All Real Estate Info Blog

Williamson Square Active Adult Villas

Here is a brief rundown of what this project consists of:

Project will be located on the property that surrounds the old Carmike Theater, which is now the New River Fellowship Church, behind the Kroger building of Williamson Square. The name of the Developer is Umbrella Investments (principals are Justin A. Cutler and J.D. Eatherly). Umbrella Investments has never built a project and they want to start in our back yard!

Basically, there are a total of nine buildings. Eight buildings will have lower lever or basement level parking, and two or three floors of apartments above them. There are a total of 250 apartments in the project with a total parking space capacity of 453 spaces. The ninth building is a clubhouse and it will have a pool. The apartments are for “active adults” which means that one person MUST be 55 years of age or older. This is a heavily regulated industry by the Fair Housing Act. The apartments are one and two bedroom units and some will not have cooking facilities (I don’t know where they will cook or how they will eat at this time).

All of the buildings are to have a maximum building height of 35 feet. The plans seem to show structures on the roof that extend beyond the 35 foot maximum height.

We will lose over 1800 trees in the construction process, trees that buffer our neighborhood from the commercial development. Replacement trees will be planted by the developer (usually with a 3” tree diameter), but for the benefit of the new residents and not as a buffer to separate the different zoning classifications (commercial vs. residential).

The Fire Marshall has request two “future right of way” connections be incorporated into the project for “future” connection to London Lane. At this point, there is no connection to London Lane that will be completed, but let’s not be naïve, its coming. This will mean that London Lane will have a direct connection to Highway 96 through this property. It means Alexander Ford will use our neighborhood as a test drive route. It means traffic will be out of control and to date, there have been no comments from the Board of Mayor and Alderman about any improvements to be made to accommodate the increased traffic.

We, as a neighborhood have ONE opportunity to express our opposition to this project. We can speak at the public hearing on September 25^th of the Planning Commission for the City of Franklin. Please review the attached plans and information that is posted on this website and get involved, it is our only chance to have an impact on what will happen to our neighborhood.

The Church has a lease that has a termination clause in two years. If they decide to exercise the termination clause, there is no telling what will happen to the building and we MUST plan for that NOW!

This is the most exciting news from the government since they made the profit (up to $500,000 for married couples) from the sale of a personal home tax free. There is a new law for first-time homebuyers that will give the lucky buyers a $7,500 tax credit. This is not a tax deduction, it is a credit. It must be repaid over 15 years. So, what is so great about that? It is like getting a $7,500 loan interest free.

 My daughter and new son-in-law will qualify. He may use the money to go back to college and get his masters. Or, put some of it into his companies 401K that matches at 100% on first 3% of income and 50% on the next 2%. You can't find that kind of return anywhere else. But you might be able to find some good returns of your own.

The money would make a nice emergency savings account. Wouldn't that make it easier to sleep at night. The loan does have to be paid back at $500 a year at tax filing time. And if you sell the house and make a profit, you would have to pay it back then. But, if the house doesn't sell at a profit, you are forgiven the loan. This is a great incentive to buy a house now. This offer is only good until June 30th of 2009.

If you have questions, please email me at mhildenbrand@realtyexecutives.net

We are in the hot days of summer, but homes are still selling. This is normally a slow period for real estate, but with interest rates at around 6% and sellers willing to deal, buyers are finding it the perfect time to buy.

Our Nashville area is a very desirable place to move. Many companies have moved their headquarters here for the quality of life. Distribution centers love being in the middle of the country with highways in all directions and an international airport close by. You can find much to do here for fun. Music, and all kinds, is everywhere. National football and hockey are a favorite pastime. There is also minor league baseball too.

If you are thinking of moving, check out Nashville and the surrounding areas.

Interest rates have been on a downward slide for 6 days, until last night. They have started to inch back up. No one knows where the rate is going, but it is extremely low right now.

You need a contract on a house to be able to lock in this low rate. Have you been looking and have a few in mind? Now is the time to buy. Loan applications are up 32%. Buyers are starting to come back into the market. Spring could be a very busy time.

It is now a new year and Spring will be upon us soon. Spring is the busy season for real estate. Lots of buyers come out of their apartments and too small homes to take a look around. They want to be moved after school is out and before their vacations begin.

If you have been waiting for a bargain, time is almost up. Once we get into the Spring rush, prices go up and many listings get multiple offers. It has been slow since our last Spring rush, which means that there maybe pent-up demand for housing. Interest rates have been incredible low. All the signs for a perfect storm or seller's market soon.

Ever wonder how credit scoring works. Below is a little information which may help. Generally, if you have a 550 fico score or higher, you can qualify for government loans. Conforming loans generally require a conforming FICO score of about 660 and to get the maximum loan amount, a 680 is preferred but compensating factors such as 401-k balances, investment account balances helps significantly.

Sincerely, Dave Cruse, Countrywide Home Loans 615-310-7404.

Credit Score Breakdown

Think of your credit score like you would a grade in school. A teacher calculates grades by taking scores from tests, homework, attendance and anything else they want to use, weighting each one according to importance in order to come up with a final single number (or letter) score. Your credit score is calculated in a very similar manner. Instead of using the scores from pop quizzes and reports you wrote, it uses the information in your credit report.

