Greetings Lolababy and Family,

I understand it is sometimes very difficult to know what will prove to be in the family's best interest and less stressful, especially when you are trying to look into a crystal ball months/years out. Surely, the news media has added to your lack of confidence at this time. Please keep in mind, real estate is a LOCAL business...when the news media blast reports about the falling markets; many folks naturally assume that's every market. NOT TRUE!
There are many many factors that will impact how you'll buy and how you will sell. I have been blessed to a REALTOR in Clarksville since 1986. In the time that I have been in business here, our market has been very stable and Clarksville continues to experience growth...
Five years, in my opinion is a long time to pay rent to a landlord. When you view it from a logical position, you're buying a property, the difference is, you're buying it for somebody else. I am encouraging you to research and do your due diligence and invest in yourself and your family.
Now is an awesome time to buy real estate. If you are a first time buyer or if you have not owned a property within the past three (3) years, the government is basically paying you to invest in yourself...but the clock is ticking, at this posting, the opportunity the govenment has extended is due to expire on 1 December 2009. According to a recent IRS news release approximately 36,000 folks in Tennessee have opted to invest in The American Dream by becoming homeowners (since this plan was sign President Obama in early spring of 209). By the way, a big THANKS to you and your family for servicing our country and defending & protecting our right to engage in this discussion among so many other freedoms.
If there are questions I am able to answer for you, I would be simply honored for the opportunity.

May you always be Inspired,
Dee Wagstaff-Williams
Your Professional & Trusted Real Estate Advisor
North Clarksville Business Center of Keller Williams Realty
1943 Ft. Campbell Blvd.
Clarksville, TN 37042

The other agents provided some great answers, but I want to add one other point. If you may be selling in 5 years that's a relatively short time. However, the good news is you make money on your buy. What does that mean? It means you buy a home with your head and not your heart and let financial aspects and not emotional ones (but this granite is gorgeous) guide your decision making process.

There are a lot of homes on the market so look for the ones that are priced below the current average sales price. Also, since there's so much inventory a lot of buyers are skipping houses that aren't already a 10. By keeping yourself open to homes that may need some new paint or light fixtures (cheap and easy to do yourself) you can not only get a lower price, but you are setting yourself up to be able to improve them and add to their value.

My husband and I sold a couple of his investment properties in Clarksville last year, and one sold in 4 days at higher than the highest neighborhood comp, and we did that by painting the house including kitchen cabinets, changing the light fixtures and having granite counters installed. We spent less than $5,000 total and sold quickly for top dollar.

Hi Lolababy,

I certainly understand your fears and realisticly all we have to go on the predict the future is what we've seen here in the Clarksville area the past few years. Let's see, "I'm going to do some bragging now!" Clarksville, along with only two other cities in the US has seen an increase in market value in our homes for 2007 and 2008. Our overal increase for both years averaged about 6.4% for the entire area. Some sections of Clarksville saw as much as a 10% increase in market value! Can you believe that? Those sellers were certainly happy when they closed on their houses and got their money back plus 10%. Real estate is the best investment that you will ever make in your life. First time home buyers are now in a position to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit and for the first time, it doesn't have to be paid back, interest rates are at a 40 year low! The market is primed for buyers and Clarksville has plenty of them. Here is an article from the Nashville Business Journal: http://nashville.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2009/08/2… There are articles about Clarksville just like this one all the time in the media.

So, Lolababy, if you do decide to buy a home and you're wanting to work with an experienced, professional realtor who has a great team with her, just give me a call anytime.....931 801-3348. p.s. I do work weekends and nights. LOL

Clarksville is unlike any other market. We are one of the few in the country that has had an increase in average sales price over the past few years. We are also heading into new territory with the HSC plant coming to Clarksville. We are on the edge of being a completly different town in a few years.

I will never say it will be easy to sell a home, due to the amount of factors that go into selling a home. Some of the major factors are the type of home and the location. However, I do feel confident that it will be a whole lot easier in Clarksville than other parts of the country.

If you would like to see more detailed info click on the Web References

There is never a clear answer when it comes to predicting the real estate market in the future.

Living in Clarksville we are lucky to not have been as adversely affected by the recent decline in real estate throughout the United States. While we do have a lot of homes on the market, the market is relatively stable here. Wether you attribute it to a high military population, a low cost of living, or the fact that TN overall is seen as a good place to buy real estate (low property taxes and no state income tax) it's a great place to be!

I have lived everywhere from New York to Hawaii, and I think it's hard to find a good comparsion to Clarksville. We have a lot of advantages -- but in my opinion, our location to both Nashville and Ft. Campbell allow us to have a large population of potential buyers and helps keep the market stable.

Choose your home wisely and your real estate investment should be protected when it comes time for you to leave. If I can answer any other questions for you, please let me know.

angelalinks.crye-leike.com