Ralph Maples Realtor Chattanooga Real Estate Agent

Blue Springs Church. Built 1811.

Buying a home is still big part of the American dream, as typically it’s an appreciating asset that grows in value over time. Being a first-time buyer can open the door to tax breaks and federally backed loans if you don’t have the usual minimum down payment—ideally, 20% of the purchase price for a conventional loan, And you may qualify as a first-time buyer even if you’re NOT a novice.

This guy is sitting around chewing his cud’s and waiting on interest rates to fall some more.

This guy has a very important role on his dairy farm.

What were they thinking?

This hurts my head.

Chatter Magazine getting their money’s worth. Guess they know a great beard when they see it!

Beard-A-Nooga is August 31 at the Whiskey Cowgirl.

MY MARKETING PLAN
I’m sure one of your biggest questions is “What are you going to do to market my house?”

While the MLS will do much of the heavy lifting to expose your home to the market, it may not be enough to reach the entire market.
What if there’s someone out there who isn’t exactly in the market but would love your home?
What if someone is just casually waiting to see the right place come on the market?
What if someone has no intention of moving at all, but then they see yours is on the market, and the next thing you know they’re chomping at the bit to buy your house?
What if someone who drives by and admires your house every day sees that it’s on the market?

Those are just a few of the “what ifs...”
The MLS is certainly important, but so is all of the additional marketing I will do to make sure anyone who may be interested in your house also sees it.
Here’s how I will be marketing your home beyond the MLS:
A yard sign of course
Ads in The Messenger & Buyer’s Guide
My personal agent website, www.ralphmaplesrealtor.com
My company website www.realestateinfo.com
Social media www.facebook.com/rmaples
Zillow.com
Trulia.com
Realtor.com
While that should cover almost every marketing angle possible, if you have any specific requests, just let me know and we can certainly discuss working it into the marketing mix!

Cove Methodist Church in Chickamauga Georgia. Originally organized as a Methodist Episcopal church before the Civil War, this building was constructed in 1894. You should see the interior!

This is going to be a great fishing hole when those Bald Cypress get all grown up.

Lake Chickamauga.

🏡🏘️Your home-buying needs are one of a kind. Using the unmatched resources of Coldwell Banker Realty, I will develop a custom plan to:
• Provide you with powerful, personal service
• Assist you in finding the right home and help you negotiate the best possible price and terms for it
• Close the sale in a smooth, timely manner

Finding and purchasing a home is a detailed process that demands time and dedication. I am passionate about my work because it leads to the ultimate reward – handing you the keys to your dream home and developing a real relationship with you along the way. I would love to have a commitment from you to work with me exclusively. I’m happy to talk through the various types of buyer representation I offer so we can find the one that works best for you.

A baby assassin bug. Notice the structure called the rostrum. They use it to inject a lethal saliva into their prey that liquifies their insides that are then sucked out.

Nature is so cool.

What were they thinking?

I’m not sure if that’s gonna work.

A nice hike to a cool waterfall

Laurel Falls in Rhea County Tennessee

THREE MORE IMPORTANT LETTERS – “MLS”
One of the most basic, but also most important, marketing tools we’ll use to expose your home to the entire market is the Multiple Listing System (MLS). (This is also what we use to help determine your market value.)
This MLS is a database of almost every home on the market, and it’s what other agents use to find the appropriate homes to show their buyers.
Years ago, the MLS was only able to be seen by real estate agents, but nowadays, even buyers have access to see the houses listed for sale on it. No matter where else they may be looking, every serious buyer is definitely watching the MLS to see what comes on the market.
So, I’ll certainly make sure that your home is on the MLS and presented in the best possible light...from photography, to a compelling description of your home, all the way down to making sure that every piece of information on it is accurate.
This is so important, since your MLS listing is what will “feed” your listing to many other websites through what is called an IDX system. That way, your home will show up on almost any website a buyer may be looking at.

Birchwood Baptist Church. Birchwood, Tennessee

Our area has so many great vistas. This is from Missionary Ridge looking west towards Signal Mountain. That’s the Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts sitting on top of the ridge. There’s an awesome view from there as well.

Closing On Your Home

Once your offer has been accepted, the closing process begins. Here are some of the typical steps involved.

Home inspection – Most property sales are contingent on the results of a home inspection, which is paid for by the buyer. The inspection typically occurs within 10 days of offer acceptance, and includes a review of the home’s exterior elements like the roof, siding, trim and windows, as well as kitchen and bathroom fixtures and appliances, and major systems like heating and cooling, plumbing and electrical. If defects are discovered during the inspection, you may exercise the remedy described in your offer or negotiate with the seller to determine what repairs will be made.

