Herman Walldorf & Co., Inc. Realtors » Residential News

Celebrating Milestone Anniversaries

aarmstrong — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 19:42:54 +0000

Celebrating Milestone Anniversaries

Walldorf Home featured on the Today Show

hbridges — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:42:34 +0000

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

Realty Times – August 3, 2009

hbridges — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:36:29 +0000

Are today’s homes undervalued?

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.

Replacing your heat/air units soon?

hbridges — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:30:21 +0000

Here’s what you need to know about “green future” which will help the resale of your home complements of Housemaster’s inspection newsletter:

A milestone in a planned 30-year international phaseout of environmentally sensitive refrigerants used in residential air conditioners and heat pumps occurs in six months. After January 1, 2010, manufacturers of air conditioners and heat pumps can no longer produce equipment that uses the refrigerant R-22, which is commonly know by the brand name Freon®.

Because of this pending deadline, there is a lot of misunderstanding among contractors and homeowners about the future status of systems currently in homes that use R-22. Most affected will be homeowners needing to repair a malfunctioning system or contemplating replacement of an older system. Before making a decision on the remedial options available to them, homeowners should be aware that contrary to the impressions they may have been given by HVAC salesman or service technicians, it will still be possible to service and repair many older R-22 systems for years to come.

While the phaseout requirements only allow refrigerant manufacturers to produce R-22 for use in new equipment until 2010, they can continue production of a regulated amount of R-22 until 2020 for use in the servicing and repair of existing R-22 equipment. It is not until 2020 that the production of R-22 will cease and subsequent servicing of R-22 based systems will have to rely solely on stockpiled or reclaimed and recycled refrigerant.

In anticipation of this phaseout, some manufacturers began manufacturing equipment that uses a new type of refrigerant several years ago. But given the extended phaseout schedule, it is expected that R-22 should continue to be available for servicing for all equipment that requires R-22 for another 10-15 years, which will at least match the typical maximum service life of most air conditioning and heat pump systems. So while manufacturers will not be able to make equipment that uses R-22 after January 1, 2010, the refrigerant will still be available in the near future for servicing of existing equipment.

Between the R-22 phaseout and recently implemented new minimum energy efficiency requirements, however, salespeople and service technicians will be pushing for all new equipment whenever significant repair needs exist or the equipment is old. Ultimately, the best approach in each situation though, will depend on a number of factors including: the cost of repair versus replacement, the age and efficiency of your equipment, you future occupancy plans, and your approach to protecting the environment.

To help address questions you may have about the phase out of R-22, review information the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Heating, Refrigeration and air Conditioning Institute of Canada have posted on their websites. Particularly helpful may be a listing of FAQ for consumers issued by EPA.

Remember, these tips are only general guidelines. Since each situation is different, contact a professional if you have questions about a specific issue. More home safety and maintenance information is available online at www.housemaster.com. Copyright © DBR Franchising, LLC.

Charlie’s Blog – July 17th

hbridges — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:45:43 +0000

What Does the Federal Tax Credit Mean to You?

Any home that is purchased in 2009 is eligible.
The 2009 tax credit is up to $8,000 (10% of purchase price not to exceed $8,000).
First time home buyers are eligible or homebuyers who have not owned a home in the previous 3 years.
Maximum income is $75,000 for a single, $150,000 for married couple filing jointly.
Home must be owner-occupied-may be a condo or townhome.
There is no repayment for the tax credit in the future.
If your tax credit exceeds your 2009 obligation, this excess will be carried forward to a 2010 tax credit.
Is it complicated to apply for? There is no pre-purchase authorization. You simply claim the credit on IRS form 1040 via a new form 5405 attached to your 1040.

We are happy to walk you through the process and find your dream home. Our boutique real estate agency of veteran professionals, having an average of 18 years experience each, has been selling real estate in the consistently progressing Chattanooga and North Georgia market for 81 years. The present mood and feel of the economy is upbeat, positive and progressive. Supply in homes and condominiums is exceptional and demand remains strong. Chattanooga feels good about itself and it shows all over town. Because of our reasonable average sales prices ($141,000 entire MLS metro area), the incredible beauty of this mountain/valley/river location, low property taxes and lack of state income taxes, the market for those out-of-the-area buyers remains alright as well as there being good local demand. We are in a growing economy in which Volkswagen is building a major new facility and a major new chemical production plant is locating in the area. The French plant Alston is relocating 350 nuclear engineers to its downtown Chattanooga plant.

We at Herman Walldorf and Company have it all for you. I invite your call so I can put you in touch with one of our professionals. We are internationally connected, being longtime members of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World and luxury home specialists who can even have properties shown to you in another city. We can also sell your property, therefore, in any market across the world for you -call and we’ll explain that, too.

