All industries are loaded with personalities and characters. Residential real estate is no exception. One of the most exciting is a mortgage loan officer known as Marty Maitland who is a 20-year-plus veteran of the lending industry and a Nashville native who is currently working with BancorpSouth in Brentwood.

With a Southern drawl that makes Gomer Pyle sound sophisticated, and a sense of humor in the Jeff Foxworthy vein, Marty is apt to draw a crowd at his favorite watering hole.

Even during his childhood days spent in Bellevue, Maitland had the propensity to quaff the occasional beer and arrive home a bit late – at least too late for his parents’ approval. After one of these evenings, his father had decided that enough was enough. At Sunday breakfast, he told Marty that he would have to change his evil ways, at least as the son slept beneath the father’s roof.

In those days, Marty’s father dabbled in the process now known as flipping houses, and Marty earned his disposable income – all of his income was disposable then – by assisting his dad in the renovations. He had become interested enough to enroll in shop class at school.

In an effort to expose his son to all aspects of the flipping experience, he had Marty accompany him to the bank to secure financing and to closings on both the buying and selling side of transaction.

So when Marty’s father delivered the ultimatum, Marty understood the attitude of his elder and decided it was time to make a move. He attended several open houses that Sunday and was welcomed at all of them as Bellevue-area Realtors knew of the Maitland enterprise and all made pitches for young Maitland to choose their respective listing.

After the two-hour open house window, he made his choice and asked the agent to assist in the contract, which was negotiated by her on his behalf. By sundown, the 18-year-old had a binding contract.

As he had done numerous times over the past three years, he went to the bank, approached the lending officer with the contract and requested the money to close. After perusing the contract, she noticed Maitland Senior’s signature was missing and informed Marty of the oversight.

“He ain’t in on this one,” Marty retorted.

The banker excused herself and walked to a private environment, where she called the father to report Marty’s actions. While he was appalled and embarrassed, the terms, price and conditions of the contract sounded as if his son had procured a home worthy of investment.

“Go on and give him the money, and I’ll come in and cosign in a little while,” he offered. “We’ll teach him a lesson.”

Maitland

The banker returned to Marty and presented a cashier’s check for the full amount. Marty headed to the closing, where he bought the home and moved in that night.

The next day, Marty approached his shop teacher and told him of the perfect place for the class’s next project. The teacher agreed that it would serve as a proper project. Over the next three months, the high school renovated Maitland’s home at no charge for labor or materials.

Marty hired the listing agent who had sold him the house, and she sold it in a day for a $50,000 profit. Unbeknownst to Marty, his father was a cosigner on the loan and had to affix his signature to the closing documents. The money was used to send Marty and his sister to college, and it is rumored that the parents were a bit more lax on his nocturnal comings and goings.

The non-sale of the week

The property located at 2467 Hidden River Lane in Franklin has caused more commotion than any parcel of residential real estate in the past 33 years, at least as far as my awareness of such things goes.

It is owned by Gordon Inman, not Johnny Depp, but any reader of virtually any entertainment gossip was informed that Johnny Depp had bought the property. No, he has not, but I wouldn’t bet against it.

The property is co-listed by Inman, the owner, and Karen Morgan, who is one of the Realtors to the stars in the area. Mr. Inman is well known in real estate circles, having founded one of the premier real estate firms in the region. He also fared very well during the Saturn fury in the 1980s and expanded into other ventures, doing well along the way.

Inman is well-known for his philanthropy and owns the home listed for $17.5 million on 47.57 acres in the Hidden River gated community on Old Hillsboro Road. The estate has 19,042 square feet and a 1,452 detached apartment.

To quote Ms. Morgan in her description posted on Realtracs, “Bella Rosa, a luxurious gated estate…lavish appointments-exquisite quality-lush gardens-terraces-slate roofs-spa-Crestron Electronics-Cabana w/Viking-7 car garage-Sep guest Apt- and much more” Realtors remarks on the public site are limited by characters.

On the Realtor site, she adds that proof of funds is required, and that two building lots are included in the property. As the Depp information went viral, Realtors, neighbors, county and city officials were inundated with curious callers wondering if they would rub shoulders with Edward Scissorhands. The news from the Inman camp was Deppening as the volume of the rumors deepened.

Eventually, the non-denial denials, made famous in All the President’s Men, emerged, followed soon by full-blown denials. What is known is that Johnny Depp has not closed on Gordon Inman’s home at this time.

The neighbors should not be surprised to see a flotilla of schooners floating up Hidden Creek, nor should the appearance of strangely manicured shrubbery, perhaps even a vampire or two awaiting the gorgeous sunset.

Richard Courtney is a partner at Christianson, Patterson, and Associates and can be reached at [email protected].