5 Tips on Moving to a Big City

Moving to a big city is an exciting prospect, offering lots of opportunities. You'll get to meet new people and have access to more diverse job opportunities. That said, urban living can be challenging—and moving homes can be tough. You may grapple with issues like homesickness, for instance. Advanced preparation will help you make a smooth transition and settle into your new city life easily. This guide provides some tips and resources designed to help individuals who are preparing for a move to a larger city.

Get a job before you go

Urban centers tend to be pricier than small towns, so it's advisable to get work lined up before you go. Livecareer offers tips for job hunting long distance, such as addressing your relocation plans in cover letters and practicing long-distance interviewing. If you aren't finding a role that suits your needs, you can also consider starting a business of your own. Begin the process by writing a business plan that describes your services, business structure, financial projections, and funding needs.

Set up a financial plan

One drawback of big city life is that it tends to cost more than rural living. From rent to groceries, entertainment, and your daily coffee, everyday expenses can rack up quickly. For this reason, it's smart to have a financial plan in place. Figure out what you can expect your monthly expenses to look like and create a budget in advance. A cost of living calculator can help you determine what you'll have to pay for goods and services in your new home. Simply input your current and future cities, and get details on the difference in the cost of living.

Find the perfect place to call home

Once you've decided what city you want to move to, you have to determine where to live. Start by narrowing down your desired location according to the neighborhood. A professional realtor can help you find a fitting property in your desired area. Instead of renting, consider buying a house, apartment, or condo. Work with a lender to decide which type of mortgage you qualify for and explore current mortgage rates today when determining how much you can afford to spend.

Integrate into your new community 

Setting up a space to live is just half the battle of feeling "at home" in a new city. Having a solid support network will ensure you feel at ease. Towards this end, make a proactive effort to meet people. Introduce yourself to your neighbors, go out for after-work activities with coworkers, and join local gyms or clubs to make new contacts. You can also try apps like Nextdoor or Bumble, which has a "BFF" feature for finding friends. Volunteering is another way to connect with your community and meet others.

Adopt popular city living hacks

City life is different from small-town life, and there are some hacks you may want to adopt in your new surroundings. For example, you may want to ditch your car and start taking public transportation instead. Metropolises have more comprehensive public transport systems and bad traffic, which can make driving inconvenient. Also, prepare to address some of the drawbacks of city life. For example, urban hubs tend to be noisy. 6 Square Feet has tips to soundproof your apartment, like covering walls and ceilings with sound-absorbing materials.

Making the move to a big city is undoubtedly exciting. However, it also comes with hurdles. Preparing yourself for the potential challenges will help you avoid issues and settle into your new hometown comfortably.

Whether you’re planning to move to Nashville and Rent or Buy the pros at Boxwood Properties can market and manage your property, or be your personal home guide, welcoming you to Nashville! Complete this form to learn more.

Tips To Help You Become a Successful Vacation Rental Investor

Image via Pexels

If you’re considering starting your own vacation rental business, it can be intimidating to know where to start and what’s involved in the process. Luckily, with some knowledge and the right resources, you can be successful in this venture. Boxwood Properties wants to help, and below we’ve put together some excellent tips to point you in the right direction.

How Do You Know If It's a Good Investment?

Consider the number of people that travel to your desired area for their summer vacation. If you want to attract as many renters as possible, look for locations where many families with kids are looking for a fun place to stay.

Finding the Right Property

Buy in an area where rents are high enough that you can make money on your property even if It's not rented all year round. If you purchase in a location with cheap rent prices and few renters, you may have difficulty covering your expenses. 

Real estate is all about location. It’s imperative to consider factors such as proximity to attractions and easy access to public transportation. When it comes to vacation rentals, Nashville has a lot going for it. Also known as Music City, this popular destination is known for a vibrant music scene and nightlife, historical attractions and plenty of things to do for all ages. 

If purchasing in Davidson County (Metro Nashville), Non-owner Occupied short term rentals (“NOO STR”)  are limited to certain zoning regulations. As of January 2022, no new non-owner occupied permits can be obtained in any Residential zoning. Many new construction NOO STR’s are found in commercial and multi-use type zoning. The agents and property managers at Boxwood Properties are extremely competent in Navigating the permit process in Davidson County and the surrounding counties. 

Amenities To Attract Renters

Many factors contribute to making your vacation rental appealing, from price and location to amenities such as a pool, luxury linens, proximity to shopping and dining and gourmet kitchens. If you’re not sure how to compete with other rentals in your area, start by doing some research. Look up local listings in similar areas, and see what they offer that yours doesn’t.

Purchasing a Rental Property

Before purchasing anything, spend time considering your budget. Calculate how much income you can expect to realize from potential renters, and ensure that amount covers your costs — including property taxes, mortgage payments, insurance, and upkeep.

If you’re looking at homes that need some work, focus on buying decent-quality, sturdy homes with good bones. That way, when it comes time to renovate your rental home, you encounter fewer surprise issues and unexpected costs. 

