It’s December and Kansas City residents who have been keeping an eye on the real estate market may be beginning to see renewed signs of life. The stirrings are still relatively minor, but those of us who have studied the ups and downs of real estate markets for the past decade or two know this is what happens right before substantial activity gathers wider attention.
Read moreFive Questions to Ask When You're Interviewing Agents
You don’t have to be real estate expert to offer your home for sale, but especially in today’s ever changing and challenging market, it’s all but a necessity to join forces with a real estate agent who is.
Residential real estate in Kansas City is still selling, but the market is not one which favors those who leave the details to chance. As much as any time in the past, success belongs to those who prepare for success. And one of the most important steps in the process is also one of the first steps -- choosing your greatest ally, your listing agent.
Thorough preparation will mean interviewing at least three real estate agents. Keep in mind...
Read moreHelpful Foreclosure Alternatives (Video)
There are many people today facing financial hardship. This hardship can often time lead to an inability to make your mortgage payment. But don't give up hope & figure foreclosure if your only option. In fact most lenders are getting much better at helping sellers with available alternatives.
Read moreMortgage Rates are Great & You do Qualify!
Running through my daily news this morning caused me to finally get agitated enough to write a blog post. I've referenced an article where the author claims over 90% of the public can't get a sub 4% mortgage. I've not done any studies, but anecdotally it's entirely false. Every one of my buyers this year has been within .25% of prime regardless of their credit score or down payment, and most have been at prime!
Read moreBusiness is Slow... I know, lets lobby Congress!
To me there is a real problem with this headline. It isn't the American way! I read an article this morning which is referenced and you can see HERE speaking about the National Association of Home Builders lobbying Congress for stricter energy efficiency standards on older homes.
This is of course mostly because they're concerned with the environment and saving our resources, and not because they aren't building as many houses I'm sure. Most of you will see the sarcasm in that sentence. There once was a time in American business where owners and associations would innovate, differentiate and make the public demand their service or product. Now so many want the Government to mandate their product or service on the public.
This is absolutely backward from the real vision for America. There is also the potential far reaching impacts on the real estate market if such a mandate were to be passed. Some people buy new homes for the energy efficiency aspect. If their old home is no longer drafty, or if they can now heat/cool it for 50% less there is now one less incentive to move.
Perhaps I'm off base, but I'd like to see American business on all levels get back to the American way of doing business! Get out and compete! Innovate, not legislate! It's the only way to be... Am I wrong?
One Mans Trash is another Man's Sustainable Building Resource
A real idea that could green up the building industry. If you truly care about the environment why not show it, build your home out of the waste from others.
Read moreRealtors Request Looser Credit Requirements...
Does the premise of that headline sound like a good idea to anyone? Remember when things started to fall apart in Real Estate starting around 2007? Why in the world would people want looser credit requirements? I have a feeling that some Realtors are getting tired of not making any EASY money.
Read moreBe Sure You Avoid Sellers' Worst Mistakes
A recent snippet found in the daily Realtor news showed the Home Sellers worst mistakes are as follows.
- Over pricing the Home
- Relying too much on just comps
- Failing to take into account the homes web appeal
- Hovering During showings
OVER PRICING THE HOME:
Most of my success has come from making sure all of these are covered. Starting with overpricing the home. I will not take a listing if the seller and I are unable to agree on price. Pricing a home too high is a waste of time for the Seller, Realtor and Buyer. So it's best to price the home according to market value from the start and get it sold much more quickly.
RELYING TOO MUCH ON JUST COMPS:
I want to take my sellers and see the competition before we list the home. If we base our entire strategy on what we see in pictures and on paper we could be missing the boat in a big way. One must see a home to know for certain how it stacks up. Perhaps one has a lot more living space, but needs updating and repairs. There are too many variables to judge the competition without seeing it in person.
Take & Post A LOT of Pictures!
FAILING TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE HOMES WEB APPEAL:
The one thing I do that differentiates me so tremendously from my competition is photography and web marketing. Having all the pictures in the world is useless if you don't take the time to post them. When you're searching out homes to buy or just for fun you'll often find yourself not looking at homes with little or no pictures. Well most other home buyers are the same. No matter how small the home is there needs to be a minimum of 25 high quality pictures out there to be seen.
HOVERING DURING SHOWINGS:
It's never a good idea for sellers to be around for showings. This makes the buyers nervous and will most times cause them to rush through the home missing many features. It's also very hard to talk about the pros and cons of a home when a seller is present. So whenever possible (Not bedridden) the sellers should vacate the home for all showings.
Taking care of this and more has caused me to end up in the top 2.5% of all agents in the KC metro with respect for number of days on the market. I pride myself on quick sales for close to asking price. All of the steps mentioned above represent my "secret sauce" to accomplishing this.