Kansas City North Real Estate Blog

New Team Member for Ron Henderson & Associates

Ron Henderson & Associates has a new team member. It's ME...Elizabeth Gilbert! No, not the author of Eat, Pray, Love although I would like to write a novel someday. It looks like I'll have to take a pen name or use my middle initial!

If you've ever used Ron as a Realtor, you know how friendly and knowledgeable Ron is. What he's been successfully hiding from his clients is the fact that he doesn't particularly care for the paperwork. And that's where I come in. Paperwork is my passion! I love handling all the details while Ron and his buyer specialist Christina are busy talking with clients, negotiating deals and helping all kinds of people buy and sell.

What's also cool is that I also have my real estate license. I started as an assistant in 2004 and got my license in 2006. I've sold a few homes, but for the most part, I work on the administrative side of the business.

Be on the lookout for new posts from Ron Henderson & Associates as we make 2010 our best year ever!

-Elizabeth Gilbert, Licensed Administrative Assistant

How to Choose a Great Kansas City Listing Agent

How to Choose a Great Listing Agent

Ask these 10 questions to find the best professional to sell your property.

By Jennie Phipps, FrontDoor.com 

The world is full of people who sell real estate. Some of them are smart, efficient, focused, versatile and willing to go the extra mile. And some of them aren't.

Finding an agent who will sell your home using a range of marketing tools to get you the best deal possible in a reasonable amount of time, all while charging a fair rate, takes some effort. Interview at least three candidates before you sign a contract.

Here, thanks to Alison Rogers, author of Diary of a Real Estate Rookie, and a practitioner in New York City, are 10 questions you really want to ask so you can identify the best real estate agent to sell your property.

1. How much? Ask potential agents how much they think they can sell your home for. If two agents say $600,000 and the third says $700,000, think hard. It's likely the high bid is an exaggeration to attract your business. In the trade it's known as buying a listing. In the end, you'll be the one who pays because the high price will scare away potential buyers before you inevitably drop the price.
2. How will you market it? Running a few classified ads in the local paper, listing it on the Internet and holding an open house shouldn't be the only answers. The practitioner should be able to talk about what kinds of people are likely buyers and how he will reach out to those specific people.
3. How has your business changed in the last five years? If she doesn't talk about website tours and smart phones, chances are this is not a highly wired agent. While Luddites can still sell houses, it is getting harder. And if this is one of those people who doesn't even use e-mail, you're letting yourself in for unnecessary aggravation. And you may cut yourself off from opportunities.
4. Tell me how your last two deals surprised you? Every agent has a success story, but this question will give you a much better feel for what this practitioner is like as a salesperson.
5. What's your specialty? If you're selling a starter home in a community full of young families, hiring an agent who specializes in seniors is probably a bad idea. It doesn't mean that if he only sells condos that he can't sell a house, but he may not be geared up to do the best job.
6. How many people are you selling homes for right now and what are you doing for them? It may not be a bad thing that a high-powered agent is juggling 15 homes, but don't expert her to give you personal service, although her assistant should be attentive. On the other hand, be wary of an agent with no other customers because she may lack experience and contacts.
7. What do you expect of me? A good salesperson will have expectations. He may want you to leave and take the dog when the house is shown, paint the garage, move some furniture around and scrub the tile in the bathroom. It shows that he can think like a buyer and that's a good thing.
8. What advice would you have for me if I get an offer from a buyer who wants to use an FHA loan? It wasn't very long ago when the right answer might be run the other way, but these days government-guaranteed financing from the Federal Housing Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs and state and locally managed loan assistance programs can be key to selling a property. Real estate

via www.frontdoor.com

Keller Williams RED DAY 2009

RED (Renew, Energize and Donate) Day

is a new Keller Williams Realty service initiative dedicated to improving our local communities. Keller Williams Realty associates in the and US and Canada donated their time on May 14, 2009 to renewing and energizing aspects of their local communites.

Our vision for this day was that all Keller Williams associates would actively engage in a coordinated effort to improve their local community. Activities across the US included rehabbing a house, cleaning up a local trail, providing food for the homeless, or any other service related activity needed in our communities. This will be one of the single biggest events ever undertaken in the real estate industry, and could possibly inspire others in the real estate industry to start their own community service project.

Watch a video about RED day!

The Keller Williams Kansas City Northland office coordinated our efforts with the Smithville Lake Park Services department to clean up some areas at the lake.  We spent the whole day painting public bathrooms and trimming shrubs.  It was hard work, but it was also a lot of fun.  We quickly realized the Smithville Lake park services could have kept us busy for days.  There's just so much work to go around and we were very glad to be given the opportunity to help keep our public parks clean and pretty.

 

OK, so it really wasn't "hard" work and we did have our fun too.

   

And of course you have to FEED Realtors to get them to work! Ha Ha. Cooking Services provided by our wonderful Team Leader, Brett Banks!!

Angie's List Super Service Award

I've recently received the Angie's List 2008 Super Service Award for Realtors in the Kansas City area.  They tell me they only give this award to the top 5% companies within their profession. 

If you're not familiar with Angie's List, more than 750,000 consumers use Angie's List to find high quality service companies and health care professionals in over 400 categories. From plumbers and painters to dentists and dermatologists, reviews come directly from homeowners in your area. 

Companies don't pay to be on Angie's List and can't influence the remarks, or "reviews" that local consumers place on the website.  It's a great service and if you'd like more information or would like to join, visit http://www.angieslist.com

Choosing a Top Realtor in Kansas City

10 Questions to Ask When Choosing Your REALTOR®

This list is provided to you so that you can choose a REALTOR® who will provide top-notch service and meet your unique needs.

1. How long have you been in residential real estate sales? While experience is no guarantee of skill, real estate — like many other professions — is mostly learned on the job. At minimum, it’s best to choose an agent that has at least 3 years of experience in the Kansas City market.

2. Is it your full-time job? Believe it or not, of the over 10,000 licensed agents in the greater Kansas City area, less than 25% of them are considered full time agents. This is critical information you should know, considering you’re about to sell one of your largest financial assets.

3. How many homes did you sell last year? By asking this question, you’ll get a good idea of how much experience the practitioner has. As a minimum requirement, choose a real estate agent that sold more than 10 homes last year.

4. Statistics show that most home buyers begin their new home search online.  What will you do to market my home online? If 95% of the buyers begin their home search online, wouldn’t it make sense to choose an agent that understands how to get your home the maximum online exposure it deserves?

TO READ THE COMPLETE LIST, CLICK HERE

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