The Local Real Estate Market Is Still Hot In The Spring Hill TN Area

Everyone thinks that the real estate market slows down before the holidays.  To some extent it does, but with the shortage of homes for sale in Spring Hill, TN right now, there are no signs of slowing down.  Spring Hill and Thompson's Station are highly sought after places to live and there just aren't enough homes for sale.  Housing inventory has come up a little, but it cannot keep up with the demand.  New construction is also up and this is helping the situation.  Neighborhoods like, Wades Grove, Benevento, Spring Hill Place, and Benevento East still have available lots and vacant newly constructed homes for sale.  

If you or anyone you know is thinking of selling, we need to talk.   Also if you are looking at buying in the area and need help, I would be happy to assist you in finding your new home.  

Please contact me through my web sites:

Home Sellers Click Here

Home Buyers Click Here

Home Buyer Tips!

Furnish Your Home For Less

Starting out with a "blank slate" can be both a blessing and a curse. The blessing comes if you have enough money to furnish your home with whatever you want from wherever you choose. Furnishing a home on a shoestring, though, takes creativity, an eye for a good value, and possibly some elbow grease.

While some discount stores, such as Ikea, sell inexpensive new furnishings, careful shoppers can find better quality for less money with used furnishings. Here are a few ideas for getting what you need at dramatically discounted prices.

Inspiration

Whether you are furnishing one room or a whole house, it's important to have an idea of how you want the room to look before you go shopping. Once you have the design in mind, it's easier to shop for the components.

Model homes in new home communities are great places to get decorating ideas. These homes are carefully decorated to appeal to a broad range of homebuyers' emotions. Color schemes, accessories, and furniture choice and placement all play to the shopper's emotions.

Interior design and decorating websites may also be good sources of inspiration. Check out Better Homes and Gardens, HGTV, Real Simple and Southern Living for budget project ideas to get your household furnished for less.

Used is Good

One of the hardest things to learn is how to look beyond the obvious wear and tear to the actual "bones" of used furniture.  Look beyond the fact that the upholstery is ratty or the legs are scuffed – look at style.

If you like the lines of the coffee table, buy it. Scratches and dings are easy to fix. Hate the ugly green upholstery on the otherwise perfect Chesterfield-style sofa? Buy it. Have it recovered in a yummy fabric of your choice.

Once you've mastered the technique of not judging furniture by its cover, it's time to go shopping.

Garage and Estate Sales

Yes, there are differences between garage sales and estate sales. The latter is the disposition of goods of a person's estate. The garage sale, on the other hand, is the sale of a person's extra belongings or things they no longer need. Both sales offer used items, but estate sales typically have a better variety, and the items are usually in better condition.

Expect to pay more for estate sale items than garage sale items, and prices are typically not negotiable. In both cases you'll need to supply your own moving labor and transportation, so factor that cost into the cost of the items you want to purchase.

You can find garage and estate sales advertised on Craigslist, in newspaper classified ads, and by following directional signs in neighborhoods.

Consignment Stores

Furniture prices tend to be a bit higher in consignment stores than if you were to purchase the items directly from the owner's home, but you can occasionally find some bargains.

Thrift Stores

Salvation Army, Goodwill, Deseret Industries (in the western U.S.) and hospital auxiliary thrift stores are sources of deeply discounted used household items. Finding something decent is a bit challenging, but once in a while you'll find just the piece you've been searching for, so don't disregard these sources.

Online Shopping

Craigslist is the best online site for inexpensive home furnishings – mainly because it's local. The first place to navigate once you arrive on your local Craigslist page is the "For Sale" section, where you'll find a link named "Free." Everybody loves free, right? Within this category you'll see ads that are headlined: "Curb Alert." These ads contain free items that the owners place at their curb, available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Directly beneath the "Free" section is a link to the furniture section. Here you can find everything from new furniture to gently used designer pieces and ratty junk. Craigslist gives you the opportunity to search by owner or by dealer and to use keywords, which saves you from having to scroll through hundreds of ads for headboards when you're looking for a dining room table.

