How Do You Plan a Move to Tennessee National in 12 Months?

Most moves do not go wrong on the big decision. They go wrong on the order. People fall for a place, then try to sell a house, arrange the money and book movers all at once.

This is the calmer way. One job at a time, across twelve months. The destination is Tennessee National, a private, gated lake and golf community on Watts Bar Lake in Loudon, Tennessee, about 30 minutes from Knoxville. Change the pace to fit your life. Keep the order.

What does a 12-month relocation plan look like?

Five stages, each with one job.

Months 1 and 2: what should you decide before you shop?

Decide what kind of move this is. Full-time, or part of the year? Build a custom home, or buy one that is finished? Woods, lake or waterfront out the window?

Tennessee National gives you five ways to own: The Timbers (wooded homesites), lake homesites, waterfront homesites, Land & Home packages, and townhomes. Finished homes are listed on the properties page. Narrowing that early keeps the rest of the year simple. Pricing is in the info pack.

This is also the time for the tax conversation. Tennessee has no state income tax. That matters most when Tennessee becomes your primary home. Ask a CPA what a residency change would mean for your own return, and have that talk before you set a budget.

Months 3 and 4: what should the first visit cover?

The course, the marina, the streets and the lake. Use the first trip to look, not to decide.

Fly into McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS), about 35 minutes from the gate, or drive in on I-75, about 10 minutes away. Farragut is about 20 minutes from the community and makes a handy base.

While you are here:

• See the Greg Norman Signature course. 18 holes, 7,393 yards, par 72.
• Walk the full-service marina and the lakefront boardwalk in the Marina District.
• Ride the streets by golf cart. It is a golf cart community, and it reads differently from a cart than from a car.
• Give the lake a full afternoon. Watts Bar Lake has 722 miles of shoreline.

Write down which settings you keep thinking about. Our two-day visit itinerary lays out a first trip.

Months 5 and 6: how do you choose how to own?

By coming back and getting specific. Walk homesites in different settings. If you like the water, ask how the lake looks from that homesite in winter. Watts Bar's level changes about 5 to 6 feet between summer and winter.

Make this second visit in a different season. One great weekend in May tells you about May.

One fact makes a 12-month plan realistic. There is no deadline to build after you buy a homesite. You can secure the place now and build next year or later. That separates the two hardest parts of a move: choosing the right property and timing the move itself.

If you would rather move sooner, look at townhomes and finished homes instead of a build.

Months 7 to 9: how do you line up money and design?

Settle how you will pay, then start the design or close on the finished home.

• Money. Arrange financing or plan a cash purchase. A lender can explain how homesite loans and construction loans differ.
• Your current home. Decide whether to sell first and rent nearby, or carry two homes for a while. See sell first or buy first.
• Paperwork. Ask for the HOA documents and current fees in writing before you close.
• Design. Homes at Tennessee National are custom built and go through design review. If you are building, choose a builder and ask for a real schedule.

Months 10 to 12: what does the move itself involve?

Movers, residency and routines, in that order.

Sell or lease your old home and book the movers. Tell the community team your dates early. Our guide to moving into a gated lake community covers move day.

Then handle residency on purpose: driver license, vehicle registration, voter registration and address changes. See how to establish Tennessee residency. Knoxville is about 30 minutes away, so set up doctors and other routines there early.

Then comes the good part. Get on the water. Get on the course. Get on the calendar. Tennessee National has 22 social clubs and 180+ events a year. You do not have to build a community here. You join one.

Which mistakes does this order prevent?

Three, and each one is common.

• Selling before you have a destination. A house can sell faster than you expect. Then you are choosing a community under deadline. Because there is no deadline to build here, you can flip the order: secure the homesite first, then sell on your own terms.
• Skipping the second visit. A second trip, in another season and to other settings, is what separates a confident purchase from a hopeful one.
• Treating residency as an afterthought. Buying a home does not change your residency by itself. Do the steps in the last stage on purpose, and ask a CPA what your former state looks at.

The honest trade-offs

• Twelve months does not finish a custom home. If you build, a year gets you a homesite, a design and a builder under way. Ask your builder for a schedule, and plan where you will live in the meantime.
• Your old house may not cooperate. The plan assumes it sells about when you expect. Have a fallback.
• Two visits cost time and money. They cost less than a wrong decision.
• A year is a guide, not a rule. If any stage needs longer, let it.

A year sounds long. It goes quickly when each month has one job.

Facts about Tennessee National come from the community. Lake facts come from TVA. Rules, taxes, loans and insurance change, so confirm anything that affects a purchase with the right office or professional before you buy.