A new term has infected media and marketing outlets, teasing readers, viewers and listeners with the tag “What (fill in the blank) doesn’t want you to know.” For example, a recent post states: “What Facebook doesn’t want you to know.”

There was a recent story that referred to “real estate’s dirty little secret” and suggested Realtors prefer to have homes inspected by inspectors that will give homes a clean bill of health.

It has, as one might expect, raised the ire of area real estate practitioners.

The worst call a Realtor can get is a buyer complaining about the condition of his or her home. In fact, Realtors prefer tough, knowledgeable inspectors who will inspect every aspect of the home and provide the buyer with detailed reports.

In today’s digital world, most home inspectors provide reports with scores of photographs with, as Arlo Guthrie might say, “Circles and arrows with paragraphs on the back of each one explaining what each one is” to be used as evidence when asking for repairs.

Realtors cannot retire after making one sale, and the most effective prospect is a person referred by a past clients. Therefore Realtors need happy homeowners to exist and would do nothing to jeopardize that relationship, especially ask an inspector to be lenient.

Change in Leadership at GNAR

The Greater Nashville Association of Realtors had a changing of the guard earlier this month, with Jarron Springer succeeding the effervescent CEO Don Klein, a longtime fixture.

During his 16 years at GNAR, Klein was aggressively prolific in the position and took the association to new levels as far as visibility in the community and was able to secure a spot at the Nashville leadership table.

Springer is the perfect person to follow Klein. At a recent meeting of leaders in the community, several of those present evoked the ghost of Klein citing how he had played a pivotal role in the project at hand. Springer was in attendance, but had less than a month on the job and absorbed the materials in the meeting with aplomb.

Jarron Springer seems tailor-made for the challenges that he might encounter in his new role, having begun his career at the Tennessee Grocers and Convenience Store Association (TGSCA) in 1999 as communication coordinator and serving as vice-president from 2002 to 2004. He served the TGSCA in the role of president from 2005 until 2014.

In addition to a doctor of jurisprudence degree, Springer holds the Certified Association Executive degree (CAE) designations from the American Society of Association Executives.

Hagan Stone, president of GNAR, said of Springer: “He brings a depth of experience within the community and political realm, relationships with key officials and ties with the associations across the state.”

When asked about his new role, Springer stated: “I am excited to join GNAR. The association is well-established, has experienced incredible growth, and is poised to continue its success especially during a time when Nashville is a sought- after destination for homebuyers.”

With a salute to Klein, he noted “There are big shoes to fill, but I wouldn’t want to fill any other kind.”

Don Klein, on the other hand, has moved to Texas and has opened Don Klein Consulting. He continues his work with Nashville companies and spends a substantial amount of time in Nashville.

Sale of the Week

The sale of the week this week is located in the Belmont/12South area at 2708 Brightwood Avenue. The sale price of $1,169,000 speaks to the strength of the area, as does the fact that it had a binding contract within five days of being listed. Even more stunning, is that it was listed on December 29.

A $1.169 million home sold over the New Year’s holiday for list price.

It should come as no surprise that the listing agent was Richard Bryan of Fridrich and Clark, a man who knows no holidays. Gretchen Jolly of Benchmark Realty should have a bust in the mantel of the home for sniffing this one out while her colleagues toasted 2013 and welcomed 2014. Most were sad to see 2013 fade into history.

Bryan described the house as “Just completed new construction with a main level master.” The kitchen includes a granite “center island” along with a Butler’s pantry and another walk in pantry for non-butlers. There are two playrooms, a two-car garage and walk-in closets with all the bedrooms.

The structure has 5,806 square feet with 944 of that in the basement. With basement square footage valued at between 50-75 percent of the upstairs so the price per square foot, people have some ciphering to do.

Richard Courtney is a partner with Christianson, Patterson, Courtney and Associates and can be reached at richard@ricahrdcourtney,com.