Category: Living Spaces

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Living Spaces Real Estate

Buyers Have a Wealth of Opportunity in Today’s Housing Market

Attributes of the current housing market such as low mortgage rates, a large selection of available product, and generous builder incentives bode exceptionally well for potential buyers who find themselves favorably positioned when it comes to making a deal on a new home.

Today’s home buyers have opportunities they haven’t seen in years. Gone are the days when dozens of bidders stood in line for a chance to purchase a home at whatever terms the seller dictated. Housing consumers should take advantage now of the low rates, competitive prices, and great buying opportunities in today’s market.

There is a variety of reasons that buyers are holding all the cards, including:

■ Prices have leveled off and even declined in some areas,

making homes more affordable for first-time and repeat buyers.

■ Houses are staying on the market longer, creating a wider variety

of choice for home shoppers.

■ Mortgage interest rates remain in a very favorable range,

near historic lows.

■ Many builders are offering discounted financing packages and

value-added incentives such as a major upgrade to close the deal.

■ There is a wide range of financing options available for consumers

in all price ranges.

■ The economy is solid, job creation is strong, and demographic trends

portend strong housing demand in years to come — all of which

bode well for long-term house-price appreciation.

To some extent, it’s true to say that it is always a good time to buy a home, given the equity-building opportunities and tax savings that homeownership affords and the fact that it’s a more solid investment than almost anything else you can think of.

But today’s market is special. It’s a much more relaxed atmosphere for buyers than it was when sales were booming. That means you can find the home you want and carefully consider all its attributes before deciding to go ahead with your purchase. This compares to the frenzied atmosphere that prevailed in many housing markets not too long ago, when buyers had to make a snap decision or risk losing their chance of having a winning bid.

Caution, though, to those who may be sitting on the fence waiting for the market to head lower. Those who try to time the market just right in hopes of buying at the very lowest point are likely to lose out. First, it’s nearly impossible to predict exactly when the slowing market will start to speed back up again, and in the meantime you’re liable to lose the home of your dreams to another buyer. And second, if mortgage rates head higher while you’re waiting, or some other aspect of your financing changes, you could easily wind up spending more than if you bought now.

If you want to have the most opportunities in your home purchase, now is the best possible time to go for it. Seldom has there been a more advantageous environment for home shoppers. ■

Keith Grant is president of the Memphis Area Home Builders Association.

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Living Spaces Real Estate

In Focus

My wife and I took the plunge last September. We’d been together for almost a decade, we had an 18-month-old daughter and a couple of relatively stable jobs, and we finally decided to bite the bullet and do it.

We bought a home.

We’d served our time as renters — apartments, then houses. We were lucky enough to have had great landlords. The odds evened out when we had a real stinker.

We were the type of renters who irrepressibly wanted to improve our home, even if we were living there on a lease: We once put down a new kitchen floor; we dropped money on paint; we put up shelving and window treatments; we bought and installed all kinds of organizational systems that would have to be left behind when we moved; we did yardwork far beyond lawn mowing; we accumulated shower curtains that matched bathrooms from old residences; and my wife had a compulsion to change toilet seats at each new address.

Looking back, it’s pretty clear what our collective subconscious was telling us: Buy a house, idiots!

So, when we finally thought we could afford it, we did.

It felt like we’d graduated from high school. We’d passed calculus class: We’ve spent how much on rent over the years without building any equity? We’d passed geography class: We had an idea what part of town to buy into where we could get the most house for our money. We’d passed a foreign language: We speak amortization schedule. We’d passed economics class: Just tell us where to sign!

Just like graduating seniors, we were finally adults.

Eh, maybe not.

Greg Akers

greg@memphisflyer.com

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Living Spaces Real Estate

Number One

CREDIT: Artist Rendering Courtesy of Paradigm Productions

All due respect to the King’s Graceland, but Beale Street — with its significance as ground zero for the blues throughout much of the 20th century — is the premier cultural/real estate spot on the Memphis map. And at the foot of Beale is that other prominent component of Memphis’ history: the Mississippi River. A new development set to break ground is capitalizing on both in a manner unprecedented in the city’s history. For a town as wild and wooly as the Bluff City, anything that happens that can be described as “unprecedented” is worth a closer look.

The development is One Beale, the brainchild and soon to be very real building from the Memphis-based Carlisle Corp. It will stand overlooking the intersection of Beale Street and Riverside Drive, called by Chance Carlisle, director of special initiatives for Carlisle Corp., “the gateway to downtown.”

The location of One Beale was selected because “it’s a corner deserving of something of stature. It showcases where Memphis is headed and pays respect to where it’s been,” Carlisle says.

But what is One Beale? It’s a little bit of everything. The $175 million project is one of the biggest condominium buildings in the city in addition to housing a large upscale hotel, Class A office space, a retail and dining center, and a spa and fitness center. It’s a rocketship of a building, a two-tower steel behemoth with an insistent finger of glass improbably shooting up and enveloping the north tower’s body. It’s One Beale, and the Memphis skyline will never be the same again.

Earlier this month, Carlisle Corp. announced the teams who will design, construct, and market One Beale. Among them are a number of Memphis-based companies: Architecture firm Hnedak Bobo Group is designing the development. Hnedak Bobo is responsible for FedEx Express World Headquarters, Clark Opera Memphis Center, Peabody Place, the Main Street Trolley, and the Lofts at South Bluff. Paradigm Productions will market One Beale, and Martin Group Realty will sell it.

Artist Rendering Courtesy of Paradigm Productions

For all of the hoopla and bated breath surrounding One Beale, it’s still just a muddy patch of land right now. “We’re making significant progress each day to take condos to market,” Carlisle assures. “We anticipate releasing units this April.”

How many units need to be sold before ground will be broken is still in discussion, Carlisle says. “We haven’t decided what that number is, what’s reasonable for us and for the lenders.” Nevertheless, Carlisle is confident the development will break ground late this year or early 2008.

