photo credit: Dan4th

The weekly poll is trying to figure out how to finance the house of its dreams. Go vote and give it some advice.

This week’s poll topic has to do with something most of us have had to deal with if we own a home: financing. In particular, I’m curious what kind of financing you used when you bought your current home. It’s certainly no secret that FHA loans have become more than a little popular in the last few years. According to the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors, in the greater Knoxville area alone, the number of FHA loans used to buy homes more than doubled from 2004 (1,014)  to 2009 (2,464) while the number of conventional loans fell by more than 50% (10,797 in 2004 vs. 4,876 in 2009 – ouch). This has largely been due to increasingly strict approval and underwriting guidelines for conventional loans.

However, it looks like there’s about to be some stricter guidelines on the FHA front as well, and some say that those changes (higher minimum down payment, fewer seller paid concessions, higher up front mortgage insurance payments) could cut out a good number of currently FHA eligible home buyers and thereby hurt the housing market. Oh yeah, and did I mention that the FHA might also need one of those tax payer bailout thingys? For the first time in its 75 year history? Crikey.

But before all those changes become official, I’m curious about how many of you used FHA vs. other types of financing when you bought your current home. And if you went FHA, was it by choice or by necessity? Or maybe a conventional loan was more your style when you bought your home? Or maybe you don’t buy anything you can’t pay cash for? Cast your vote and let me know!

Home financing may be complicated, but getting information the Knoxville real estate market isn’t.  Just have it delivered straight to your feed reader or inbox by subscribing to All Around KTown today!

photo credit: ntr23

The weekly poll is looking for a new place online. Go tell it what your favorite home search sites are.

This week’s poll topic has to do with something I’ve been dealing with a lot this week:  home search websites. We Realtors have the advantage of having the good old MLS at our fingertips, but the general public doesn’t have it so easy.  Although there is a public sister site to our local MLS here in Knoxville, a lot of folks choose to get their information on one of the eleventy billion other home search sites on the web. Some people prefer one of the many national sites with a lot of bells and whistles, while others are more partial to local sites that are more bare bones, but which tend to update their information more frequently.

So what about you? Do you have a go to site to look for real estate listings online? Is it a national site that can guesstimate the value of your house or is it just a little ole’ local site that tends to have reliable listing info? Cast your vote and let me know!

You may like to look at 4 or 5 different real estate websites when you’re searching for homes, but you’ll never have to look far for information on the Knoxville real estate market. Just have it delivered straight to your feed reader or inbox by subscribing to All Around KTown today!

photo credit: emdot

The weekly poll is cleaning up for out of town company. It’s gonna take a while, so you have plenty of time to go vote.

This week’s poll topic has to do with something I have a few of right now: house guests. More specifically, how comfortable is your home for guests who are planning to spend a night or two (or three)? Here in the Trotta household, we have a dedicated guest room that pretty much remains untouched except for the in-laws annual visit. Could we use the space for other things? Probably, but we’re not dying for extra space and after years of living in cramped apartments, it sure is nice to have a comfortable room for friends and family when they need it.

So what about you? Does your home have a comfortable spot for visitors to lay their weary heads? Or do you offer a lumpy old couch and hope they’ll spring for the Super 8 instead? Cast your vote and let me know!

You may have to sleep on the pull out sofa when you’re visiting grandma, but you’ll never have to look far for information on the Knoxville real estate market. Just have it delivered straight to your feed reader or inbox by subscribing to All Around KTown today!

photo credit: minxlj

The weekly poll is up to its ears in house projects. Go vote and lend it a hand.

This week’s poll topic has to do with houses and how much work you’re willing to do to the ones you buy. It’s high buying season out there right now, and I’m working with all different kinds of buyers: first timers, 2nd timers, old timers, and possibly last timers. And all of them have a different level of “work” they’re willing to do to a home, ranging from “complete remodel” to “not a darn thing.”

So what about you? Are you looking for something that’s move-in ready? Or are you willing to get some sweat equity goin’ if the price is right? Cast your vote and let me know!

Spend your extra time working on your fixer upper, not on searching for information on the Knoxville real estate market. Just have it delivered straight to your feed reader or inbox by subscribing to All Around KTown today!

photo credit: Grahambones

The weekly poll smells something funny. Go vote and help it figure out what it is.

This week’s poll topic has to do with something I’ve seen my fair share of: smelly houses. Just like a bad case of halitosis can ruin your crush on that dreamy guy or beautiful girl, bad smells can kill a potential sale of home.  A picture may be worth a thousand words, but iff the MLS had a scratch and sniff feature, it would certainly be worth a lot of saved gas for me and a lot of saved time and high hopes for my clients . I can’t tell you how many homes I’ve seen that look nice on the outside – and probably on the inside too -, but that smell so funky (think cat pee, smoke, mold, dirty diapers, “my grandma’s house”) my clients can’t stay inside long enough or can’t concentrate enough to even know if they like them or not. And yes, air fresheners can help, but I can tell you from experience that if you put Tropical Hawaiian plug-ins in a  house that smells like cat pee and don’t do anything else, you will have a house that smells like Tropical Hawaiian Cat Pee.

But enough about what I think about smelly houses. What about you? Would you buy a house that smelled like smoke? Like mold? Like Tropical Hawaiian Cat Pee?  Cast your vote and let me know!

