So which is better?  Solid surface tops or granite?  Granite is a natural stone that no man made product can duplicate.   It withstands high heat and is hard.   Use it outside or inside.  How tough is it?  What do you think cemetary head stones are made out of?  Think they are designed to withstand the test of time? 

Sellers fight me from time to time about spending more money on their home in order to sell it.  Guess what?  I know what buyers want.  Granite is not expensive to install, looks great and buyers time and time again comment on a house that has granite vs. one that does not.  

Recently I had a Franklin, TN seller contact me about selling their home.   It had been on the market in 2008 for six months and did not sell.   They interviewed me about their home and they had white formica counter tops in their small kitchen.  I immediately told them that if they wanted me to sell their home, they must first install granite in the kitchen.  They spent under $3,000 to have all new granite, new stainless undermount sink and costs for a plumber and within 7 weeks we had their house under contract. 

Bottom line – Listen to your experienced REALTOR.   We know what sells homes.

Have you heard about trading houses?  The concept is not as easy as it may seem, but I just closed a transaction in Franklin, TN  last month that was one of the smoothest transactions ever.  

How do you negotiate price?  First you need to be concerned about the appraisals.  Fannie May and Freddy Mac now require that the appraisals on each property be given to each financial institution as part of the deal.  Another words, they want to make sure that the values are not inflated.  Given this, it may be difficult to have both properties contract under the list price or higher.  If one does not appraise, then the whole deal is off. 

Don’t negotiate prices based on % amounts.  Negotiate on a total price paid.  It also makes sense for both homes to include a home warranty via a third party company.  When/If issues come up, the new owners call the warranty company vs. getting upset with the previous owners.  Agents should strongly encourage professional home inspections.

The real trick!  Moving Day.  Solution – Storage containers.  Talk to both sides about loading up as much as possible into an on-site storage containter such as PODS or 1-800-Pack-Rat.   Schedule the move a day or two after closing just in case the closing gets pushed back a day or two (mortgage companies tend to wait to the last minute to get everything to the closing).   Schedule a time in the afternoon for possession for both homes.   Both owners should schedule movers that day to move all remaining items out of the house.  The majority of smaller items will already be inside the storage containers that will be moved that day.

To assure that this type of transaction works, both sides must work with each other vs. against each other.   There must be a give and take on both sides.  both agents must work closely with each other.

Have you ever wanted it all, but not sure where to find it?  Here it is!  The Ultimate Lifestyle in Franklin, TN is now avaiable at a greatly reduced price.   Will Forte, owner of Forte Building Group, out did himself when he spent two years building his latest masterpiece.  This newly constructed 6,000 square foot luxury home has every feature you can image.   Features include; Outdoor fireplace, automatic blinds for the signature turret windows, full home automation, temperature controlled wine cellar, high grade appliances and so much more!

Walk to the square in Downtown Franklin.   to a large variety of resturants, shopping and churches.  Enjoy the multiple Downtown Franklin Festivals throughout the year by just walking out your front door.    Franklin, TN was recently ranked the #5 small town by Southern Living Readers Choice Awards for 2009.  Nearby is the Factory at Franklin where unique shopping experiences, salons, spas and eating destinations such as Saffire are  just 1/2 mile away.   What about a fun night out on the town where you can see everything and enjoy food and taste a large variety of wines?  Franklin’s Wine on Mainstreet can be enjoyed by just stepping out your your front door at 112 Church Street.   My wife and I always enjoy this once a year event and it is a great time to see friends and meet new people in Franklin.

112 Church Street is located at the Brownstones development at Church and 3rd in Franklin.   Check out the photos of this property or watch the video on my website at www.FranklinElite.com.   Exotic cuts of granite, wide cut hardwoods, glass tile work, an elevator to all 4 floors, high grade doors and windows and much more are featured in this property.  Only the best would do!  Best of all, the property sits across from the development’s signature courtyard.   At just $1,975,000 this newly constructed home is the lowest price the builder has ever offered.  Please call us for your private showing today at 615-429-0153.   We have floor plans and information about this property on our website at www.FranklinElite.com.   The home is listed and marked by Bruce Jones with RE/MAX Elite.

Brownstones Signature Courtyard

There is no question, buyers in this Williamson County / Nashville market are looking for good/great deals.   Buyers also do not have large down payments like they have had in the past probably because the home they sold did not net them as much or they have lost money in the stock market.  With this being said, buyers not only demand a great deal, they also NEED the home to be updated and ready to move in with minimal improvement left to be made.   The buyers do not want carpet or painting allowances, they need to see the improvements now.  The banks also are not as kind as they used to be when it comes to “Decorating” allowances or carpet allowances.  The banks and appraisers want and demand that the work already be done.   So Beware!