Professionals You Can Hire

When investing in real estate, hiring professionals can help ease much of your stress. A property manager acts as an on-call maintenance professional and coordinates cleaning and repairs. The right agency can handle rental bookings and help you list your property for maximum returns, and an accountant can assist with tax-related matters. It may be more expensive to hire experienced professionals to handle these tasks than to do them yourself, but when it comes to your hard-earned money — do it right.

Protecting Your Assets

To protect your assets against potential lawsuits and other risks, consider forming a limited liability company, or LLC, for your vacation rental business. To form an LLC, you can hire a lawyer or use a much cheaper online formation service to handle all the paperwork. However, make sure you do plenty of research into Tennessee LLCs before making a decision.

A Profitable Venture

Investing in vacation real estate takes work, but if you're willing and determined — it can become a profitable venture.

4 Mistakes to Avoid when Downsizing

A Lot of People Make These Mistakes When Downsizing—And You Shouldn’t 

Whether you’re coming up on retirement, have just become an empty nester, are tired of extensive upkeep responsibilities, and/or simply have too much wasted space, downsizing could be a great way to begin a new chapter in your life. Not only can it reduce your expenses and bring in cash flow, but it can also provide the flexibility necessary to do some of the things you’ve always dreamed about—be it traveling the globe, starting a business or anything else. 

While downsizing comes with many benefits, it can be a challenging process. And when you make mistakes that are preventable—as many people do—it can make the process even more difficult. We’ve listed some of those mistakes here so that you can be on the lookout and hopefully have a smooth downsizing experience. 

Whether you’re looking to rent or buy a home in the Nashville area, partner with Boxwood Properties to find the perfect home. Call (615) 297-5626 or complete this online form!

Not Looking at the Housing Market

Many people assume they will save money by selling their home and purchasing a smaller one. However, that’s not always the case. Depending on where you are buying a home, smaller homes don’t always mean less expensive. In order to maximize your savings (and avoid losing a lot of money), make sure you know your budget and have up-to-date pricing information in the area you’re considering. 

Pushing the Idea Off for Years

Many people wait until they have an illness or lose a spouse to downsize. This raises obvious concerns. You don’t want to go through a downsize while you’re fighting for your health or while you’re in the middle of the grieving process. You want to do it when you have the energy, and the longer you wait, the harder it will be. Furthermore, waiting too long to downsize will make it more difficult to plan ahead, which is an essential part of the downsizing process. 

Going in Without a Plan

Another mistake people often make when downsizing is just winging it. In order for the process to go as smoothly as possible, however, you want to allow at least six months of planning before you start the move. Otherwise, you will be forced to do all your tasks at once, which can lead to rash decisions—not to mention a great deal of stress. You want to plan it all out, from the location and size of the new home to the belongings you will keep to the moving day details. 

Keeping Too Many Things

This is one of the most common mistakes: trying to hold on to too much stuff. Decluttering is a critical component of downsizing, and you will more than likely have to get rid of some things that you don’t want to get rid of. While there will probably be some things you need to trash—especially items that are broken or irreparable—you can sell some of your gently used items to bring in some extra cash. Or, you can donate them to a charitable organization that will help people in need. 

If there are belongings you can’t fit in the new home but that you’re just not ready to part with, you can put them in storage. Even so, storage units are an additional cost (around $40-$200 on average). The most cost-effective way to handle it is to consider the layout and size of your new home and to strategize the items you can bring with you, and to only bring what you will actually use. 

Downsizing is challenging enough when you don’t make avoidable mistakes. Help make the process easier by researching the housing market, downsizing at the right time, coming up with a well-devised plan and only bringing the things you need with you to the new home. Most importantly, enjoy the financial and lifestyle benefits that come with your decision to downsize!

Photo Credit: Christopher Wormald Photography

Last Minute Gift Guide

Being a local, small business, Boxwood Properties is always a proponent of #shoplocal in Nashville! Currently we are running a #giveaway for an "Everything Nice in Nashville" Gift Box from Batch! Batch is a local Nashville Company specializing in "Handcrafted Handpicked Happiness". They have SO many wonderful and delicious looking gift boxes, filled with locally made goods, we wish we could try them all! @batchnashville batchusa.com

To check out some other local shops for your last minute gift grabs check out these Nashville favorites:

Middle 8 Candle Company @middle8candleco and middle8candleco.com
Coconut Soy Wax with that crackly wood wick that makes me feel so so cozy. Super extra special bonus about these candles, each one comes with a playlist curated specifically for that candle. I mean, that's just genius.

Marigold Popcorn
Can shop IRL at L&L Marketplace, hours listed on @marigoldpopcorn and marigoldpopcorn.com
I love a flavored popcorn. It doesn't matter to me if it's sweet or savory, as long as there's flavor! Marigold has some yummy concoctions right now for the holidays! Don't miss the flavor "Fra-gee-lay" and the Jalepeno Cheddar, and DON'T be afraid to mix it up! Caramel and Cheddar isn't the only flavored popcorn hack!

