but for the wide world’s joy.  

- Henry Ward Beecher

Do you seek privacy, yet you want to live in close proximity to everyday conveniences? Well this is the perfect house! Located in West Meade Park, the home at 6612 Chatsworth Place will give you all this and more space than you can imagine.

The great room in this home for sale in the West Meade area of Nashville is a tribute to modern architecture....and is an incredible point of access to the natural world just beyond. Click on the image for more information from The Lipman Group Sotheby's International Realty.

The home, originally built in 1985, has bit of a modern flair with geometric angles inside and out.  This geodesic designed home has been perfectly situated among the trees on just less than an acre of land. The windows and decks allow you to fully take in the nature that surrounds you here. Once you have entered the home you will have a hard time believing you are still in-town.

You'll never believe you're still in one of the most convenient in town locations in this home that is perfectly set amongst the trees. Click on the image for more from The Lipman Group Sotheby's International Realty.

The main level has the living area, kitchen, dining room and two bedrooms. The main floor is oak hardwoods and continues to add to the “one with nature” feel the home exudes, and includes a carpeted, private guest wing.

The upstairs loft is dedicated to the comforts of the owner of the home at 6612 Chatsworth Place in Nashville's West Meade Park. Click on the photo for more information from The Lipman Group Sotheby's International Realty.

The loft is entirely a master suite. What luxury to be able to escape to the privacy of your room knowing it is completely separate from everything else. There is a separate sitting area and large master bath with jetted tub.  The tub is perfectly situated where you can look out a window to the mature trees outside. It feels like you are in your own private tree house, worlds away from the hectic day.  Think about how low-maintenance the yard is in this home since it is in such a natural setting!

Imagine standing at this expanse of nature each morning to reflect on your day!

The home has a large unfinished basement with tall ceilings great for storage or maybe you would want to finish it and add to the already spacious house. The home offers the owner lots of living space and a quiet peaceful retreat from the city when you are just minutes away from anything you could possible need.

The stress just falls off your shoulders when you are here. Who would not want to begin and end each day feeling that way?

Three bedrooms and Two Bath
Offered for $404,900
6612 Chatsworth Place
Nashville, TN 37205

For more information, please contact:

Charlotte Witzenburg, The Lipman Group Sotheby's International Realty

Charlotte Witzenburg
The Lipman Group Sotheby’s International Realty
(615) 293-8005

Please come by and have a cup of coffee in the The Lipman Group Cafe, and tour the entire new space.

We are located at:

The Lipman Group Sotheby’s International Realty
2002 Richard Jones Road
Suite C-104
Nashville, TN 37215
(Map)

Our phone number has remained the same: 615.463.3333.

We look forward to serving our real estate customers and clients from our beautiful new space!

Click here to take the video tour of the new Green Hills office of The Lipman Group Sotheby's International Realty....Nashville's luxury real estate resource.

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Last September, the Federal Reserve announced its intention to keep interest rates at near historic lows at least until mid-2013. That’s good news for homeowners with decent credit and equity in their homes, who could save hundreds of dollars every month by refinancing. Because refinancing can save borrowers thousands over the term of their mortgages, you may think locking in a low rate now is a no-brainer, but it’s not that simple.

Breaking even
The first thing to determine when considering a refinance is your break-even. In other words, how long before the monthly savings pay for the up-front costs? Applying a lower interest rate to your outstanding loan balance will decrease your monthly payments, but you incur fees to get it. If a lender charges $2,400 to refinance you into a loan with payments $100 lower than your current mortgage, it’s going to take two years to break even. Most lenders allow borrowers with average credit to roll fees into the balance of the new loan. But even if you are not out-of-pocket for the cash, you have added those fees to the balance you owe.

Long-term debt
Unless you get a shorter-term loan, you extend the term of your loan every time you refinance. If you made payments on a 30-year mortgage for five years before refinancing into another 30-year note, it’s like you got a 35-year mortgage in the first place. To pay down the balance faster, consider a shorter term. Compare the rates and payments for 15- and 20-year terms. Depending on your outstanding balance and the interest rate, the differences in monthly payments may not be that much. And don’t get stuck on traditional mortgage terms. Many of today’s lenders can customize the length of your loan based on your individual needs. Got 23 years left on the current note? Forget the 30-year mortgage and refinance to a 23-year loan instead.