Cool Springs / Franklin, TN Listing

Your Nashville area / Franklin, TN real estate agent has to tell you how it is right now.  No sugar coating!  The home listed above has all new carpet, newly finished hardwoods and fresh paint and is aggressively priced.  Guess what?  The buyers want more!  What do they want?  Get rid of the brass plumbing fixtures.  Give me GRANITE in the kitchen!  Give me GRANITE in the bathrooms!  Wow, these Williamson County buyers really demand a lot!  The affluent Franklin / Brentwood, TN buyer does want a lot, but you have to give it to them if you want your house sold.   The listings that already have all the updates done and are priced right will be the ones that sell first.  All others will have to wait! 

Bruce Jones, Broker

ABR, CLHMS, CRS, GREEN, GRI

RE/MAX Elite – Brentwood, TN 37027

Direct – 615-429-0153

Office – 615-661-4400

A few weeks ago I asked if your Brentwood / Franklin real estate agent a good negotiator? The fact is that a lot of real estate agents do not learn the true art of negotiating. Some of my best negotiations have been brought about by not saying one word. Chatty agents tend to show all their cards to anyone who will listen. I ask leading questions in order to try to get as much as possible out of these agents. They have no idea what damage they are doing for their clients.

Negotiating Your Nashville Home Purchase

Four years ago I represented a Nashville home buyer that was also a good friend of mine. He wanted to buy a corporate owned home and we wrote and offer. The negotiations were going good and my client told me that he would buy the home for $215,000. I called the Nashville listing agent back and before I told him we would take the last counter at $215,000 he proceeded to inform me how bad he needed this deal to close and that he felt that we were close to a deal and if I could get him close to $215,000 then it was a deal.

Saving the Nashville Home Buyer $5,000 Was Easy!

Close to $215,000 means lower than $215,000. My client had already given me the green light for $215,000 but since the other agent had said this, I told him I would call him right back. I called my client and told him to go for $210,000. Ten minutes later we had a deal for $210,000. I saved my client $5,000 just by sitting on the phone listening.

Protecting the Interest of the Nashville Home Buyer

When you select a Nashville Realtor make sure you select someone who knows how to manage information and protect your Williamson County home buying interest at the same time!

If you have questions pertaining to conducting a Nashville real estate transaction, be the first to leave a comment.

Until my next post,

Bruce

Bruce Jones
Nashville Realtor

First time Nashville area home buyers, now is the time to take advantage of your $8,000 tax credit.  I have two new listings this week that are perfect for first time buyers.  Listing # 1 – 3517 Chandler Cove Way, is in Cane Ridge, TN 37013.  Offering over 2,600 square feet, 4 large bedrooms, this Cane Ridge, TN home includes a large kitchen with island and hardwood flooring on the entire first floor.  A recreational area and 2-car garage on a level lot for just $189,900.

Come Home to Cane Ridge!

Cane Ridge, Tennessee is a suburb of Nashville and the community is located between Antioch and Brentwood. Cane Ridge is south of Nashville, in the southern portion of Davidson County. Providing commuters easy access to Nashville, Cane Ridge shares a zip code with Antioch, 37013. As an added bonus, Cane Ridge offers easy access to and from Interstate 24 and Interstate 65.

Cane Ridge Area Information

Cane Ridge is a newly formed community with lots of new home construction, as well as existing homes in established neighborhoods. Cane Ridge is close to shopping in both the Hickory Hollow Mall area, as well as the Brentwood area.

Cane Ridge Real Estate Information

The Nashville suburb of Cane Ridge offers a unique blend of affordable existing homes in established neighborhoods as well as excellent starter homes built by Nashville new home builders such as Beazer and Centex Homes. Because of the affordability of homes in Cane Ridge, it  is a haven for young families with small children.  The nearby Hickory Hollow Mall, which opened in 1978, offers large department stores including Sears, and Macy’s. A Walmart Supercenter, and several strip malls dot the landscape in and around Cane Ridge and the town of Antioch. There is additional shopping venues in nearby Brentwood as well.

Home For Sale in Franklin, TN

Listing # 2 offers over 1,800 square feet with a private 2-car garage with all new stainless appliances and brand new granite counter tops.  This home is located at 2034 Roderick Circle, Franklin, TN 37064 and is aggressively priced at $229,900.

