Tag Archives: Life

Nashville New Homes: Let’s share some laughs.

There is one thing that can make everyone’s day brighter and that is a good laugh!    Rather than ramble on about all the valid reasons to purchase a new home right now (especially if you are a first-time buyer), let’s share a few laughs about Real Estate, the economy, and life in general.

This Realtor takes the art of “overcoming objections” to an entirely new level:

And we all have had similar showings to this one:

And here is one especially for buyer agents working with “wanna-be” investors:

Listen to our own Brandon Wise talking about buying a NEW home:

Winter is coming.  You can avoid this scenario buy purchasing a new Ole South home with your own garage:

And lastly, let’s have a laugh about the economy.  Sure beats crying!

Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Ole South Realty, 615.896.0019  direct 615.593.6340.  Specializing in new home sales in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, and Spring Hill, Tennessee

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Nashville New Homes: What are YOU waiting for?

It is another fine fall day in Nashville.  Why not fill your day doing some fun things for a change?  Before you hit the streets to search for your new Ole South home, start out with Sunday Brunch at The Black Pearl Restaurant on Old Hickory Lake.  The atmosphere is incredible, the food is great, and prices are affordable too!  Check out their website www.blackjackcove.com.  

No, I am not there today, but many of my friends are.  I am consuming a bowl of raisin bran before someone buys new home today.  I am here:

But, I will be at The Black Pearl after 5:00!  OK, enough about eating, drinking, and being merry…let’s talk about new homes!   If you do not own your home, right now go look in the mirror and ask yourself “WHY NOT?”  Now, if Sandra Bullock is still insisting that you move in with her, you would be stupid to buy your own home.  Very stupid.

Home affordability is at a peak right now.  Fixed interest rates are at a 59-year low.  This is not snake oil folks, this is real.  It says so right here:  http://www.tradingmarkets.com/news/stock-alert/fre_mortgage-rates-at-59-year-low-1230803.html.  Another great reason to buy NOW is that prices are low and will soon start to rise.  I can tell you factually that building material costs are rising, but have not been passed on to the consumer YET.   Change your financial future and BUY NOW.  And buy from OleSouth.com.  What are YOU waiting for?

We had a company dinner this past Thursday evening at our owner’s home.  As I walked down the driveway, I quickly realized that this was not going to be an evening  where I wish I was a horse so I could sleep standing up.   Here is what I saw when I arrived:

And FUN it was!  The food was incredible.  Anyone that is familiar with Ole South knows that we are the best at what we do – and that is building the best value into every home we build.  The coming year will be no exception because the “best” is getting even “better.”   Visit any of our 20+ Nashville area neighborhoods and see for yourself.  With new homes in Nashville, Smyrna, Murfreesboro, and Spring Hill, you will find the perfect home for your needs.   If you cannot get out today, start with a visit to our website, www.OleSouth.com.

Have a great day!

Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Ole South Realty, 615.896.0019  direct 615.593.6340.  Specializing in new home sales in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, and Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Nashville New Homes: Fond, Floating Farewells

Today is a perfect day to take a blogging-break from all the many reasons to purchase a new home and talk about something else for just a bit.  

This is a bittersweet day.  Today, we bid farewell to our dear friends Charlotte and Bill Langford, who are beginning a 6,000 mile journey aboard their boat, Precious Time, a 39 foot Mainship Trawler.  Say hi, or bye rather, to Charlotte and Bill.

The next-best thing to living in a brand new Ole South home is living on a boat.  The greatest advantage is when your neighbors get on your nerves, you can easily move.  I hope that is not the case with Charlotte and Bill!    OK, back to the story…..

They are starting a voyage that is called “The Great Loop.”   From Nashville, they will follow the Cumberland River, go through the Barkley Canal, and proceed upstream on the Tennessee River, until reaching Joe Wheeler State Park in Alabama.  There, they will join many other boaters for the annual Great Looper’s reunion, or whatever they call it.  Then,  they will join others and float down the Tombigbee Waterway to the Gulf Of Mexico, where their travels will  become totally at the mercy of the weather.  (That is when they will certainly miss my wife Beth, the weather-witch!)   Take a look at where this journey will take them.

