Can't sell your house? Use persuasion -- in the form of money or lucrative handouts. Here are some popular buyer incentives available in today's buyer's market:
• Down-payment help: As home prices hold steady and credit tightens, more buyers are hard-pressed to put money down on a home. A little help with the down payment can help them over this hurdle.
• Mortgage buy-down: Are your buyers nervous about their prospective monthly house payments or the interest rate on their loan? You can lower both by buying down their mortgage; each point you pay equals 1 percent of the loan amount. First-time buyers or young families can often use the help to free up cash to furnish their new home.
• Homeowner/condo association dues: Welcome your buyers to the neighborhood by springing for their first year of association dues.
• Maintenance fees: If the buyers will be contracting for lawn maintenance anyway, or if they will be required to do so in your community, paying a year of their maintenance fees is money in the bank for them. The same applies to a year of pool service.
• Home warranty: As the cost of service calls increases, a year of home warranty coverage is becoming a commonplace incentive to attract buyers. Typical policies cover service to the home's interior plumbing, HVAC, appliances and fixtures such as lights and fans. Typically excluded are pools, hot tubs, sprinkler systems and attic fans. Their only expense: a per-call fee, usually around $75.
• Closing costs: What buyer wouldn't welcome some help with those teeth-gritting closing costs (legal, title, filing fees, etc.) that, according to a Freddy Mac estimate, typically run between 2 percent to 4 percent of the loan amount?
• Landscaping: Springing for a few shrubs, new turf or other landscaping features can help a buyer feel right at home.
• Leave a treasure behind: Some home furnishings, especially those custom-made to fit a part of your house, can be profitably sacrificed if they help close the deal. After all, you likely know where and how to get another one. If the buyers are smitten with it, they may be more inclined to meet your terms if you agree to leave that prized puzzle piece in place.
Of course these things don't need to be given away right up front. An experienced Realtor will use these as leverage during the negotiations after determining what's important to the buyer. Again, one more important reason to use a great real estate agent that knows how to negotiate a deal. Remember, it's not always about the price!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
How's the Real Estate Market in Liberty?
How's the real estate market in Liberty? This is the number one question I get asked every single day. I don't take it personally because I realize that most homeowners are concerned about the equity in their home and they hear all the negative news from the media that makes them worry.
My response is that it's just like the stock market. Sometimes it's up and sometimes it's down. Right now it's down a little but it will certainly come back. I think most people can grasp that analogy and they believe that it will come back too, but like the stock market, we just don't know when.
I then use this opportunity to explain to them that it's a great time to buy right now. Using my stock market analogy, you buy low and sell high, right? So if the real estate market is depressed, then wouldn't this be a great time to buy a 2nd home or a rental property? Most of my investors get this and they're buying like crazy right now.
Ironically, what's bad for your average homeowner is actually fantastic for the real estate investors. Think of it this way, the market is depressed and there are hundreds of homes on the market making it a very strong "buyers market". This is an excellant buying opportunity for someone that has the ability to purchase rental properties. On top of that, the subprime lending market has dried up, so now all these people that were able to qualify for a loan in the past, will now have to go back to renting apartments, duplexes, and single family homes. Because they will be flooding the market for rental properties in Liberty MO, rental prices should rise.
It's simply the logic of supply and demand and it's the best of both worlds for an investor. Buy cheap and rent high! Most of my investors are currently on a 2-5 year buy and hold strategy for their Liberty Missouri investment properties. The market for flipping is still alive but I'm showing my investors why it makes more sense (and more money) to buy and hold right now.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Clayview Country Club
Clayview Country Club in Liberty has gone to the dogs.
The venerable swim and tennis club closed down its Liberty location with a dog swim and several other events over the Labor Day weekend. It will reopen next spring at a new site off Flintlock Road in Kansas City.
'This is a place with great memories, but we feel a lot of excitement when we look at where we're going next year,' said Rob Miller, chairman of the club's board.
The club has been a fixture of Kansas Street for decades: Liberty Mayor Bob Steinkamp said he remembered going to a party there after a summer practice for the William Jewell College football team in 1963.
Back then, Steinkamp said, the club was an island unto itself in the middle of nowhere. The Sears Grand shopping center across Conistor Road was a pasture full of Black Angus cattle. Frevert Hardware had just opened its store on Missouri 291, beginning the exodus of businesses from the downtown square.
Today, however, the club is something of an anachronism, surrounded by offices, retail shops and school facilities and fronting on one of the busiest thoroughfares in the metro. And just across Interstate 35 in Kansas City is Shoal Creek, a booming residential area full of potential sun-bathers and tennis players.
'It has served Liberty well over a number of years,' Steinkamp said. 'It's unfortunate that it's moving across the highway, but that's part of progress, I guess.'
The festivities last weekend weren't all that different from previous years', Miller said, except for the dog swim on Tuesday, which drew about 60 pups and their owners and marked the final swim at the club.