The number itself can range from 300 to 900. The formula for exactly how the score is calculated is proprietary information and owned by Fair Isaac. Here, however, is an approximate breakdown of how it is determined:

· 35 percent of the score is based on your payment history. This makes sense since one of the primary reasons a lender wants to see the score is to find out if (and how timely) you pay your bills. The score is affected by how many bills have been paid late, how many were sent out for collection, any bankruptcies, etc. When these things happened also comes into play. The more recent, the worse it will be for your overall score.

· 30 percent of the score is based on outstanding debt. How much do you owe on car or home loans? How many credit cards do you have that are at their credit limits? The more cards you have at their limits, the lower your score will be. The rule of thumb is to keep your card balances at 25% or less of their limits.

· 15 percent of the score is based on the length of time you've had credit. The longer you've had established credit, the better it is for your overall credit score. Why? Because more information about your past payment history gives a more accurate prediction of your future actions.

· 10 percent of the score is based on the number of inquiries on your report. If you've applied for a lot of credit cards or loans, you will have a lot of inquiries on your credit report. These are bad for your score because they indicate that you may be in some kind of financial trouble or may be taking on a lot of debt (even if you haven't used the cards or gotten the loans). The more recent these inquiries are, the worse for your credit score. FICO scores only count inquiries from the past year.

· 10 percent of the score is based on the types of credit you currently have. The number of loans and available credit from credit cards you have makes a difference. There is no magic number or combination of types of accounts that you shouldn't have. These actually come more into play if there isn't as much other information on your credit report on which to base the score.

This information is compared to the credit performance of other consumers with similar histories and profiles

This is a new feature for my blog. Dave Cruse will be explaining loan options, every Friday, that Countrywide offers.

No Hassle Mortgage

Countrywide’s Fast and Easy ™ low documentation mortgage removes much of income and asset documentation that is normally required. I’m sure you’ll agree that less documentation will make you much happier with your home purchase experience. Program qualification is simple and straight forward. Here are a few highlights of the program:

1. No traditional application required.

2. A range of products available, including fixed rate, interest-only, and fixed-period ARMS.

3. Available for primary residences (max combined loan to value – CLTV- 95%), second homes (max CLTV 90%) and investment property (max CLTV of 75%).

4. Total debt to income generally not to exceed 55%.

5. As little down as 5% (from borrower’s own funds) for a primary residence.

6. Middle FICO score of 660 or above for primary residence and second home (max combined loan to value of 90%).

(the 660 score is only offered when working with a Countrywide Loan Consultant)

7. No cash reserves required.

8. Non-conforming loan amounts up to $2.0 million (generally 60% LTV).

9. Self employed borrower at same location for two years.

This is one of the top products offered by Countrywide. Let me show you the Fast and Easy way home. Please contact me today and let me help you be a satisfied with your home purchase experience. We are truly the only mortgage banker which offers local underwriting and fulfillment. Countrywide now funds 1 in every 5 mortgages in the country.

Dave Cruse

Home Loan Consultant

Countrywide Home Loans

615-310-7404

You just never know where the interest rates are going. This week the 10 year bond price went way up, because investors were nervous about stocks. When bond prices go up, their yield (or return) goes down. Mortgage rates are tied to the 10 year bond yield. So, interest rates plunged. Great time to buy a house or to refinance.

I decided to refinance with a rate of 5.625%. That is for a 30 year fixed loan that I will pay extra each month to bring down the length of the term. I just feel safer with a lower payment for those times when I am tight with money. For those who caught the dip in rates and wanted a 15 year rate, they got a 5.5%.

The bond yield was up yesterday, so I am sure rates followed. But, you can still get a great rate if you move fast. Call my loan guy, Dave Cruse, with Countrywide at 615-376-4500 (my office) or 615-310-7404(his cell).

The trolleys have been running their routes for a while. We all think that they fit into Franklin life so well. They are so quant and do help people get around town. The problem is that I have never seen one with a lot of people in them. It cost $60.00 to run just one route. How can you break even with gas prices climbing and only a few riders.

Our new mayor will be looking into smaller vehicles for routes with few people and saving the trolleys for special occasions. No one wants to see the trolleys go. So, I am glad the mayor is looking into ways to save the program.

Countrywide has been given a bad rap by the news media. Sure, the loan market is having problems and some companies have gone under. But, Countrywide is doing fine. Here are the stats on loan origination and servicing.

Rank Company Production
1. Countrywide $94.6 billion
2. Wells Fargo $68.0 billion
3. Chase Home Finance $50.4 billion
4. Bank of America $48.0 billion
5. CitiMortgage $36.6 billion

This table reflects the biggest mortgage lenders by residential servicing portfolio size as of Sept. 30, 2007:

Rank Company Servicing Portfolio
1. Countrywide $1.46 trillion
2. Wells Fargo $1.32 trillion
3. Chase Home Finance $0.60 trillion
4. CitiMortgage $0.58 trillion
5. Bank of America $0.38 trillion

My favorite loan person, David Cruse, says that the loan applications are starting to pick up. It is no surprise to me. Countrywide has the most competitive rates and loan packages in the business. You can still get 100% loans with them.