Kansas City North Real Estate Blog

Looking for a Real Estate Deal in Kansas City

You know everyone is looking for a "Deal" these days, but what most real estate buyers don't understand is that sometimes the "deals" aren't so obvious at first glance. Most buyers today assume that Short Sales and Bank Foreclosures are where the deals are, but I've personally found that Relocation sales and even regular home sales can also be some fantastic deals as well.

For example, I just recently sold a home that was a Relocation sale. The original homeowner had negotiated a "buy-out" option for his home since his employer wanted him to move to California quickly. In April 2011 we got two appraisals for the home with an average suggested value of $435,000 and the company bought his home.  

After buying the home, the employer/company contacted me to sell the home. Because the company didn't want to hold this property for more than a few months, we put the home on the market at $420,000. With an appraisal price of $435,000 I thought this home would sell pretty quickly at a discounted price, but unfortunately when we put this home on the market there was a lot of competition in the area so we ultimately had to lower the price two times. We finally got a buyer several months later and negotiated a final purchase price of $365,000. A $70,000 discount!! Now that's what I call a deal.

Another buyer I was working with was willing to pay full price for a great home priced at $165,000.  This week the appraisal came in at $188,000!!! This was NOT a short sale or a bank repo.  The inspections were very clean and it's a great home.  The seller just needed to sell and had it aggressively priced. 

If you're looking for a deal in Kansas City, give me a call and let's see if we can find YOU a great deal on a home.

 

Ron Henderson, Keller Williams Northland Partners, Kansas City MO 816-651-9001

 

 

10.5 Home Features Buyers Want In Kansas City North Homes for Sale

Here are some items that I often hear buyers talk about when I show them Kansas City North homes for sale. If you are a seller, some of these are easily accomplished while others are things out of your control. In those cases, just remember that pricing the home right is the key to selling.

1. New Carpet – buyers want to SEE what the home will look like and they can’t imagine new frieze carpet, nor do they want to foot the bill for new carpet.

2. Warm, earth tone colors – Sherwin Williams Taupe Tone (SW7633) and Modern Gray (SW7632) are great suggestions for just about any home.

3. Good schools.

4. Granite counters – almost everyone loves granite and it’s still considered a big upgrade in the mind of a buyer.  If you’re selling a home that’s over $300,000 in the Kansas City area buyers will expect granite counters in the kitchen.  If it’s over $400,000 they will expect it in the master bath too.

5. Lots of custom trim.

6. Larger kitchens.

7. Stainless steel appliances – white appliances are out under any circumstances. If you don’t go with stainless steel, at least go with all black appliances.

8. New or newer (less than 10 years old) furnace, air conditioner, and roof.

9. Updated light and plumbing fixtures.

10. Extensive landscaping to give the home good curb appeal.

10.5 Something different – most buyers do not want to look out their front window and see the exact same home across the street or next door.  They want to feel like their home is special. Adding a unique kitchen island or a bar in the basement rec room, a beautiful framed mirror in the master bath, or an outdoor living space are all great "something different" ideas.

If you are thinking about putting your Kansas City North home for sale, please call me, Ron Henderson, at 816-651-9001. I can tell you what changes you could make that will help you home sell quickly. I also pay for a professional stager to come to your house to help you with the detail and I pay for a professional photographer to make your home stand out from all the other Kansas City North homes for sale!

 

Map Out Your New Smithville, MO Home

Find your new home at Smithville, MO Real Estate then call me when you are ready to look!

Ron Henderson & Associates

816-651-9001

Most Popular Smithville, MO Homes for Sale

Curious as to what the most popular homes for sale in Smithville, MO might be? Click the picture above to see them!

Search ALL Kansas City area homes.

 

CALL ME with your favorites to see them TODAY! - Ron Henderson 816-651-9001 or ronhenderson@kw.com

Most Popular Lee's Summit Homes for Sale

http://www.kansascitynorth-realestate.com

What are the most popular Lee's Summit, MO homes for sale? Well these are the ones getting the most click on my website. HURRY and CALL ME to see your favorites before they are GONE!

Most Popular Lee's Summit Homes for Sale

 

Ron Henderson & Associates

Keller Williams Realty

816-651-9001

How Rising Interest Rates Will Impact Your Ability to Buy a Larger Home in Kansas City

In a recent Forbes blog post, multimillionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson declared that today’s record-low interest rates made this the best time to buy homes in fifty years. “If you don’t own a home, buy one,” Paulson said. “If you own one home, buy another one, and if you own two homes, buy a third and lend your relatives the money to buy a home.”  Why should we care what Paulson thinks? Well, he was among the few to accurately predict the subprime collapse and, while no one has a crystal ball, a closer look at the numbers supports his call to action.