Goodbuy Girls
@goodbuygirls and goodbuygirlsnashville.com
Love this little shop of everything. Covid conscious hours are posted on instagram and the website. The Good Buy Girls instagram stays very current with their new and vintage finds. This is your perfect last minute spot to grab a few stocking stuffers! The brick and mortar is located in the Shops at Woodland Street in East Nashville. Hop to.

Brownlee
@brownleebathingcorp and brownlee.co
Nashville Native Alert! Upgrade your Christmas Eve jammies in a big way with a loungewear set from Brownlee. Order in the next couple days to be cozy in terry by Christmas. Currently adding to my cart the palazzo pants and the baby sweatsuit. Can't wait for these snuggles.

3 Tools to Track + Organize Showings

6216A Louisiana Ave, Nashville, TN 37208 MLS #2190553 Listed by Madison White (615) 707-0790 PARKS 4011 Charlotte Ave. Nashville, TN 37209 (615) 292-1006

This Nashville Market is crazy right now. Even though it seems like our inventory is super low, I have found myself booked with back to back showings, with multiple clients in this strange season. Apparently there are just enough houses to keep showings moving along. In the last 7 days, Ive been inside over 20 homes with 3 clients. I have an out of town buyer coming in October and another three clients gearing up to buy before the holidays. At 20+ homes a week I cant keep anything straight without help.

According to an article on realtor.com, on average, buyers will see 10 houses before they go under contract. I have had buyers purchase the first house they saw, and I've had buyers that see any number of houses over the course of years. Just looking for the right fit!

September has been a great month for open houses and showings, we've nailed down new construction and existing home contracts. We are working with buyers for everything from first time home buys to investment properties! With the the favorite houses moving quick, we are averaging more showings per buyer when buyers aren't ready to jump. This amount of work can be overwhelming for myself, and frustrating for the buyers. I find myself getting the Sunday Scaries (every day of the week) when I'm the least organized. I know can't be the only one.

6010A Louisiana Ave, Nashville, TN 37209 MLS #2187916, Listed by Allen Perry (615) 738-1550 Keller Williams Realty 30 Burton Hills Blvd. , Suite 400 Nashville, TN 37215 (615) 425-3600

There's a few tricks I keep handy, to keep things running smoothly! At the risk of writing a whole novel about real estate, I'm going to focus this post on just managing multiple bueyrs. More specifically: keeping track of all the showings!

It’s really important to me, to keep the buyer's activity casual. What I mean by that is, they don't need to be doing my job. If my buyer is sending me more listings they want to see, than what I am providing to them - I'M NOT DOING MY JOB. This does not mean I set an auto notify and hope they browse through and tell me what they like. When a buyer does occasionally send me something I haven’t shown them, I want to be able to say “Yes I saw that, I noticed it doesn’t have the bedroom number and square footage you desire, is this something you’d now like to consider?”

758 Rhonda Ln, Nashville, TN 37205 MLS #2168377 Listed by Chris Elrod (615) 305-0072 Zeitlin Sotheby’s International Realty 580 Franklin Road Suite 300 Franklin, TN 37069 (615) 794-0833

Tools I use to keep things organized:
Homesnap (Messaging)
Penultimate Notebook App on Ipad
Google Calendar

1. Homesnap: When I'm in an active home search with a buyer I connect in two ways. I'm regularly sending listings from hot sheets based on their specifications, and I connect through Homesnap. Homesnap is the single best app for searching (in my opinion). Buyers and Agents can connect on Homesnap and use the messaging service within the app to keep track of showings. We are seeing realtime info from MLS on Homesnap.

Once the buyer has narrowed down their big needs, location, size, price - I do set up the autonotify. However, the notification only comes to my inbox. It's my job to sift through what actually fits and narrow down all the junk that appears in front of me. I try to keep shared listings in as few places as possible between the buyer and myself, so that we both have an easy quick reference. Homesnap makes it easy to keep the listings in one spot with their in-app messaging with buyers.

Penultimate Screenshot from Ipad, syncs to my Evernote app on my phone and desktop!

2. Penultimate by Evernote: When I'm setting up showings, I use the Penultimate App (or any notebook app) to make a list of what I'm seeing. I prefer Penultimate, as I can create a different notebook for each buyer and it automatically syncs with the Evernote app on my desktop and smartphone. Spoiler alert, I wrote this blog in Penultimate. Penultimate also keeps the date for each note taken in the notebook. Here's what a typical showing schedule will look like on my ipad:

3. Google Calendar: My next action, is to create a Google Calendar event for the block of showings. For Daniel B's block, I blocked 11-1. Location input is our first address, where we initially met for the day. Daniel then followed me to the next listings (COVID, YALL). In the description I input each address and MLS number. I can share this with the buyer, and they will have a snapshot of what to expect on our travels during the showing block.

The combination of these tools, helps keep my brain and my work organized. I am able to refer back to my notes and calendar to answer questions quickly for buyers about houses we have seen. Boxwood Properties is a small boutique business, we have a low number of full time agents and admin. We all put in 110% effort to cater to our clients. This is the way we like it, and this is what our clients have come to expect.

I love to hear from other agents about how they handle the workload. What are you using to keep yourself organized in this market?