Getting the best rate
You never really know what rates are going to do, but if you think they will continue to drop, you may want to wait a while. While it’s true you can refinance again in another year or two, you’ll incur the fees (or add to your balance) again. Another reason not to rush to refi is that by waiting, you have the opportunity to rebuild damaged credit. The Fed’s announcement gives borrowers some confidence that rates will probably not spike in the next year. Using that time to increase your credit score could pay off with a lower interest rate.

When you’re in trouble
In addition to keeping rates low, the federal government has created several options to help homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth.

Those with an existing FHA loan who have not fallen behind on payments qualify for an FHA Streamline Refinance.

Fannie Mae- or Freddie Mac-backed mortgages can be refinanced for more than the home’s current value under the Home Affordable Refinance Program.

Those facing imminent foreclosure may qualify for loan modification from their current lender. These can reduce payments, decrease the interest rate, and extend the loan periods.

Finally, underwater homeowners may be able to negotiate a deal with their lenders to settle the balance of a mortgage for less than they owe.

A good lender should be able to explain the many conventional and alternative ways to alter the terms of a mortgage, or get a new one. The Internet and mobile notaries make refinancing a mortgage easier than ever.

Source: Chicago Parent

New to the website: five specialty markets ranging in lifestyles from farm and ranch, vineyard, golf, to ski and waterfront living.

Also new to the site are five pages made specifically for specialty markets. The Sotheby’s International Realty network specializes in lifestyles from farm and ranch, vineyard, golf, to ski and waterfront living. Visitors can explore the extraordinary properties the Sotheby’s International Realty network represents all over the world and connect with a professional who can help find a property that matches their lifestyle.

Farm & Ranch Lifestyle on SothebysRealty.com

Finally, sothebysrealty.com represents the starting point of a comprehensive online marketing strategy that expands the exposure of homes to the most significant media companies and real estate focused websites in the world.

Kelli Corbin Hudson, The Lipman Group Sotheby's International Realty

I could almost be back in Italy.  The scene is warm and quaint with exposed original brick and a loft supported by generous wooden beams.  The staff is friendly, the crowd is coming in, and the aromatics are reminding me why I came:  to eat perfectly prepared, locally and regionally grown foods in a way I can only find at Café Margot.

With a menu changing daily based on Margot’s latest local finds, there is something on the menu for everyone.  Handmade pastas, homemade pizzas and a house ice cream each night will not only leave your appetite satisfied, you’ll start planning your return.

The menu begins with Course One.  Here you’ll find surprisingly filling and tasty starters such as homemade focaccia bread or house made chips served with aioli.  Both are delicious though I highly recommend the bread with the herb infused  olive oil.  In Course Two, you’ll find an unbelievable seasonal soup, a homemade pizza and other perfectly prepared small plates.  Course Three is your main meal, and I really don’t know how you’ll choose.  I do find the handmade pastas are divine, but you’ll also find a “fish dish” or two that are great, a roasted chicken that is cooked perfectly to a golden brown, and a few surprises along the way such as Rabbit Confit.  I’ve heard from several that the Duck is out of this world and their favorite meal Margot prepares.

Finally, I must encourage you to skip whatever necessary (or hey, just indulge!) to enjoy the amazing ice cream of the evening.  From almond in the summer to egg nog in the winter, I haven’t found one that I couldn’t finish.

Whatever you choose for any course, I don’t foresee you being disappointed and be sure to meet Bryan at the bar who is great at helping you pick a wine to pair with your cuisine.  Come hungry. Make reservations. Bon appetit!

Reviewed by:

Kelli Corbin Hudson
mobile:    615.830.7778
office:      615.463.3333
email:      kellicorbinhudson@gmail.com

The ten highest priced homes sold in the greater Nashville area in 2011 are listed below.