One of the main components Carlisle Corp. is involved in right now has to do with the mix of condominium sizes and prices. Overall, there will be 130-145 units. Condos will range from 1,500 square feet to 10,000 square feet, selling for $550,000 up to several million dollars. “That’s a wide benchmark,” Carlisle admits. But the bulk of units will run $750,000 to $1.2 million.

One Beale features two towers, one 30 stories tall, the other 34 stories high. There’s a common misconception that the hotel component of the development will take one tower, with condos housed in the other tower, Carlisle says. But it’s not true, he adds. The hotel and office space will be situated in the lowest floors of each tower, across the entire development. Condominiums will start above the hotel and office space on each side and take each tower to the sky. On the shorter tower, condos will run from the 12th to the 30th floors. In the taller tower, condos will start on the 18th floor and terminate at the top, floor 34. When built, One Beale will edge out 100 North Main as the tallest building in Memphis.

Which hotel will call One Beale home is still in negotiation. But the hospitality aspect of One Beale doesn’t stop with the hotelier. Whichever hotel partners with Carlisle Corp. will bring with it its own restaurant. There will also be another restaurant, a 4 to 5 star destination to complement the city’s already fine dining. There will be a bakery/coffee shop, retail space, and a big lobby bar overlooking the Mississippi River.

Additionally, One Beale will have a destination spa on the 10th floor. This spa will be open to the public and hotel guests; condo owners will be granted full access. The spa will feature individual treatment rooms, workout facilities, and swimming pools. Swimmers can get wet over 100 feet above the Mississippi River.

One Beale hasn’t been without its detractors and doubters. The development trod a long path before being granted city approval. It faced opposition from residents and owners of Waterford Plaza and the Candy Factory condos, two neighboring developments that stand to feel the effects of One Beale’s footprint. The development was approved by the City Council in October 2006, with some compromises made by the city with regard to neighbors’ objections.

Other concerns have to do with the downtown Memphis real estate market and its ability to support One Beale in light of so many other projects built in the last decade.

Artist Rendering Courtesy of Paradigm Productions

One Beale makes the Memphis of the future look sci-fi

Carlisle responds that there’s a flaw in such thinking: One Beale can’t be compared to anything else on the drawing board in Memphis. “We’re in a different market,” he says. “It’s a step above any proposed or current building. It’s ambitious, and we think the city is ready for that and demand it. The Memphis market is fully capable of supporting One Beale. It’s a development buyers have wanted.”

Carlisle also shrugs off the market slowdown during the last quarter. “It’s tough to use recent history as a comparison,” he says.

“We think One Beale is the next progression in downtown urban living for Memphis,” Carlisle says. “People demand to have a luxurious life on the Mississippi River and downtown. You have all of the services of a hotel and the benefits of having a pampered lifestyle,” Carlisle says, citing condo owners’ spa access and the use of the hotel’s room-service menu as examples.

“If that’s not something that interests you, you can also have a great kitchen with an unrivaled view of the river. If all that sounds good to you,” Carlisle adds, “you call it home.”

“Nobody has quite the advantage that One Beale is going to have,” says Regina Bearden, vice president of marketing with the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The hotel promises to draw more visitors to Memphis and more dollars for local businesses. It will also make Memphis more attractive for large conventions. “Anytime you add room inventory in Memphis, especially downtown, it assists us … as we’re trying to build conventions,” Bearden says.

It’s the number-one new development on the horizon in Memphis. If it’s as successful as it promises to be, things are looking up Memphis and its skyline. ■

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Living Spaces Real Estate

The Dyson DC14 “Animal”

I don’t hate vacuuming. But I do hate when I have to clean something that my vacuum is inadequate for or when I have to frequently empty the vacuum or buy new bags.

The Dyson DC14 “Animal” promises to correct these typical complaints. On a recent test drive, I found it to be as good a vacuum as I’ve used, though perhaps it doesn’t entirely live up to the expectations I had, seeing as how it claims to be “the most powerful upright for pet hair.”

The Dyson has lots of little features and characteristics that take some time to get used to but that are very handy once you do get the hang of them. For example, the leading edge of the main floor component is too low to the ground to suck up larger pieces of refuse, such as dried cat food. But by briefly positioning the handle of the vacuum vertically, the base angles upward to allow room for any large bit of dirt to get sucked up.

The vacuum also comes with many attachments and a telescoping, easy-to-maneuver arm for cleaning up high and on furniture. The hose to the arm extends 17 feet, so you can easily vacuum stairs without having to deal with a bulky base.

The crevice tool is the best I’ve ever used. It’s slanted, so when vacuuming behind and in between couch cushions, you don’t have to bend or strain your back to reach down deep. It also has a second opening on the side of the attachment. If the main opening is blocked, it can still suck in dirt.

It also has an attachment with stationary brushes surrounding the opening for dirt. If you’ve put some kind of cleaner on the floor that needs to be rubbed into the surface, let the vacuum do the rubbing.

Marketed as being a beast on animal hair, on this count, at least, I had disapointing results. The Dyson has an attachment with a spinning brush to pick up animal hair, and I found that it was more effective if you don’t push down hard on the implement. (The brush spins faster if it’s not being blocked by the upholstery you’re trying to clean.) The vacuum cleaned 95 percent effectively, but it left behind some of those hairs that act as if they’re sewn into the fabric. I suppose nothing on earth can get those out.

On a flat expanse of hardwood, the sucking action is strong enough to compel dust bunnies and lighter dirt toward it even when the vacuum is still several inches away. (My pets, on the other hand, were compelled to flee the scene.)

The machine’s design is attractive, and it’s easy to use once you get the hang of it. It’s got some heft to it, which I like on a hardwood floor. The exertion needed to push it across carpeting may be greater.

One great feature is how you empty the chamber of dirt. The vacuum collects the dirt in a see-through compartment. When you’re ready to empty it, release the section from the vacuum, hold it over your trashcan, and push a button to make the bottom open, spilling the contents into the waste bin. Your hands never get dirty. Since it doesn’t require bags or filters (it has a lifetime HEPA filter), over the long haul you’ll save money on the vacuum, which sells for $549.99 at www.dyson.com.