There is one glitch that makes this journey difficult to schedule.  Charlotte still has not retired!  As Executive Director of Park Manor, she has truly made huge differences in the lives of others…  such a difference that they cannot replace her! 

She will continue to manage that operation online, with a long occasional commute (weekly,I bet) from wherever Precious Time is docked.  Park Manor is an independent living facility for seniors, much like a cruise ship on land!  If someone in your family wants to get the most out of their senior years, this is the place.  I know first-hand.  My mother lives there.

Last Friday night, a few of us “boat-people” gathered at the home of Angela and Bart Bagsby.  It was a great “send-off” evening.  This morning, we were able to join Charlotte, Bill and friends for breakfast at the marina.  Then we untied their lines, and pushed them away.

We are blessed to know Charlotte and Bill, and look forward to following their journey online, and maybe parts of it in person!   Until then, may God be with them until we meet again.   Bon Voyage!

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Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Ole South Realty, 615.896.0019  direct 615.593.6340.  Specializing in new home sales in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, and Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Nashville New Homes: Soon it will be Christmas Day.

In a previous blog topic, it was revealed that Santa Claus works for Ole South and is feverishly building new homes just in time for the holidays.  Well, here is proof!

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Did you know that the average apartment rent within a 10-mile radius of downtown Nashville is $937 per month?  For those struck with disbelief, click this link.  http://www.rentjungle.com/average-rent-in-nashville-rent-trends/  

Now that you are a believer, guess what?  Ole South offers BRAND NEW homes with monthly payments less than that.  They are only 5 miles from downtown Nashville.   YOU can easily own one!

In the above gallery you will see new maintenance-free town homes under construction in Rivendell Woods of Cane Ridge, in southeast Davidson County.  First time buyers can  purchase one of these new homes with ‘ZERO DOWN for less than $800 per month, including taxes, insurance, and HOA maintenance fees, with approved credit of course.  If you ask nicely, all kitchen appliances are included too!  (We also have new town homes 3 miles away at Old Hickory Commons for less than $750 per month)  No this is not a trick folks….FIXED INTEREST RATES also! 

Think you would rather have a traditional neighborhood home with a 2-car garage?  We’ve got those too!  Each of the homes displayed above in the “picture gallery thing” can be yours for less than $1000/month, including taxes and insurance!  Don’t tell anyone, but we’ll include all of the kitchen appliances on these as well!

For those desiring an all-brick home in Williamson County, Santa and crew are building your dream home right now in Benevento East.  Buy now and choose your interior selections – or buy later and like what I like.  You make the choice!

If you are looking for a home in the Greater Nashville area, including Smyrna, Murfreesboro, and Spring Hill, you owe it to yourself to explore the benefits of buying a NEW home from Ole South, Tennessee’s #1 Home Builder.  You just might be “one-click” away from your new home!  www.OleSouth.com  

There are many good reasons to live in Nashville.  Now you’ve got reasons to call it home!   You can reach me  anytime by e-mail (tlewis@olesouth.com).

Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Ole South Realty, 615.896.0019  direct 615.593.6340.  Specializing in new home sales in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, and Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Nashville New Homes: Yes, there is a Santa Claus.

Job-loss and unemployment rates are real, but more importantly, we must focus on the fact that 90% of our working population continue to work.  The 90% have got to be encouraged to carry-on with life before this economy can turn around.  The only thing anyone gets from sitting on a fence is blisters.

News of the “impending moratorium” on home foreclosures is spreading the nation.   Those that are facing foreclosure on their home are being granted a temporary reprieve, and hopefully this reprieve will allow enough time for those affected to form a serious plan to get their future finances in order.   Read more about it here: http://www.tennessean.com/article/20101011/BUSINESS01/10110327/2047/NLETTER01?source

My first reaction was ….”Wow.”   Just last month, the “Administration economists” said the recession ended in 2009 and recovery, although slow, had begun.    My second reaction to the news was “I bet more people wish their home mortgage was with Bank of America.”    Christmas just might be early this year.