Chattanooga Area Seeing Investments from Overseas Increasing!

hbridges — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:13:31 +0000

6 percent of Tennessee workers are employed by foreign based companies vs 4.2 percent as the national average. In Hamilton County (Chattanooga metro area) and Bradley County (Cleveland/Chattanooga) over the past 4 years, several companies from Germany and France have located here.

The billion dollar VW assembly plant with 2,500 new jobs and the billion dollar polysilican plant in Cleveland by Wacker Chemical based in Munich are both under construction and anticipating a greater investment than originally planned. Many ancillary and suppliers’ firms will locate in the region, too, as a result. Other major local employers with foreign owners include T-Mobile, Abitibibowater, BASF and Alstom Power.

These projects in southeast Tennessee are some of only a handful of billion-dollar foreign deals in the entire United States recently.

While workers today are glad to have a job, the new U.S. based subsidiaries of foreign-based companies pay above average wages which is also a benefit to the local economy. Additionally, we will become a more globally savvy community with the foreign investment and management teams in and out of the city.

Now is an exceptional time to purchase a home prior to an expected influx of population whereby we should bypass Knoxville’s population soon to be the third largest city in Tennessee, behind only Nashville and Memphis.

Our boutique real estate agency of veteran professionals, having an average of 18 years experience each, has been selling real estate in the consistently progressing Chattanooga and North Georgia market for 81 years. The present mood and feel of the economy is upbeat, positive and progressive. Supply in homes and condominiums is exceptional and demand remains strong. Chattanooga feels good about itself and it shows all over town. Because of our reasonable average sales prices ($141,000 entire MLS metro area), the incredible beauty of this mountain/valley/river location, low property taxes and lack of state income taxes, the market for those out-of-the-area buyers remains alright as well as there being good local demand. We are in a growing economy in which Volkswagen is building a major new facility and a major new chemical production plant is locating in the area. The French plant Alston is relocating 350 nuclear engineers to its downtown Chattanooga plant.

Realty Times Update July 2009

hbridges — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:29:43 +0000

July Update: What You, the Buying and Selling Public, Look For When Choosing An Agent

Recently, the National Association of Realtors accomplished a survey among those buying a home and those selling nationally. Nearly…
read more …

To see all of Charlie’s Realty Times articles click here.

Charlie’s Blog – June 22

hbridges — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:49:14 +0000

What you, the buying and selling public, look for when choosing an agent:

Recently, the national Association of Realtors accomplished a survey among those buying a home and those selling nationally.

Nearly three out of ten cited honesty and trustworthiness as the most important factor in choosing an agent! More than two out of ten said the reputation of an agent was an important factor. Together, these two factors of honesty/truthfulness and reputation were considered most important for half of home buyers and sellers.

The percentage of distribution charts also shows that honesty and integrity of an agent are very important by the greatest number – 97%. Knowledge of the purchase/sale process, responsiveness, and overall knowledge of the real estate market were the other three qualities that were considered very important by more than 90% of the home buyers.

IMPORTANCE OF REAL ESTATE AGENT SKILLS AND QUALITIES (Percentage Distribution)
Factors	Very Important	Somewhat Important	Not Important
Honesty and Integrity	97%	2%	*
Knowledge of purchase process	94	5	1
Responsiveness	93	7	*
Knowledge of real estate market	92	7	1
Communication skills	84	16	*
Negotiation skills	83	15	1
People skills	79	20	1
Knowledge of local area	78	20	2
Skills with technology	37	51	12

Chattanooga’s Community Events

aarmstrong — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:00:29 +0000

Here’s this week’s newsletter for Chattanooga!

Chattanooga Among National Geographic’s 50 Next Great Towns

aarmstrong — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:00:20 +0000

The September 2008 issue of National Geographic’s Adventure magazine includes Chattanooga among the “50 Next Great Towns” for living and playing. “A change of address can bring instant gratification,” the feature article begins. “You could wake up tomorrow in Missoula and kayak off your own deck at down, sneak in singletrack at lunch in Chattanooga or choose your own adventure in any one of the country’s best base camps. But a move is a long-term investment. So this year we selected 50 innovative towns that aren’t just prime relocation spots right now but smart choices for the future.” The salute to Chattanooga is from Cathi Cannon, an athlete and graphic designer, who likes the easy access to off-road racing, camaraderie with other sports enthusiasts and a thriving community. The article includes a photograph of two outdoors buffs carrying their kayaks down the bank of the Tennessee River.