Tame Inflation Data Turns Rates Lower
Categories: Chattanooga Real Estate News, Mortgage and Finance
By Angel Sherlin
Mortgage rates ended the week close to where they began the week, but the end result masked a lot of movement. The week began poorly for mortgage markets. Stronger than expected Retail Sales data and tough talk on inflation from Fed officials pushed mortgage 
rates higher on Monday and Tuesday. In particular, Tuesday’s Fed speakers suggested that the economy was beginning to recover - even if there is still a long way to go - and that inflation concerns have increased. The tide turned on Wednesday, however, when CPI, the most closely watched inflation report of the month, showed a lower than expected increase in inflation. Mortgage rates fell every day through the remainder of the week.
The April Core Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose at a 2.3% annual rate, below the consensus forecast of 2.4%. So far, higher food and energy prices have not been passed through in a large way to the prices of other goods. The Fed has been emphasizing inflation fears for a couple of weeks, which has had a negative impact on mortgage markets, so the good news on inflation was a relief to many investors. The Fed is generally considered to be comfortable with Core CPI readings below 2.5%.
In the housing sector, this week’s news was mixed. Against a consensus forecast of 940K, April Housing Starts rose 8% to an annual rate of 1,032K units. Building Permits, a leading indicator of housing market activity, rose 5%, the first increase in in five months. The construction of single family homes remained weak, however. The strength in the Housing Starts report came from new apartment construction, which is extremely volatile on a monthly basis. Separately, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that median home prices fell 8% during the first quarter from the same period one year ago. The chief economist of the NAR suggested that the data may be a little misleading, since a smaller percentage of high end homes were sold during the period due to the difficulty in obtaining jumbo mortgages. In addition, the results varied in different parts of the country. 100 out of 149 metropolitan areas saw price declines during the first quarter.
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Riverbend ‘08: Chattanooga’s “Best Week Ever”
Categories: Chattanooga Community Events, Flavors of Chattanooga, Things to Do in Chattanooga
By David Israel, Business Manager
I have now been living in Chattanooga, Tennessee for almost 4 years, and my “Best Week Ever” is less than 30 days 
away. Riverbend ‘08 is almost here. For those of you who are reading about this festival for the first time you are certainly in for a great treat. The festival began in 1981 on a small strip at Ross’s Landing and it has grown to a nine day event with over 100 performers on 6 stages. In fact Andy attended the very first Riverbend festival.
This year’s three biggest headliners will be ZZ Top, The Black Crowes and America (who will perform with the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera).
The festival organizers have pretty much mastered this event. You do not need to purchase individual tickets, instead you purchase a pin. This pin gets you into the festival. So, if you buy the pin today through June 5th at our local Favorite Markets the cost is $28 (a $9 savings). Imagine all the entertainment you can gather up in an evening, for nine evenings, for only $28, talk about a bargain.
If you go, and you should, you will be amazed at how incredible the performances are. From the headliners on the Coca Cola Main stage to the performers on the other 5 stages. Last year we went and watched a Pink Floyd Cover Band play at one of the smaller stages. It was standing room only. We, and I say we because we were in the thick of it, were totally blown away by the performance and the crowds were huge. This was the first time the festival had a cover band play and from the success I witnessed, they will be doing it again. There is a great mix of performers throughout the week, from country, rock and everything in between.
You have to visit the Riverbend ‘08 to see a full lineup of performers for this year. The fun begins Friday night June 6th through Saturday night June 14th.
Riverbend is a festival on the Tennessee River, they actually bring in a huge barge for the Main Stage that pulls up along the bank of the river in downtown. The festival is a family friendly week of performance by national and local performers. There are also local talent shows, clowns, and so much more. Many people travel to Chattanooga for Riverbend, so if you live here and you’ve never been before, consider putting Riverbend 2008 on your schedule.
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Appraisals vs. Inspections: Two Different Animals
Categories: Ask Andy, Chattanooga Real Estate News, For Home Buyers
By Andy Hodes, Realtor
Many times Buyers ask about the importance of a home inspection if they are getting an FHA or VA appraisal. When the FHA or the VA is involved, the appraisal, in addition to establishing value, looks for certain standards in the home so that its loan can be insured (FHA) or guaranteed (VA) by the federal government. These standards include several, but not all, of the same items covered by the home inspection. Last year the FHA loosened their standards and we now rarely see any FHA concerns while the VA’s standards remains vigilant.
In either case it is essential to obtain a complete home inspection by a licensed home inspector. While the FHA and VA appraisers are looking for certain things during the 15 to 20 minutes they spend in a home, a good home inspector will spend three to four hours (and sometimes even more) completing a thorough inspection of all the various home systems including the roof, attic, electrical, plumbing, most appliances, heat and air, foundation, crawl space, drainage, etc. Home inspectors provide a detailed report of their concerns that a buyer can use to negotiate repairs with the seller.
