortgages on homes costing more than $417,000 in the Nashville area, these loans have been cost prohibitive for buyers up to now.

 ”Last year Jumbo rates were in the 7-8% range and no one was buying”, said Tom.

” Now we have 6.25% to 6.55% and buyers are moving again.”

The important thing here is that loans are not Federally Insured like FHA or VA loans. This money is coming from the private sector.  And the private sector is saying “We believe the market has hit bottom  and these homes will appreciate from this point.”  A sorely needed vote of confidence from the mortgage industry.

Luxury home sellers in Brentwood, Franklin and other high end markets should take this as a positive sign.

Home Buyers can qualify with a 650 credit score AND just 10 % down.

Here are the rates:

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