In reality, Christmas has come early for the housing economy for several reasons.  Mired down in technical difficulties is the foreclosure process.  We all know that foreclosure sales bring the least amount of money to the lender, and have dire consequences for the property owner.  Foreclosure sales also do the most damage to property values in the surrounding areas.   These low-net, value damaging sales are for the most part stopped for the time being, which benefits the majority of property owners in this country, even if it is just for the short-term. 

Meanwhile, the short-sale process is still alive and well.   Perhaps lenders will now be even more attentive to entertaining offers that they receive.  The lenders get more for the property and the sellers avoid the foreclosure mark on their credit report and can begin re-building their lives.  Without the foreclosure sales forces, we will see further stabilization in home prices.

With foreclosures temporarily off of the market, the exceptional values offered in a BRAND NEW home stand out clearly.  The values offered in today’s new home are beyond comparison, especially with today’s unprecedented fixed interest rates.   Why buy a used toothbrush when you can buy a NEW one?  The same applies to new homes!  Don’t miss exploring these options.

With a Fed Rate of ZERO, and untold billions of bailout money already in the coffers, is the new “moratorium” really hurting the lenders that much?   I feel that the more that property values are allowed to stabilize and improve, the more those troubled assets are worth… when the time comes that they can be sold without issue.

So, here is some sound advice for anyone that may have questions:

1)   If you own your home and are looking to move-up or down-size, get your home on the market now!  What equity you may give-up for a sale will be made up on your purchase in most cases, especially in move-up situations.

2)  If you are able to keep your existing home AND purchase another, you can have the best of both worlds.  Hold your existing property until values climb AND take advantage of today’s market.  Rental property is in huge demand right now and if you find the perfect tentant, this avenue makes great sense.  Consult a Real Estate professional to explore your options.

3)  If you are not behind on your payments, keep making them, even if they are to Bank of America.  Your debt is legal and real.  Interest charges continue to accrue.  No one is going to get a “free home” out of this situation, unless you have a winning lottery ticket.

4)  If you are behind on your home payments, but foreclosure has not been initiated, get that home on the market now!  Remember, the inevitable is just being delayed a bit.  Use the gift of time wisely.  Consult a Real Estate professional and explore your options.

5)  If you are planning to purchase a home in Nashville, Tennessee, you owe it to yourself to explore what we at Ole South Properties have to offer.  Visit our website www.OleSouth.com for more information, or contact Trey Lewis at 615.593.6340 – TLewis@olesouth.com.   My specialty is in NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION but I will be glad to share advice and point anyone in the right direction.  There are many great Realtors in the Greater Nashville area whose services I am proud to recommend.

Yes, there is a Santa Claus and he doesn’t work at Bank of America.  He works at Ole South and he is working feverishly to build your brand new home for the holidays!

Today is another beautiful day in Nashville.  Let’s all get off the fence and enjoy it!

Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Ole South Realty, 615.896.0019  direct 615.593.6340.  Specializing in new home sales in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, and Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Nashville New Homes: Man in the Mirror

What a beautiful day it is here in Nashville, Tennessee!  Not a cloud in the sky, and the chilled morning air will soon turn into a near-summertime afternoon.  Today would be a great day to purchase a new home, wouldn’t it?

Earlier this morning, I checked my e-mails on the droid-phone thingy and found the usual “chain-forwards” from friends.  You know, the e-mails that you really want to delete but you are afraid you may be asked about it later?  Yes, those kind.

One such e-mail grabbed my attention.  It said:

10-10-10  – This day will not happen again for another 1000 years.  You will not be here for it.  Make this day count.

Ok, so today is a special day.  Shall we plan now for next year’s 11-11-11 special day?   Surely there is something we can do.  Anyway, it is Sunday and I am running late for church.

While driving, I was thinking through everything that I simply have to get done this week.  The list keeps growing and I am avoiding admitting that there simply will not be enough days in the week to accomplish everything.  Some things simply won’t get done.  Its that simple.  I’m doing all I can do, right?  Or wrong?   

