Hardin Local E35: Money Moves Debuts, Towne Mall Renamed

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What We Covered This Week

Something was different this week, and Rachel Brantingham said so in the first ten seconds. Grafton Sizemore, the Motto Mortgage loan officer who guested two weeks ago, is stuck with us now. He is a weekly co-host, and around the desk he is just G. Phil Taul and Scott Lucas were working behind the scenes, still here, just not on camera. And for the first time the show went out live on Instagram alongside Facebook and YouTube.

The episode was built around Grafton's first Money Moves with G, and he used it the way he means to use it every week: disclaimer first, no exact rate numbers, and then one myth taken apart in plain English. This week it was the belief that you need 20 percent down to buy a house. Rachel had just put the county's median sold price at $307,495. Grafton did the math on what 3.5 percent of a $300,000 home actually is, and what it means for a renter who assumed the door was closed.

Around that centerpiece the show ran full. Jon O'Brien had a Labor Day Saturday so stacked he told people to pick a lane. Nate Bryan said he has been told Towne Mall is becoming City Center, with a grand opening date in October, while two local businesses closed the same week. Rachel's own numbers answered the question she asked last week about whether buyers could absorb the county's inventory. And Britten and Michele McDowell did something the Experienced Eater has never done: they went back to a restaurant they had already reviewed, and Britten found a new favorite there.

In This Episode

Hardin County This Week

Hardin County This Week — with Jon O'Brien

Saturday, September 5 has cross country under the lights at Elizabethtown Sports Park, Finley Fest in West Point, Spirits, Squatches and Stories at Fort Duffield and Little Shop of Horrors at The PAC. Jon also has football on Thursday and Friday, the Hardin County Stand Down for veterans, Fort Knox gate closures for the holiday weekend, and the last two Thursdays of the downtown walking tour.

Nate's Business Buzz

Nate's Business Buzz

Nate says he has been told Towne Mall will be renamed City Center with an October 1 grand opening. American Eagle opened this week, Sierra Trading, Bath and Body Works and Visionworks follow in September, and Nate says Publix is still on for the 23rd. Bean Cove at Lincoln Centre and Whispering Dandelions Farm are closing, and St John Uniform is moving next door.

Hardin County Housing Market

Hardin County Housing Market — with Rachel Brantingham

Twenty eight new listings came on and active inventory still fell to 439, because 24 homes went under contract. Rachel breaks the county into its price tiers, from the competitive market under $250,000 to the buyer's market above $400,000, and explains why contract releases are the thing she is watching.

Money Moves with G

Money Moves with G — with Grafton Sizemore

The first one. Grafton opens with his disclaimer, explains why he will not give an exact rate on air, and takes apart the 20 percent down myth: what FHA, VA and rural housing minimums look like, what mortgage insurance really protects, how to shop lenders on the base rate, and why a ten year renter is not locked out. Education, not advice.

The Experienced Eater

The Experienced Eater — Britten & Michele McDowell

The segment's first revisit. Britten and Michele go back to Namaste Indian Cuisine and Bar for meat samosas, gobi, cheese and garlic naan, chicken tikka and lamb korma, and Britten lays out exactly what to order if you have never tried Indian food.

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Episode Highlights

"This week I want to debunk the idea that you have to have 20 percent down to buy a house. It's just not the case." — Grafton, Motto Mortgage

"There's a lot of stuff on Saturday, so you can't do it all. You've got to kind of pick." — Jon, Events Host

"I've been told October 1st is the grand opening of City Center, which is the new name of Towne Mall." — Nate, Business News

"Don't ask yourself, is this a fair request. The actual question is, is it worth losing the deal over?" — Rachel, Lead Host

"It doesn't have to be hot. You can get it mild, but it's just a flavor bomb." — Britten, The Experienced Eater