Despite its few instances of underwhelming performance, the Dyson DC14 “Animal” is still the best vacuum I’ve ever used, taking into consideration the functionability, ease of use, and price. You may not look forward to vacuuming, but you’ll certainly enjoy how clean it gets your home. ■ — GA

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Living Spaces Real Estate

Organizing Idea Book

Anyone who’s ever lived in a condo will tell you: Condo living necessitates smart living. When it comes to your stuff — clothes, kitchen items, laundry essentials, mail — you can’t be frivolous with a condo space the way you can with a 2,500-square-foot house. That said, a home can get just as messy in 2,500 square feet as it can in half that.

The key to household sanity is, of course, organization. But if organization was simple, everybody would be organized. In my experience, entropy is the rule rather than the exception, and home spaces aren’t easily kept free of clutter.

Thankfully, there are lots of smarties out there to offer some solutions for organizing your home. John Loecke is one of them. He wrote Organizing Idea Book, a handy guide to getting your house in order.

Organizing Idea Book has lots of tips from professionals and suggestions on different methods of storage and display of household items. There’s more than one way to skin a cat, of course, and one of the best features of the book is that it gives the reader lots of different means to get to the same happy-home goal.

To be sure, much of Loecke’s advice is common-sense stuff, such as the suggestion to “place things at their point of use” in the kitchen. And the book has a love of hooks and pegboard that’s borderline fetishistic. To be fair, hooks are a hit at my household too: My 2-year-old daughter gets a kick out of hanging her little purses and necklaces on hooks in her room. (The book also states, “Rooms exclusively devoted to the activities of children don’t have to be chaotic.” Says you.)

The book can also be a little frustrating in its suggestions for storage in the kitchen. I’d love extra cabinets too, but where am I going to put them?

But the author evidently grasps human psychology, as when he suggests: “Avoid forcing yourself to learn new habits. If shoes are always piling up by the door, create storage for them there by adding a large bin or basket.” This is helpful advice coming from a realistic perspective, and it’s far preferable to phony rah-rah cheerleading that readers must change everything about themselves to have an organized home.

Some of the kitchen storage ideas and cabinetry are the stuff of dreams — I may have drooled a little on page 37. But the book’s best suggestions are universal: “Getting organized isn’t about changing the way you live, but rather it’s about accommodating your lifestyle” or “Pretend you’re a stranger and write down the things in each space that need improvement.”

One of the better features of Organizing Idea Book is the resources it lists, including companies that sell containers and organizing supplies, furnishings, and storage systems.

True to its name, there’s lots of ideas in Organizing Idea Book, and lots of them are good. And, really, there’s no excuse, so armed, that your own space can’t be relatively crazy-free.

So, buy multipurpose furniture: a bench for putting on shoes that also has storage spaces, an attractive coffee table that can conceal magazines and remote controls. Use see-through and open-topped storage bins to teach your kids to clean up their toys. Repurpose items that are no longer useful in one part of the house and give them new life elsewhere.

In a world where there’s such a thing as the National Closet Group (www.closets.com, natch), how hard can it be? ■ — GA

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Living Spaces Real Estate

The Road Not Taken

The opening of the Avenue Carriage Crossing in Collierville in 2005 marked a critical juncture in the history of the town. The mall’s existence made palpable and immediate what had been true on paper for a long time: Collierville’s a big town and growing fast. Traffic congestion on Poplar and Byhalia is one sign. And Target opening a store in 2004 carried its own share of the classic small town having truly made it. But when what is arguably Shelby County’s premier mall opened in Collierville — far-removed from the town square but a Collierville zip code nevertheless — a couple of juxtaposed (but not exactly contradictory) questions came immediately to mind: What’s to become of the once small town, and how high can this baby fly?

All of those stretches of undeveloped land between the mall and the town proper looked about ready to pop.

One swath of land, west of Houston Levee and north of Bill Morris Parkway, was targeted by Memphis-based developers Clark & Clark for transformation. Their original proposal, called Bailey Farms, had the land turned into a mix of retail, office buildings, and hotels that could capitalize on the heavy traffic brought in by the mall and the proximity to Highway 385.

Bailey Farms is “retail designed to simulate small-town architecture,” says Ben Clark, a partner with Clark & Clark. “It’s something different for Memphis.”

That “something different” was not just consistent with the town visually but was also unprecedented in physical size. The Bailey Farms proposal covered 292 acres to be developed in a number of phases. Its neighbor, Carriage Crossing, sits on approximately 100 acres. “The fact that the master plan is so grand in scale affords the opportunity to create a real sense of place,” Clark says. But he admits that the scope of the development might have built-in disadvantages, as well. “It’s so large, the magnitude is not something Collierville deals with on an every-year basis,” he says.

In Collierville’s 2001 land-use plan, a non-legally-binding outline of how the town sees development progressing far into the future, the area proposed for development is described as open space, low-density residential, and office and business parks. Bailey Farms, with its heavy retail, does not fit that description.

When Bailey Farms went before city officials for approval, it was denied.

Jim Kuzdas, Collierville town planner, says, “When the Avenue Carriage Crossing was approved, the planning board made a commitment to not rezone the property around the mall as endless commercial and retail space.” The image town administrators wanted to avoid, an image Bailey Farms called to mind for some of them, was Wolfchase Galleria, with its acres of asphalt and retail.

Instead of approving the development, the town opted to take a wait-and-see approach. Since the Bailey Farms proposal came hot on the heels of the mall’s opening, the attitude was “let’s see what happens with the mall,” Kuzdas says.

In addition to timing, the size of the development was a concern for town administrators. “The board liked the overall design, the character, the identity of Bailey Farms,” Kuzdas says. “But it was almost too big to get our arms around.

“The vision for the town is to try to retain as much of its small-town character as we can, to find a good balance between quality growth and development,” Kuzdas says. Town administrators have referred to the land-use plan throughout the years when considering new developments, and Kuzdas says Collierville has “held to true to the overriding goals and principles of the plan.”