Next year, the Shoal Creek location will provide year-round activities, making the club more attractive to new members, Miller said. The new Clayview will have outdoor tennis courts and two pools as the Liberty location did, but also indoor courts and a fitness area. The club is working with the city of Kansas City to secure zoning and building permits for the site.
'In the demographics present and with the new homes coming in, this is a desired property,' Miller said. 'People want private swimming and tennis.'
Outdoor tennis courts at the new site should be ready for use by the beginning of the high school boys tennis season in March, Miller said. The pools and the rest of the amenities should be constructed in time for Memorial Day, the traditional start of the summer swimming season.
'We're excited to open it up and see the new things, the new adventures and the new memories that are created there,' he said.
The Kansas Street location may not sit idle for long. Local developer Tim Harris has already purchased the property and plans to redevelop it into a commercial site. That development will likely include restaurants along Kansas Street and hotel, shopping or office space on the bulk of the 11-acre site.
Significant engineering and infrastructure work remains before those plans are finalized, however, Steinkamp and the developers have said. 'It's a fine location,' Steinkamp said. 'Any retail or commercial use that goes into that location will not only benefit the developer, but also the city as well.'
Copyright © 2007 Kansas City Star, All Rights Reserved.
The venerable swim and tennis club closed down its Liberty location with a dog swim and several other events over the Labor Day weekend. It will reopen next spring at a new site off Flintlock Road in Kansas City.
'This is a place with great memories, but we feel a lot of excitement when we look at where we're going next year,' said Rob Miller, chairman of the club's board.
The club has been a fixture of Kansas Street for decades: Liberty Mayor Bob Steinkamp said he remembered going to a party there after a summer practice for the William Jewell College football team in 1963.
Back then, Steinkamp said, the club was an island unto itself in the middle of nowhere. The Sears Grand shopping center across Conistor Road was a pasture full of Black Angus cattle. Frevert Hardware had just opened its store on Missouri 291, beginning the exodus of businesses from the downtown square.
Today, however, the club is something of an anachronism, surrounded by offices, retail shops and school facilities and fronting on one of the busiest thoroughfares in the metro. And just across Interstate 35 in Kansas City is Shoal Creek, a booming residential area full of potential sun-bathers and tennis players.
'It has served Liberty well over a number of years,' Steinkamp said. 'It's unfortunate that it's moving across the highway, but that's part of progress, I guess.'
The festivities last weekend weren't all that different from previous years', Miller said, except for the dog swim on Tuesday, which drew about 60 pups and their owners and marked the final swim at the club.
Next year, the Shoal Creek location will provide year-round activities, making the club more attractive to new members, Miller said. The new Clayview will have outdoor tennis courts and two pools as the Liberty location did, but also indoor courts and a fitness area. The club is working with the city of Kansas City to secure zoning and building permits for the site.
'In the demographics present and with the new homes coming in, this is a desired property,' Miller said. 'People want private swimming and tennis.'
Outdoor tennis courts at the new site should be ready for use by the beginning of the high school boys tennis season in March, Miller said. The pools and the rest of the amenities should be constructed in time for Memorial Day, the traditional start of the summer swimming season.
'We're excited to open it up and see the new things, the new adventures and the new memories that are created there,' he said.
The Kansas Street location may not sit idle for long. Local developer Tim Harris has already purchased the property and plans to redevelop it into a commercial site. That development will likely include restaurants along Kansas Street and hotel, shopping or office space on the bulk of the 11-acre site.
Significant engineering and infrastructure work remains before those plans are finalized, however, Steinkamp and the developers have said. 'It's a fine location,' Steinkamp said. 'Any retail or commercial use that goes into that location will not only benefit the developer, but also the city as well.'
Copyright © 2007 Kansas City Star, All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Teacher of Year finalists include one from Liberty.
A Liberty School District teacher is among six Teacher of the Year finalists announced Thursday by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Eric Langhorst, an eighth-grade social-studies teacher at South Valley Junior High School in Liberty is among nearly 50 districts submitted nominations. A selection committee reviewed written applications to choose the finalists.
Committee members will interview the finalists Wednesday in Jefferson City to select a winner, who automatically will become a national Teacher of the Year candidate.
Committee members will interview the finalists Wednesday in Jefferson City to select a winner, who automatically will become a national Teacher of the Year candidate.
Your Credit, Your Number: How to Get Your Free Credit Report
If you’ve ever applied for credit or insurance, chances are the lender or insurance company checked your credit score. For years, creditors have been using credit scoring systems to determine if you’d be a good risk for credit cards, auto loans, and mortgages. Credit scores are also often used by employers and utilities.
So what is credit scoring? It’s a system creditors use to help determine whether to give you credit. It also may be used to help decide the terms you are offered or the rate you will pay for the loan.
Lenders can use one of many different credit-scoring models to determine if you are creditworthy. Different models can produce different scores.
However, lenders use some scoring models more than others. The FICO score is one such popular scoring method.