Home for Sale in Nashville, TN

My listing at 3929 Lakeridge Run, Nashville, TN 37214 is just $89 per square foot and has it all.  Storage, stainless appliances, solid surface kitchen counter tops, 4 bedrooms, upgraded lighting throughout and tile baths for just $264,900.

Don’t forget to check out these new Nashville area listings and many more homes for sale in Davidson County, Nashville, Franklin, Brentwood, Nolensville, and Spring Hill at my Franklin and Williamson County real estate website this week.

Until my next post,

Bruce

What You Don’t Know During Your Divorce Will Hurt You

Your Nashville family home is usually the biggest (if not only) asset in most divorces. However, when dividing marital property, appraisal minus mortgage does NOT equal equity. This incomplete equation leaves your Nashville property over-valued and that works against you in divorce.  In addition to the inaccurate and unfair division of your Williamson County property, you risk damaged credit, default, foreclosure or even bankruptcy. Without more real estate due diligence much earlier in your divorce process, divorce can be fraught with avoidable problems. To protect your rights NOW, you need a Nashville real estate agent specializing in divorce -an RCS-DTM REALTOR®.

Specialized Nashville Real Estate Services for Your Unique Needs

Susan Comer, Affiliate Broker with Nashville Real estate Agency RE/MAX Elite has completed course work to earn the RCS-DTM designation as a Real Estate Collaborative Specialist – Divorce™. RE/MAX states, as an RCS-D™ REALTOR®, Susan Comer is professionally trained to neutralize divorce real estate as a business transaction in the best interest of the house – and each divorcing spouse.  Leading your divorce real estate team, Susan Comer also serves as project manager working with you and your lawyers and can refer from real estate and financial professionals specializing in divorce to assist with essential evidence of your house value. Such additional evidence is needed during your divorce process, especially before any property negotiation or mediation.

Helping You Protect Your Nashville Real estate Interest

The RCS-D™ professional program is approved for continuing education credit by the Tennessee Real Estate Commission.
You may contact susancomer@comcast.net to discuss with you how you can protect one of your most valuable financial assets during the stressful time of divorce. Whether your divorce is completed, just beginning or somewhere in between, Bruce Jones Associate, Susan Comer will help you determine your best options now for a stronger financial future.

Ask the Williamson County Real Estate Experts

If you have any questions about the topic of divorce and Nashville real estate, you can ask it anonymously or contact us direct here at Bruce Jones & Associates.

If you aren’t using a qualified Nashville buyer’s agent you should be. Why? A qualified Nashville buyer’s agent will represent only you and your interest when buying your next Nashville property. The next question you should ask as a home buyer is this; “How many years of experience does your Nashville buyer’s agent have?” Do they have a broker they can reach at a moment’s notice when help may be needed or when problems arise?  Do they have a team of professionals and a support staff to back them up when they are not available? Don’t hope so, know so!

ABR, CLHMS, GRI, CRS – It’s Not Alphabet Soup!

You deserve a team of buyer’s agents and all of our Nashville buyer’s agents on the team here at Bruce Jones and Associates are all highly qualified.  Bruce Jones is a licensed Nashville Real Estate Broker, an Accredited Buyers Representative (ABR), Certified Residential Specialist (CRS), Graduate Realtor Institute (GRI) and a Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialists (CLHMS).  What do all these real estate accreditations mean for you as a Nashville home buyer? These accreditations spell out peace of mind, experience and specialized training assuring you the highest caliber of client services.

Visit the ultimate resource in Nashville real estate now!

Do you have a question about Nashville real estate? Be sure to leave a comment and Bruce Jones and Associates will  respond. You can comment on this blog and never have to worry about being spammed. Plus, we will never share, rent or sell your personal information with any third party – we promise!

Now more than ever you need to select a good negotiator to be on your side during the buying and selling process.  They say the first offers are usually the best offers.  Why?  If the first offer comes in the first 30-60 days of the listing, then it is probably near the original list price.  Your Nashville real estate agent needs to give you sound advice and get your house sold.  They must know the Nashville / Williamson County real estate market.

Nashville Real Estate Negotiations Expert

If you are buying a home for sale in Nashville, then your agent must outline a plan on what to offer, what to counter and make your case.  As your Nashville real estate agency team, Bruce Jones & Associates presents offers to sellers and their agents and explains why our client’s offers are what they are.  A letter to the selling agent is presented so they can present this to their sellers which outline how/why the offer was arrived, especially when the offer is aggressive.  Possessing years of experience negotiating Nashville area homes, condos and land for both buyers and sellers, me and my associates have perfected the negotiation process.  I also bring to the table many years of corporate experience negotiating large national contracts.  This type of experience is invaluable.  It can literally save you thousands of dollars.

