Is your rental protected 100% of the time, or only 99%?

Tennessee real estate investors face lawsuit risk, insurance gaps, and a cooling rental market at the same time.

Chad Williams, a REALTOR® and auctioneer with Thompson Williams Properties, talks with Tim Richards, a Franklin real estate broker who spent almost 25 years in insurance before moving into property management.

Tim explains how landlords can limit lawsuit risk, get their insurance right, keep good tenants with tighter systems and AI, and read today’s Middle Tennessee market.

About Tim Richards:

Tim Richards – Franklin, Tennessee real estate broker and former insurance agency manager who spent almost 25 years in property and casualty insurance. His Real Property Management franchise manages just under 100 doors and ranks in the top 10% for profitability among the system’s 460 offices.

What you’re learn:

• Smoke detector checks need tenant sign-off, not just maintenance visits

• Liability limits should protect your net worth, not just one property

• Renters insurance extras: contents coverage and medical payments to others

• Tenant screening: the best bad tenant never gets through the door

• Tenant turnover is largely shaped by the first 90 days after move-in

• Millennial and Gen Z renters prefer texting over phone calls

• Nashville is now the No. 2 buyer’s market in the U.S., behind Miami

Key Questions Answered:

Q: Why are rental properties so prone to lawsuits?

→ A: Because property management is adversarial by nature, says Tim Richards, a Franklin real estate broker and former insurance agency manager. Investors want the highest return, tenants want to pay as little as possible, and that friction breeds problems.

Q: What should I do if a tenant takes down a chirping smoke detector?

→ A: Remind the tenant that smoke detectors are a non-negotiable safety feature. During mid-lease wellness checks, Tim’s team does exactly that and confirms the detector was reinstalled and tested.

Q: What extra liability coverage should a rental investor consider?

→ A: At minimum, a personal liability umbrella. Tim adds that, depending on how the investments are owned, a commercial liability umbrella may also be needed, and every case is fact dependent.

Q: Who handles repairs after AI dispatches a maintenance request?

→ A: A deep bench of vetted, trusted, and insured vendors, many of whom Tim has known since his insurance career. His team also handles some jobs itself, and the AI knows when not to dispatch.

Q: How can I tell if a housing market is healthy?

→ A: Check months of inventory and the list-to-contract ratio. Tim says a healthy market has about six months of inventory and a list-to-contract ratio of about 4 to 1.

Chapters:

• (0:25) - Who Is Tim Richards?

• (6:38) - Banking Roots, Insurance Experience

• (10:53) - Starting a Property Management Company

• (13:38) - Growth Across Williamson County

• (19:13) - Rental Risks Owners Often Miss

• (20:49) - Testing and Documenting Smoke Alarms

• (23:29) - Coverage and Property Ownership

• (26:25) - Home Prices and Borrowing Costs

• (29:00) - Proof of Coverage vs. Protection

• (35:17) - Applying One Tenant Screening Standard

• (37:10) - A Cooler Middle Tennessee Market

• (39:03) - Coordinating Rentals With AI

• (46:27) - Family Values and Lasting Impact

• (50:13) - How to Connect With Tim

CONNECT WITH TIM RICHARDS:

• Website: https://www.titanrpm.com/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timrichardstn

CONNECT WITH CHAD WILLIAMS:

• Website: https://thompson-williams.com/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RealtorAuctioneerChadWilliams/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thompsonwilliamsproperties/

#ChadWilliams #SmokyMountainsRealEstate #SeviervilleRealEstate #GatlinburgRealEstate #PigeonForgeRealEstate #EastTennesseeRealEstate #ThompsonWilliamsProperties #TennesseeRealtor #RealEstateAuction

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Produced by Icons of Real Estate – https://iconsofrealestate.com/

Two bedrooms of clothing earned as much as a whole house. Devon Burkhart shares what families miss when they clear a home.

Host Chad Williams talks with Devon Burkhart, a REALTOR and founder of Chic Flips Home Transitions in Knoxville, Tennessee, about what families miss when they clear out a loved one's home: hidden value in clothing, manuals and furniture, and why a professional should look before anything is thrown away.