The FICO scale runs from 300 to 850. Generally, the higher your score, the better rates you’ll be offered. Those with a score of 720 or higher will get the most favorable interest rates on a mortgage, according to data from Fair Isaac Corp., a California-based company that developed the first credit score as well as the FICO score.
According to Fair Isaac, 58% of Americans have a FICO score of 700 or higher.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.
To order your free annual report from one or all the national consumer reporting companies, and to purchase your credit score, visit www.annualcreditreport.com, call toll-free 877-322-8228, or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P. O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
Only one Web site is authorized to fill orders for the free annual credit report you are entitled to under law — annualcreditreport.com. Other Web sites that claim to offer “free credit reports,” “free credit scores,” or “free credit monitoring” are not part of the legally mandated free annual credit report program. In some cases, the “free” product comes with strings attached.
For example, some sites sign you up for a supposedly “free” service that converts to one you have to pay for after a trial period. If you don’t cancel during the trial period, you may be unwittingly agreeing to let the company start charging fees to your credit card.
FCRA also gives you the right to get your credit score from the national consumer reporting companies. They are allowed to charge a reasonable fee, generally around $8, for the score. When you buy your score, often you get information on how you can improve it.
Typically, your credit score is most influenced by two factors: how you pay your debts and how much debt you owe. For example, late payments on loans, a past bankruptcy, debt collections or a court judgment ordering you to pay money as a result of a lawsuit will negatively affect your credit score.
Lenders want to be sure that the debt you owe is manageable. One example: Lenders get concerned if you have a significant amount of debt compared to your income — say, if what you owe each month on all loans and credit cards exceeds one-third of your monthly income.
Other factors that can affect your credit score include how long you’ve used credit, how often you’ve applied for new credit and whether you’ve taken on new debt.
While federal law requires lenders and other companies providing information to credit bureaus to give accurate information, mistakes do happen. So, when you look at your report:
–Make sure it accurately reflects how you have paid your bills. If you always pay your credit card and other loans on time, but your credit report erroneously shows late payments, you’ll want to correct that.
–Verify that all the accounts listed are yours, especially if you have a common name or you share a name with a relative (such as John Doe, Jr.).
–You also want to be careful that an identity thief hasn’t opened new accounts in your name to commit financial fraud.
–Look for accounts you don’t use and may have forgotten. You may be able to raise your credit score by closing unnecessary credit card accounts.
So what is credit scoring? It’s a system creditors use to help determine whether to give you credit. It also may be used to help decide the terms you are offered or the rate you will pay for the loan.
Lenders can use one of many different credit-scoring models to determine if you are creditworthy. Different models can produce different scores.
However, lenders use some scoring models more than others. The FICO score is one such popular scoring method.
The FICO scale runs from 300 to 850. Generally, the higher your score, the better rates you’ll be offered. Those with a score of 720 or higher will get the most favorable interest rates on a mortgage, according to data from Fair Isaac Corp., a California-based company that developed the first credit score as well as the FICO score.
According to Fair Isaac, 58% of Americans have a FICO score of 700 or higher.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.
To order your free annual report from one or all the national consumer reporting companies, and to purchase your credit score, visit www.annualcreditreport.com, call toll-free 877-322-8228, or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P. O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
Only one Web site is authorized to fill orders for the free annual credit report you are entitled to under law — annualcreditreport.com. Other Web sites that claim to offer “free credit reports,” “free credit scores,” or “free credit monitoring” are not part of the legally mandated free annual credit report program. In some cases, the “free” product comes with strings attached.
For example, some sites sign you up for a supposedly “free” service that converts to one you have to pay for after a trial period. If you don’t cancel during the trial period, you may be unwittingly agreeing to let the company start charging fees to your credit card.
FCRA also gives you the right to get your credit score from the national consumer reporting companies. They are allowed to charge a reasonable fee, generally around $8, for the score. When you buy your score, often you get information on how you can improve it.
Typically, your credit score is most influenced by two factors: how you pay your debts and how much debt you owe. For example, late payments on loans, a past bankruptcy, debt collections or a court judgment ordering you to pay money as a result of a lawsuit will negatively affect your credit score.
Lenders want to be sure that the debt you owe is manageable. One example: Lenders get concerned if you have a significant amount of debt compared to your income — say, if what you owe each month on all loans and credit cards exceeds one-third of your monthly income.
Other factors that can affect your credit score include how long you’ve used credit, how often you’ve applied for new credit and whether you’ve taken on new debt.
While federal law requires lenders and other companies providing information to credit bureaus to give accurate information, mistakes do happen. So, when you look at your report:
–Make sure it accurately reflects how you have paid your bills. If you always pay your credit card and other loans on time, but your credit report erroneously shows late payments, you’ll want to correct that.
–Verify that all the accounts listed are yours, especially if you have a common name or you share a name with a relative (such as John Doe, Jr.).
–You also want to be careful that an identity thief hasn’t opened new accounts in your name to commit financial fraud.
–Look for accounts you don’t use and may have forgotten. You may be able to raise your credit score by closing unnecessary credit card accounts.
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