Month: June 2013

When you think about moving to Nashville, what are your primary motivations?  Were you born here, and you moved away to see “more of the world”?  And now, you’re returning home to Tennessee because there’s something about Nashville that calls you back home?  What *is* that something about Nashville?  I can’t find the words to describe what that magical pull is all about.  But there’s a song that really describes it for me: “The House that Built Me.”  Miranda Lambert sings it, but it was written by Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin.  According to a source I know, the song was originally pitched to Blake Shelton (Miranda’s husband) to be narrated by a male singer, but Miranda heard it, loved it, and knew (wisely, I believe) that the singer of this song should be female.

I also felt the song deeply a couple of years ago.  My mother passed away in November 2010, and about six months later, we were auctioning off a good deal of the contents of her house.  She had lived there some sixty years, and as the antique Hoosier cabinet and the maple tables and the big metal desk she had painted pink were transported to the front yard, my friend and business partner Becky reminded me of that song.  Houses are filled with things that we love, and my mother’s house was definitely stocked with things.  My brother and I were there to observe and to watch those possessions we had known for years find new owners.  Becky was a marvelous friend that day; she was also busy observing.  She knew that the current bid on one of my mother’s antique “pie safes” was pitifully low, so she upped it to a much higher price so she could claim it.  That pie safe now sits in my kitchen.

So if it’s not family, what else about Nashville attracts you?  Yes, we are a creative city; we have a plentiful supply of art, music, sculpture, beautiful parks and green space.  Green space is an important element for a lot of folks.  It’s possible to still buy land here, for a reasonable price — unlike California or New York or other parts where acres of land would be simply unimaginable.  And we are a friendly city; we just like people here.  Those are good features to keep in mind as you begin your search for a new home in or around Nashville.

What’s important to you?  We have it all, really.  Privacy (if you want some acreage); condos with clubhouses and other amenities right in the middle of things, walking distance to great places (if you choose that).  Trendy contemporary homes (in East Nashville, particularly); stately and spacious traditionals (in all corners).  Modestly-priced homes to multimillion dollar mansions.  It’s likely that the kind of home you want now may reflect the kind of home that built you, so enjoy the emotions of coming back home.

Miranda Lambert, The House that Built Me 

Hummingbirds and housing?  How in the heck might those two concepts be related?  Well, stick with me for just a minute and I’ll try to explain.

I have a hummingbird feeder outside my office window.  I do my best to keep it filled with fresh food.  (By the way, in case you didn’t know, hummer food has to be changed about every third day because it will spoil in the hot sun and begin to ferment — and you certainly don’t want to have any tipsy hummers around!).

There are four feeding ports (yellow flowers) on this feeder, and I get regular visits from these beautiful birds.  Upon occasion, two hummers will attempt to belly up to the bar at the same time — and the result is they will begin an aerial knockdown.  Hummer # 1 will get his fiercest buzz on and bodyslam Hummer # 2 out of the way.  Hummer # 2, not so easily deterred, will flit away for a couple of seconds and zoom back in for dominance at the feeder.  I wish I knew why this seemingly-violent behavior occurs.  There are, after all, four feeding stations and only two birds trying for the nectar.  Makes one wonder whether hummers carry any testosterone in their tiny little systems.  I know they are male birds, because the females are not nearly as brightly colored, nor as aggressive, as the males.

So how do the hummers relate to the topic of housing?  Well, I read an interesting story in the Tennessean from a couple of days ago (June 16, 2013).  The article is entitled “New type of neighborhood coming to Nashville.”  What’s the new type of neighborhood?  It’s called “co-housing.”  Construction of this new neighborhood — in the Germantown area of town — is expected to begin by late summer.  It will be privately-owned condos, lots of green space (about 40% of the development), rain gardens, edible landscaping, and a clubhouse-type facility designed for meetings and gatherings and committed to energy efficiency.  Decisions will be made by consensus, and disagreements will be allowed “as long as people remain respectful and civil.”  Hmmmm.

