Canada to Nashville (Brentwood, Martin, Nolensville: buying a house, buying, middle school)

[N.Cal]

Oracle is rumored to be ready to build a huge complex on the east bank.

https://tennesseelookout.com/2021/01...-in-nashville/

[shinestx]

I dabble in real estate. Basically my advice to someone in your situation is if you can save more than you'll be paying in rent for a short time until you can get the required down payment (I prefer the real estate standard 20% to avoid the PMI) then you'll probably be ok waiting a while to get to know the area and (this is most important) you'll stay ahead of the real estate inflation simply by targeting that 20%. Obviously, nobody knows where interest rates are going to be in a year or five, but there's usually a related decline in housing prices. The above question was about Nashville real estate and I replied w.r.t. a local (micro) view. Mortgage rates and their effects on housing prices are macro. Mortgage rates right now are at all time lows, so accordingly housing has risen to that demand. If you think that you'll be able to save enough to avoid PMI and possibly pay down points on a mortgage, then you may do well to wait. My gut tells me that the Fed will NOT be raising rates anytime soon, even if the economy heads into a recession.

And then there's the fact that Nashville is booming now. I do expect that to continue regardless of the overall national economy. In fact, like Texas in the 1970s the national recession actually fueled the boom in that state. So that will affect you guys on a micro level. IIWY I'd plan to rent for 6-12 months to get to know the area and find a house and save to pay down points. I don't expect rates to go up dramatically in that time. And fall/winter are actually better times to buy houses. Good luck! And welcome to Tennessee. It's a great place which I think you'll enjoy.

[Canadian2021]

Originally Posted by shinestx

I dabble in real estate. Basically my advice to someone in your situation is if you can save more than you'll be paying in rent for a short time until you can get the required down payment (I prefer the real estate standard 20% to avoid the PMI) then you'll probably be ok waiting a while to get to know the area and (this is most important) you'll stay ahead of the real estate inflation simply by targeting that 20%. Obviously, nobody knows where interest rates are going to be in a year or five, but there's usually a related decline in housing prices. The above question was about Nashville real estate and I replied w.r.t. a local (micro) view. Mortgage rates and their effects on housing prices are macro. Mortgage rates right now are at all time lows, so accordingly housing has risen to that demand. If you think that you'll be able to save enough to avoid PMI and possibly pay down points on a mortgage, then you may do well to wait. My gut tells me that the Fed will NOT be raising rates anytime soon, even if the economy heads into a recession.

And then there's the fact that Nashville is booming now. I do expect that to continue regardless of the overall national economy. In fact, like Texas in the 1970s the national recession actually fueled the boom in that state. So that will affect you guys on a micro level. IIWY I'd plan to rent for 6-12 months to get to know the area and find a house and save to pay down points. I don't expect rates to go up dramatically in that time. And fall/winter are actually better times to buy houses. Good luck! And welcome to Tennessee. It's a great place which I think you'll enjoy.

Thanks a lot Shinestx for your detailed reply. If we move in March then we ll wait for six months to see which area we like. But mostly lease are of one year. We will be bringing in down payment from the sale of our current house in Toronto. So we have a flexibility of buying when time is right.

I really appreciate your detailed answer. Thanks buddy

[Canadian2021]

Any help will be appreciated. In terms on buying as i have been following housing from last 1.5 year and its increasing day by day. Should i buy now or should i wait. We have down payment of 20% and are looking around something 550k with good schooling. Half an hour commute to down town nashville. What are the interest rates now a days ?
Sorry for so many questions.

[RiverGirl7]

Hi there... we recently relocated to TN (December) and have been house hunting ever since. Have spoken to multiple realtors, most of whom are very experienced, and they all agree the housing frenzy in WilCo is going to continue for some time to come. Average price of a home here will most likely increase to $1mil within a few years. People are throwing money at homes and waiving all contingencies. They are coming from states where $800K is a bargain. All indications are that home prices are going to continue to rise and that getting in sooner rather than later is a good idea if you can do it. People will only continue to flock here as Biden's policies continue to destroy this country, hoping to find a semblance of the way of life they use to know, and be in a state that wants to protect that. That being said, I am seeing a disturbing trend of WilCo becoming more blue than red (Franklin in particular) and there are many born/raised here that fear their way of life here will soon be irreversibly destroyed by incoming blue staters who want cheaper prices and their way of life, with no regard to how life was before they moved here. There are many who are not happy about how Williamson County is changing with this influx of blue staters. There are many born/raised here that can no longer afford to live here. Now, many of those are people who are coming here because they want to be in a red state, but there is a significant number who are moving here with their voting histories 'in tact' and many are concerned this area is going to be ruined by that.