You don’t have to spend a lot of time online sniffing out the latest news on the Knoxville real estate market. Just have it delivered straight to your feed reader or inbox by subscribing to All Around KTown today!

photo credit: ansik

The weekly poll is helping me celebrate my blogiversary. Go vote and join in the festivities!

Yes, it’s true, All Around KTown turns 2 this week! And it’s been another wonderful year both online and off. I’ve had a lot of very cool opportunities, gotten to meet a lot of new folks, gotten some very nice compliments, even got to be on TV a few times, and also sold the heck out of some houses. What more could a blogging Realtor ask for?

Best of all, you’re all still coming here (or checking in via feed reader or email) and reading about Knoxville real estate. You’re the best! This past year, you’ve been most interested in:

1. Downtown Knoxville condos and lofts.
2. The Brownlow School lofts.
3. Lane Kiffin’s (now former) neighborhood.
4. The $8,000 new home buyer tax credit.
5. How to learn to love split foyers (a surprise hit, this one, and one of the first posts I ever wrote).

Which leads me back to this week’s poll topic. Now that I know what you liked from the year that was, I’m curious about what you would you like to see more of on AAKT in the year to come. More neighborhood information? More market condition updates? More foreclosure info? More write-ups on interesting — or just plain expensive — properties around K-Town? Or maybe just more bells and whistles like charts or video? Cast your vote and let me know! And if you have a hankering for something I didn’t put in the poll, leave a comment and let me know all about it.

Don’t wait another year — sign up today to get the latest news on the Knoxville real estate market delivered straight to your feed reader or inbox today!

photo credit: normanack

The weekly poll’s closet is crammed full of stuff. Go sort your way through it to cast your vote.

This week’s topic has to do with something a lot of us don’t seem to have nearly enough of: closet space. And more specifically, I’m curious if you currently have enough closet space for all of your stuff. If you live in an older house like me, you know that closet space is a precious commodity. But having also lived in a newer home with huge closets and tons of attic storage, I also know that the more space you have, the more stuff you tend to accumulate.

So what about you? Do you have enough closet space for all of your stuff? Or do you just have more stuff than you need? Cast your vote  and let me know.

Thanks to @laurabower for the idea for today’s poll question. If you have a suggestion for a Weekly Poll question, I’d love to hear it!

You might not have enough closet space, but you can always get the latest news on the Knoxville real estate market  – Just subscribe to All Around KTown in a feed reader or by email today!

photo credit: BrittneyBush

The weekly poll is looking for a house with enough storage space for all its poll questions. Go vote and give it a hand.

This week’s topic has to do with house features and specifically what features you absolutely can’t live without. I work with more than a few buyers and all of them have their “must haves” – the things that are really non-negotiable in the home they’re going to buy next. Some people focus more on the interior  (big kitchen, lots of closet space, fireplace, hardwoods or garage), some people focus on the exterior (yard, fence, privacy, swimming pool, lake front, convenient location) and others have more generalized non-negotiables (house style, house age, house location).

So what about you? What are the features you absolutely can’t live without in a home? Are they inside things like gourmet kitchens and luxury bathrooms? Are they outside things like big yards and swimming pools? Or maybe having a historic home or a new home are more important to you? Cast your vote (yes, you can choose multiple options this week!) and let me know. And if I left your “must have” feature out, let me know about it in the comments.

Thanks to @karentvchick for the idea for today’s poll question. If you have a suggestion for a Weekly Poll question, I’d love to hear it!

You might be able to compromise on closet space, but don’t compromise on your Knoxville real estate news. – Subscribe to All Around KTown in a feed reader or by email today to keep up with the latest in the K-Town housing market!

photo credit: AmyMo

The weekly poll is tired of the rain. Go vote and try to cheer it up a little.

This week’s topic has to do with something we’ve all been looking at all day: rain. More specifically, I’m curious what happens to your house inside and out when it pours rain like this all day long. Over at the Trottas’, we have a tendency to get a little mini-lake going in the backyard that likes to get dangerously close to the back door on days like today.

So what about you? What happens to your house when it rains cats and dogs? Could you go canoeing in your yard or maybe even in your basement? Or maybe you get some fun leaks that remind you it’s finally time to drop some major cash on a new roof? Cast your vote and let me know.

And thanks to @RussM for the idea for today’s poll question. If you have a suggestion for a Weekly Poll question, I’d love to hear it!

Get the latest news on the Knoxville real estate market rain or shine – just subscribe to All Around KTown in a feed reader or by email today!

The weekly poll is finally doing its dishes. Roll up your sleeves and go help it dry.

This week’s topic has to do with something we all have to deal with sooner or later: house cleaning. More specifically I’m curious about what part of your house you consistently have a hard time keeping clean & tidy. For us, I would have to say it’s the kitchen, as both of us hate to load and unload the dishwasher. Oh, my kingdom for double dishwasher drawers!

So what about you? What part of your house do you struggle to keep clean? Is it the kitchen with its ever accumulating pile of dirty dishes? Or how about the single bathroom in a house with 3 people?  Or maybe it’s the one place company never sees – your bedroom? Cast your vote and let me know.

You don’t have to be a clean freak to keep up with the latest news on the Knoxville real estate market – just subscribe to All Around KTown in a feed reader or by email today!

photo credit: juicyrai