But a land-use plan is not law. The zoning map is, and the Bailey Farms project is by no means dead. Clark & Clark has applied for and gotten approval for three rezoning requests for sections of land within the scope of the proposed Bailey Farms. These sectors are now zoned MPO — Medical Professional Office — though other parcels of land are still zoned in a way that would not allow for the retail space that Bailey Farms calls for. Clark says his company continues to talk with Collierville about the future of the development.

According to Kuzdas, “Growth will be coming. We need to prepare for it carefully and make sure we have adequate infrastructure.” With regard to Bailey Farms, he says, “Maybe down the road, five or 10 years, as we see how Collierville develops, some portion of the project could be more acceptable.

“That location is prime, and at some point in time it will be developed.”

The story of growth in Collierville isn’t a Pandora’s box and it’s not a perfect storm. It’s just town planners and private developers striving for what is best for the town in the long run. The future of Collierville lies somewhere between the two visions. ■ — GA

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Living Spaces Real Estate

In Focus

What does it mean to be “new and improved”?

It’s a question that’s been on my mind a lot lately in regard to the publication you hold in your hands right now, the Memphis Flyer‘s Living Spaces. You may notice a few things different about this issue, including new features and sections, making this issue a veritable “new and improved” version of Living Spaces.

But if that phrase isn’t a lie, it’s also only a half-truth. Because, with Living Spaces, we’ve tried to be “new and improved” with every issue. Memphis’ real estate market and skyline is ever-changing. The furnishings, décor, and decorator businesses in town are continually tapping into or leading the way on new trends and new ways to express old ideas. Technology improvements are altering the way we construct, improve, and find happiness in our homes. Memphis is in a constant state of aspiring to be “new and improved,” and if we didn’t reflect that in Living Spaces, we’d get left behind soon enough.

With Living Spaces, we strive to be at the leading edge of “new and improved” every month, bringing you not just the latest in real estate market news and ways to make the most of your condo or home lifestyle, as we always have done, but also to report on innovations, new products, and new strategies used by local businesses and our neighbors to help make Memphis “new and improved.”

That’s reflected in new features such as Neighborhood Network (p. 4), where the focus will be on community and neighborhood news and how individuals, private groups, and public administrations are doing their part to make the Mid-South a better place.

It’s reflected in User Friendly, where a product is rigorously tested to see if it’s everything it claims to be and to report on any problems we experience with it. This month is the Dyson DC14 vacuum cleaner. Does it make your floors and furniture look new and improved? Check out page 6 for the answer.

It’s also reflected in Fine Print, a review of books pertaining to home and garden — real estate, home improvement, decoration, or related fields. There are a lot of books out there claiming to have all the secrets. We’ll try to pull the weeds out and find the good ones.

Our goal is to help you make the most of your own living space, to make it each day a new and improved version of the day before. We’d love your help, of course: If you’ve got any tips, news or events, suggestions, or comments, please let us know at LivingSpaces@memphisflyer.com.

Greg Akers

greg@memphisflyer.com

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Living Spaces Real Estate

The Bookshelf

Investment in a home is a huge commitment with an equally sized potential for profit. But don’t just take our word for it. Here are five books already released or coming out soon that offer advice that can guide you to a great buy and a wise investment. — Greg Akers

Make Money in Abandoned Properties: How to Identify & Buy Vacant Properties & Make a Huge Profit (Wiley)

Chantal Howell Carey and Bill Carey

Now Available

$34.95

Working under the axiom that one man’s trash is another’s treasure, this book swears to be the only reliable and comprehensive guide to abandoned-property investment. It provides “ten tips for finding abandoned properties, five techniques for locating owners, five keys to the foolproof offer, and four ways to obtain financing.”

The Wall Street Journal: Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook (Three Rivers Press)

David Crook

December 2006

$14.95

Don’t let the author’s name fool you: Crook is the editor of The Wall Street Journal Sunday, which is syndicated in newspapers around the globe. This book claims to be the authority on real estate investing and teaches you how to avoid schemes, get financing, make contacts, find the right properties, and more.

Nothing Down for Women: The Smart Woman’s Quick-Start Guide to Real Estate Investing (Free Press)

Robert G. Allen and Karen Nelson Bell

January 2007

For the woman on the go, this book swears it can give the basics of real estate investment in short chapters that can be read and fully understood in less than five minutes. It includes scripts for communications with buyers and sellers and templates for sales ads.

The Complete Guide to Purchasing a Condo, Townhouse, or Apartment: What Smart Investors Need to Know — Explained Simply (Atlantic Publishing Company)

Susan Smith Alvis

January 2007

$24.95

This book guarantees an easy overview on this specialty market, including what to expect from the many people involved (realtors, condo boards, attorneys, bankers) and hints and tips on what to look for and how to avoid common mistakes.

Beyond the Bubble: How to Keep the Real Estate Market in Perspective — And Profit No Matter What Happens (AMACOM)

Michael C. Thomsett and Joshua Kahr

February 2007

$16.95Are you considering real estate investment but afraid that the bubble will burst? This book will help you distinguish between the facts and the myths of real estate investment. Published by AMACOM, the book publishing division of the American Management Association, this book also offers ideas for what to do even when sales hit a slump. ●

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Living Spaces Real Estate

Like Money in the Bank

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

The old adage goes that a good investment is one that is safe as houses. Buying a home can be as wise and secure an investment as any. But some headlines across America have recently told a different story, one of housing-industry downturn, market oversaturation, and depreciation in property values. One look at the skyline in Memphis will tell you this is a city of growth. Condominium developments are going up all over downtown. But do national economic indicators of an industry slowdown include Memphis? Is an investment in a home downtown still a wise move? Is it still as safe as putting money in the bank?

Justin Fox Burks

Tom Davis is the president of Henry Turley Realtors. His company currently sells condominiums downtown at the Lofts at South Bluffs, the Shrine Building, Riverside 648, CityHouse, Turning Pointe, and Carolina Lofts. Among other things, Davis is a numbers man. He runs down sales statistics at his properties, talking occupancy percentages, sale prices, and sale prices per square foot. He sifts through recent data and narrates the story of the downtown Memphis residential market that he finds there.

