865 Real Estate

East Tennessee Real Estate & Neighborhood Source

What is the term “Pocket Listing” in Knoxville Real Estate

By

pocket listing in KnoxvilleWhat is a pocket listing?  When searching Knoxville real estate, one thing to keep in mind is that your Knoxville real estate agent may know of additional Knoxville homes for sale than what you are finding on internet sites.  You may be asking yourself why that is.  Aren’t all homes available for sale listed on the MLS and subsequently on the various real estate portals like Trulia, Zillow, and REALTOR.com?  The answer to that question would be MOST, but not all Knoxville homes for sale are listed on the MLS.

 Those homes not listed on the MLS are called “pocket listings”.  They were called this originally because they were kept in the REALTORS pocket, out of public view.  The definition of a pocket listing per Wikipedia is, “a real estate industry term used in United States which denotes a property where a broker holds a signed listing agreement (or contract) with the seller, whether that be an “Exclusive Right to Sell” or “Exclusive Agency” agreement or contract, but where it is never advertised nor entered into a multiple listing system (MLS), or where advertising is limited for an agreed-upon period of time.”  According to Troy Stavros, Broker/Partner at the 865 Real Estate team, “It most oftentimes is when a homeowner and a real estate agent have a casual agreement, that says if the agent comes across someone who might be a potential buyer of their home, the agent will bring that person to see the house.”
There are various reasons a seller might want to keep their home as a “pocket listing” as opposed to traditional marketing.  Some of those reasons are: privacy, secrecy, convenience, motivation and time. Many sellers want to sell their Knoxville real estate, but do not want the aggravation associated with showing the property. Keeping the home as a pocket listing often allows the agent to weed out those people who are just curious, and only show the home to serious, qualified buyers.  To ensure this, the seller typically has a Knoxville real estate agent who qualifies all potential buyers on their availability to purchase prior to scheduling a showing appointment.  Stavros stated, “Then there are those homeowners who may not be actively looking to sell, but will always move ‘if the price is right’, and oftentimes, for the right house, a motivated buyer will pay their price.”
Pocket listings may give buyers an extra advantage as well when searching for real estate which is not being advertised publicly  This significantly reduces the amount of competition for a home.  These special properties may be unique because they are sold privately and may never be intended to be listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Oftentimes these are high profile homes, with perhaps high profile owners.
For sellers of Knoxville real estate, because of the highly reduced amount of exposure and marketing, they must decide if exclusion from the MLS is in their best interest.  For a buyer searching Knoxville homes for sale, it is important to work with a local agent who has established relationships, and is in communication with other agents in the community. This way, you can be sure that you will be aware of all potential Knoxville homes for sale.

Preview of Bridgemore Custom Home in Knoxville Parade of Homes

By

Knoxville Parade of Homes in BridgemoreUPDATE: SOLD! I had the pleasure of previewing this stunning custom luxury home for sale and Knoxville Parade of Homes 2012 entry in Bridgemore, with the builder, David Haines, of BrookWood Construction.  The home was designed by Jack Herr Design Associates of Brentwood, TN as part of the exclusive Hammock Lane Collection in Bridgemore.  This home is the 4th home from the collection built on Hammock Lane as well as the 5th Knoxville Parade of Homes entry by BrookWood Construction in the Bridgemore neighborhood.  Featuring extensive main level living and entertaining space the home has been very popular during the Knoxville Parade of Homes, and actually went under contract just prior to the start of the Parade.  Homesites are still available in the beautiful Bridgemore neighborhood where BrookWood Construction has built many of the homes, and is taking on new clients for future custom built homes.   Contact us for more information on Bridgemore or for an introduction to David Haines of BrookWood Construction.