The co-housing philosophy is admirable.  In fact, I would love to be part of a community where consensus and civility are promoted behaviors; it sounds like a lifestyle any of us would enjoy.  But edible landscaping?  Hey, I’ve got an edible landscaping feature right outside my office window; it’s got four feeding stations and two visitors who regularly battle for superiority.  In short, anytime you get people together, politics — and trouble — won’t be far behind.  I wish the best for this new neighborhood.  But I will manage my own edible landscapes; thank you very much.

When Becky and I were originally discussing creating a blog for our website, I had recently lost a sale.  I told her that I was choosing to be Grumpy about it.  I had worked many long hours — several months, actually — to locate a place for this client, and the negotiations simply evaporated.  She said something uplifting, like to move past this disappointment, things will work out, I should be Happy.

And then it dawned on me.  There are 7 dwarfs operating in real estate, and both agents and clients inhabit the roles upon occasion.  So here’s my stab at the ways in which each dwarf might be represented — in no particular order.

If you are moving to middle Tennessee, particularly to Nashville, you are likely to meet Sneezy.  According to WebMD, “Tennessee is where everything [speaking of allergens] comes together.”  Nashville ranks #47 in the nation on the list of allergy-affected cities, and shockingly, Chattanooga ranks #3!  We have a long growing season, a temperate climate, and lots of rain — which means one can “expect to sneeze a lot!”  Southern trees — oak, cedar, birch, hickory, and pecan — begin dispersing their pollen as early as February.  I’ll bet more than one of our readers has had the experience of having to turn on the windshield wipers to remove the dusty yellow pollen on a sunny April day.

But you’ve decided on Tennessee, and you want a great home.  Sometimes clients are Bashful about admitting to your realtor exactly how much money you have to devote to the down payment or to the price of the house.  Please don’t be troubled about your level of finances: it does no one any good if we offer half-a-million-dollar houses when you can only afford a $150K house.  We respect your financial picture.  That’s why one of the first pieces of advice we offer to our clients is to go get yourself pre-approved.  Touch base with a mortgage lender (and yes, we can recommend some great ones), and simply find out what’s going to be comfortable.  That’s all it takes.

So we begin looking for houses in your price range.  We find one that is a great fit; it meets all your criteria and you can already imagine how super your sideboard will look placed against that wall, and how you want to plant petunias right there.  If the house is a hit, then don’t get too Sleepy or reticent about it.  The real estate market in Nashville has turned HOT; both of us have seen listings posted one day that sold within 24-36 hours, fast, fast, fast.  You may not have the luxury to “sleep on it.”  Once your heart tells you “this is it,” you need to be ready to pull the trigger.

And along those same lines, you also don’t want to submit a Dopey offer.  I had found a great place for my client that was listed just short of $180K.  She offered $156K.  In truth, I was almost embarrassed to submit that offer; I was pretty sure that the sellers would easily check the “REJECT” box, but they counteroffered, knocking $1,000 off the original price.  Now we learn something about negotiations.  Had my client’s original offer not been quite so dopey, we could have arrived much more quickly at something agreeable to all.

As it was, however, the deal fell through, leaving me, the client, and the sellers Grumpy.  In my armchair analysis, I ended up feeling a little like a Doc, because I genuinely knew what medicine would have saved this “patient.”  No one approaches real estate as a big game or as a chance to practice one’s debating skills.  Our lives, our hopes, our hearts are all involved; we don’t want conflict, we want smooth sailing.  We want a nice home where we can feel safe and proud of where we are, for ourselves and for our children.  That’s the idea behind why the real estate agent is involved in the first place: to help things move along smoothly, efficiently, hassle-free.  Yep, in the final analysis, we all just want to be Happy.

Oh, did anyone besides me think about the Lumineers’ Ho, Hey song?
You have to experience Lennon and Maisy Stella singing it: Fabulous!