In many churches, the time of year is now focused on Stewardship.  You know, where you are asked to search far and wide within your soul and give everything you are capable of  – and then just a little-bit more.  (If you don’t feel you are doing your part in your church, these are great Sundays to miss.)  :0)

A friend at church shared a poem.   It applies to women too, but was written before “gender-neutral” verbage became the norm.  You can change the reference to “woman” or “person”  if it makes you feel better.

Allow me to share it with you because it was just what I needed to hear today:

The Man In The Glass

When you get what you want in your struggle for self

And the world makes you king for a day

Just go to the mirror and look at yourself

And see what that man has to say.

For it isn’t your father, or mother, or wife 

Whose judgment upon you must pass

The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life

Is the one staring back from the glass.

He’s the fellow to please ‘ never mind all the rest

For he’s with you, clear to the end

And you’ve passed your most difficult, dangerous test

If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years

And get pats on the back as you pass

But your final reward will be heartache and tears

If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.

 

Then I got in my car and turned on the radio only to hear Michael Jackson singing “Man in the Mirror.” 

Yes, this really is a special day. 

(It will be even more special when someone buys a new home!)

Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Ole South Realty, 615.896.0019  direct 615.593.6340.  Specializing in new home sales in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, and Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Nashville New Homes: Affordable Housing…Provide it, or it will create itself.

I have been tossing this blog topic around in my head for some time now, just waiting for the inspiration to address it.  Just minutes ago, today became the day.

Bank of America just announced they are suspending foreclosure actions in all 50 states.  Don’t just take my word for it, click here for the full story.  http://money.cnn.com/2010/10/08/real_estate/bank_america_50/. 

Okay, now that you read the story, lets take a real indepth look at the situation… and we’re going to have to look way back!

I was fortunate to enter my Real Estate career in 2000.  Business was good.  Along came 9/11 and America pulled together as a nation.  Values and home ownership were prevailing themes.  With demand for new homes increasing and no end in sight, inflation and greed took over.  Land prices skyrocketed.  Development projects went to the higest bidder willing to pay the premium for quick response.   The cost of building materials soared.  Many predicted there was no end to the good times in sight.  I believed them too, and had a lot of fun in the meantime!

Then one day, we look around and see that affordable housing had all but disappeared.   Home prices had escalated over the capabilities of the typical first-time buyer.  Rather than allowing market forces to adjust pricing THEN, along comes the mortgage industry to further facilitate the ever-growing “bubble.”  Interest-only loans, Adjustable Rate Mortgages, and Stated Income Loans allowed buyers to continue paying even higher sale prices.  If you could breathe and move toward light, you could be approved for a home loan with certain unscupulous lenders, even with them knowing you could not afford it. 

Consciencious and Professional Mortgage Originators and Underwriters continued to use the established and acceptable lending criteria that were in place.  Unscrupulous Mortgage Originators and Underwriters did not.  Rules are rules only when they are being enforced and these guys knew no one was watching.  Greedy investors lined up with money to lend.  Increased rates for increased risk.  Everybody wins!  After all, the properties were increasing in value exponentially each year.

YEP!  They sure were…until the first-time buyer segment of our economy put their foot down and said “NO MORE.”  The first-time buyer’s inability to participate in the housing market was about to topple the very market that they had helped create.  There were no more logs to place on the fire.

Fast-forward to “the wake-up-call.”  Housing values dropped, and will continue to fall until the housing market is once again within the grasp of the first-time buyer.  In my opinion Government has over-reacted with numerous new lending criteria initiatives.  These initiatives are sound fundamentally, but a wiser path would have been to simply enforce the criteria that was already there.  The fire was already burning down as a result of market forces, and government poured mass-buckets of cold water on it – and that continues to this day.  Lots and lots of affordable housing options have now been created, mostly at the expense of the taxpayer.

Thankfully, the Greater Nashville housing market was not hit as hard as other areas of the country.  I truly believe that is because of our accessibility to affordable housing. 