For example, Davis cites a current upswing in high-end units that have been either sold or are under contract. “It’s showing that there is depth in the half-million-dollar price range in the condominium market in the South End,” Davis says, “which is positive for the condominium market. The traffic has been good; interest has been excellent.

“The market fluctuated a little bit toward the end of summer and the first of September, but it’s started to pick up, which has been really promising for us. … The market is ever-changing. The market is what it is and also what people perceive it to be. We work with all that. … We’ve had an upturn here in contracts and activity in October and November.”

Sales successes are diverse in terms of sale prices — and people are still snatching them up all across town. Not every development is at the same stage of readiness for residency; many condos are in earlier stages of progress. At the Riverside 648 condominium development, though, units are available for the taking. The immediate attainability is attractive to many buyers, Davis says: “We’re seeing people responding to that availability. We’ve had people close out in those units as quickly as 10 days. That’s an interesting part: People are ready to come in, they’re ready to respond, they’re looking for a piece of property that’s ready, ready to go, and ready to close.”

in the market there is still a marked increase in property values in downtown Memphis.

Davis parses statistics as if they were tea leaves, predicting the future of downtown Memphis. Some questions have been raised in recent months in regard to the health of the downtown Memphis condominium market. But, as Davis sees it, the future is bright: “There is good news out there,” he says. “We have a fairly healthy, fairly steady market.”

One of the primary charges against the market has to do with supply and demand. With so many developments going up across downtown, fears have been voiced that the market can’t bear the glut of residential property. Patti Sachenbacher is a relationship manager, or loan officer, with First Tennessee Home Loans. Sachenbacher has heard these concerns about market oversaturation. But these fears are unfounded, she says: “The market does not show signs of slowing down in the foreseeable future.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by Davis. He says the high-supply versus low-demand claim about the market is “more of a perception than a reality.” The reality, Davis says, is that many of the developments in the public mind haven’t gotten past the proposal stage yet, and those that have still have a ways to go before they will be completed.

The basis of negative views of downtown Memphis development seems to echo evidence of an industry slowdown nationwide. But the experts all seem to agree: Memphis is somewhat protected against national “bubble” trends, especially seen in markets in Florida, California, Nevada, and parts of the Northeast.

Sam Goff, director of marketing and a residential mortgage loan officer at Memphis-based Evolve Mortgage and host of WREC-AM 600’s House Calls: All Things About Mortgages, says, “Over some of the other cities, Memphis has this advantage: Our market real estate has been undervalued as compared to the rest of the nation and still is. Where you hear a lot of talk that on the coast the bubble may not have burst but it’s losing air, Memphis is not at that point. We are still so undervalued compared to other major cities that we have a long way to go.

“As a rule with Memphis, I think we’re years away from getting at that bubble,” Goff continues. “Memphis has always been a little bit insulated from the rest of the country economically because it’s a distribution center [with] medical facilities here. Those two major areas of employment go on even in downturns for the economy. We aren’t as susceptible to economic downturns as other parts of the country.”

Davis sees it similarly, saying the data used to ascertain national trends are “percentages and numbers that are where markets have been accelerated so much that they also deflated. Memphis has not ever been that type of market.”

Sam Goff

On the flip side of the good news — that the Memphis market doesn’t flounder — is news that every home investor should know: Expect gradual increases in property values rather than booming jags of appreciation. “[Overall] Memphis has plugged along for years at a 3-5 percent increase in property values for years,” Goff says. Recent condo development has done better than that historical percentage increase, though, because of higher demand in the market.

Reports of the Memphis market’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. In fact, Davis says, the opposite is true: “What’s out there right now is what’s left over of the projects that have been ongoing for two years,” Davis says. “The product that is out there is diminishing every day because it’s being sold.

“There will probably be fewer units [available] because the developments look to be down for next year compared to what they were. What will be on the market will definitely have a better chance of being sold.”

One trend Goff sees in downtown residential units is that they “represent a great investment buy for people outside of Memphis. If you talk with any of the developers, they would tell you that.” Investors from out of town are buying condos as second homes to visit on weekend vacations where they can partake in the city’s lively entertainment scene. Out-of-towners are doing it “because they understand that there’s great value in buying at this time here, that there’s a great upside,” Goff says.

Davis has seen the same trend: “We’re on a lot of [out-of-towners’] targets. We might see people from Collierville, Boston, California, and Midtown all in one day.”

The optimal time to invest in a home downtown is now, Davis says, After this current wave of development recedes, the next wave will necessarily be more expensive for buyers because of increases in land prices and the rising costs of labor and materials. “The people that really have an understanding of this will find that purchasing now will be a great benefit to them,” Davis says. As a result, the resale market will get a boost as supply decreases. “It’s a golden time for both [new and resale units]. From now until spring, it’s a golden opportunity. Whoever doesn’t already own should be looking to buy.”

The bottom line, Davis says, looking in his crystal ball, is positive: “The downtown market is still vibrant. What we’ve brought to the market have been successful projects, and [these] will be sold out by the middle of next year or sooner. Other projects will be able to be brought into the marketplace sometime next year. … In every market there’s a breath,” Davis says, adding that the current breath is “not a long one,” that there is already evidence that it is on the way out.

“We’re not trying to sell a pie in the sky,” Davis says. But, he adds, you can put your money in the Memphis condo market and enjoy the home and the return on investment versus the relative risk of the stock market.

Next year promises to be another interesting year for downtown Memphis development. As this most recent band of condominiums sells out, will there be a lag before the next buildings are ready for occupancy? And with that reduction in supply, will downtown see another big surge of demand versus the current steady one? It’s the kind of scenario that can drive property-value appreciation up. For those already in on the ground floor of the market, it’s good news. Of course, for those buyers in a potentially coming market of high demand and low supply, it may not be good news: The money in the bank won’t be theirs. ●

E-mail: LivingSpaces@MemphisFlyer.com

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Living Spaces Real Estate

Intelligent Design

CREDIT: Greg Cravens

The interior design — the furniture, the appliances, and the accessories — should be an expression of your personality. After all, you’ve got to look at it every day. Why not be comfortable there?

