Briefly... Inside... - Chattanooga Bar Association

14 Friday, December 24, 2010 www.hamiltoncountyherald.com
HAMILTON COUNTY HERALD
Chattanooga
building permits
chattanooga
Additions
5001 Florida Ave, 37409; francesco
Pizzuto, same address; fence &
Deck addition; $3,500; owner, •
033167J-e-00900
500 Winston Rd, 37405; unruh
David J & Patricia W, same address;
applicant Requests a Reduction in
Right street side Yard setback from
25’ to 0’ for single car covered
Parking structure.; $15,000; Jim
Morrow, 728 elinor street 37405 •
033136h-J-01600
New Construction
1760 Andover Pl, 37421; atlas
Developers llc, 3119 Mt Pisgah
Rd, Ringgold 30736; new single
family Residence; $125,000; tina c.
goodwin, 3119 Mount Pisgah Road,
Ringgold 30736 • 033159J-h-01500
1748 Andover Pl, 37421; atlas
Developers llc, 3119 Mt Pisgah
Rd, Ringgold 30736; new single
family Residence; $130,000; tina c.
goodwin, 3119 Mount Pisgah Road,
Ringgold 30736 • 033159J-h-01600
1032 Lynnstone Dr, 37405; horse
creek llc, Po box 104, signal
Mountain 37377; new sf Residence;
$208,000; William e. clegg Jr., Po
box 879, hixson 37343 • 033117cc-05800
Repairs & Alterations
4803 Hwy 58, 37416; luken henry
g iii, Po box 11549 37401; interior
finish for Kidney center; $702,693;
no contractor listed, 6148 lee hwy,
ste 109 37421 • 033129b-c-00701
2525 De Sales Ave, 37404; sisters
of charity of nazareth, 2525 Desales
ave 37404; alt/exp of frozen section
lab; $168,000; Jimmy griffin, Po box
22937 37422 • 033146e-D-00100
3407 Amnicola Hwy, 37406; Downer
e M etux Dixie e, 8930 Western Way
suite 4, Jacksonville 32256; cosmetic
& counter upgrades; lighting Pkg;
$42,371; Phillip Ratley, Po box 468,
elkin 28321 • 033127K-a-00104
6345 Heritage Ridge DrHixson,
37343; beasley benjamin f Jr & betty
s, same address; attic insulation;
$2,125; Marlene Walliker, 2141 Kerr
Rd., sevierville 37876 • 033100l-c-
01900
4128 Harbor Hills Rd, 37416; harris
Daniel c & sara e, same address;
Residential Re-Roof; $11,900;
Marlene Walliker, 2141 Kerr Rd.,
sevierville 37876 • 033120o-b-
00100
142 Baltusrol RdHixson, 37343;
trotter gregory allan &, same
address; convert existing screen
Porch to sunroom; $24,072; owner,
• 033100D-b-01200
9124 Amos RdOoltewah, 37363;
John Mullins, animal care center of
ooltewah, ooltewah 37363; finish
Work,finish h/c inside,striping
Parking lot,landscaping of Project,c.
Niche Continued from page 13
business without an immediate
return on the investment, spend
a considerable amount of money
on advertising, and utilize a bit
of ingenuity.
“You also have to work
on your past customers. About
60 percent of my clients call
me when they’re ready to buy
another house,” he says.
Once Downey settles into
a niche, he rarely works outside
of it. For example, he currently
pours most of his energy into
acting as a buyer’s agent. While
he does list houses occasionally,
he says it’s not his forte.
“There are people in this
area who are good at listing
houses, and that’s all they do.
I’m not good at that; I’d rather
sell,” he says.
Offering a specialized service
allows Downey to become
skilled in his area. One of his
specialties is calculating how
much house a person can really
afford – a process that involves
asking wrong questions until he
asks the right one.
“I had a well educated, top
of the line lady earlier this year
tell me she could afford one
price, but not another. Then I
asked her if she had any storage.
She said was paying $150
a month on storage, but had
forgotten about that when
deciding what kind of house
she could buy. I told her a nicer
house would still cost $43 less
than her rent and her storage
bill combined,” Downey says.
Downey says he loves looking
for things other people don’t
see and finding ways to help his
clients achieve what they want.
While he doesn’t feel personally
rewarded, he says he enjoys
making his customers happy.
“Of course, there will always
be people you can’t make happy.
I run into a couple of those a
year. One guy came to the closing
and accused me of not telling
him he was going to have
to pay interest,” Downey says,
shaking his head.
One of the reasons Downey
has succeeded in his current
niche-within-a-niche is he
knows the housing market
inside and out.