At Ole South, our mission has always been to provide the very best selection of  homes that address the needs of the first-time buyer.  That mission is alive and well today!  With brand new maintenance-free town homes starting at $89,990 and brand new traditional neighborhood homes starting at $119,990, we remain committed to keeping the Greater Nashville area an affordable place to live.

But that’s not all… We have become very good at building new homes for the “move-up” buyer, as well as the buyer that wishes to down-size and simplify their life.  Learn more at www.OleSouth.com.

We’ve always worked with responsible lenders too!  Ole South Financial, our SunTrust Mortgage Joint Venture, has made new-home ownership a reality for thousands of buyers and they are ready to assist you too!  Give them a ring at 615.907.2296.

Please do not hesitate to contact me anytime we can be of assistance in any way.  You can rest assured that our neighborhoods in Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, and Spring Hill will be your best new home value…guaranteed!

Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Ole South Realty, 615.896.0019  direct 615.593.6340.  Specializing in new home sales in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, and Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Nashville New Homes: Blessed are the “Risk-Takers”

Have you ever noticed just how obsessed some people are on making life decisions based on what is guaranteed?  Very seldom is there reward without risk, and reward is never guaranteed.

Face it, we all love guarantees.  Guaranteed income.  Guaranteed performance.  Guaranteed success.  Guaranteed results.  Guaranteed home values?  

In real life, there are no real guarantees.  There are no defined patterns on which to base a guarantee.  Staying put in our “comfort zone” could turn out to be more risk than the alternatives.  Be the risk-taker!

Let’s look at home-ownership.  The print media in this country is having a field day saying “The American Dream” of home ownership is “The American Nightmare.”  Even funnier, many people actually believe what those idiots print!   Now that most have stopped reading print media, they now place their gloomy garbage online.

Every day, I hear people say “I’m not going to buy until ‘things’ get better…”  What “things?”  Do you have a steady job?  Can you pay your bills?  Are you planning to stay in the area for a while?   If you answered “YES” to those questions, then you need to act now before the rules change again and take you out of the game!    Be the risk-taker….and get a historically low fixed-rate mortgage payment to boot…..guaranteed!   If you don’t take the risk, how will you ever know when “things” are better?  You damn sure won’t read about it.

Think interest rates will get even lower?  Considering that the current Federal Reserve Rate is ZERO, how can they go much lower?  And even if they do, you can count on inflation to offset any perceived savings.  The lower rates are, the tighter lending criteria will get too.   Be the risk-taker!

Think home prices will fall?  In some areas of the country, they might.  No one can guarantee your home’s future value, but the one guarantee is that YOU will one day own it! 

Assuming you have a good job and want to stay in the area, the only reason I can think of NOT to buy a home would be if your world-travelling parents have a palatial estate complete with a guest house, which they have given to you as long as you want to live there – at no cost of any kind, not even yard work.   Another possible exception would be if Sandra Bullock wants you to be her “roomie.”

Regardless of what property values do, you are better off owning your home than renting it.  Rents rise.  Leases not always renew.  Every day you continue to rent is an added day that you will pay for your home, if and when you do buy.  Thirty years may seem like an eternity, but it goes by really fast.  After 30 years of renting, you own nothing.  After 30 years of owning a home, you own the home out right… unless you borrowed money against your equity.  I’ve never heard of an “apartment equity loan” either. 

That said, how old do you want to be when your home is paid for?   Could it be that being a risk-taker is not really a risk at all?

The Greater Nashville area is loaded with new homes for every need and lifestyle.  At Ole South (www.OleSouth.com) you will find new homes from 99,000 to 299,000 in a variety of desirable neighborhoods – in Nashville,  Smyrna, Murfreesboro, and Spring Hill.  You can be assured you will receive the very best new home value – not just in price, but quality and service too!

Please contact me anytime I can be of assistance in any way!  615.593.6340 or e-mail TLewis@olesouth.com.

Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Ole South Realty, 615.896.0019  direct 615.593.6340.  Specializing in new home sales in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, and Spring Hill, Tennessee.