Read More . . .

Citing the auto and poly crystalline silicon industries the region has attracted by landing Volkswagen and Wacker Chemical, Business Facilities magazine made the area its top pick.

Read more . . .

282 Luxury Apartments Near Downtown

In July, 2010, the sale was closed for the 26-acre tract of ground located off US-27 and bounded by Signal Mountain Boulevard and Dayton Boulevard.  The purchase price was $990,068.  The sale was brokered by Rudy Walldorf, CCIM, of Herman Walldorf & Co., Inc. who commented, “I can remember walking this parcel with Bob Corker (now Senator Corker) around 30 years ago.”

Read More . . .

“This is the latest and biggest,” Stephen Cai, managing director of the turbine facility, said of the sprawling 350,000 square foot factory built on the Tennessee River near downtown.  “This is the flagship.”

Already the $300 million plant on Riverfront Parkway has a two-year backlog of business retrofitting power plant components, Mr. Cai said.

Read More . . .

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

The HOI showed that 72.3 percent of all new and existing homes sold in the second quarter of 2009 were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,000, down only slightly from the record-high 72.5 percent during the previous quarter and up from 55.0 percent during the second quarter of 2008.

“The increase in affordability- along with the $8,000 federal tax credit for home buyers-is stimulating demand, particularly among young, first-time home buyers,” said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson, a home builder from Tulsa, Okla. “But to keep the recent upturn in home sales going into next year, congress will need to extend the tax credit for another year and make it available to all buyers in an effort to encourage activity in the trade-up market.”

Robson noted that the tax credit, which expires on November 30, is currently limited to just buyers purchasing their first home.

If one is 62 and has a significant equity, the reverse mortgage can turn that equity into tax free cash without forcing them to move or make monthly payments. The lender will make a payment to a borrower in lump sum, monthly cash payment, a line of credit or a combination of all 3 ways. When the owner dies or moves away, the house can be sold, the loan paid off and the left over equity will go to the living owner or the designated heirs.

Reverse mortgages have traditionally been used by older Americans who can not cover everyday expenses or have limited funds to pay long term care premiums, home health care services or the current mortgage. More recently they are also poplar with those who need a better alternative to home equity credit lines.

Elderly folks need to seek a financial advisor on such a program as financing costs and the interest rate can be more than the normal conventional mortgage rates. Also, Federal retirement benefits could be endangered and a reverse mortgage is subject to be called should the owner fail to pay property taxes, adequately maintain the home, fail to pay insurance premiums, or change their primary address.

The family needs to talk, also, to understand and advise the elderly in the process as their home is often the major asset they own.

QUESTION: I have seen four different definitions of a PUD in four different publications. I have title attorneys and real estate attorneys arguing over what is and what is not a PUD and whether this form needs to completed. What is exactly is the definition of a PUD? What if the seller does not know if it is or is not a PUD?

ANSWER: The State of Tennessee recently passed a new law that went into effect on July 1, 2009, concerning planned unit developments, or PUDs. The new statute provides a definition of a PUD. It also requires that the seller disclose whether the property is located within a PUD:

Section 66-5-2__.
(a) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) “Bylaws” mean guidelines for the operation of a homeowner’s association which define the duties of the various offices of the board of directors, the terms of the directors, the membership’s voting rights, required meetings and notices of meetings, and the principal office of the association, as well as other specific items that are necessary to run the homeowner’s association as a business;

(2) “Planned unit development (PUD)” means an area of land, controlled by one (1) or more landowners, to be developed under unified control or unified plan of development for a number of dwelling units, commercial, educational, recreational or industrial uses, or any combination of the foregoing, the plan for which does not correspond in lot size, bulk or type of use, density, lot coverage, open space, or other restrictions to the existing land use regulations; and

(3) “Restrictive covenant” means any written provision that places limitations or conditions on some aspect of use of the property, such as size, location or height of structures, materials to be used in structure exterior, activities carried out on the property, or restrictions on future subdivision or land development.

(b) In addition to any other disclosures required in this part with regard to transfers described in 66-5-201, the owner of the residential property shall, prior to entering a contract with a buyer, disclose in the contract itself or in writing, including acknowledgement, if the property is located in a PUD, and make available to the buyer a copy of the development’s restrictive covenants, homeowner bylaws, and master deed upon request.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009, the public welfare requiring it.

The agent’s responsibility is to make the seller aware of this new law. It is NOT the agent’s responsibility to determine whether the seller’s home is in a PUD. This is for the seller to determine.

We would recommend that the seller consult with his own attorney. The new law is found at Public Chapter 112, Senate Bill 0324, and House Bill 0380.

[SOURCE: TAR's Legal & Ethics Hot Line Attorneys]

The best home sales statistics for this year came in June.  Sales were up to the highest level since September of 2008.  In June, the Southeast Tennessee and the Northwest Georgia area saw the sale of 553 residential units, a 14.3% increase compared to the previous month’s sales.  It is hard to say that the market has recovered, but the lower home sales compared to a year ago seem to be narrowing.  Foreclosures are still happening, which could affect home prices in some area, but as the President of the Chattanooga MLS said, “I think that we’re seeing the start of the proverbial ‘perfect storm’ of circumstances – improved economic environment, savvy and motivated buyers, and dedicated, hard-working realtors who are making things happen. I continue to be thankful that the Chattanooga marketplace never mirrored the activity that took place in most of the rest of the U.S. in the last several years. Like the President of the Chattanooga Association of Realtors, I’m cautiously optimistic, but I also believe that we’ve turned a very big corner.”  The median home price is only down 3% from this time last year, but up 6.3% from May.  In 2009 the number of days that homes are on the market has increased.  Experts say that it is due mostly to the continuing pressures in the financial markets as credit remains tight for even the most qualified of buyers.

Yes, but it may take 3 years – just like prognosticators are saying about the stock market – to come back to early 2008 levels. Nationally, the median house price has dropped 14% from a year ago, but has stabilized. “It is safe to say we have reached the point where prices are justified by the fundamentals of the economy and may even represent an undervaluation” says chief economist Lawrence Yun of the National Association of Realtors. The Wall Street Journals’ headline Saturday, August 1, proclaimed the end of the national housing slump and the gradual rise of home prices and activity.

Read more …