The most expensive home sold in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2011 was located at 413 West Hillwood. The list price on this estate was $3,995,000.

413 West Hillwood, Nashville, TN – in Hillwood
List Price: $3,995,000
Five bedrooms, five full and five half baths

1636 Whispering Hills Drive, Franklin, TN – in LaurelBrooke
List Price: $3,995,000
Six bedrooms, seven full and two half baths

874 Curtiswood, Nashville, TN – in Oak Hill
List Price: $3,995,000
Four bedrooms, four full and three half baths

311 Jackson Blvd, Nashville, TN – in Belle Meade
List Price: $3,750,000
Four bedrooms, three full and two half baths

2509 Iron Gate Court, Franklin, TN – in LaurelBrooke
List Price: $3,895,000
Six bedrooms, seven full and three half baths

125 Steeplechase, Nashville, TN – in Steeplechase
List Price: $2,997,500
Seven bedrooms, nine full and one half baths

36 Governors Way, Brentwood, TN – in Governors Club
List Price: $2,999,000
Six bedrooms, six full and one half baths

6024 Hillsboro Pike, Nashville, TN – in Forest Hills
List Price: $2,750,000
Five bedrooms, five full and one half baths

4306 Lillywood Road, Nashville, TN – in Belle Meade
List Price: $2,899,000
Five bedrooms, five full and two half baths

3259 Boyd Mill Pike, Franklin, TN – 50 private acres
List Price: $3,250,000
Four bedrooms, five full and one half baths

The Lipman Group Sotheby’s International Realty is also proud to announce that we sold 3 out of 4 condominiums listed over $1,000,000 in 2011.

We love the resource found in the website GreatSchools.org.  The site reviews schools nationwide and develops a rating on each school based on TCAP test results and stats like student/teacher ratio. They add a handy Community Rating where individuals can comment on their experience with a school as well.

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Click here to see the list of the top five public elementary schools in Nashville.

Click here to see the list of the top five public middle schools in Nashville.

According to the data found on GreatSchools.org, the list of the five best high schools in the greater Nashville metro area are:

The Hume-Fogg High Magnet School in Nashville serves youth in 9-12 grades. It receives the highest marks from GreatSchools.org. Click on the image to visit the school's home page.

Hume-Fogg High Academic Magnet School (9-12 grades)
700 Broadway
Nashville, TN 37203
615-291-6300

Click here to see the listing on the GreatSchools.org site for Hume-Fogg High Academic Magnet School in Nashville.
Since Hume-Fogg High is a Magnet School, students must apply and then enter a lottery for admision. See the guidelines for admission here.  Great news! If your child attends a Magnet School, you can live anywhere you want (you must provide your child’s transportation to school). In fact, Hume-Fogg students come from diverse cultural, economic, and ethnic backgrounds. Students represent 39 of 45 zip code areas in the Metropolitan area. Click here to go to our home page, and at the top right hand side, enter zip code 37203 to find a home near this school. Click here to see the Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet School web site.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet Pearl High School in Nashville serves youth in 7-12 grades. It receives the highest marks from GreatSchools.org. Click on the image to go to the school's home page.

Martin Luther King Junior Magnet Pearl High School (7-12 grades)
613 17th Ave North
Nashville, TN 37203
(615) 329-8400

Click here to see the listing on the GreatSchools.org site for Martin Luther King Junior Magnet Pearl High School in Nashville.
Since Martin Luther King Junior is a Magnet School, students must apply and then enter a lottery for admision. See the guidelines for admission here.  Great news! If your child attends a Magnet School, you can live anywhere you want (you must provide your child’s transportation to school). Click here to go to our home page, and at the top right hand side, enter zip code 37203 to find a home near this school.
Click here to see the Martin Luther King Junior Magnet Pearl High School web site.

The Nashville School of the Arts magnet school in Nashville serves youth in 9-12 grades. Click on the image to visit the school's home page.

Nashville School of the Arts (9-12 grades)
1250 Foster Ave
Nashville, TN 37210
(615) 291-6600

Click here to see the listing on the GreatSchools.org site for Nashville School of the Arts in Nashville.

