Some general TN relocation questions (Cookeville, Fairfield Glade: transplants, foreclosure, low crime)

[lavender_blue]

Considering a relocation to TN, have some general questions, would appreciate your input, thank you!

1/ Weather: I'm originally from the MidWest (Ohio) so I love seasons. I realize the south is a different climate (we're in CT now), but I'm trying to get a sense of weather in TN. I have heard there are four seasons but they're 'different' - what does that mean, exactly? When do they generally start, what kind of winters, how long is spring vs. winter, etc. Any CT or MidWestern people that could do a good comparison of TN weather?

Also: humidity. How bad is it? I tolerate it okay but I really don't like it. Here in CT, it's pretty humid all of July and August. Sometimes the humidity starts in May and goes all the way through August with small breaks here and there. How does TN compare to that? We are looking at Williamson County, possibly Cookeville area of Putnam County as well. Not sure if they would be any different.

2/ Getting a mortgage after relocation: this is for the transplants, if you are reading. We have excellent credit, good income, zero issues getting credit if/when we need it. My husband is telling me he read that if you move to another state, even if you are financially sound, you cannot get a mortgage for at least 6 months. Is this true? Doesn't seem right to me, curious what people have experienced there.

3/ Crime in TN: my general impression having read a couple of thread is that it is:
- often in rural areas and drug related
- property theft related to drug activity
- violent crime is not common, especially in low crime areas

Does the above sound right for crime?

Thank you in advance for your input!

LB

[JRR]

Originally Posted by lavender_blue

Considering a relocation to TN, have some general questions, would appreciate your input, thank you!

1/ Weather: I'm originally from the MidWest (Ohio) so I love seasons. I realize the south is a different climate (we're in CT now), but I'm trying to get a sense of weather in TN. I have heard there are four seasons but they're 'different' - what does that mean, exactly? When do they generally start, what kind of winters, how long is spring vs. winter, etc. Any CT or MidWestern people that could do a good comparison of TN weather?

Also: humidity. How bad is it? I tolerate it okay but I really don't like it. Here in CT, it's pretty humid all of July and August. Sometimes the humidity starts in May and goes all the way through August with small breaks here and there. How does TN compare to that? We are looking at Williamson County, possibly Cookeville area of Putnam County as well. Not sure if they would be any different.

2/ Getting a mortgage after relocation: this is for the transplants, if you are reading. We have excellent credit, good income, zero issues getting credit if/when we need it. My husband is telling me he read that if you move to another state, even if you are financially sound, you cannot get a mortgage for at least 6 months. Is this true? Doesn't seem right to me, curious what people have experienced there.

3/ Crime in TN: my general impression having read a couple of thread is that it is:
- often in rural areas and drug related
- property theft related to drug activity
- violent crime is not common, especially in low crime areas

Does the above sound right for crime?

Thank you in advance for your input!

LB

1) Weather. We retired to the Cookeville area from Central Florida. Compared to that weather, this is great with four distinct seasons. If you lived in Ohio, I'll make this comparison. My wife's family lives in Chillicothe, just south of Columbus. Our weather is very similar; maybe they are a couple of degrees colder in the winter with a touch more snow. Summer weather is pretty close with us being maybe a degree to two warmer. Humidity seems about the same when we have visited them during the summer.

2) I don't know where your husband got the mortgage information. We had no problem with getting our mortgage a month before we actually moved from Florida. Went through a local bank our realtor recommended and 90 minutes after walking through the door we were all set and on our way to lunch.

3) We have been here 3 1/2 years and haven't had any problem with crime yet. I feel just as safe if not safer then when in Florida. There is no doubt that it is around, but a lot of it seems to be opportunity theft. Most of the violent crime seems to be family/associate involved, not random.

No regrets whatsoever on our choosing this area for our retirement

[lavender_blue]

Thanks, JRR. I don't think my husband had enough coffee when he read that, and not sure where he read it, lol. I'm sure we'll be fine.

Good to hear on the weather. How much snow does TN get? Are the winters like 'real' winters here in the NE at all? I saw a picture on a Cookesville site with a guy shoveling 1' snow - but I'm sure that's a rareity.

[lavender_blue]

I wish I could edit my original post as I forgot an important question:

A TN realtor I spoke with said that mold is an issue in older TN homes. We love older homes and ideally would like to find something built 1910-1930, but realize that may not happen given inventory there.

If anyone has bought an older home: mold issues? how prevalent in older homes per your experience?

[JRR]

Originally Posted by lavender_blue

Thanks, JRR. I don't think my husband had enough coffee when he read that, and not sure where he read it, lol. I'm sure we'll be fine.

Good to hear on the weather. How much snow does TN get? Are the winters like 'real' winters here in the NE at all? I saw a picture on a Cookesville site with a guy shoveling 1' snow - but I'm sure that's a rareity.

