While showing a home this week, the client and buyer’s agent noted the house had the aroma of belonging to a single man. Oddly enough, that was the case. Many such homes exude a definite fragrance.

Further investigation tied the smell to dirty laundry, a bed with linens that had not been not been washed in a few weeks and a friendly canine keeping the owner company. So, all of you single men selling houses, have a feminine nose provide a sniff test before listing.

With all the controversy surrounding gun control, it is worth mentioning that a person’s rights are one thing, while common sense is another.

Today, I showed a home with a loaded 12 gauge leaning against the wall, albeit with the safety on, meaning the weapon could not be fired without switching to another position.

The gun was the property of a renter, and tenants are not always fully aware of what selling a home entails. Many, many times during showings, toddlers wander astray from the parents and the searches begin for the missing children who are walking in uncharted waters.

It would be wise to have the weapons out of the reach of children, as the saying goes.

As the statistics continue to point to the strength of the Nashville market, buyers are continuing to find that they are in pursuit of houses that have sold the first day on the market.

It is advisable that buyers have their Realtors enroll them in the auto e-mail program available through Realtracs, and that these buyers view the properties the day they enter the market.

We are in a multiple, multiple-offer scenario. Buyers should consider offering more than list price for the properties with the offer contingent on the properties appraising for the sales price.

For the first time in a seller-friendly frenzy, sales are being held in check by nervous, conservative appraisers.

In many cases, buyers enter into contracts for homes with sales prices higher than the list, inspect the home and then find the home did not appraise. In almost all situations, this results in some sort of price reduction, as the home has lost marketing momentum.

Sales of the Week

For this week’s sales of the week, we venture into the area recognized as Area 7 by Realtracs, the multiple listing service, and includes the land between the Cumberland River and I-40 East, all in or near Hermitage.

These listings were chosen not so much for the respective properties as their listings agents. It is not often that homes listed by Andrew Jackson and Jesus sell in the same week, but they did last week.

If a homeowner decides to list a house in Hermitage, it would appear to be a wise choice to consider Andrew Jackson as the listing agent. This version of Old Hickory is a Realtor with Felts, Jackson, Waggoner Real Estate services, a firm that should consider inserting the word Andrew in front of the Jackson part.

The same holds true with Jesus, who goes by Jesse these days. Jesus (Jesse) Gonzalez is with the Realty Association, an organization that includes hundreds of agents from which to choose including Osama (goes by Sam) Metry. Perhaps the world could learn a few things from the Realty Association, where Jesus and Osama are unified and work together, side by side, for the same goal.

As both houses are closed, they each must have passed the inspection phase of the process, and one of the city’s best is Realtor/inspector Don Knotts of Don Knotts Realty.

A few practicing real estate agents have become inspectors after several years in the business. That might be something that Jesus could consider in latter days as many inspectors achieve sainthood in the eyes of their clients by preventing buyers and sellers from impending disaster by discovering potential fatal flaws in houses.

Knotts himself has had the silver bullet on a number of occasions and protected buyers from looming disaster.

The first home is Jesus’ listing at 824 Norwalk Drive, a short sale selling for $81,600 after being listed for $133,000. The buyer paid $149,500 for the property in 2006 when things were booming the last time.

Traci Johnson of Crye-Leike Realtors represented the buyer, who was a recipient of what some would consider a miracle in getting the bank to forgive such debt.

The once-proud property has 2,030 square feet with three bedrooms and two baths. Each of the bedrooms included walk-in closets, a living area with fireplace and a basement area with a two-car garage.

Andrew Jackson listed 1601 Robards Way in Jackson’s Retreat, which is a subdivision and not this Andrew Jackson’s personal retreat.

Kimberly McFadden of ReMax Choice Properties, along with Shannon Sanders of Reliant Realty, represented the buyers, who paid $125,000 for this 1,205-square-foot home that was listed for $132,900.

According to Andrew Jackson in his remarks, the home included an “eat-in kitchen, beautiful dining room, family room with a fireplace, covered porch and fenced-in back yard with a large deck.”

His seller fared well having bought for $109,000 in 2001, before the gold rush in Nashville real estate, not to be confused with the 49ers gold rush that occurred when another Tennessean, James K. Polk, was president.

Of course Edgar Allan Poe wrote “The Raven” some four years earlier in 1845.

So, there’s the answer to who will prevail in the Super Bowl.

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