But sometimes you need help expressing yourself. You need an expert eye and mind to look at you and your space and help you take full advantage of its potential. You need someone who understands what furnishings and décor are available out there to look at your budget and your living space to help you make intelligent decisions about your home. Luckily there are specialists in Memphis who can do these things. They’re interior designers, of course, and they’re ready to help you make a Garden of Eden out of your home.

Greg Cravens

When Virginia Rippee of Virginia Rippee & Associates first meets a client, she likes to get to know them, to find out what kind of things they’re interested in and what things they don’t like. That’s not in interior-design terms, though. Rippee wants to know the clients personally. She wants to see what styles and colors they’re wearing, what their personality is like. She also likes to “listen to the space they’re in” to hear what it says about the homeowner’s tastes. It all adds up to help her create a kind of profile of her client so that she can form a design that they’ll be happy with. She wants to talk to everyone who will live in the space.

The showroom at Virginia Rippee & Associates gives the homeowner many smart design choices of furniture, art, and accessories.

It isn’t until that part of the process is complete that she gets to work on actually designing the space. When she has something for the client, she presents it to them in her sample room and shows how she would arrange the furniture and accessories, Rippee says. Then she immediately asks them, “‘Does this fit your needs? To your mind is this correct?'” She continues, “Then I will take them to the colors and the fabrics and the furniture. I do everything for a reason in the space that is being furnished. There is a reason for absolutely everything.”

For Rippee, smart design decisions are based on determining what you’re going to be happy with for a long time. “We help them foresee the future of living in the space,” Rippee says. “They don’t buy something and get it home and say, ‘Oh, well, this doesn’t fit or this doesn’t work or I hadn’t thought about that.’ We try to foresee everything.”

Rippee leads clients to her showroom where they can see the options they have for furnishings and accessories. She does her ordering through catalogs with makers that she knows well and trusts. Ordering this way also helps keep clients from just buying in to whatever the trend of the moment is. For example, Rippee says, “We can find clients fabrics that are a lot more interesting and for not a lot more money. I’d rather sell them things out of catalogs because I know these lines well enough that I believe in the way they’re sitting, the way they fit.

Most people, when we do a room for them, years down the road they still like the space,” Rippee says. “We want clients to not just say, ‘Oh, this is nice.’ We want them to look at the space and say, ‘Wow, I love it.'”

Greg Cravens

For interior designer Ken Lecco of Cosmic Closet, the first order of business when he meets a new client is to see how they live currently. “I meet them at their space, feel out who they are, how they entertain, what they want to get out of their space, and go from there,” Lecco says.

He always listens to the customer and makes sure that they are going to ultimately be happy with their room. But he also has opinions stemming from his many years experience decorating and his in-depth knowledge of the many options and products available to his clients that they might not know about. He makes these suggestions and tries to help the client come to the right decision.

His overall design philosophy is to avoid the temporal and embrace the long-lasting. “I don’t really follow trends,” Lecco says. “Normally, two years down the road trendy stuff is over with. The customer’s not too happy that they picked a trendy color and six months later they hate it.”

Signature style: a living room designed by William R. Eubanks

Instead, Lecco often suggests proven, time-tested designs and matches them with the client’s personality. “I do try to use more classic designs. When I pick colors out, I know that those colors aren’t going to be out of style. A lot of customers want the clean lines, want the classic stuff. A lot of the younger people want hippy, trendy stuff. I’m good with that too. Whatever they want. For the older people, I do try to steer them away from the real trendy stuff. If they want something trendy, I throw it on pillows or on a rug, where you can just take that away and still have classic furniture.”

Lecco understands the space limitations that condominium living sometimes presents. Cosmic Closet is a home furnishings and accessories store where customers can buy individual pieces to work into their homes. One example he cites of an item he sells that serves a dual purpose and cleverly utilizes limited space is a coffee table that converts into a dining-room table. The Italian-made piece has a lever that, when pressed, causes the coffee table to rise up to dining-room-table size and extend out. “A lot of customers have small lofts that don’t have a dining room. But if they want to have a dinner party once in a while, they can convert their coffee table into a dining table. It’s beautiful.” Another similarly utilitarian piece of furniture are beds with storage under them that are, Lecco adds, “done tastefully.”

Budget considerations are always an issue when Lecco’s clients are designing or redesigning a room. Lecco has plenty of options at his fingertips to make the customer happy. “It doesn’t matter what the budget is, I can work around it. I have a lot of different sources [for furniture and accessories] where I can make it work.”

The key to the whole endeavor to fabulous design on a budget is to make smart decisions: “You don’t have to spend as much money, and you can go very minimal and have a really hot place.”

William R. Eubanks opened his interiors and designs firm in Memphis in 1976. Thirty years later, Eubanks has expanded business to New York City and Palm Beach, has had his designs widely published, and has clients all over the world. Through all this, he still calls Memphis home.

Eubanks’ artistic director Dabney Coors says the business can handle whatever the customer can dream up. “This is a full-service interior-design firm that supplies clients’ needs from the simplest design request for fabric to the most complicated design of a house’s layout and interior spaces,” Coors says.

Eubanks also offers one feature that many other designers don’t: the implementation of real antiques into a room design. “Bill is known for his antiques business and his interior-design business. He travels to Europe on buying trips five times a year or more. He combs Europe for 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century antiques, but he is not restricted by period designs. After listening closely to his clients, he designs exactly what they want. Eubanks designs in every style and every period from 17th century to contemporary.”

One look at the sumptuous colors and eye-popping antiques and you’ll be smitten with Eubanks’ designs. But that doesn’t mean he’s out of reach of everybody but the wealthiest. Says Coors: “Bill Eubanks is very attuned to his clients’ needs and is happy to have a monetary framework in which to work. A budget helps everyone.”