Knoxville Real Estate and the new 3.8% Tax

By

3.8 taxYou have no doubt heard about the 3.8% tax that is part of health care reform.  There is a lot of misinformation floating around the web and in mass emails being shared.  We want our clients to be informed so that they can put the rumors to rest about the infamous 3.8% tax.  Here is what you need to know:

  • If you can add up all of your income from every possible source for the year and it equals less than $200,000 ($250,000 on a joint tax return), this tax will NOT effect you.
  • You will NEVER pay this 3.8% tax at the time that you purchase a Knoxville home or other Knoxville investment property, as it will never be collected as a transfer tax on Knoxville real estate.
  • You will NEVER pay this tax at closing when you sell your Knoxville home or investment property. Any profit you gain over the exclusion threshold at settlement is just added to your gross income for the year.
  • If and when you sell your PRIMARY residence, you still receive the full benefit of the gain exclusion on the sale of your Knoxville home $250,000 (single tax return)/$500,000 (married filing joint tax return). Only if your capital gain (profit) on the sale is greater than these amounts will you then include any gain above these amounts as income on your tax return. However, if your total income (including this gain above the exempted amount on your residence) is LESS than the $200,000 (single)/$250,000 (joint) amount, you will NOT pay this tax.
  • The tax is not only for Knoxville real estate gain, but it applies to other types of investment income as well. If your income exceeds the $200,000 (single)/$250,000 (joint) amount, then the tax will be applied to capital gains, interest income, dividend income and rental income (after expenses).
  • No matter how much you make in other types of income, if you have NO income from capital gains, rents, interest or dividends, you’ll NEVER pay this tax.
  • The equation that figures the amount of 3.8% tax due will ALWAYS protect $200,000 ($250,000 on a joint return) of your income from the 3.8% tax. (i.e. If you are single and have a total of $205,000 income, the 3.8% tax would NEVER be enforced on more than $5,000).

If you are anything like me, sometimes it is easier to understand a concept when you hear someone talking about it instead of reading the facts.  Below is a video pretty much summarizing what you’ve read above as well as an informative video explanation of the 3.8% tax produced by the National Association of REALTORS featuring their Director of Tax Policy.  For additional information here is a link to a brochure on the 3.8% tax provided by NAR.

Knoxville Homes for Sale and the Craigslist Rental Scam

By

Craigslist Rental ScamThe 865 Real Estate team, the leading Knoxville real estate team at Gables & Gates, REALTORS has announced their personal fight against a popular internet scam they are seeing not only in Knoxville, but nationwide. The posting of fraudulent rentals on internet sites such as Craigslist and large real estate sites like Trulia and Zillow, that are actually Knoxville homes for sale. These fraudulent ads are being posted on a daily basis, hoping to lure in unsuspecting renters.

The 865 Real Estate team says they are fielding calls from potential renters on a daily basis. You may wonder why the 865 Real Estate team, a team that only lists and sells Knoxville real estate, are getting rental calls. The following is how the scam typically works: The scam artist begins by trolling the internet, looking at Knoxville homes for sale on sites like Trulia, Zillow, or Realtor.com. They find a Knoxville home for sale that is located in a desirable area and looks to be in nice condition. They then proceed to copy the address, photos, and description of the Knoxville home for sale and list it on sites like Craigslist, Trulia, and Zillow at a rental price well below typical market rent, and many times offering additional bonuses such as free utilities. When the potential renter gets in contact with the supposed owner of the home, a story typically ensues where the owner tells the renter that they are currently out of the country (often even saying they are on a mission trip), and are looking for someone trustworthy to rent their home. The scam artist uses the actual name of the owners of the home, which they have researched and found in public records. They follow by asking the potential renters to fill out an application, which they no doubt approve quickly, and then ask for them to mail a deposit so they can subsequently send them the keys to the home. All without the renter stepping into the home.

The lure for the renter is obviously the incredible deal, because the home is renting for so far below market rent. Gladly many of these would be renters do a little extra research by either doing an internet search on the address or driving by the property. This is how they end up calling the 865 Real Estate at Gables & Gates, REALTORS.

“Once they search the address on the internet, the property comes up for sale and they see our contact information, or they drive by the home and see our sign and call”, says Troy Stavros, BROKER/PARTNER at the 865 Real Estate team. “We are thankful to be able to speak to them before they proceed any further. We get multiple calls daily as a result of this scam. We typically have 40-50 listings on the market on a regular basis so the odds are good that a few of those will be picked up by the scam artists. I think they like our professional photography and the great homes we list. I just feel bad for the folks that don’t call us. Hopefully, before they go through with sending any money, they will realize that if it seems to good to be true, it usually is.”