“I know which companies
look for what, and which underwriters
are the most strenuous. I
keep the current interest rates
in my head, and I know where
properties values are lower and
higher. I can tell someone who’s
looking to buy a $130,000 home
in Hixson that his taxes will be
cut in half if he moves ten miles
down the road to Soddy Daisy,
which will help him qualify for
more of a house. That’s all a
part of the package,” he says.
Downey was born in North
Chattanooga and attended
Chattanooga High School. He
sold awnings at his first job and
then worked for Red Food for
ten years. When he was 30, he
put his house in the Brainerd
area up for sale, and his listing
agent talked him into going to
real estate school. Although he
says 2010 has been hard, he’s
looking forward to better days.
“The recession hurt people
financially, and while the
underwriters are still tight,
they’re starting to look at the
big picture: the kind of backup
buyers have, whether or not
they have established credit,
and when they don’t, if they
have good letters of credit from
their phone, cable and power
company. Things are getting
better in terms of financing,”
he says.
Whether the market is up
or down, or the path to homeownership
is clear or obstructed,
Downey will surely find a way to
serve his customers and make a
living in the process. v
Busy Continued from page 13
ence, Johnson has seen the whole
spectrum of where this business
can go. When he worked with
his father’s company, the interest
rates were 21 percent and
houses couldn’t be given away,
he says. Yet, Chattanooga has
always been a consistent market
and never gets as over inflated as
the rest of the country, he says.
“It’s been steady but slow
this year. We could be a whole
lot busier, but we are fortunate
enough that we are able to pay
our bills, and I’ll be here next
year and years after if I can make
it now.”
Mountain City Construction
does more than just build
custom homes; they also rebuild,
renovate and resale foreclosures,
do home renovations and also
do 203K loans with homebuyers
who buy a house in foreclosure
but don’t have the expertise to
do the renovations. They also do
punch lists for those selling their
home that need to decide which
work has priority funding after a
home inspection report.
The husband and wife team
does jobs from $200 to $200,000,
depending on a client’s needs and
diverse options. Building custom
homes, depending on the size
(and with weather cooperating)
takes about 100 days to finish a
200 square ft., $200,000 house,
he says. But a lot of that estimate
depends on if the homebuyer has
their ducks in a row.
“Before we move the first
scoop of dirt, we sit down and
lay out exactly what it is they are
going to put in the house – the
colors, the whole bit – so there
are no delays on their part. Once
you get all that stuff laid out,
building the house is the easy
part,” Johnson says.
The homebuyer influence
also determines the trends that
Johnson sees in his daily work.
He says granite surfaces have
become popular and are widely
used now that prices have gotten
down to where they can be
competitive.
Solid surface floorings, like
tiles and hardwoods, are popular
even in starter homes because
those prices are becoming more
and more comparable with carpet,
and it’s much healthier
when the dirt is not piling up
under a carpet surface, Johnson
says.
Another big trend in custom
building is energy efficient installation
and eco-friendly additions.
With remodeling jobs, he says
there has been a big switch to
energy saving and insulated windows
as well. Although, Johnson
says, the Southern Building
Codes in Chattanooga he has
been building by for years are
very similar to a green house’s
requirements.
“To build an eco-friendly
house, the steps are not that
much more. The funny part
about it is that people want to
pay for things they see. They
love to have an energy efficient
home, but since they can’t see
these additions, they tend to not
want to pay for them,” he says.
Because these trends promote
healthier living, Johnson
says he thinks they will continue,
although he does count
the stainless steel appliances and
concrete countertops as a passing
fad.
Johnson, his wife and his
five children enjoy the outdoors
and in the summertime like to
go to the lake, the pool and sit
in the sun and enjoy life. That is
not to say that he doesn’t enjoy
his work also.
“The reason I like it so much
is that it is rewarding. Every day
is so different and every project
is different and when you get
finished you can say, ‘Wow, I
did that.’” v
o.to be issued a completeion of
Project and satisfaction of building
inspector.; $15,000; owner, •
033123- -00500
232 W 37Th St, 37410; chatt
housing authority, Po box 1486
37401; Replace ext brick; Replace
int sheetrock; $6,400; george gates,
246 Woodland Rd, flintstone 30736 •
033155n-Q-06900
2809 E 46Th St, 37407; Morrison
charles t, 1205 Dunwoody Rd,
lafayette 30728; fire Restoration;
$45,000; Ron Pickett, 9245 sunny
shore ln 37416 • 033168J-l-02100
4300 Alabama Ave, 37409; cross
Jeffrey t & heather e, same address;
Remove old Roof and Replace With
lifetime Dimensional; $12,000; Ron
Pickett, 9245 sunny shore ln 37416
• 033167b-h-00100
3507 06Th Ave, 37407; isahi
gonzalez, 3505 6th ave 37407; level
lr fl; 2 Windows & 1 Door; $1,000;
owner, • 033168b-g-00400
6046 Windham RdHixson, 37343;
colony l P, 1796 Mack smith Rd,
Rossville 30741; finish Permit 07-
10778 for new house; $90,000;
sherman smith, 1796 Mack smith
Rd, Rossville 30741 • 033100- -
06309
4400 Tennessee Ave, 37409; Jim
lea, 8 Ridgeside Drive 37411; Roof,
Decking, Porch flooring, exterior
trim; $2,800; owner, • 033167bl-01600
1014 Westwood Ave, 37405; buckley
If you’re anticipating selling
your smaller-than-average
home, do not despair, because
the days of the overly sized
and overly priced McMansions
are shrinking in the rearview
mirror!