You may also want to peruse the "Household" and "Antique" sections, also located under "For Sale."

Another website where you can search for furniture is eBay. You can find some bargains here, but keep in mind that shipping charges may just destroy any savings you realize on the items themselves. One way around this is to click the down arrow next to "Sort." At the bottom of the list you'll find "Nearest First." Click on that link to re-sort items according to geographic location.

Etsy is an interesting website for perusing handmade items, such as artwork, containers, planters and pillows suitable for accessorizing.

Finally, join the freecycling group in your area at Freecycle.org. Membership is free, and so are all the items posted.

Shopping frugally allows you to make big, dramatic changes to your home décor without breaking the bank.

Source Market Leader Insider Tips   For More Insider Tips Visit http://www.HomesInSpringHill.com

Factors Affecting Mortgage Rates

There's more to the cost of owning that dream home than the price the seller is asking for. The interest rate on your mortgage loan affects the price and how much you'll pay every month to your mortgage company.

Comparing mortgage interest rates is important because they may change daily, and different rates may be associated with different types of loans. With variable-rate or adjustable-rate mortgages, it is understood from the outset that the loan's interest rate will change over time, becoming higher or lower depending on the current economic climate.

Let's look at why mortgage interest rates fluctuate so frequently.

The Federal Reserve and Interest Rates

The Federal Reserve System ("The Fed"), although considered our country's central banking system, is independent of the federal government. In essence, the Fed controls the movement of money throughout the U.S. financial system.

The Federal Reserve System is composed of a Board of Governors and 12 Federal Reserve Banks, spread throughout the country. The seven members of the Board of Governors, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and four other reserve bank presidents serve on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the policy-making body that determines, among other things, the interest rate charged to commercial banks.

The FOMC controls inflation by tightening or loosening the country's money supply. One way they do this is by raising interest rates to control inflation. When borrowing money costs more, consumers tend to shy away from taking out loans, hopefully leading to lower prices.

By the same token, lower interest rates encourage consumers to borrow and spend, which in turn boosts the economy. Overall, the fluctuations in mortgage interest rates reflect an attempt to keep a balance in the economy, and to prevent inflation without bringing the economy into a recession.

Mortgage Investors and Changing Interest Rates

The Federal Reserve is not the only player affecting changing mortgage rates. To create more money to lend, banks often sell their loans on the secondary market, now controlled by the federal government. Banks and other mortgage lenders sell mortgage-backed securities to investors. The return on investment for these investors is generated by interest paid by mortgage holders on their loans. For the investors to realize a return, banks must charge a higher interest rate.

Homebuyers (the mortgage loan borrowers) want low interest rates on their mortgages. This force drives interest rates back down. In addition, when investors know rates are going to drop, they purchase these securities, increasing demand and eventually sending interest rates back down. Banks must balance these two opposing forces, and the resulting push-and-pull drives mortgage interest rates.

The Effect of Changing Mortgage Interest Rates on Loans

Though they are locked-in once the application process is completed, fixed-rate mortgage rates are constantly changing. Interest rates for variable-rate loans fluctuate as well, and continue to change throughout the term of the loan. Another impact on interest rates occurs when lower interest rates attract homeowners wishing to refinance their mortgages.

While all of this may seem complicated to the average homebuyer, an awareness of what drives interest rate changes can help you know when the ideal time has arrived to apply for a loan.

For more information visti:   www.HomesInSpringHill.com

Source;Market Leader Insider Tips

Retirement Planning: Will Owning a Home Help You Retire?

Retirement Planning: Will Owning a Home Help You Retire?

There was a time when nobody had doubts about the value of owning a home. It was considered an incredible long-term investment and ideal for retirement. Today we know that real estate isn't as safe as we once thought it was, at least as a short-term investment, and Americans, young and old, are leery of sinking their life savings into a home as an investment. Knowing this, will owning a home help you retire? That depends on a number of factors, including when you purchase the home.

If you buy the home in advance of retirement, when you have the time to build equity, then yes, the home may help you retire. If you are thinking of buying your first home in retirement, there could be problems.