It seems to be a no-brainer: Get a visually God-touched room and not have to break the bank in the process. ●

Take your pick: the sample room at Virginia Rippee & Associates

In the Beginning…

Before you figure up how much money you need to plan on spending for your new condo — and way before you go on a mad shopping spree filling your home with appliances, furniture, and major accessories — find out what amenities the condo development already provides for residents. You might be surprised by how much and, in many cases, the fine quality of what is already included in the price of the home.

The Horizon offers your choice of interior-design packages and a number of appliances and luxury furnishings. Condos include granite countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms, GE Profile stainless-steel range, microwave, dishwasher, and refrigerator, and ceramic tile, hardwood floors, or wall-to-wall carpet, as chosen by the buyer. As the condominium is still being developed, buyers have many options for customizing their home, choosing from options of flooring and cabinetry. You can also upgrade to packages of appliances from other makers such as Viking. The Horizon’s selections expert is ready to help you craft your dream home. Similarly, State Place at South End also features granite countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms, GE Smooth Top range, dishwasher, microwave, a combination of hardwood floors, ceramic tile, and carpet.

An eye-catching living room in downtown Memphis’ Shrine Building

For condominiums that have already been built, where appliances, fixtures, and flooring are already installed, options for buyers are sometimes limited. But at the Shrine Building, the amenities provided at purchase are still lavish: stainless-steel GE Profile appliances, hardwood maple floor and cabinetry, and — one of the hottest things going in designs right now — Decolav bathroom sinks. Many condominiums also offer high-speed wireless Internet access.

All the money you’ll be saving on provided amenities can be spent on making the rest of your dream home a reality. Okay, now go on your mad shopping spree. ● — GA

The perfect kitchen is both beautiful to look at and functional. Pictured is a kitchen designed by Eileen Henry of Kitchens Unlimited

Survival of the Fittest

One of the primary concerns for anybody living in a condominium — and especially for someone who will be living in a condo for the first time — is dealing with space restrictions. Certainly, many condos are comparable to houses in terms of square footage. But condos also don’t have attics, storage sheds, or garages in which you can keep things you’re not currently using.

The solution is twofold: use what space you do have wisely and fill it with things that you love. Any and everything else is dispensable.

Smart employment of the furniture in the space is key, says interior designer Virginia Rippee. “The first thing I do is figure out how to arrange furniture and make sure that we’re not getting anything too little or too large,” she says. “It’s how you’re going to use the room. It doesn’t matter if [the room] is huge or little, it’s arranging the furniture correctly [in it]. It’s amazing how little some things are that can be done to make the room feel better sitting in it.”

Incorrect proportioning of furniture to room size is a common problem, Rippee says. The furniture arrangement is “either too long or [makes] too much of a total square. You’re sitting too far from whomever you’re talking to.

“One of the questions I ask [the client] is, ‘How many people will be using this? How do you plan to use it?’ That way I know to arrange the furniture for as many people as fits their needs. Every piece of furniture I show them, there’s an exact place for it.”

Getting the right size furniture and fitting it in correctly to the space is just one half of the equation. Then there’s the accessories, the home-décor knickknacks you collect on junk-store adventures or buy on a whim. It’s important to pare down that which you don’t truly need or love in order to streamline the room and de-clutter your life. For Rippee, the scientific method for determining what is essential is straightforward: “If you haven’t used it, get rid of it.

“A condo has less storage, so it just has to be tight,” Rippee says. “Buy only the things that you’re really going to use; don’t buy an overabundance. Get a basic number of dishes. Then, if you’re going to have a party, that’s what paper plates and plastic cups are for, or renting glass.” Businesses such as Grand Events & Party Rentals and Party Concepts handle flatware and glassware rentals for parties and events.

Once it’s simplified, to create an overall pleasant atmosphere in a room, establish an identity for it. You will certainly want to build on the pieces of furniture and accessories that you already have and you do want to keep. Then follow the design idea through to the end, adding things over time as desired but without overwhelming the visual palette.

Live with the room as it is for a while and tweak as needed. Make sure the design elements fit in with your tastes, because your home is an important part of maximizing your quality of life. As Rippee says, “Sit down, be comfortable, and enjoy where you are.” ● — GA

Big Bang For Your Buck

When it comes to interior design, dream big. Imagine your home as if it was the embodiment of your every desire writ large. Ask yourself, if money were no object, what would I do? What kind of furniture would I have? What would the window treatments look like? What about art? Home theater and appliances? Dream big.

If you have the means to dream big and make those dreams real with the swipe of a card, go for it. Get professional advice first: An interior designer will help you maximize the potential of your living space in light of your tastes and expose you to ideas and items and craftspeople, such as furniture makers, that you might not otherwise have known existed. “If you want absolutely knockout ‘wow,’ we have it,” interior designer Virginia Rippee says.

She adds a caveat for those who can’t spend at will: “It’s not free.”

Ah, the catch. Anybody can dream big. The trick is to dream big but pay little and not compromise your vision while you do it. Is it possible? Rippee says absolutely.

One strategy is to prioritize what you want done, and then cross things off your list in stages that are within the restraints of your budget, Rippee says. Don’t eliminate or try to upgrade essential items all at once. Do it in steps so that you’re never stuck without something vital.

Another way to spend wisely begins with going through magazines and cutting out pictures of rooms that you’re drawn to. Determine what elements you particularly like and figure out how to best and most cheaply apply it to your own room. For example, you may not be able to afford an antique table that is shown in the picture, but you could buy a newer table, strip it, and paint or stain it to match your original inspiration. Creativity is free. The materials to make your dreams a reality usually don’t cost much more.

You should also consider and interview interior designers to help you, whatever your budget. A common misconception is that designers are very expensive to work with. Rippee says, “I don’t think it’s a lot more money. It may be a little more than if you went to the furniture store [buying unassisted]. But it’s things you’re going to love. You’re going to like them so much longer.” Buying through a designer will help you remain consistent with your room’s identity. He or she will also be able to give you options for furnishings and accessories so that you can divvy up your budget smartly rather than haphazardly.

Designers can also aid you in saving money in little ways, such as maximizing the utility of furniture, picking pieces that aren’t just attractive but are functional in more than one way, such as a bench or table that also has storage space in it. With a condo home, every square foot is valuable real estate space-wise.