The problem stems from the fact that you can list a rental home on sites like Craigslist, Trulia, and Zillow through sites like Postlets without any real verification of validity.  Hopefully those sites can find a way to remedy the issue. Until then, along with fielding phone calls, and trying to get the word out to the public, the 865 Real Estate team is being proactive by searching the websites daily to find the fraudulent ads on their listings, and reporting them to the sites for removal. Stavros concluded, “Be careful out there! Do your due diligence. Our recommendation would be to do an internet search on the address and contact a professional real estate company for assistance.”

Visit the Parade of Homes showcasing Knoxville Real Estate

By

12035 Inglecrest Lane, Knoxville, TN 37934 - Knoxville homes for saleThe 865 Real Estate team will be hosting the Knoxville homes for sale built by Schaad Residential Construction in the Knoxville Parade of Homes.

The 865 Real Estate team has partnered with Schaad Residential Construction to market many of their newly built Knoxville homes for sale. The new construction Parade home built by Schaad in Farragut’s Sheffield subdivision is located at 12035 Inglecrest Lane, Knoxville, TN 37934, and is a great example of the quality, Energy Star Certified, home for which Schaad is known. The all brick, open floor plan, home features four bedroom, three and a half baths, and a bonus room. Other notable features included hand-scraped hardwood floors, granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, gas cooktop, fireplace with built-in bookcases, wood staircase with wrought iron railings, main level master bedroom, and a covered veranda. Additional specifications that are conducive the the Energy Star Certification are the tankless water heater, closed and conditioned crawl space, and radiant barrier roof decking.

The 2012 Knoxville Parade of Homes locations are situated across the Knoxville area in Knox, Anderson, Blount, and Loudon Counties and encompass a wide variety of Knoxville real estate. With homes ranging from $148,000 to $1.6 million. The Knoxville Parade of Homes are currently open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through October 14th. The event is FREE to the public.  Click here to view the locations and homes included in the 2012 Knoxville Parade of Homes.

[idx-listing mlsnumber=”814607″ showall=”true”]

Using Video Previews of Knoxville Homes for Sale for Relocating Clients

By

Knoxville real estate previewsTroy Stavros, lead buyer’s agent at the 865 Real Estate is using video technology to assist both local and relocating clients in searching Knoxville homes for sale. Stavros said, “As the leading listing team at Gables & Gates, REALTORS we were already utilizing live video and professional photography for our home sellers, but have recently found out what a time saver it can be for my clients searching through the Knoxville homes for sale to buy. I was working with a few different families doing a corporate relocation into the Knoxville area when the idea came to me.”

“We are always looking for ways to make the process of buying Knoxville real estate easier for our clients”, commented Stavros. “I witnessed these families on a time crunch, struggling to get into town to look at Knoxville homes for sale while their kids were still in school, or while they were trying to transition from their old corporate position to the new one here in Knoxville. It can be very stressful. My solution was first to get all of their search criteria: from their dream home, to the house with which they could still be happy, to what they absolutely did not want. Second, if they could be in town we would visit some homes so I could observe their responses to what they were seeing. Then if we were unable to find the home on that first trip out, after they left Knoxville, I decided that they could still view homes that fit their criteria through the lens of my video camera. Our Knoxville Home Preview videos were born out of trying to lessen the stress of our relocating clients.”

“I’ve had multiple out of town clients say that they would get the family together to huddle around the computer with popcorn to watch the preview videos, excited to see if it could be their next home. This excitement would oftentimes lessen the negative feelings that some of their children might have felt about relocating.”

The key according to Stavros is the buyer consultation completed with the clients prior to starting the home search. This would allow them to paint the picture of the house they were looking for. It was then just a matter of finding the homes that fit their criteria and eliminating those that did not. Stavros would choose the homes to video as well as take recommendations from the clients as they searched the 865 Real Estate website from their end.

“It’s been a very popular tool for our clients. We have even had clients buy a home, site unseen, because of the video and their trust in that we had a firm grasp on their wants and needs.”