We recently bid on a house in Franklin. Our realtor suggested we waive all contingencies and offer well above asking. We refused to waive contingencies but did offer well over asking (house was $740, we offered $760.) Feedback on our offer is that it was 'very good', that there were 6 others that matched it just as well and 3 that were way better. Most likely those 3 were all cash offers with all contingencies waived. That house went under contract and I suspect it will probably sell at around $800.

Based on info our realtor has shared with us, I believe prices will continue to skyrocket here. So it's just my $.02, but if you want to be here, get in as soon as you can. Prices are going to continue to rise.

There are many areas in Williamson and Maury counties to explore where you can get more for your money. We are trying to decide if living on a postage stamp-sized lot is doable for us (and whether we'll soon be surrounded by blue state-type voters if we buy in WilCo), or if we need more land which will most likely mean buying in Maury County.

Our realtor said historically development outside of Nashville has been south and east and if you look at what is going on, that would appear to be true. You might consider areas south and east of Franklin to find more affordable housing that you can get into now with straining yourself financially.

I will say that all in all we are still glad we relocated here. It's beautiful, we've met a lot of wonderful people already and we feel we definitely made the right choice even with the crazy RE market.

Hope this is helpful, best of luck in your search!

[RiverGirl7]

Originally Posted by Canadian2021

Any help will be appreciated. In terms on buying as i have been following housing from last 1.5 year and its increasing day by day. Should i buy now or should i wait. We have down payment of 20% and are looking around something 550k with good schooling. Half an hour commute to down town nashville. What are the interest rates now a days ?
Sorry for so many questions.

Interest rates are low, some are getting below 3%. But again, Biden's policies will most likely cause those to start to rise and soon. Another reason to get into sooner rather than later if you can.

[Canadian2021]

Thanks River girl for such a detailed and informative answer. Its good to hear real time info from
Someone who is there and going through the process of buying a house. I m leaning towards buying asap as well.
For me honestly blue or red state doesn't matter as I m not into American politics and wont be able to vote so i guess i m just neutral. Not sure about biden policies as well.
But good to hear your point of view.
I m amazed on how houses are flying off the market without contingencies.
We ll look into staying somewhere short term and jump into buying a house asap.
Again i really appreciate your detailed answer and your insight.

[Heidi Matthewman]

Brentwood is a great place to live and raise kids. The move here can be tricky since there is only one set of apartments that are zoned for Brentwood schools. Someone already mentioned Tapestry.

You'll find TONS of newly built apartments starting about a half a mile south of Brentwood on Carothers Parkway. IMT is nice and has 3 bedrooms. That's in Franklin right in the center of ALL the shops and great restaurants but it is zoned for Franklin schools. Don't get me wrong...any school in Williamson County is top notch! Some people are set on Brentwood schools and some just want Williamson County. If you have a child with special needs, I hear Franklin has a brilliant program. You can't go wrong with Brentwood schools though. They've been wonderful and truly care about the well-being and success of every kid. I've been impressed.

Also, try Nolensville. It's to the east of Brentwood and has been transforming from farmland to a populated city for the last 10 years. The schools are still in Williamson County and many are newly built and it's about a 30 minute drive into downtown Nashville.

My biggest tip would be to double check any address even if it is physically in Brentwood and has the 37027. On the south side, Brentwood addresses are zoned for Franklin schools and on a small strip of the north side they're zoned for Nashville Metro. Metro is a mixed bag with some great schools and some not so high performing schools.

I hope you love it here! Most people really do!

[Heidi Matthewman]

Me again, if I was in your position I'd get into a house ASAP. You're right, these homes are increasing in value very, very quickly. Sorry to break this to you, but homes under $700,000 fly off the market and are hard to find. I'm in an older community (Brenthaven) that's full of 1970's homes that sell for $500-$900, but they barely hit the market before selling. You'll need to be on top of your search and willing to invest in something older if you're looking in Brentwood. Franklin is similar but you might find deals there. Keep in mind, most of Franklin is going to extend your drive to Nashville since you have to drive through Brentwood to get there.

[Canadian2021]

Heidi mathewman, that is very helpful information. It was not in my knowledge that IMT is in franklin school district. I thought its Brentwood schools zoned.
All these apartments have one year lease so I guess i have to wait one year or i can talk to them to shorten it a bit.
I dont want my kids to change schools after a year as well. So i want to buy a house and just settle in asap. Given real estate market i think thats best for us.
We recently sold our house in Toronto and it flew off in a day off market above asking so I guess thats the case in Brentwood and franklin as well.
I like Nolenville but high school seems not that great. Talking in reference to rating online. No personal experience.
I again really appreciate your help and taking time to give me detailed information