Examples of the negotiation Power of Bruce Jones & Associates

Example # 1:  Summer of 2008 – The builder of a home in the Franklin, TN development of Westhaven was 90 days out of completing a home listed at nearly $900,000.  The buyer really wanted the home and the listing agent had stated they had very little room to negotiate, if any at all.  The result?  The buyer bought the home at a $20,000 discount with several additional builder added features included in the deal.

Example # 2:  Summer of  2007 – I first met my buyers and within two weeks I found the house they wanted.  It had the Brentwood location, the Brentwood schools they wanted and the price they desired.   It had everything.  I advised them to make an offer that was about $30,000 to $40,000 lower than the list price.  They offered $200,000 less!  This was priced just over $1.2 million, but their offer was too aggressive.  I told them they would not get the house if they offered such because I knew of another buyer that was waiting in the wings.  They said they could live without the house.  Bam, they lost out!  Two weeks later they were regretting it.  A month later they wanted me to call the agent and offer list price plus $50,000 more!  Too late!  The house sold at a $35,000 discount off the list price.  One year later we found another Brentwood, TN home and bought it on day one, but it took a full year to find the next deal.  Now here is where they really lost out.  The value of their Brentwood, TN home dropped over that time period.  The market deteriorated in that year and that probably cost them $75,000.  The home would probably have sold for upper $600K’s, instead it sold in the lower $600K’s.  They should have listened to their seasoned Brentwood real estate agent the first time.

Strong Negotiation Skills Make a Difference

As you can see from the examples above, utilizing superior negotiation skills will make a difference in your Nashville real estate process. To take advantage of these benefits as a home buyer or seller, contact us, the Bruce Jones & Associates today.

Until my next post,

Bruce Jones

Before you list what maybe your most expensive asset, I suggest you ask that all-important question – does the Nashville real estate agent you hired have the marketing resources to sell your Nashville home for top dollar. Marketing resources or the lack of them will have a major impact on your Nashville real estate outcome.  Just three short years ago, Nashville area real estate agents had it easy.  List and sell!  Many times there were no brochures made and if your agent had a website, the listing may be sold so quickly that it did not matter.  Blogging was just getting started and engagement in online social portals such as Flickr, YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn was still relatively new to most agents.

Times Have Changed in the Nashville Real Estate Market

This is a buyers market and your Nashville / Williamson County Real Estate Agent must have the resources necessary to effectively market your property.  Many listing agents have had two lean selling years, thus their resources are depleted and they did not expand their Nashville / Williamson County market presence.  Now they do not have the money to expand and market your property.  Before calling a Nashville / Williamson County agent to interview, check out their website first.  Is it up to date?  Is it user friendly?  Are the listings posted even still available for sale?  Does the website have beta mapping of properties?  Check out multiple pages of their site and read its content.

As a Nashville Home Seller – You Require High Value Web Tools

Next, surf the web for those same listings.  Nashville, Brentwood and Williamson County listings should be on multiple websites and agents should brand the listings, meaning that the listing should be loaded with information. Are prospective agents posting multiple photos of their Franklin / Brentwood, TN listings?  Are the photos high quality?  What about virtual tours?  Do the listings feature Google street mapping and satellite photos of the property?  Are the photos taken by professional photographers? Our greater Nashville real estate agent team here at Bruce Jones & Associates uses www.ShowCaseByAgent.com to take photos for all his listings.  Larger properties get professional measurement and floor plan sketches.

Nashville Home Sellers – Test Before You List!

Test the prospective Nashville / Williamson County real estate agent by making an inquiry about a property via their website or via Realtor.com.  How fast do they respond?  Or do they even respond?

Multifaceted Nashville Real Estate Marketing Approach

Since over 87% of prospective Nashville area home buyers use the web first, shouldn’t your agent have a strong presence on the web?  Look for informative information on those sites such as my video newsletter at www.WilliamsonCountyRealEstateNews.com .  This video newsletter is updated weekly.

The market is changing, daily.  Is your Nashville real estate agent keeping up with the market?  Do they have the resources to keep up?  When Bruce Jones and Associates are the most experienced, qualified and have the resources to effectively market your Nashville property and we WILL GET IT SOLD!