real estate agent Archives - Page 20 of 28

210 Nancy Lane, Clinton, TN 37716 – Troy Stavros, CornerStone Realty Associates

August 19, 2019 By Troy Stavros

SOLD! Introducing 210 Nancy Lane, Clinton, TN 37716. OFFERED AT $130,000! Cute and updated, one level living minutes from downtown Clinton. This 3 bedroom, 2 bath home is located on a quiet side street and sits on a level lot with a fenced back yard. Owner’s suite addition features new sitting/office area with french doors, large walk-in closet and master bath with upgraded vanity cabinet, granite counters, double sinks, and upgraded faucets. Bathroom #2 received similar updates with an updated vanity cabinet, granite countertop and updated faucet. Engineered wood flooring in the family room and hallway and tile in the baths. Lots of natural light fills the home whether it be through the picture window in the family room, the windows in the kitchen either over the sink looking into the backyard or in the eat-in dining area, not to mention the french doors in the owner’s suite. The large, flat backyard is fenced and includes a storage building for tools or toys. This property is eligible for USDA 100% financing!

Don’t delay, set up your showing ASAP, as we don’t expect this home to last more than a few days on the market!

Contact Troy Stavros with CornerStone Realty Associates directly via call/text at 865-205-6899 or via the office at 888-388-DOOR xt.707.

This listing is no longer available.

5 Powerful Reasons to Own Your Home Instead of Renting

July 11, 2019 By Troy Stavros

5 Powerful Reasons to Own Instead of Rent | MyKCM

Owning a home has great financial benefits.

In a recent research paper, Homeownership and the American Dream, Laurie S. Goodman and Christopher Mayer of the Urban Land Institute explained:

“Homeownership appears to help borrowers accumulate housing and nonhousing wealth in a variety of ways, with tax advantages, greater financial flexibility due to secured borrowing, built-in ‘default’ savings with mortgage amortization and nominally fixed payments, and the potential to lower home maintenance costs through sweat equity.”

Let’s breakdown 5 major financial benefits of homeownership:

1. Housing is typically the one leveraged investment available

Homeownership allows households to amplify any appreciation on the value of their homes by a leverage factor. A 20% down payment results in a leverage factor of five, meaning every percentage point rise in the value of your home is a 5% return on your equity. If you put down 10%, your leverage factor is 10.

Example: Let’s assume you purchased a $300,000 home and put down $60,000 (20%). If the house appreciates by $30,000, that is only a 10% increase in value but a 50% increase in equity.

2. You’re paying for housing whether you own or rent

Some argue that renting eliminates the cost of property taxes and home repairs. Every potential renter must realize that all the expenses the landlord incurs (property taxes, repairs, insurance, etc.) are baked into the rent payment already – along with a profit margin!!

3. Owning is usually a form of “forced savings”

Studies have shown that homeowners have a net worth that is 44X greater than that of a renter. As a matter of fact, it was recently estimated that a family buying an average priced home this past January could build more than $42,000 in family wealth over the next five years.

4. Owning is a hedge against inflation

House values and rents in Knoxville tend to go up at or higher than the rate of inflation. When you own, your home’s value will protect you from that inflation.

5. There are still substantial tax benefits to owning

We know that the new tax reform bill puts limits on some deductions on certain homes. However, in the research paper referenced above, the authors explain:

“…the mortgage interest deduction is not the main source of these gains; even if it were removed, homeowners would continue to benefit from a lack of taxation of imputed rent and capital gains.”

Bottom Line

From a financial standpoint, owning a home in Knoxville has always been and will always be better than renting. Have questions or want to game plan on how you can buy a home? Contact me, Troy Stavros with CornerStone Realty Associates at 865-999-0925 today!

House Hunting? Know What You Want vs. What You Need!

June 26, 2019 By Troy Stavros

In this day and age of being able to shop for anything anywhere, it is really important to know what you’re looking for when you start your home search.

If you’ve been thinking about buying a home of your own for some time now, you’ve probably come up with a list of things that you’d LOVE to have in your new home. Many new homebuyers fantasize about the amenities that they see on television or Pinterest, and start looking at the countless homes listed for sale in Knoxville through rose-colored glasses.

Do you really need that farmhouse sink in the kitchen to be happy with your home choice? Would a three-car garage be a convenience or a necessity? Could the “man cave” of your dreams be a future renovation project instead of a make-or-break right now?

The first step in your home buying process should be getting pre-approved for your mortgage. This allows you to know your budget before you fall in love with a home that is way outside of it.

The next step is to list all the features of a home that you would like, and to qualify them as follows:

“Must-Haves” – if this property does not have these items, then it shouldn’t even be considered (ex: distance from work or family, number of bedrooms/bathrooms).
“Should-Haves” – if the property hits all of the ‘must-haves’ and some of the ‘should-haves,’ it stays in contention but does not need to have all of these features.
“Absolute-Wish List” – if we find a property in our budget that has all of the ‘must-haves,’ most of the ‘should-haves,’ and ANY of these, it’s the winner!

Bottom Line

Having this list fleshed out before starting your search will save you time and frustration. It also lets your real estate agent know what features are most important to you before they start showing you houses in your desired area.

Ready to get the process started? Contact me, Troy Stavros with CornerStone Realty Associates at 865-999-0925 and let’s setup a time to get together and game plan!

Why Buying or Selling Your Home Should NOT Be a DIY Project

June 25, 2019 By Troy Stavros

In today’s fast-paced world where answers are a Google search away, there are some who may wonder what the benefits of hiring a real estate professional to help them in their home search are. The truth is, the addition of more information can often cause more confusion.

