Derrick Merritt - The Real Estate Firm

01/11/2026

I’ve been very busy this week with real estate. Had a closing on Thursday. Wrote an offer on Sunday and went under contract on that property today. Also wrote an offer on a lake home today that has been presented to the seller. Will be listing their other lakefront home if they go under contract. Going to Kingsport tomorrow to show a home. Listing a home on Wednesday so be looking for that one. It’s a 3 br 2 ba 1200sq ft home in Maynardville.
Give me a call if I can help you in any way.
865-770-4030 office
865-256-0274 cell

02/03/2025

I think this is going to be my new marketing strategy in 2025. Give me a call. 865-256-0274

10/16/2024

Great agents make it easy to be a boss.

- Happy Boss's Day -

We would like to take this opportunity to wish our Owner and Principal Brokers a happy Boss's Day. We feel fortunate to be part of the team that you all are leading to great success and we hope you have a fantastic day! With love from all the agents and staff.

The Real Estate Firm
www.TREFTN.com

07/10/2024

In the real estate business you definitely have to have thick skin. You will help people, go out of your way to give advice, be johnny on the spot, and even be a family member or close friend and then you'll see that they just bought a house or just listed a house and you were never invited to the party, so to speak. Oh you were pumped for that, "let me ask you a question about real estate" advice. In some cases you were hit up several times for advice. It's easy to take those things personal and even get down on yourself or them and get aggravated but if you want longevity you have to be able to move forward and understand that it's not always personal. Sometimes people just don't understand the process. I'd say a majority of people don't even fully understand how real estate agents get paid. I get asked for "free advice" all the time when it comes to real estate, and I continue to help people when and where I can with no strings attached. That has probably cost me over the years but so be it. If they decide to let me help them with the buying and selling process, then that's great. If not, I hope they have success whether I'm involved or not. I've been in this business for almost 20 years and I've helped hundreds of people and families and I will continue to do so. When I take on new clients, I want them to want to work with me and not feel obligated just because I'm a Realtor and they know me or are family. I have an absolutely huge family and so does Scarlett but over the years I can count the number of family members that I've worked with on 1 hand. That's not a very good percentage with the size of our families. For a long time that bothered me but then I got over it. lol. I had to understand that people have all kinds of other circles of people that they know and interact with and let me tell you, it seems like everybody is either a real estate agent or knows one or ten...lol...I tell people if they want honesty, if they want a hard worker, and if they want someone that knows the business and has weathered the storms with a proven track record then use me and if not, no harm no foul. Use who you feel comfortable with because there are a lot of good real estate agents out there but beware, because there are also a lot of fly by night ones. God bless and have a wonderful rest of the week. Derrick Merritt - The Real Estate Firm

06/27/2024

There are 1.5 million real estate agents in the US and 1.7 million homes for sale in the US.
There are 35,000 real estate agents in Tennessee and 40,000 homes for sale in Tennessee.
So, these statistics show that the profession is flooded. This would roughly be 1.1 home listings for each Realtor in Tennessee. However, just like any profession the rule is that usually plays out is that 20% of the workforce does 80% of the work. Yes, there are a lot of Realtors but many only do it P/T or as a side gig. Shoot, everyone knows at least 10 Realtors and 5 of them are family members. Many got their license to make "easy money". This always happens in any industry when things are good. In all honesty, the past 5-6 years a trained monkey could sell a home because all we had to do was list it on the MLS and it sold but about a year ago things changed. Now, we are in the weeding out phase of the industry. The "Easy Money" phase has come and gone. As a result, many agents will abandon the profession because they are not rooted and selling a home is not "easy" anymore. More effort, time, and ingenuity has to be put into selling a home. Commission checks will be fewer and farther between. So, when you're looking to buy or sell be sure to find an agent that has weathered the storms of the ups and downs during the market shifts.

04/27/2024

04/27/2024

I'd like to stress how important it is to get a local Realtor to handle selling and buying of your home and land. I was just looking at some new listings and found one that should have been listed under Union County but the agent has it listed under Unicoi County. People searching for properties in Union county will never see that property. I've actually seen this before. It's because the agents are not from here and don't even know what County we're in. I'm a local agent that's been here and lives here. I mainly serve Union, Grainger, Claiborne, North Knox and Anderson counties. These are the counties that I know and have ties to. Give me a call if you're looking to sell or buy.
Derrick Merritt - The Real Estate Firm
865-256-0274 cell
865-770-4030 office

04/27/2024

I'm needing a home repair/remodeling company to do some repairs on a house. Give me a call. 865-256-0274 or message me. Thanks

04/10/2024

Please go LIKE and FOLLOW my real estate pages. Derrick Merritt - The Real Estate Firm East Tennessee Homes for Sale I Love Norris Lake
Thanks

03/25/2024

The BEAR has been awoke out of hybernation. I kinda laid back this winter with real estate but now I'm full speed ahead. I have two NEW LISTINGS that just went live Friday and will be having two more NEW LISTINGS go LIVE this Friday. Those will be a 2300 sq ft home with 10 acres and also another almost 15 acres of unrestricted property. Then the next few weeks after that I should be having another 3 land listings in Plainview/Corryton area and then a week or so after that 2 new 1600 sq ft mobile homes on over 1/2 acre lots each in New Tazewell will be listed. Oh yeah, in the next couple of weeks I'll be listing a 2br home in Luttrell that has a brand new HVAC system installed. Then after that who knows. Just stay posted to see.
Also, there's no substitute for getting an experienced Realtor. I've been in this profession for 17 years and have stood the test of time in both good and bad markets. I'm not in this as a side gig or a hobby. Many Realtors come and go. They come when the money is easy and run off when things get tough. I'm not one of those. I still have some clients from 17 years ago and some who have bought and sold 10 or more homes with me.
I may not be the shiniest tool in the box but that's because I know how to work.
Give me a call.
Derrick Merritt
Principal Broker
Derrick Merritt - The Real Estate Firm
The Real Estate Firm
865-256-0274 cell
865-770-4030 office

02/19/2024

What’s keeping you from buying a home? Derrick Merritt

02/19/2024

I probably say it wrong myself. Lol
Derrick Merritt