Before you choose an agent in Chattanooga, read this

Starting with what I cannot do

Most of what goes wrong in a long-distance move goes wrong at the handoff: nobody owns the introduction, so you end up cold-calling names off a search results page. I would rather own it. I cannot be your Tennessee agent, but I can be the person who found them and who you can call when you want a second read.

Things that surprise people moving out of Florida

• Licensing in this industry is granted state by state, not federally. A Florida licence carries no authority in Tennessee, and a Tennessee licence carries none in Florida — which is why an introduction, rather than representation, is the only honest offer on this page.
• Tennessee joins Florida in having no broad-based tax on wage income, so that particular line in the relocation spreadsheet does not move. Most of the other lines will.
• Closings in Tennessee generally run through a title or escrow company rather than requiring an attorney as a matter of course — structurally closer to what you are used to in Florida than not.
• Florida’s homestead exemption and its Save Our Homes assessment cap do not follow you. Tennessee has its own property tax treatment, its own exemptions, and its own rules on how fast an assessment may rise. Confirm the specifics with the local taxing authority.

Boundaries worth naming

I will not promise you an outcome. Not a price, not a timeline, not a standard of service from somebody else’s employee. What I can give you is what I asked the agent, what they said, and anything in the conversation that gave me pause. Anyone offering more certainty than that about a transaction in a state they are not licensed in is describing a wish rather than a service.

Three steps, and what each one commits you to

What to ask the agent I introduce you to

• When an inspection turns something up, what is the local practice — a price reduction, a credit at closing, or the seller arranging the work — and who conducts that negotiation on my behalf?
• Which documents will you ask me to sign at the very start, what does each one commit me to, and how long does it run? Ask for them by email so you can read them somewhere other than at a kitchen table.
• How is a shortfall on the appraisal usually handled in Tennessee, and what do buyers here commonly write into the contract to deal with it before it happens?
• If the property is listed by your own brokerage, what happens to my representation, what does Tennessee law permit in that situation, and what exactly would you be asking me to sign?

If there is a Florida property on the other side

Worth asking yourself before you call: is there a Florida house in this? If so, the referral is only half the conversation. The other half is a Florida listing, which is my actual job, and coordinating the two is materially easier when the same person is watching both calendars.

Other cities in Tennessee

• Johnson City
• Germantown
• Jackson
• Knoxville
• Kingsport
• Brentwood
• Hendersonville
• Clarksville
• All of Tennessee