424 Walker st (mail only we are virtual)
Athens, TN 37303
(423) 368 – 0137 (10am to 10pm eastern)
(423) 745 – 6161 (10am to 10pm eastern)
Email: TRL@RealEstate4Veterans.com
Services & About!
About Overview
Athens Realty has been in operation years before I joined the brokerage. I (TR Lawrence) joined Athens Realty in 2005 and was with a different brokerage before that for a short time. I have also worked in an insurance office and an office originating home loans. I studied and worked with Real Estate and investors in a non-licensed capacity. I have always been interested in and often inspired by Real Estate and finance. They go hand and hand so to speak. In 2003 I decided to go to school to become an officially licensed Real Estate Agent. I progressed to a full Broker and now I am the Principal Broker for the firm. I have been blessed by the Lord during my time working in Real Estate and over the last few years, I wondered how I could use my skills in my Real Estate practices to benefit former and current military members. I wanted to do something unique that I did not see anyone else offering them. I am a veteran and even after all these years think of those I met during that time in my life in a special way. I am proud of my country, and I am humbled by my God. These two positions within my mind and lots of prayerful thought and I developed this website and a special program to add more to the bottom line of those who serve or have served.
I decided as part of my ongoing efforts to be able to serve my clients better I completed over 120 credit hours of Real Estate related education in the year 2019 & even more each year after that. As a part of that process, I earned the only National Association of Realtors recognized designation for helping veterans and other military personnel and their families in Real Estate transactions. It’s called “MRP”. you may see more about it on my blog post page if you want.
Services
My services are open to all – I offer a special program for military personnel but I welcome those who want to join me in their real estate transactions by becoming my client even if they have never been in the services. I say join me because we take action together to reach your goals. Once I sign an agreement with you then your interest is foremost – I will carry out your directions within the bounds of the law with your interest held above all others including my own. I do offer some services to those who are not my clients to help them or facilitate a transaction.
Some possible ways to use my services:
1) Listing and selling a property – there are many parts to this and I will help you work through them and explain them and your options. There are disclosures required by law in the process that most sellers who do not use a licensed professional to help may not aware of, there are several things that sellers should consider before listing a home(such as staging or advance prep techniques) some could help the seller not lose thousands in the process. I interact with many 3rd parties besides a buyer on your behalf – pest inspectors, home inspectors,appraisers, title companies,other agents with those who want to see your home or directly with those looking or considering purchasing your home and many more parts. There are several steps to go from before listing to getting a contract to sell to closing on the sale. I will help you throughout the process.
2) Purchasing a property – there are many parts to this and I will help you work through them and explain them and your options. There are disclosures required by law in the process that most sellers who do not use a licensed professional to help may not aware of, there are several things that buyers should consider before purchasing a home. There are items like the value of the home (I can help you determine this) – what should you offer? Besides the value how should you structure your offer? some could help the buyer not lose thousands in the process. There are several steps to go from before buying to getting a contract to purchase to closing on the sale. I will help you throughout the process. What about home inspections? What about appraisers? Title companies? Pest inspections like for Termites? What about loans – what works best there are many different types and they can be tailored to suit your needs. I work with other professionals in these areas but I can help guide you through them and provided you options and give you a basis to make informed decisions to meet your needs.
I also help investors – is this your first investment property? Are you investing for cash flow? Are you investing for the ROI (return on investment)? Is this short term or long term? I have a worksheet that helps to show how the different items affect an investment – appreciation, depreciation, loan to value ratios, cash vs loans, tax cost, tax savings, deferred tax? Each is different and relates to how and why you are buying or selling the property. Once again I recommend and use professionals to help in each related field but help you with an understanding from a Realtors view – I am not an Lawyer, Tax Adviser, or other professional but the fields overlap and I need to be familiar with them and always recommend the services of someone licensed in each prospective area. For instance. I may not be a loan officer but I can tell you some about things that affect the process, your credit score, rates, types of possible loans but actually, have you work with a qualified loan person to do any loan – it is their field of Training. Things I tell you are my opinion and view as a Realtor only.
3) There are other situations where someone may need my services – are you struggling with your home payments? Has something in your life changed from when you first purchased your home that no longer makes it feasible for you to keep? Do you owe more than you think your home is worth? I may be able to help – each situation is different but there are sales known as short sales – that allow you to sell a home even if you owe more than it is worth, There are options to keep you from foreclosure – sometimes lenders can work with you to modify the terms of your loan to allow you to be able to meet the changes that occurred in your life and keep the home, sometimes we can do what is known as CFK or cash for keys or similar that allows you to sell the home saving you from being foreclosed on, in turn, helping your credit from getting worse so that you still may be able to get a different home that you can afford. It saves the lender time and $ from the foreclosure and or eviction process and then maybe a cleanup process – sometimes we can help you negotiate with your lender on these points to get a better outcome for both parties involved in a bad or unfortunate situation.