Historically low interest rates are the key…and they aren’t likely to hang around for long.

As we wrote in SHIFT, buyers who “choose to wait until prices come down more” are gambling that interest rates will hold steady or drop. The truth is even a 10 percent drop in home prices is nullified by a 1 percent increase in interest rates. The figure below illustrates how this works for a $250,000 home purchase and the relative likelihood of each scenario.

To figure out which was a smarter bet–counting on home prices to fall further or interest rates to rise–our research department took the last ten years of monthly home price and mortgage interest rate data and ran the numbers to see which was more likely: an increase in mortgage rates or a further drop in home prices. Here’s what we found:

1. A one percent increase in mortgage rates is ten times more likely to happen than a ten percent drop in home prices.
2. A one percent rate increase more than offsets a ten percent reduction in home prices.
3. When interest rates fall by one percent, the total interest paid is almost three times more than the interest savings from a ten percent drop in home prices.
4. The probability of both happening at the same time is ridiculously small, and homeowners would still pay 15 percent more in interest over the life of the loan.

Read the rest of the article here 

How Rising Interest Rates Will Impact Home Affordability

In a recent Forbes blog post, multimillionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson declared that today’s record-low interest rates made this the best time to buy homes in fifty years. “If you don’t own a home, buy one,” Paulson said. “If you own one home, buy another one, and if you own two homes, buy a third and lend your relatives the money to buy a home.”  Why should we care what Paulson thinks? Well, he was among the few to accurately predict the subprime collapse and, while no one has a crystal ball, a closer look at the numbers supports his call to action.

click here to read the full story  blog.kw.com

The Perfect Time to Buy a Home in Kansas City

If you haven't heard already, interest rates are obscenely low. In fact, these are probably the lowest rates we'll see for a long time. When interest rates are this low, that means YOU can afford more house. We've seen a buyer's market for a few years now and housing prices are starting to make the turn of leveling out instead of dropping.

If you've been thinking of going from renting to owning, or if you are considering buying a bigger home, or even downsizing...NOW is the time!

Download this free ebook to get a better picture of the market: Download 7 Reasons Why to Buy Now

30% of Home Sales Don't Close On Time

According to a recent survey of Keller Williams agents across North America, the majority of homes close on time, but what can keep a home from closing?

Common Reasons for Delayed Closings

1. Short sale approval took longer than expected

2. Appraisal issues

3. Lender took too long

4. Loan underwriting took longer than expected

5. Additional documentation needed

6. Buyer did not provided documents to lender in a timely fashion

7. Home repairs needed to be conducted

8. Could not close with an active dispute on credit

9. Additional requirements by down payment assistance program

10. FHA loan requirements took additional time to complete

11. HOA application

12. Escrow company did not complete all required activities in a timely manner

13. Title issues

If you'll notice, 8 of these have to do with the lender. That's why it's so important for you as a consumer to go with a lender recommended by your real estate agent.

There are a ton of mortgage companies out there which give you a lot of options as far as who you'd like to work with. The fact is though, that in the end, you are only going to work with one lender. Your agent on the other hand, has had the opportunity to work with lots of lenders, because sometimes clients come to their agent with the lender already chosen. Thus the agent is forced to complete the deal with a lender they don't know. The agent quickly learns who is a good lender and who is not.

So when you're buying a home in Kansas City and your agent gives you some lenders to call, be sure to do exactly that. Your transaction is much more likely to close on time if your agent already has a relationship with your lender.

The lender wants to keep the agent happy so that the agent continues to send them business. Additionally, the agent gets absolutely no financial gain from recommending a lender to you. Lenders are prohibited by law from paying agents for referrals. The only advantage an agent gets when you choose a lender they recommend is peace of mind! And that means YOUR transaction is more likely to be a piece of cake rather than a delayed mess!

-Elizabeth Gilbert, Licensed Executive Assistant

The Ultimate Guide to Moving to a New Place

Being in the real estate industry, I read a lot of articles related to home ownership. I found this one to be particularly interesting. Moving your entire household can be a huge ordeal, probably only just a little easier than planning a wedding! And if you're getting married AND planning to move, I hope you carry a bottle of aspirin with you wherever you go.

This is a great article from Adam Dachis over at lifehacker.com. If you've never visited their site, you should. A lot of it is tech related, but they do have some practical, hands-on advice as well.

Check out the article here. Got any great stories about moving? Be sure to share them with us!