From estate sale to unpacking: Taking the pain out of moving

Friday, December 9, 2016, Vol. 40, No. 50

Moving can be an emotional, tortuous, brutal experience. But those relocating need not undertake the task alone. There are companies, equipped with living, breathing human beings, that can take the stress from the process.

One of the leaders in the relocation industry is Debbie Keller’s group, Home Transitions. Its mission is to “make moves manageable and to provide creative interior makeovers.”

Over an extended period, most families, even individuals, accumulate stuff, maybe lots and lots of stuff. Some of those possessions have sentimental value and no monetary worth, while some have both. Most have neither.

They are the pure definition of matter since they have weight and occupy space. The weight aspect of said matter matters not, but the space thing is of importance.

When houses have things all over the place, buyers can’t see the house. Keller and her gang of clutter busters rid homes of all things that are neither bright nor beautiful.

Depending on the size of the home and the amount of useless junk, they’ll have a big enough dumpster delivered to make all that garbage disappear.

Next, there is a pass over the house for items that might fit the needs of a non-profit or charity, and the proper forms insuring a maximum tax deduction are procured by the Home Transition team. Many of the organizations will come to the home and load the future treasures and haul them to their respective facilities.

At that point, the owners decide which of the remaining items has the value to be sold at an estate sale, and Keller enlists the aid of a highly-regarded estate sale company, often Lee Anne Patterson’s company, BLVD.

In the business for many years, Patterson’s group has a devout following, and the queue often stretches for blocks at the properties hosting BLVD sales. Most of the belongings are gone by noon.

After the estate sale, the remainder of the furniture, clothing, appliances and some favored junk goes to the new home. For that all-important task, Keller hires movers.

And with her volume of at least one move per week, she has a vast working knowledge of all the best movers in town.

Once the moving truck arrives at the new house, the Home Transition Team ensures that every place has a thing and everything has a place. The new home is functional from Day 1. The new homeowner need do nothing but move in and relax.

Sale of the Week

River Plantation in Bellevue was one of the first neighborhoods in Nashville to feel the brunt of the Flood of 2010 and was quick to rebound as buyers have accepted the notion that 500-year flood happen every 500 years, give or take a few.

But even if they are off by 450 years, the flood wouldn’t affect most buyers in that area.

General George Patton would have been proud to know that a street was named for him in this Bellevue location, but he should give a nod to George C. Scott and the screenwriter of Patton for this memorialization of his name.

The condominium located at 944 General George Patton Road sold for $218,000 last week after Dan Stewart of Fridrich and Clark Realty listed it for $230,000.

Dan, known in the music industry, as “Dan, Dan, the real estate man,” hedged his listing price bet when he wrote that this unit offered the potential buyer a “a great opportunity to dress it up your way,” thereby suggesting it could sell for less.

Stewart wins the Award of Excellence from the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors each year and actually attends the ceremony to accept the award, being the humble and appreciative – yet wildly successful – Realtor that he is.

Since the house needed updating, an amateur sleuth may deduce that this home escaped flooding, as those that met the ravages of the Harpeth required extensive repair.

Linda Pierce of Coldwell Banker Barnes brought the vision-filled buyer to the condo that was constructed in 1980, 10 years after the movie, and consists of 1,804 square feet with three bedrooms and two baths, all on one level for the faint of knees.

The seller had purchased the residence in 1984 when Terms of Endearment won the Academy Award for best film, a movie on the opposite end of the emotional spectrum from Patton.

She paid $81,000.

In River Plantation, the homes have fenced patios, covered parking and storage sheds.

For the $165 maintenance fee, there is a community pool and clubhouse.

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