The bottom line is to get the most out of every dollar you put into your home. Spend smart. Rippee says, “I tell people, ‘We were born beautiful instead of rich, and that’s the reason we have to get up and go to work every day.'” Fulfilling your design dreams costs money. But it doesn’t have to be prohibitive. The happiness derived from a job well done and on budget is priceless. ● — GA

Natural Selection

One of the most prudent ways to get the interior designs, furnishings, and accessories that you want is to choose businesses that can offer you plenty of options in terms of form, function, and price. Lucky for Memphians, there’s all kinds of great creative, helpful people to guide you step by step, helping you select the best that your money can buy in the evolution of your place into your dream home.

One of the trickiest rooms in the home to get right is the kitchen. They say everybody winds up in the kitchen during a party, so it’s crucial to get the room right. There are many decisions to be made there, from cabinetry to appliances to drawer pulls to color to lighting. The name of the business Kitchens Unlimited says it all. Or, almost says it all: They also do bathrooms. They can handle any kitchen need, from design to installation (and even tearing out your old cabinetry). They have a large showroom and catalogs for major appliance companies such as Bosch, Viking, Sub-Zero, Dacor, Gaggenau, and Asko and furniture-grade cabinetry that has features such as turned posts at corners and carved embellishments — one of the hottest things going right now, according to kitchen designer associate Eileen Henry.

Some of the most important elements when creating an atmosphere in your home are your lighting fixtures. According to Trey Crump of Crump Lighting, some of the new lighting designs that are getting the most attention right now are recessed halogen lighting and monorail lighting systems. The monorail systems are made of flexible, bendable metal that can be twisted like a contortionist if need be to direct the light exactly where in the room you want it. Crump does in-home consultations and also acts as an interior designer, able to assist you in every way imaginable. When designing a home for a client, Crump says, “I try to stay with their style. I complement their existing décor.” He cites multi-purpose furniture as something that homeowners with space restrictions should consider to simplify their homes. TVs can go in cabinets, coffee tables can also be chests with the potential for storing items, and furniture can even have hidden spaces for storage.

Speaking of that furniture: Memphis has some great places to get it too. Scan Interiors has been around since 1988, and they’ve seen trends come and go and have seen what designs stay strong. Their furniture features cutting-edge technologies from around the world with designs for any taste. Kim Tilton of Scan Interiors has also decorated the model home at the condos at 310 S. Main.

Another fine furniture store is Samuels Furniture and Interiors. They have designer home furnishings and bedding and a wide selection of décor. They also have a full staff of interior designers who can help you live happy in your home.

While certainly not an exhaustive list of the people who can help, these creative and intelligent folks are as smart a place to start as any. They can work with any budget and can offer you choices that you didn’t know existed. In the end, your home can be a natural extension of your personality. ● — GA

The Missing Link

In the movie The Big Lebowski, Jeff Bridges’ character — the Dude — laments the loss of his rug, saying: “That rug really tied the room together.” Why does the Dude so keenly feel its loss? Because it’s true: A room can feel empty, naked, not like home — if it’s missing a key design element such as a rug.

Matt Kiser of Kiser’s Floor Fashions would know. Getting the right rug is crucial, Kiser says. “Looking at it, living with it every day, it’s very important. It will tie in the fabrics, the wall color, the wallpaper.” Making those design building blocks cohere down to the last detail will convey a confident, well-thought-out philosophy. The consistent lines or colors will also help keep the room grounded and not distract the eye with busy design tangents.

Kiser’s Floor Fashions doesn’t just do rugs. Really, if you can think of it and it has to do with a floor, they can help: wall-to-wall carpet, hardwood flooring, ceramic tile, vinyl, laminate, on and on and on. Certain types of flooring are better than others in given situations and rooms and Kiser’s keeps abreast of the latest fashions and advanced products, so you can be certain that they will help guide you through the tricky endeavor for the perfect floor design to tie your room together.

The search for the missing link doesn’t stop on the floor, though. Window treatments are equally essential. Had the Dude lost his drapes instead of his rug, he’d have had the same sour reaction.

For many people, the idea of getting window treatments right can be intimidating. That shouldn’t be the case. Not when there are people like Susan Newby of the Drapery Studio in the world. And getting the windows right is very important, she says. “After your floors and walls, your windows are the third biggest architectural factor in the room.” Never fear. Not only can Newby get you on the right path to make your room look great, she can maximize the utility of the window treatments.

Function is as important as style. Especially when you’re living in a condo downtown. “Often what you love most about downtown riverfront living also plagues you: light, heat, the view. Sometimes you want it, sometimes you want to be protected from it,” Newby says. Depending on how close you are to other buildings and other potentially inquiring eyes, window treatments help ensure your privacy.

And the view of the sun rising in the morning or setting over the river in the late afternoon can sometimes be as much a nuisance as it is a beautiful vista. The light reflecting off the river has a sneaky way of getting into your room and into your eyes, Newby says. The sun presents other problems too, such as its ability to fade prized possessions in your interior: hardwood, furniture, and artwork. Window treatments can go a long way toward protecting your possessions, your home, even your frame of mind.

The functionality of drapes in a condo extends when you take into account its use as a noise dampener. It insulates your interior from the sound of the streets, and it even cuts down on the reverberation inside your home between hardwood floors and lofty ceilings.

The form of the window treatments overshadows most of these considerations, though, at least on the surface. Even if you’ve got your furniture, appliances, and accessories right, a room just won’t work until the window treatments are in harmony. That’s not to say you want your windows to be the main feature in your room. Newby says the correct window treatment “is like a good haircut. You don’t want it to be obvious. It’s not the focal point.”

Depending on the room, she often tries to keep the window treatments basic. This gives “a lightness to the room, an openness.” That’s not always the case, though. “Some rooms cry out for something more,” Newby says.

Both Matt Kiser and Susan Newby do in-home consultations, and they’re both adept at working within a customer’s budget needs and still producing gorgeous results. The Dude abides, and with the help of Kiser and Newby, so can you. ● — GA