How long will the stuff in my house last?

August 25th, 2008

Are you a first time home buyer?

Below I have a link to a study that shows the life-cycle of the components of a home.  Avoid being surprised and without a plan when your roof needs replacing or your HVAC goes out.

Read this study..Print it off and keep a copy.

When considering a home to purchase, check out the age on the components of the home.  Compare

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How Short Sales Affect Sellers

August 22nd, 2008

Many of you like me, are hearing more of this term, short sale, with the market the way it is.  It is often associated with the topic of foreclosures.  However, it is not only used for a pre-foreclosure sale.

So what is a short sale?  A short sale is a sales transaction in which the seller’s mortgage lender agrees to accept a payoff of less than the balance due on the loan.  In this blog, I am going to cover the affects a short sale has on your credit and the possible taxes that may be incurred afterwards.

Here is a to a video clip from The Early Show. Ray Martin chats with Hannah Storm about the advantages of the short sale.  If you don’t want to watch the video, I have taken an excerpt from his report on short sales.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=2960979n

Lose the House, but Not Your Credit
According to sources in the mortgage industry, people who agree to a short sale with the lender do far less damage to their credit rating than those who go through foreclosure.
While in both cases, short sale and foreclosure, the delinquent mortgage will negatively affect their credit rating, at least short sellers avoid

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Dickson’s Citizens Value Education

August 18th, 2008

In a Dickson Herald article this week we read that

Thornton, a local real estate attorney, issued the following statement to The Herald yesterday.
“Subject to gathering some additional information about the project and the schedule for the planned improvements, my business partners and I will be happy to donate 10 acres in Crestview Park for the purpose of establishing a higher learning facility in Dickson County,” Thornton said. “Having this type of facility located in the center of Dickson would be beneficial to many of our local hotels, businesses, restaurants and downtown merchants. This could have a significant positive impact on

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Dickson County Education News

August 6th, 2008

Dickson County School Director Johnny Chandler announced that all of Dickson County schools met the No Child Left Behind criteria and are all in good  standing.

The biggest thing Dickson County Schools is facing now is that we need more schools because we have so many people moving in to our wonderful little town.

On a higher level of Education… a 4 year college campus is being proposed for White Bluff off of Hwy 47.  In the mean time, Tennessee Technology Center and the Renaissance Center both offer college level courses right here in the city of Dickson, TN.

Now for our town’s sad news..  Dickson County Public Library and Lifelong Learning Center had a fire this morning and will be closed indefinitely.

Lawn Mower Giveaway

August 4th, 2008

One of the first purchases new home owners get is a lawn mower.  This can be a very expensive purchase.  I can think of many things I would rather spend the money on. 

My friend Nathan recently got to test drive the brand new Neuton CE 6.2 lawn mower.

 It is a battery operated lawnmower that is powerful enough to cut bermuda grass.  You can read his review at http://www.lawncareguide.org/lawn-mowers/neuton-mower-giveaway/ .   If you leave a comment, you will automatically be entered to win the

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1 hour of sunlight=1 yr of energy

July 31st, 2008

MIT has made an amazing discovery on how to store solar energy when the sun isn’t shining.

Sunlight has the greatest potential of any power source to solve the world’s energy problems, said Nocera. In one hour, enough sunlight strikes the Earth to provide the entire planet’s energy needs for one year.

With energy costs on the rise, it is becoming harder for people to consider purchasing a real estate or even doing repairs and upkeep to their existing homes.  Most citizens that I have talked to in Dickson are putting all their extra money towards their gas and electric bills.  MIT’s Daniel Nocera says that their goal is for this solar power to be

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