The Nashville School of Arts is a magnet school that actually requires auditions. See the guidelines for each audition here.  Great news! If your child attends a Magnet School, you can live anywhere you want (you must provide your child’s transportation to school). Click here to go to our home page, and at the top right hand side, enter zip code 37210 to find a home near this school. Click here to see the Nashville School of the Arts web site.

Middle College High School at Nashville State Community College is an “Option High School” for tenth through twelfth grade students who want to earn college credit hours while attending high school. Click on the image to go to the school's home page.

MNPS Middle College High School at Nashville State Community College (10-12 grades)
120 White Bridge Road
Nashville, TN 37209
(615) 353-3333

Click here to see the listing on the GreatSchools.org site for Middle College High School in Nashville.

MNPS Middle College High School at Nashville State Community College is an “Option High School” for tenth through twelfth grade students who want to earn college credit hours while attending high school. Embedded within the NSCC host campus, they offer dual enrollment–the opportunity to earn part or all of an Associate’s Degree, plus a Tennessee high school diploma–at  the same time! Click here for application information. If your child attends an option school, you can live anywhere you want (you must provide your child’s transportation to school). Click here to go to our home page, and at the top right hand side, enter zip code 37209 to find a home near this school. Click here to see the Middle College High School web site.

The East Literature Magnet School in Nashville serves youth in 5-12 grades. Click on the image to go to the school's home page.

East Literature Magnet School (5-12 grades)
110 Gallatin Road
Nashville, TN 37206
(615) 262-6947

Click here to see the listing on the GreatSchools.org site for East Literature Magnet School in Nashville.

Since East Literature is a Magnet School, students must apply and then enter a lottery for admision. See the guidelines for admission here.  Great news! If your child attends a Magnet School, you can live anywhere you want (you must provide your child’s transportation to school). Click here to go to our home page, and at the top right hand side, enter zip code 37206 to find a home near this school. Click here to see the East Literature Magnet School web site.

Let’s run through a few basics so that you can help yourself understand your policy and ensure you have the proper coverage in place for your needs. Go head and pull out your insurance policy binder, it’s about 40 pages thick, then flip to the third or fourth page that contains line items like: Building/Dwelling, Separate Structures, Personal Property, Loss of Use, Medical, and Extended Replacement. This section also includes corresponding amounts of maximum coverage, which tells you how much coverage you have in case of a loss. You need to look at each line item of coverage and discuss with your agent if you believe that amount is sufficient.

Building/Dwelling Coverage

The top item is usually for building/dwelling/property and that covers the cost to rebuild your property for covered perils like fire, wind damage, vandalism, etc. The coverage is based on your selected estimate of the cost to rebuild the structure, not the land value as land rarely gets destroyed and regardless is not covered by insurance. Additionally, your normal policy does not cover earthquakes or floods, either, but you can get separate policies for these if you are in earthquake or flood-prone areas. Policies for these perils can be expensive, but you decide if it’s worth it. Other items are also not covered like wear and tear, so talk to your agent about what is and what isn’t covered.

While your agent can help you estimate how much coverage you need for one of the line items like building/dwelling (e.g., $400,000 coverage for a 2,500 square foot house based on the size, quality of building materials, age of property, etc), you ultimately pick the dollar amount of coverage. Don’t under-insure, but don’t over-insure, either. Most important is to make sure to review your policy each year and increase your coverage to an appropriate amount if local building costs increase.

Liability Coverage

Many people don’t know this but you also have liability coverage with your homeowner’s policy. For example, if your dog bites someone or if someone slips on your property and gets hurt and you get sued, the insurance provider will step in and pay for a lawyer to defend you and/or pay any settlement or judgment against you. But that coverage has a limit of how much they will pay, usually about $300,000. If you have net worth above that, you can buy additional liability coverage called an umbrella policy in increments of $1,000,000 of additional coverage. It’s dirt cheap too, like $350 per year for an additional million dollars in coverage, so go for it if you think you need it.

