How to move to Knoxville (renters, insurance, crime) - Tennessee (TN) - City-Data Forum

beccasbank · 10-28-2007, 04:34 PM

Hi everyone !! I have been reading things on this forum for a few weeks now, but haven't really seen my specific question. My husband's cousin lives in Knoxville (Holston Hills area) and has offered my husband a job if we move our family down there from Flint, Michigan. Our family consists of myself, my husband, our 2 kids (9 and 5), his mother, stepfather, and 3 dogs. Here in Michigan, the economy is terrible. Our major automotive plant has shut its doors, and other jobs are extremely scarce. I myself am in college pursuing an associates degree in Criminal Justice. I will be finished with college in June of '08. My husband says we will move when I am finished. We have a house here in MI that has a mortgage. I am thinking of putting it on the market in the spring. We are also considering renting it out by getting a property management person to handle it until it sells. Is it possible to get another mortgage on a new home in Knoxville while having one in Michigan with renters paying the payment? Also, how much time would one need to spend down there (before moving their family) to scope out schools, banks, housing, job search, etc. We can stay with the cousin, and my hubby can work while I look, but I would like it to be no more than 1 month. I realize I may not be able to get employment in my field that fast, but I can at least get a feel for other possible places to work temporarily. Also, my in-laws have medicaid here in Michigan; does anyone know if this is hard to transfer to another state? Thanks very much.

daniellefort · 10-30-2007, 01:30 PM

Medicaid does not transfer from state to state. I worked in the medical insurance office for quite some time and i can't tell you how many people think medicaid can be used in any state like any other private insurance. Yes it's a government plan but it's also regulated by each state. You have to re-apply for Medicaid and any other government financial help once your in the state you'll be living in and go through all the paperwork all over again. As far as getting another mortgage on a home, that depends on your financial situation and if the bank thinks your a high risk or not. If you move and you won't be having any significant income for a short time, the bank will probably look at your situation as being high risk seeing you already have another mortgage out somewhere else and what happens if your renters suddenly move out and leave you with 2 mortgage payments? Would you be able to afford both. Don't rely on others (especially strangers) to continue paying your mortgage for you in Michigan. As far as scoping things out for schools, jobs and so forth, you should be doing that now taking a few trips down there and doing that not wait until after you move and realize your not liking where you are.

beccasbank · 10-30-2007, 01:44 PM

Thanks for the info on medicaid. Very helpful. I had no idea it wouldn't transfer. The mortgage thing I was thinking along the same lines as you daniel. We were in Knoxville in May, but not for very long. But lemme tell ya, it seems like Oz compared to Flint !! I think we've decided we will be returning after the first of the year on a monthly basis to get the feel of things. (As much as we can, not being locals.) Especially for schools, because in the summer, they're mostly closed.

turbochick · 10-30-2007, 02:01 PM

I moved here about 3 years ago, from Michigan - got out before everything really went downhill and am glad I did!

I'm lucky, my sister lives here (going on 14 years) and she helped out a lot when I first moved down.

You really need to give yourself plenty of time to look around and determine what area fits your needs.

I have friends who couldn't sell their home, finally had to rent it out, and moved to the Carolinas. Make sure you get a really good management firm, who will really screen your applicants. You won't be up there to monitor the housing situation, and you don't want to end up with damaged property that would require a lot of money to repair.

And if those renters bail on you....how will you handle two mortgages? Make sure you have a backup plan...really important!

If you can give yourself at least 6-8 weeks, plan for that. Minimum - 4 weeks. Start getting Chamber of Commerce material now, so you can go through all of it and map out a game plan when you get here.

My son will be living here when he gets out of the Air Force (very soon, on his fourth deployment in Iraq) and my older sister is moving here in 3 years, then my entire family will be here.

There are a few headaches, no more or less than other places, but I do love the area, and all the people I have spoken with or worked with, talked to and encountered have been great, very positive!

My best to you!

Debs

daniellefort · 10-30-2007, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beccasbank

Thanks for the info on medicaid. Very helpful. I had no idea it wouldn't transfer. The mortgage thing I was thinking along the same lines as you daniel. We were in Knoxville in May, but not for very long. But lemme tell ya, it seems like Oz compared to Flint !! I think we've decided we will be returning after the first of the year on a monthly basis to get the feel of things. (As much as we can, not being locals.) Especially for schools, because in the summer, they're mostly closed.

Best thing to do to get a feel for an area too is to ask residents who live in the area. It's great to get opinions from people on here but it's nothing like getting it straight from the locals who actually live in that environment and are your potential neighbors. That's what we did. We just asked the people how they liked the area. We asked people who worked in the grocery stores, the restaurants, the banks, even some officers on foot patrol duty that we ran into gave us stats about the crime in the area.

beccasbank · 10-30-2007, 02:29 PM

Thanks Daniel. I'm pretty outgoing, and can talk easily with strangers. Up here, some people think I've lost it because I strike up conversations with people I don't know, but down there it seems more acceptable. I will do that on our next trip.

beccasbank · 10-30-2007, 02:36 PM

Turbochick- Good for you getting away from here! We too have family down there; a cousin and his family, an aunt and uncle, and a few other distant relatives, and they will help with a place to stay (though we may get a motel room for a week or so) while we are scoping out things. Of course, I will be doing alot of this without my hubby because he will work with his cousin doing tile while we are there. I have looked at the Chamber of Knoxville's website, and really didn't see much. Any other ideas?

daniellefort · 10-30-2007, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beccasbank

Turbochick- Good for you getting away from here! We too have family down there; a cousin and his family, an aunt and uncle, and a few other distant relatives, and they will help with a place to stay (though we may get a motel room for a week or so) while we are scoping out things. Of course, I will be doing alot of this without my hubby because he will work with his cousin doing tile while we are there. I have looked at the Chamber of Knoxville's website, and really didn't see much. Any other ideas?

If you can find a phone number for the Chamber (i'm sure it's online somewhere), give them a call and ask them to send you some info in the mail. I did that and i got all kinds of stuff in the mail from maps, to city guides, buisiness, statistics, etc. The online web sites don't offer as much info as they have more written materials sitting in their offices and it's easier to read when you can sit back and take a good look at it instead of weaving through all their web pages.

beccasbank · 10-30-2007, 02:43 PM

Oh! Cool! Thanks!

darkholme · 10-30-2007, 03:47 PM

Wow, another Michigan ex-pat, LOL. I am moving to Knoxville from Michigan too. I make the big move next week.

I can tell you what helped me. Start reading the Knoxville paper online, knoxnews.com : Knoxville, Tennessee, News, Business, Homes, Jobs, Cars & Information - it's given me a good idea of local goings-on. This forum itself has been a huge help too! Another good source of info has been the UTK website. All the info to get new students acclimated to the area has been pretty helpful.

I got some good info requesting a relocation packet here too: Knoxville Relocation Information

The relocation info packet from my employer tells me that the big banks (that aren't exclusive to TN) seem to be AmSouth, Suntrust, and Bank of America.

Good luck with your move. I am going to miss Michigan so much, but I'm excited to make my home in Knoxville for a little while. When I was there for my home-hunting I just fell in love with all of the hills.