Shows like Property Brothers, Fixer Upper, and dozens more on HGTV have given many a false sense of what it’s like to buy and sell a home. While they call it “Reality TV,” most of the time it’s more TV than reality.

Now more than ever, you need an expert on your side who is going to guide you toward your dreams and not let anything get in the way of achieving them. Buying and/or selling a home is definitely not something you want to DIY (Do It Yourself)!

Here are just some of the reasons you need a real estate professional in your corner:

There’s more to real estate than finding a house you like online!

There are over 230 possible steps that need to take place during every successful real estate transaction. It’s important to be guided by someone who has been there before, someone who knows what these actions are, to ensure you achieve your dream? It’s kind of like climbing Mt. Everest, doing so without a guide can be dangerous and add quite a bit of extra risk.

You Need a Skilled Negotiator

In today’s market, hiring a talented negotiator could save you thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of dollars. Each step of the way – from the original offer, to the possible renegotiation of that offer after a home inspection, to the possible cancellation of the deal based on a troubled appraisal – you need someone who can keep the deal together until it closes.

What is the home you’re buying or selling worth in today’s market?

There is so much information on the news and on the Internet about home sales, prices, and mortgage rates; how do you know what’s going on specifically in your area? Who do you turn to in order to competitively and correctly price your home at the beginning of the selling process? How do you know what to offer on your dream home without paying too much, or offending the seller with a lowball offer?

Dave Ramsey, the financial guru, advises:

“When getting help with money, whether it’s insurance, real estate or investments, you should always look for someone with the heart of a teacher, not the heart of a salesman.”

Hiring an agent who has his or her finger on the pulse of the market will make your buying or selling experience an educated one. You need someone who is going to tell you the truth, not just what they think you want to hear.

Bottom Line

Today’s real estate market is highly competitive. Having a professional who’s been there before to guide you through the process is a simple step that will give you a huge advantage! Thinking about or ready to start that process? Contact me, Troy Stavros with CornerStone Realty Associates today at 865-999-0925 to set up a time to sit down and talk about the next steps.

Guessing At How Much Home You Can Afford is a Mistake. Get Pre-Approved!

June 24, 2019 By Troy Stavros

In many markets across the country, the number of buyers searching for their dream homes outnumbers the number of homes for sale. This has led to a competitive marketplace where buyers often need to stand out. One way to show that you are serious about buying your dream home in Tennessee is to get pre-qualified or pre-approved for a mortgage before starting your search.

Even if you are not in an incredibly competitive market, understanding your budget will give you the confidence of knowing whether or not your dream home is within your reach.

Freddie Mac lays out the advantages of pre-approval in the ‘My Home’ section of their website:

“It’s highly recommended that you work with your lender to get pre-approved before you begin house hunting. Pre-approval will tell you how much home you can afford and can help you move faster, and with greater confidence, in competitive markets.”

One of the many advantages of working with a local real estate professional is that many have relationships with lenders who will be able to help you through this process. Once you have selected a lender, you will need to fill out their loan application and provide them with important information regarding “your credit, debt, work history, down payment and residential history.”

Freddie Mac describes the ‘4 Cs’ that help determine the amount you will be qualified to borrow:

Capacity: Your current and future ability to make your payments
Capital or cash reserves: The money, savings, and investments you have that can be sold quickly for cash
Collateral: The home, or type of home, that you would like to purchase
Credit: Your history of paying bills and other debts on time

Getting pre-approved is one of many steps that will show home sellers that you are serious about buying, and it often helps speed up the process once your offer has been accepted.

Bottom Line

Many potential homebuyers in Knoxville overestimate the down payment and credit scores necessary to qualify for a mortgage. If you are ready and willing to buy, you may be pleasantly surprised at your ability to do so today. Contact me, Troy Stavros with CornerStone Realty Associates today and I can help you get this process started by recommending you to some amazing lenders.

46 Million Millennials Are Now Mortgage Ready. But Do They Know It?

March 21, 2019 By Troy Stavros

Much has been written about the millennial generation and whether or not they, as a whole, believe in homeownership as part of attaining the American Dream.

Millennials have taken longer to obtain traditional milestones than the generations before them, such as getting married, having kids, and buying a home. (Partially because this generation has been hampered by more student loan debt than the generations before them.) However, that does not mean that they do not still aspire to achieve those things.

History shows that people tend to buy their first home around age 30. Nearly 5 million millennials will turn 30 in the next two years. This will continue to fuel demand for housing.

This is also one of the many reasons why the millennial homeownership rate has continued to grow over the past few years. 48.4% of Americans between the ages of 30-34 now own a home.

There are currently over 46 million millennials (33% of the generation) who are considered “Mortgage Ready”, meaning they meet the qualifications to be approved for a mortgage today!

a FICO Score ≥ 620
a Back-End Debt to Income Ratio ≤ 25%
no Foreclosures or Bankruptcies in the last 7 years
no severe delinquencies in 1 year

Rob Chrane, CEO of Down Payment Resource, commented on the findings of the report,

“We now know there are millions of buyers with the income & credit necessary to qualify to buy a home. The biggest question is:

Do they know it? …Unfortunately, many renters don’t investigate homeownership simply because they don’t believe it’s an option.”

The good news is that more and more millennials are realizing that they can afford a home in Knoxville, now. Even so, more can be done to increase awareness of low down payment programs to attract even more of this generation.

New data from realtor.com shows that in December, millennials accounted for 42% of all new home loans originated in the month. This is more than any other generation.

Bottom Line

If you are one of the many millennials who may be “Mortgage Ready” but are unsure what your next steps should be, let’s get together to help guide you on your path to homeownership! Contact me, Troy Stavros with CornerStone Realty Associates at 865-999-0925.