Deductibles

The deductible amount is chosen by you. A deductible is how much you pay out of pocket for a loss. If you have a $500 deductible, and there is a $7,500 loss, you pay the first $500 and the insurance carrier pays the other $7,000 up to your maximum covered loss. The higher the deductible you choose, the lower the annual insurance premium you pay. Likewise, the lower the deductible, the higher the annual insurance premium you pay. Discuss this with your insurance professional and decide what makes sense for you.

HOA/Common Interest Development Properties

If you own a unit in a condominium, townhome, co-op, PUD or any other common interest development, whether a personal residence or an investment property, make sure you have an interior HO-6 policy that covers you for damage to the inside of your unit, PLUS for liability. This isn’t covered by most homeowners association’s master insurance policy.

You don’t want to wait until you or your tenant accidentally floods the nine units below you and every one of those nine owners is looking to you to reimburse them for their losses. Your HO-6 policy should cover this liability and damage – discuss the coverage with your agent. You should also get a copy of your HOA’s master insurance policy and meet with your personal insurance agent to determine if there are any gaps in coverage.

Specialty Items

Additionally, normal policies don’t cover expensive jewelry, artwork, firearms, precious metals, etc. If you have expensive “other” items, make sure to discuss these with your agent and get the proper coverage in place.

The last item to note is that insurance is for major financial losses that will cause a disruption to your life and livelihood if you did not have the coverage in place to pay for all the damage. You generally should not make small claims because the insurance carriers will raise your rates and/or eventually if you make enough minor claims they may drop you from coverage. Reserve making claims for when everything hits the fan.

Having the proper type and amount of insurance in place is vital in today’s world. Pull out your policy and schedule a talk with your agent to discuss what you have and what you need. This should help you sleep better at night by knowing if there is a big loss, you’ve got some help on your side.

Source: Zillow Blog. Written by: Leonard Baron, MBA, CPA, a San Diego State University Lecturer, Zillow Blogger, and the author of several books including “Real Estate Ownership, Investment and Due Diligence 101 – A Smarter Way to Buy Real Estate”.

Click on the image to view Atlas Van Lines' 2011 annual migration patterns report.

Only Washington, D.C., and nine states — primarily in the Southwest and Mid-Atlantic regions — were labeled “inbound” by receiving a net influx (over 55 percent) of Atlas moves in 2011, according to Atlas Van Lines’ 2011 annual migration patterns report, released this month. Atlas has tracked annual Atlas shipment patterns for Canada and the U.S., by state, since 1993.

Those states falling between 55 percent net influx and outgoing moves were labeled “balanced”; those above that percentage, either incoming or outgoing, were labeled “inbound” or “outbound,” respectively.

Washington, D.C., had the highest percentage net influx of Atlas shipments in 2011, continuing its six-year run at the top — 69 percent of its 856 Atlas shipments in 2011 were inbound. North Carolina, at a 61 percent net increase, was second highest in the region, followed by Rhode Island at 60 percent, Tennessee at 58 percent and Virginia at 56 percent.

The “inbound” U.S. states (and district), listed alphabetically, are:

• Alaska
• Maryland
• New Mexico
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Rhode Island
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia
• Washington, D.C.

Ohio, continued its consecutive nine-year bleed of net out-of-state moves, at 60 percent net outgoing shipments. The Midwest experienced the greatest regional loss in the report. The Rust Belt states of West Virginia, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Wisconsin joined Ohio on the outbound list.

Green Hills Home for Sale

2004 Lombardy Avenue   -  Nashville, TN  37215

Four bedrooms, three full bathrooms
Offered at $479,500

Nashville real estate - 2004 Lombardy Ave. Offered by The Lipman Group Sotheby's International Realty. Please click on the image for more information and additional photos.

For more information on this home for sale in Nashville, please contact:

Gloria Houghland, The Lipman Group Sotheby's International Realty

Gloria Houghland

The Lipman Group Sotheby’s International Realty
gloria.houghland@sothebysrealty.com
615.943.4342