Title search – This is a historical review of all legal documents relating to ownership of the property to ensure that there are no claims against the title of the property. It is also recommended that you purchase title insurance in case the records contain errors or there are mistakes in the review process.

Appraisal – As a standard part of the mortgage process, your lender will order an appraisal report to ensure that the loan will be guaranteed by the home’s value.

Final walk-through – If it’s requested in the contract, you’ll be given the chance to look at the home to make sure it’s in the same condition as when you signed the sales agreement.

Closing costs – In addition to your deposit and down payment, there are a variety of other costs involved in closing including:
• Loan origination fees, appraisals and reports
• Surveys and inspections
• Mortgage insurance
• Hazard insurance
• Taxes
• Assessments
• Title insurance, notary and escrow fees
• Recording fees and stamps

This is Trifoliate Orange. A member of the Citrus genus. It has a downy fruit about the size of a key lime. Native to northern China and Korea and is also known as the Japanese Bitter Orange. It makes an excellent barrier hedge due to its density and strong curved thorns.
Talk about some huge thorns!

What were they thinking?

Measure twice…

I’m already ABR, an Accredited Buyer’s Representative, the only nationally recognized buyer’s agent designation. Just here to brush up on my skills and knowledge and learn more of how the coming changes in the industry are affecting buyers.

It’s all about helping my buyers find the right property at the right price regardless if it’s a buyer’s market or a seller’s market.

🏡📈 Curious about the current real estate market in Chattanooga? Look no further! As your trusted REALTOR®, I can provide you with the latest data, including a 2.4 Months Supply of Inventory, 99.7% List to Sold Price percentage, a median days on market of 21 days, and a median Sold Price of $407,500. Reach out to me, Ralph Maples, for all your real estate needs.

THE "CMA"

Before we do anything else, we need to determine an accurate market value for your home.

I’ll do a thorough comparative market analysis (CMA) which will help us determine a likely range that your home should sell for. In the analysis, we will look at similar homes to yours which have:
•Recently sold
•Are currently under contract
•Are currently active on the market

This will also help us determine an appropriate price to list your house for against the current competition and considering the current market activity.

I’ll give you my objective perspective and advice as to how much you should list your house for. While I hope you take my advice, ultimately YOU decide on the list price for your house.

However, the buyers in the market ultimately determine the market value of your home. It is only worth what a willing, ready, and able buyer is willing to pay. That should be in line with the value we see in the CMA, as long as there are no major changes within the market and you make the right decisions on pricing right from the start.

Many homeowners tend to overprice their house when they first hit the market because:
•They believe they should have “wiggle room” to be able to negotiate to the price they want to get.
•They simply hope that someone will pay more than the market data indicates. They price it based upon what they “need to get” in order to sell their house.
•They add every dollar of improvements they have made to the house over the years onto the data driven value.

When an owner over-prices, for any of these reasons, they usually lose the market’s interest by being out of line with the market. This causes their home to sit there, accrue days on market, and cause buyer to wonder, “What’s wrong with the house?”
So, before we even go over the market analysis, my best advice is to listen to the data and price your home accordingly. That’ll end up saving you a lot of time, money, and aggravation.

Smith Chapel Methodist Church. Tunnel Hill, Ga.

There are a ton of great places to hike, camp and explore in the Tennessee Valley.

Making an Offer

There are many factors that influence the market value of a home. I will give you the insight and information you need to make an offer you’re comfortable with. Some of the factors to consider include:
• How long the home has been on the market
• If the price has been reduced
• How much the home is worth – I will provide a comparable market analysis (CMA) showing the list and sale prices for similar homes in your area
• If there are multiple offers
• Other items that might be included in the sale (furniture,
hot tub, etc.)
• The “list to sale price ratio,” an indication of how competitive
the market is for homes in this area
• Why the seller is selling
• Whether the seller is offering an assumable loan or financing

Once the offer is written, I will present it to the seller’s agent. At that point the seller can accept your offer, reject it or counter it to start the negotiation process. I will work with you to plan a strategy to ensure the most advantageous terms and acceptable pricing for you and your budget.

Yellow False Foxglove.

What were they thinking?

So many questions about this🤔

This is a female Hercules Beetle. These guys are pretty big and have an incredibly strong grip.