They also cover emotional attachment to heirlooms, why a clear plan is a gift to your family, and which updates pay off before you list.

🔑 In this episode, you'll learn:

• Spot the value in what looks like junk: manuals, clothing and a broken table leg all found buyers.

• Start an inherited house with a free in-home or video consultation before anything gets moved.

• Defuse attachment to heirlooms by keeping one place setting of china or turning the piano into a canvas photo.

• Hand your family the pieces you want them to keep now, while you can watch them use it.

• Put curb appeal and safety fixes ahead of a full repaint that costs $30,000 and returns $10,000.

Key questions answered in this episode:

Q: What should I do first when I inherit a house full of my parents' belongings?

A: Book a free in-home consultation, or a video walkthrough if you live out of state, so a professional sees the situation before you make a plan, says Devon Burkhart of Chic Flips Home Transitions.

Q: Is it worth renovating an inherited house before you sell it?

A: Usually not at the scale people imagine: a $30,000 repaint and remodel might add $10,000 to the price, so start with curb appeal and any safety repairs instead, says Devon Burkhart of Chic Flips Home Transitions.

Q: What can I do when a family member is too attached to a parent's belongings to sell them?

A: Let them set a reserve, show them the market research, or keep one piece: a place setting of china, or a canvas photo of the piano, says Devon Burkhart of Chic Flips Home Transitions.

Q: How can I make it easier for my kids to handle my belongings after I'm gone?

A: Give away the items you want your family to have now and keep a binder with your wishes, so you leave a gift instead of unanswered questions, says Devon Burkhart of Chic Flips Home Transitions.

⏳ Chapters:

00:00 Meet Devon Burkhart and Chic Flips

04:31 First steps and hidden value in an estate

10:36 The table leg story: one man's trash

13:27 Heirlooms and emotional attachment

18:36 One project manager and the weirdest finds

22:48 Curb appeal, grief and legacy advice

28:29 Wins and losses: cash found in estates

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🎧 HOSTED BY: Chad Williams | REALTOR & Auctioneer | Call It Sold

👤 GUEST: Devon Burkhart | REALTOR and Founder, Chic Flips Home Transitions

👉🏻 CONNECT WITH DEVON BURKHART:

• Website: https://www.chicflipssales.com/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DevonBurkhartRealtor/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chicflipstn/

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@chicflipstn

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devonburkhartrealtor/

👉🏻 CONNECT WITH CHAD WILLIAMS:

• Website: https://thompson-williams.com/

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyRENDKHEvZdT4xaN6S-0Kw

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thompsonwilliamsproperties/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RealtorAuctioneerChadWilliams/

#CallItSold #ChadWilliams #DevonBurkhart #EstateSales

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💎 Produced by Icons of Real Estate

How do you leave a generational legacy your kids will actually be proud of? Pastor Chad Stowers shares the blueprint on Call It Sold.

On this episode of Call It Sold, host Chad Williams, a REALTOR and auctioneer with Thompson Williams Properties serving Sevier County and the Smoky Mountains, sits down with Chad Stowers, Community Pastor at Seymour Heights Christian Church in Seymour, Tennessee. Together, they explore the tension between faraway missions and loving the neighbor next door, how small groups turn large congregations into supportive families during hard seasons, and why generational service begins with small, daily acts of kindness at home.

Whether you are looking to deepen your local community roots, lead your family with purpose, or build a legacy that outlasts you, this episode delivers practical, faith-rooted wisdom.

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🎧 HOSTED BY: Chad Williams | REALTOR & Auctioneer | Call It Sold

👤 GUEST: Chad Stowers | Community Pastor, Seymour Heights Christian Church

👉🏻 CONNECT WITH CHAD STOWERS:

• Website: https://www.seymourheights.org/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SeymourHeights/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seymourheightsc/

👉🏻 CONNECT WITH CHAD WILLIAMS:

• Website: https://thompson-williams.com/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RealtorAuctioneerChadWilliams/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thompsonwilliamsproperties/

#CallItSold #ChadWilliams #ChadStowers #SeymourTN #SmokyMountainsRealEstate #CommunityFirst #GenerationalLegacy

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💎 Produced by Icons of Real Estate