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Attention Buyers: The Benefits of Signing a Representation Agreement
Categories: Chattanooga Real Estate News, First Time Buyers, For Home Buyers
By Kacey Sides, Buyer Specialist 
So an agent wants you to sign a Representation Agreement. This binding agreement may not be something that you want to sign if you don’t know all of the benefits, facts about representation, and you are not yet comfortable with the agent that is asking you to sign it.
“How having a Representation Agreement” benefits you - 5 great reasons:
1. Your have the loyalty (and the legal requirement) of your Realtor to put your best interests first.
2. Your Realtor has systems in place to make sure you and he/she are up to date on a regular basis with all of the homes that come on the market with your criteria, so when your perfect home comes along, you are one of the first to know about it!
3. It educates you on the home buying process, and gives you all of the information available for you to make an educated decision on what home is right for you.
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Telling a Story: An Art That is Not Lost in Chattanooga
Categories: Chattanooga Community Events, Chattanooga Real Estate News, Flavors of Chattanooga
By David Israel, Business Manager
Don’t miss an incredible weekend at Talespin.
Talespin which is put on by the Chattanooga Downtown Partnership, is designed to bring in storytellers from various walks of life to Chattanooga. The main objective is to tell stories with many themes that include youth stories, cultural stories, humorous stories, historical stories and so much more. This weekend event is for all ages! Not only is this a fun event for the kids, but adults will enjoy these unique stories told by professional storytellers. Many of the storytellers and themes will connect generations, traditions and lessons for living.
On Thursday night, May 8, a kickoff event featuring six national storytellers will be held at the historic Tivoli Theatre.
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Honesty is the Best Policy: Chattanooga filled with Great People
Categories: Chattanooga Community Events, Flavors of Chattanooga, Things to Do in Chattanooga
By David Israel, Business Manager - Andy Hodes & The Scenic City Team
This week as I was deciding on what tips to share with you, our audience, I was reminded of an incident that happen to my wife and I this weekend, and it just reinforces why we moved to Chattanooga.
Last Thursday we were heading down to South Florida on Allegiant Air (non stop from Chattanooga to Ft. Lauderdale); $49 each way, I highly recommend it. Anyway we arrived at the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport and we boarded the plane on time; then my wife noticed that her diamond tennis bracelet was not on her wrist. She started to freak out and wanted to get off the plane. If you have ever tried to get off a plane once you have boarded, it is impossible unless you are dragged off by the FAA or are deatlhy ill. So, we filed a report on a napkin with the airline and the airport. The entire flight down my wife was, well lets say she was crying. It wasn’t the cost of the bracelet, but the fact that I had designed it and given it to her on our 5th Wedding Anniversary ten years ago.
When we got into Ft. Lauderdale, I called Andy who drive into long term parking to make a visual check of my van, just in case it fallen off her wrist in our vehicle. No luck!
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Want to Buy a Foreclosure? Read this First.
Categories: Chattanooga Real Estate Investing, Chattanooga Real Estate News, For Home Buyers
By Kacey Sides, Buyer’s Specialist - Andy Hodes & The Scenic City Team
Foreclosures are everywhere. Here in Chattanooga, we definitely have our fair share. Buying a foreclosure can be a great investment or a huge nightmare. Having a Realtor on your side to guide you through the process can help keep you from a major, personal disaster. Keep in mind every foreclosure sale can be a little different, so being on top of your game will help give you the edge over your competition. Whether you are buying one to flip, or buying one to fix up and live in, keep one thing in mind - the good deals go fast, so you need to be prepared to move quickly when the RIGHT deal comes along!
The homes that are priced significantly below market value are going to get a lot of interest from other buyers and most likely sell quickly. Banks that own these properties are aware of this, and will typically wait to receive multiple offers from buyers before they make a decision to select the best offer. After receiving multiple offers, some banks will ask each buyer for their “highest and best” offer. You will then have a chance, possibly your last chance, to submit your very best offer, keeping in mind that your competition is doing the same thing. Conversely, some banks will wait for multiple offers, but then won’t call for highest and best. Keep this in mind when writing your initial offer!
Regardless of the situation, you want your offer to stand out. Keep these steps in mind when prepariing your offer to purchase:
1. Keep your inspection period short. I wouldn’t advise skipping a good home inspection, but having more than 7 days to inspect the property can adversely affect your offer; banks are looking for buyers that will move quickly. Many times, the bank will require any inspections to be done prior to making the offer so that contingency is removed from the contract up front.
2. Don’t ask for repairs. Most banks won’t do them. Just make sure you reflect potential repairs in the price you offer.
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