I Think I Know How the Undertaker Feels

I'm beginning to believe I know how the owner of a funeral home would feel during a particularly tough flu season or after a major natural disaster. Either one would produce a major loss of life and while that wouldn't be good for any community it would be good for the undertaker's business prospects. In a similar fashion, our current rash of foreclosures, while not good for my beloved Gatlinburg and East Tennessee community, has been good for our real estate business. With 60 sales so far this year either closed or pending (and leading the county) it has been a truly remarkable year in terms of the number of homes I have sold.

Five years ago I saw the foolish loans that banks were making and determined that this couldn't go on forever. Because of what I saw I began tuning our Gatlinburg real estate business to work with banks and other foreclosure entities. In fact, there were more than a few mortgages that had most or even ALL of the following characteristics:
  • Adjustable Interest Rate
  • 100% Financing
  • Seller Paid Closing Costs
  • No or Low Documentation Required from the Borrower
  • On a Vacation Home!

With the combination of all of these conditions it is no wonder that these loans are now frequently in default. With absolutely no investment at the time of purchase it isn't all that surprising that so many of these Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, or Sevierville homes are either already foreclosed or are going into foreclosure. Unfortunately, the flu or natural disaster season aren't yet over as is shown by this chart of foreclosure filings in Sevier County which was created by Doug Yates of Smoky Mountain Title in Sevierville. As you can clearly see the trend has been sharply up and although June's dramatic increase now appears to be an anomaly nothing has yet happened to indicate the trend is changing. If you haven't yet purchased a great Gatlinburg area home or other property you still have the opportunity to take advantage of low prices, low interest rates, and a great selection of property to choose from. To receive our free heads up on upcoming foreclosures before they are priced just email me at jeff@gatlinburghomes.com. While we don't have tornadoes, hurricanes, or severe mudslides here in the Smokies you just might want to consider getting that flu shot...

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