Quote of the Day

"Immediately it's like getting cut...It's sharp and drastic and it's very painful, but in the big picture, it's like surgery. In the long run, you're better off."

- Dale Akins, president of Knoxville research firm The Market Edge, talking about data his company recently released showing a massive drop in Knox County residential building permits in Q1.

Read the full article here.

Of Builders and Baristas

While the weekly poll is showing that most of you think I should go work at Starbucks to offset my rising gas costs, I'm thinking out of work East Tennessee builders might have already filled all the vacant positions. Via Property Scope:

The Knoxville research firm [The Market Edge] recently issued its 1Q numbers for residential building permits, and the comparison with the first quarter of 2007 is grim:

Knox County -- down 58 percent
Loudon County -- down 21 percent
Anderson County -- down 63 percent
Blount County -- down 48 percent
Sevier County -- down 40 percent.

Don't eat all the biscotti before I get there, boys.

Knox County Has 4th Highest Property Tax Rates in the State

Over on No Silence Here, Michael Silence links to a list of the top 20 highest property tax rates in Tennessee. Knox county is 4th. Ouch.

Fun FHA Facts

Word on the street is that FHA loans are the new subprime, and according to recent news, there may be even better news on the horizon for borrowers with less than stellar credit, even those who need to refi.
What with all the subprime hubub, FHA loans haven't come into play as much the last few years. According to Investopedia.com, an FHA loan is:

"A mortgage issued by federally qualified lenders and insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). FHA loans are designed for low to moderate income borrowers who are unable to make a large down payment. FHA loans allow the borrower to borrow up to 97% of the value of the home. The 3% down payment requirement can come from a gift or a grant, which makes FHA loans popular with first-time buyers."

But it's not only low to moderate income borrowers or first time home buyers who can benefit from an FHA loan. FHA is also good if your credit score is a little low. FHA will accept a minimum credit score of 580, whereas the minimum for a conventional loan has gone up to 620. It definitely gives you a little more wiggle room.

In addition to allowing a 3% gift, FHA also allows up to 6% in seller concessions, almost twice what most conventional loans allow. That's a lot of closing costs!

Best of all, the FHA loan limit for Knox county was just raised to $271,050 (FHA loan limits for others counties can be found here). With that kind of money, you can almost certainly find yourself some very sweet digs in our fine city.

Friday Link Round-Up

TVA hits us one more time - Tennessean

Which we apparently can't afford anyway - RealEstateJournal

Need to cheer yourself up now?

Go take a spin on Knox County's very first roundabout! - KNS

Ragsdale Tip Money

Yes, a Knox county couple just paid their tax bill with $1,700 worth of Sacagawea dollar coins. Many of the $25 coin rolls had the following message written on them:

"For Ragsdale Tip Money"

I especially like the fact that it was the husband's idea, but the wife somehow wound up being the one to actually deliver the coinage. Nice.