Our first winter we got one snow of about two inches or so in January (they even came and scraped and salted our street) and an inch or so in March; besides a few flurries at times. Second winter was pretty much just flurries; no real accumulation. Last winter we got an inch or so one time; but it was pretty well gone in 12 hours. Other than that just flurries. People that have lived here for a long time say that they used to get a fair amount of snow, but not any more.

By the way, I just found out about the first crime since I've been here in my neighborhood. Someone stole a neighbor's Biden yard sign last night.

[lavender_blue]

Originally Posted by JRR

By the way, I just found out about the first crime since I've been here in my neighborhood. Someone stole a neighbor's Biden yard sign last night.

LOL. That made my day, thanks.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by lavender_blue

Thanks, JRR. I don't think my husband had enough coffee when he read that, and not sure where he read it, lol. I'm sure we'll be fine.

Good to hear on the weather. How much snow does TN get? Are the winters like 'real' winters here in the NE at all? I saw a picture on a Cookesville site with a guy shoveling 1' snow - but I'm sure that's a rareity.

I've lived in the Cookeville area for 7 years, and the most snow we've had since I've been here was, I think 8 inches about 5 years ago. It actually stayed on the ground for a while, too, I think about a week before it was finally all melted. Otherwise, it's very rare to have a snowfall of more than a couple of inches, and like JRR said it's usually melted in a day or two.

Originally Posted by lavender_blue

I wish I could edit my original post as I forgot an important question:

A TN realtor I spoke with said that mold is an issue in older TN homes. We love older homes and ideally would like to find something built 1910-1930, but realize that may not happen given inventory there.

If anyone has bought an older home: mold issues? how prevalent in older homes per your experience?

My house is 54 years old, and I don't have any issues with mold. Maybe it depends on what material was used to build the houses and how close to the water table it is? I don't know. My house is on top of a hill so drainage is excellent. Speaking of drainage, newer houses usually have what's called a French drain which really helps keep moisture and, hence, mold away from the foundation and house. Given that many older houses in small towns were built near a water source, before the days of "city water," maybe that's why your realtor says they have a higher propensity to having mold issues.

[fishingupnorth]

Can I put in a shameless plug for Fairfield Glade here? We moved here from Wisconsin a year ago and it is heaven. We are on the Cumberland Plateau so it is cooler and has less humidity. 11 private lakes, 5 golf courses with super low rates to play. Super friendly people because no one who lives here is from here Housing is a little tight right now because of all the people moving in. A home usually is sold within a week. We also have our own Police Department and Fire Department.

There is much more information in other threads on the forum, but you owe it to yourself to check it out.

[Barking Spider]

Re. mold in homes...
As a home inspector, I was in homes daily - for 30 years (East Tennessee area). Mold/fungus inside of homes was fairly rare except when there was extenuating circumstances such as a foreclosure, vacant, roof leaks, etc, that let a water issue get out of control.
Under houses is quite another thing. The hot humid summers, combined with a crawlspace that is much cooler allows the moist air to naturally flow into it. Add to this, and crawlspace that may not have a vapor barrier on the ground. Moisture condenses on the wood framing and starts growing fungus. This is without any leaks present.
I would say that a good portion of the crawlspaces I inspected had some form of fungus growth on the floor joists. Most of the time, it was very light, and not that big of a deal. However, sometimes it was very heavy, and some fungus is what's called "dry rot" and destroys the wood fibers. I could push a screwdriver all the way thru joists.

There are tons of crawlspace companies in East TN that can fix these issues, They range from a very hundred dollars to thousands of dollars. The techniques also vary, for partial encapsulation, to full encapsulation, to a full blow conditioned crawlspace.

It usually involves closing the crawlspace vents, installing a sealed vapor barrier, and a heavy duty dehumidifier. A conditioned crawlspace is not only encapsulated, it has a return and supply vents in the crawlspace to heat in winter and a/c in summer.

These issues have no age limit, so a house built in 1910-1930's is not much different that one built in 1960's- 1990's. IN my area though, most of the 1910 houses had basements or cellars.

[JOinGA]

Originally Posted by JRR

Our first winter we got one snow of about two inches or so in January (they even came and scraped and salted our street) and an inch or so in March; besides a few flurries at times. Second winter was pretty much just flurries; no real accumulation. Last winter we got an inch or so one time; but it was pretty well gone in 12 hours. Other than that just flurries. People that have lived here for a long time say that they used to get a fair amount of snow, but not any more.

By the way, I just found out about the first crime since I've been here in my neighborhood. Someone stole a neighbor's Biden yard sign last night.

The neighbors need to learn the Vaseline and glitter technique for discouraging political sign theft.