Timing

Ideally, a home purchased to help you financially during retirement is one that will be paid off by the time you bring in the shingle. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen for many homeowners. Forbes.com claims that although almost half of Americans aged 50 to 70 say they plan on using their home's equity to fund their retirement, 37 percent of them are not anywhere near having their mortgages paid off.

That's OK, though, according to Sydney Lagier, former certified public accountant. "With interest rates so low right now," she says, "a mortgage can be an excellenthedge against inflation."

Lagier claims that inflation is expected to soar in the near future, eroding the worth of today's dollar. While this hurts those with savings and investments, it does the opposite with debt.

"A mortgage enables you to lock in today's home price, but pay for it with tomorrow's inflated dollars," Lagier claims.

If inflation is a concern, Lagier suggests taking the money that you would have used to pay off the mortgage prior to retirement and investing it in Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities.

Reverse Mortgage

If you have paid off the mortgage, or at least a significant chunk of it, pre-retirement, there's always the reverse mortgage to fall back on should you need to tap your equity. Of course, you won't realize as much as you would were you to sell the home, but it's "money you get to use while you are alive and pay back when you're dead," according to Lagier.

Offered to Americans 62 years of age or older, the reverse mortgage doesn't come without risks. Although you won't be making house payments, you'll still be required to keep up the property tax payments, HOA fees, and homeowners insurance. Default on any of those and you risk foreclosure. Which is why, according to Lagier, the reverse mortgage is considered a "loan of last resort."

Income Property

Many experts claim that the purchase of income property is a far better retirement investment than depending on being able to tap into your primary home's equity. This investment property could even be your retirement home, rented out until you stop working.

The best time to buy this home is at least five to 10 years before you retire, according to Michele Lerner in an Associated Press article. She also cautions about the risks you take in losing liquidity when you tie up your money in a second home.

The ideal candidate for this scenario is one who has built up an emergency cushion of at least one year's worth of expenses – both current expenses and those they'll take on with a second property.

Don't disregard other risks, such as the maintenance costs for two homes. Appliance and major system failures can be costly to remedy, and if you lack liquidity, they could be catastrophic.

Rent or Buy?

Whether to purchase or rent a home is a common question when folks near retirement. Since rents are rising 5 to 6 percent a year on average, and interest rates are still incredibly low, it appears on the surface that buying is a better option. Dig a little deeper, and it is even more apparent.

With a fixed-rate mortgage your monthly house payment won't change over the life of the loan. Rent? At least once a year or whenever the lease is up for renewal, you'll face a possible rent hike.

Whether or not owning a home will help you retire depends on variables such as your current financial situation, your investment portfolio, and how many years you plan on working. A good financial planner is your best source of information.

Source:Market Leader Insider Tips

DIY Toolkit: Essential Tools For Minor House Repairs

DIY Toolkit: Essential Tools For Minor House Repairs

It takes time to build a complete DIY toolkit. Start with the essentials, and build on your collection as you take on new projects. Eventually, you will become proficient at a wide range of DIY home projects - and your toolkit will reflect this (as will your wallet, considering the money you will save on hiring someone to do it for you!).

A Basic DIY Tool Collection

Hammer: From hanging a picture to replacing wall molding and millions of DIY projects in between, a hammer is probably the most-used tool there is. Don't choose just any hammer. Select a claw hammer – a hammer with a claw on one end for pulling nails and prying material – with a flat peen (the surface which drives nails) rather than rounded.

Tape Measure: Many home repair and improvement tasks require a tape measure. Get a retractable tape measure, which is made of a rigid metal and snaps back into the case when you push a button. For most jobs, a 25-foot tape measure is sufficient.

Carpenter's Level: With a good level you have a straightedge for cut lines and a tool to tell you if an item is flush (straight up and down) or level (perfectly flat). Don't let the store's selection overwhelm you – a basic 4-foot bubble level, which uses air bubbles inside a liquid-filled cavity, is basic but dependable.