Buyers these days are looking
for ways to save money on
utilities and taxes, as well as
save time on yard work and
maintenance.
Your smaller property
offers benefits to first-time
buyers and those with an eye
towards conservation. Be sure
to highlight your lower utility
costs, and if your home sits
on a small lot, research property
taxes on larger lots in the
neighborhood and show how
much money buyers can save
with yours.
People who are downsizing
or buying for the first
time want easy maintenance,
so you should absolutely list
Real Estate
Facts
By Elwynn Schwartz
It’s a small world
Patrick J & Maryn l, same address;
Remove & Replace Roofing; $6,400;
greg fulton, 2016 Dayton blvd., Red
bank 37415 • 033127i-b-02600
156 Glenwood Dr, 37404; brantley
Donna l, same address; Residential
Re-Roof; $6,450; bob Davis, 2409
george town Rd, cleveland 37311 •
033146l-e-00300
2512 E 04Th St, 37404; lindsey
John Jr & Yvonne, same address;
Residential Re-Roof; $6,955; bob
Davis, 2409 george town Rd,
cleveland 37311 • 033146l-b-00700
947 Brynwood Ter, 37415; Miao Daw
chun & Kuei chu, same address;
Residential Re-Roof; $4,587; bob
Davis, 2409 george town Rd,
cleveland 37311 • 033109K-D-
00100
42 N Crest Rd, 37404; Queen James
e & Kathleen J, same address;
bathroom Remodel; $32,000; Joe
burke, 704 colville street 37405 •
033146M-g-01500
4611 Biltmore Ave, 37411; Moore
Walter & Jacqueline Davis, same
address; new Roofing, Vinyl siding,
Remodel bath & Kitchen; $16,000;
Jason taylor, 956 houston Valley
Rd, Ringgold 30736 • 033157g-g-
01300
103 W 45Th St, 37410; southern
cellulose Products inc, Po box
1470, Decatur 62525; Roof; $44,783;
Michael hilton, 334 freehill Rd.,
hendersonville 37075 • 033167c-K-
01100 v
Rebound Continued from page 13
ing and economic recovery,”
Yun said. Recent loan performance
data from Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac clearly demonstrates
very low default rates on
recently originated mortgages,
much lower that the vintages of
2002 and 2003 before the housing
boom.
The PHSI in the Northeast
jumped 19.6 percent to 71.3
in October but is 27.3 percent
below the tax credit peak in
October 2009. In the Midwest
the index surged 27.3 percent
in October to 81.7 but is 24.8
percent below a year ago.
Pending home sales in the
South rose 7.1 percent to an
index of 93.8 but are 18.4 percent
below October 2009. In the
West the index slipped 0.4 percent
to 104.3 and is 15.6 percent
below a year ago.
Near term, Yun expects
home sales will continue to
climb from their cyclical low
this past summer.
“Even so, we now have
some consumer concerns regarding
the mortgage interest deduction,
an important component
in housing affordability,” he said.
“Preliminary results of a new
survey show nearly three out
of four home owners and two
out of three renters consider the
mortgage interest deduction to
be extremely or very important
to them. Home owners already
pay between 80 and 90 percent
of all federal income taxes
and additional tax burden would
hurt them and the economic
recovery, so we have a reasonable
hope that it will not be
changed.”
Source: NAR v
any new appliances or systems
you’ve installed, like heating
and/or air, and Energy Star
refrigerators, water heaters
and the like. First time buyers
are usually accustomed to the
landlord fixing any problems,
so new appliances still under
warranty are very attractive to
that segment.
Buyers who are downsizing
will be rethinking their space,
so make sure you make your
rooms look larger and show
off your storage space. Cut the
clutter, remove some furniture
and let in the light!
If you live within walking
distance to shopping and
activities, have your agent promote
that, and emphasize that
location and function offset
your home’s smaller size.
Elwynn Schwartz is the
owner of Chattanooga Real
Estate Consultants and may be
reached at 423-894-3050.