Brentwood TN Real Estate
For most people, the prospect of landscaping fills them with dread
as they contemplate the work/effort associated with taking care of plants, gardens and trees without spending a lot of money to have someone else do it. There are people who enjoy working on their landscapes for hours (and this is commendable), and there are those who wish to have as little trouble, and spend as little money as possible in their home's yard. This is also fine. Luckily, for those who want to have a beautifully appointed home, it is possible to do so with low-maintenance landscaping. By carefully choosing plants that need little care, it is possible to have a great looking home and yard while still saving time, money and attention to its upkeep. The keys are good plant selection and the proper establishment of those plants.
The first thing to do is choose plants that require very little maintenance. For those who dislike raking leaves or pine needles, trees that frequently shed are not for you. Plants like spruce and Alberta pine are moderate growers, and they do not drop leaves or needles as often as other trees. Avoid fruit-bearing plants that make a mess. Crabapple 
trees with resistance to apple scab hold their fruit well (even against birds) and are not prone to summer defoliation. Flowers such as rhododendrons, pansies, tulips, and wildflowers do not need much care. 
Most bulb flowers (Irises, Tulips, Crocuses, etc.) are fairly self-sufficient, as they store up nutrients in their bulbs. Choose perennial flowers that bloom every year rather than annuals that last one season, die, and then require the purchase of more. 
Shrubs and low bushes (like Mugo pine and Juniper) are also hardy varieties that do not require much attention and make very little mess. Holly is also a great low maintenance pick for the Brentwood TN area!
When you choose plants, search out quality plants. Find reputable nurseries and suppliers. This saves money in the long run, as you will not have to buy new plants when the first ones do not survive their plantings. Planting is a stressful time for any plant, and if is already weakened by disease, environmental issues, or pest problems, then it may not recover. Choose plants that look vigorous and healthy, and check them closely before purchase for things like pest problems and disease. Some home improvement warehouses, like Home Depot and Lowe's, actually offer guarantees on their plants, as do many nurseries: 
these warranties last anywhere from 6 months to 1 year. Purchase from a store or nursery that offers these guarantees at no extra cost, and then if you encounter a problem down the road, your place of purchase will replace the ailing plant for free.
One of the best things that you can do to keep your landscaping costs down and your involvement in it minimal is to choose plants adapted to the growing conditions in your area. 
A visit (usually for free) to the local master gardener for Williamson county and Brentwood (http://www.wcmga.net/) will allow you to find out which plants grow best in your area. Keeping up your landscape is much easier when you are not fighting nature to ensure the survival of your plants. Choose native plants, or choose plants that are native to a climate similar to the one in which you live. Ornamental grasses, trees, and shrubs that grow well in your climate and with the conditions of the soil in your yard make excellent choices for low-maintenance landscaping.
Finally, it is imperative that you follow sound planting practices when you begin your 
landscaping project. Any initial landscaping will take a certain amount of work, but once you complete the proper installation of plants, you will find that, if you have chosen wisely, they need very little of your attention. When planting, it is best to make the 
hole shallow and wide. Do not plant your flowers, trees or shrubs in holes deeper than the planting container. If the soil is of a harder variety, you should dig the hole deeper than you want (the hole should be two or three times as wide as you need it in any case) and then fill in with a planting mix or loosened soil to the desired depth. This will make it easier for your new plants to take root. It is important to remember that you will need to ensure adequate water at first, until the root system is fully developed.
Having a gorgeous yard can be done without as much stress and fuss as you may think!
Look around, find a good nursery and go get your hands dirty! You just might find out you love it!
Vanessa Stalets
Brentwood TN Real Estate
RE/MAX Elite
615-957-6333/615-661-4400
Case in point, I took a listing on once that was repped by another agent for 6 months previously. The seller found me on an Internet search and contacted me. They told me the contract was up shortly(but did not know exactly when as they did not have a copy of the listing agreement) and they were very dissatisfied with the representation they had received. The home had not been marketed aggressively and even so several contracts had been on the table, most with terms unacceptable. Without getting specific and destroying confidentiality, I will give the short and not so sweet version. 
There were phone calls never made, documents not forwarded and as the end drew near a seeming retreat from all activities having to do with the house. The seller felt that they had to do more work in suggesting their own price reductions, possible advertising venues(including free ones they found and passed on) and attempting to muddle through a last minute offer without an agent to advise, although the agent sent it via email. I gave them my listing presentation outlining the massive web presence I have and the very aggressive marketing style I have developed as well as an outline of what to expect of me and what I expect as well. A nice home, a nice commission is at stake here, but more importantly a consumer who needs direction and assistance in the largest transaction they will likely be involved in. They must trust that we will be there when we are needed, that we will rise above our own issues and do our fiduciary duty, regardless. 
Sellers want to see a Pitt Bull not a Toy Poodle! 
I am not afraid of other agents not liking me or that the buyer will think I am a hard ass. My job, first and always is to represent my clients best interests. I work for my client! NOT the other agent, myself, the buyer, my broker etc..If a client truly feels I am on their side to help and protect them in what can, especially in this market, be a hard and legally slippery battle, then chances are they will stay loyal. The tricky part is how to get that trust soon enough to ensure the loyalty edge. 
every client I have ever had has not loved me, I know, hard to imagine right? Nevertheless it is true. However, 99% do and are still friendly with me and send referrals to me. Why? Because I do what I say if humanly possible, I am a "go getter" , I am thorough too. But the single biggest plus I have been told by clients is my honesty. 
Integrity is priceless! Sometimes it will lose me the deal, but it never loses me respect. I can and have admitted when I was wrong, at fault or did not know something. I then go about fixing, amending or learning the thing. I tell my clients up front that I may not be the oldest agent, the most successful etc, but I will ALWAYS give 110%! Those that stick around long enough to see me in action concur. Those that don't may come back later. I recently wrote a blog basically lambasting the public about the lack of respect they show agents in general, but there are two sides to every coin and 
there are agents who do not show the respect deserved to the client who is responsible for them having a job to do or to the laws which govern that job. That is unacceptable. We must all do the right things, have integrity and be willing to admit it when we get it wrong. In the end I am finding these are the things I am remembered for. How about you? What shortcomings do you see out there everyday and what greatness of yours is often remarked on.?
I have recently become very frustrated with the general public's seeming lack of courtesy toward Realtors in general. From the sellers who have spent the listing agents time and money and arbitrarily decide to wait until next year to sell versus lowering the price $5-10,000, to the buyers who contact you, ask for hours of search time and results, then hours of showings and are unwilling to sign a buyer rep agreement and/or simply disappear not returning calls or emails. 
professional advisor? I have done all of those things and more. A simple phone call or email saying "hey, I have decided to go with agent XYZ" or "I have decided not to purchase now" but something. It is really a pet peeve of mine that the public in general seems to have the erroneous idea that my job is easy and my time free.This is my lively hood, my job, how I feed my family. 
So President Bush gives some money out, not much, but some. 
Description 
Summer is fast approaching in Brentwood TN and your air conditioner just does not work the way it used too. It barely cools, if it does anything at all. You have tried cleaning it. You have tried flushing it. You have tried everything including kick it and hit it with a mallet. The service man wants to charge you an arm and a leg, and probably a few other body parts to repair it. You are left with only one other choice. Spend all that money to repair a central air conditioning unit that is 20 years old, or spend about the same amount to buy a new, updated central air conditioning unit. If you are going to spend the money, why not get something under warranty that, theoretically, it should last 20 more years? Seems like an easy decision to me. 
INSTALLATION OF MY CENTRAL AIR CONDITIONING UNIT
FILTERS