Carpenter's Square: Get both a speed square, which is hand-held, and a largerframing square when possible. Squares are great straightedges, tape measures and right-angle testers.

Utility Knife: Whether you call it a box cutter, razor knife, or any of several common terms, a utility knife is a DIY tool essential. Your utility knife makes quick work of slicing through drywall, carpet, linoleum, rigid foam insulation and many other materials. Keep a supply of razor blades in the knife's hollow body.

Flashlight: From peering underneath your foundation to working in the dark to restore power to your breaker box, your flashlight will shed some light on various tasks.

Screwdrivers: If you plan to limit your DIY ventures to basic carpentry and fixture installation, a handful of screwdrivers will get you started. Choose both Phillips-head screwdrivers (which have a cross-shaped tip) and flat-head screwdrivers (with a knife-shaped tip). More advanced repairs may require different heads. To save money, consider a multi-bit screwdriver with interchangeable tips.

Pliers: If you need to pull staples, cut wire, or loosen tight connections, pliers will help. Look for three basic types: needle-nose pliers (which have a pointed end),side-cutting pliers (which look much like scissors) and adjustable flat-nose pliers(aka flat-head pliers).

Wrenches: When pliers won't get the job done, look for your wrench. Grip or remove pipes, nuts, bolts and other stubborn household items. Start with a set of adjustable crescent wrenches for all-around usefulness.

Staple Gun: A staple gun comes in handy for installing faced fiberglass batt insulation, hanging plastic sheeting and other projects around the home. Manual staple guns require a little more muscle but eliminate the need for electricity.

Drill: Once you have a drill, you'll wonder how you ever got along without one. From simple tasks such as hanging curtains to more complex jobs like replacing wood flooring, a drill – cordless or not – makes it easier. A cordless drill is more convenient but has a limited battery life.

Saws: Two basic saws will see you through most general DIY home projects. First, select a handsaw for places where you don't have power or for situations where a power saw just isn't practical. Next, decide on either a table saw or a circular saw. A table saw is sturdy and makes cutting boards and other material easy. However, a circular saw is portable and hand-held, making it more convenient. When you're ready for a new saw, consider a jigsaw or reciprocating saw.

Stud Finder: A stud finder will help you quickly find the framing members in your walls, ceiling and floor.

Orbital Sander: Small enough to easily control with one hand, an orbital sander is perfect for basic work. Keep a supply of sandpaper, of various grits, on hand.

Ladder: Depending on the jobs you anticipate tackling, you might prefer astepladder instead of an extension ladder. Extension ladders are useful outdoors and reach higher, but stepladders work inside or outside.

All of the tools in the world won't help you if you don't have accompanying supplies. Keep wood glue, superglue and caulk in your supplies. Add an assortment of nails, screws, bolts and nuts to your tool collection as well. Don't forget tape: masking tape, electrical tape and duct tape in particular. A heavy-duty extension cord is essential. Your collection will continue to grow over the course of your DIY adventures.

Source: Market Leader Insider Tips

The Advantages of Getting a Mortgage Preapproval

The Advantages of Getting a Mortgage Preapproval The homebuying process can be exciting, but also stressful. When there are a large number of buyers in the market for real estate, the odds of being able to purchase your desired home can be low. However, getting a mortgage preapproval prior to home shopping can dramatically increase the odds of success.

Make Mortgage Preapproval Your First Step A mortgage preapproval should be a homebuyer's first step when purchasing a home. A borrower can choose to meet with a lender or get an initial preapproval via the Internet. The preapproval process is similar to the actual mortgage process and will, in fact, eliminate a lot of time after a home has been chosen. When obtaining a mortgage preapproval, the borrower will complete a mortgage application and submit the necessary documentation to the lender. The lender will pull a credit report and examine the borrower's credit. Based on all of this information, the lender will determine the amount of funds that the borrower qualifies for. The borrower will receive a Conditional Commitment, which states the amount of funds that the lender agrees to lend provided that the conditions are met. While a preapproval is an important first step, it is not the final mortgage approval.

For more information   Click Here

 Source: Market Leader Insider Tips