Calling My Own Shots As an Independent REALTOR in Lawrence Kansas.  It didn't start that way.  In Kansas, a REALTOR sales person must be under a broker's supervision for two years.  I was under the supervision of Broker Bryan Hedges of Realty Executives, Hedges Real Estate for about 4 years before Calling My Own Shots As an Independent REALTOR in Lawrence Kansas. During that time with Bryan, he provided great training, advice, encouragement, resources, and friendship.  He has a great business model to help his sales people to succeed and indeed his help was instrumental to my success today. I have been on my own now for 3 years.  Recently, my lockbox key went dead and I stopped in to his office where he helped me get it charged up so I could proceed to my next appointment without having... 11/11/2012

$8.27 Per Hour Is the Median Wage For a 20 Hour Per Week REALTOR!  That's not much above the $7.25 per hour minimum wage for Lawrence Kansas!!  This is according to NAR's 2012 Member Profile, which shows the median annual income for REALTORS in the less than 20 hours per week, 20 to 39, 40 to 59, and 60 hours or more time expended ranges.  I used 20 hours per week to come up with this hourly rate. So what does working less than 3 hours a day produce at this rate for your annual income?  It is a whopping $8,600!!  So much for REALTORS making the big bucks.   So how do they survive?  1) They don't survive and end up changing professions is one option, 2) They have a spouse with a better paying vocation, 3) They are independently wealthy and just work to help people, or 4) They work more h... 11/10/2012

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Buy a property to live now and rent later. What location is the best? Answer given to Annie who asked this question: Hi Annie, I agree with John's assessment but would add a few more things.  [NOTE: John is another REALTOR who answered the where part of the question such as location depends on if you are commuting to Kansas City area or need to be on bus route or close to KU campus, etc.  John suggested selecting a REALTOR to advice what location works best for their needs.] I would definitely go with a 3 bedroom because they sell much faster than 2 bedrooms because most buyers do not want 2 bedroom properties.  While you may live in it for a few years before renting it out, in 10, 20, 30 or however many years you will eventually want to sell or exchange it.  You want to always think of... 11/09/2012

Pinterest--How's This for Looking at Lawrence Kansas Houses For Sale?                  Pinterest is a way to look at things through "pins" (photos) of everything that are "eye candy". After all, pictures are worth a 1000 words. Real estate has lots and lots of eye candy as shown above but I still feel words are needed since "pins" can't tell you everything such as how far is this eye candy from I-70 or how many fireplaces are there or how many bedrooms or what is the price and so on. So feast on the photos, pin them if you like, but then when you need real information, read the listing details shown below or click on the photos above to go to the feature sheet to see other photos, room measurements, address, price, etc. Also, be sure to sign up for email alerts of properties matching yo... 11/08/2012

My InBox Is Empty!! This is not a plea for emails nor am I lonely!! Organization of emails into folders is crucial to provide great customer service.  Receiving about 200 emails a day and answering their requests for information about Lawrence Kansas real estate and then filing the request and my response in the folder for that home buyer or home seller is why My InBox Is Empty!!  Having 73,000 messages in my InBox and another 73,000 responses in my Sent Items in a year's period of time is just not the way to do it.  You can't just delete them either. My InBox Is Empty!! because the folders I create for each buyer and seller are not only an easy way to find my communication with that buyer and seller but the folder name serves as a summary of what they are looking for. For example, L 11... 11/06/2012

runLawrence's Thanksgiving Day 5k Run/Walk Thursday November 22, 2012 benefits Woodlawn School and Lawrence running programs.  This year's run is the 9th Annual event.  428 men and boys and 528 women and girls for a total of 956 racers who finished the race last year. The entry fees for runLawrence's Thanksgiving Day 5k Run/Walk Thursday November 22, 2012 are $25 per participant if postmarked by Nov. 15th and $30 after the 15th.  There is a special to families of 3 or more at the rate of $22 but only if postmarked by Nov. 15th. Francis Sporting Goods has medals and awards to top finishers; both overall and in each age division. Please contact Dee Boerk at 785-841-3587,  runLawrence@gmail.com for more information than what can be found on the website for runLawrence's Thanksgiving Day 5k... 11/06/2012

What Are Lawrence Kansas Home Buyers Looking For?  I pay for tracking reports of what buyers are looking for when they search for Lawrence Kansas Real Estate.  The homes for sale criteria changes as the buyers change each month. The October tracking reports just came in which showed: $100K - $200K homes with 3BR or more bedrooms was the highest ranking search $100K - $200K homes with 4BR or more bedrooms was the second highest ranking search and so on.... How is this What Are Lawrence Kansas Home Buyers Looking For? tracking information helpful? For sellers of my listings, it gives specific information of where the buyers are from (city and state) who are searching for a property like theirs and who have clicked on their house and who may soon be asking for a showing!  It also shows wha... 11/04/2012

Why Do I Have 3 IDX Broker Websites? Well at about $280 per month for one of the sites, about $200 per month for another site, and about $40 per month for the 3rd site, or about $520 per month, I had better have some great reasons. So what is an IDX Broker website?  An IDX Broker website is an Internet Data Exchange (IDX) of listings between brokerages who have agreed to allow other brokerages to advertise their collective listings so buyers can find all the participating brokerages' listings on any one of the brokerage websites.  Currently, there is 100% participation amongst the Lawrence Board of Realtors in the IDX.  This makes it easy on buyers where they can go to just one brokerage website for Lawrence Kansas Homes For Sale such as is found on this link and not have to go to each ... 11/04/2012

Seller Financing in Lawrence Kansas is available in a very small number of home sellers but unless you want to contact every single agent for the close to 800 properties on 3 MLS's for the northeastern central Kansas area, you will probably want to use my services. Seller Financing in Lawrence Kansas, also known as owner financing and the similar contract for deed, have been diminished tremendously due to lenders making the home owner pay off their mortgage which eliminates seller financing as an option. Of course there are some sellers who have no mortgage and there are some investors who have loans which allow them to do owner financing but they are very rare. Sometimes buyers contact me about lease purchase, lease option, and lease to own properties and seller financing may be a way ... 11/03/2012

Terror and Triumph:Quantrill’s Raid and the Rebirth of Lawrence Kansas is an exhibition that runs from now through Saturday, January 5, 2013 at the Watkins Museum located at 1047 Massachusetts, Lawrence, Kansas.  The hours are Tues-Sat, 10am-4pm, Thur 'til 8pm and Closed Sun & Mon. Also known as the Lawrence Massacre, the attack took place on August 21, 1863.  300 to 400 raiders performed the massacre led by William Clarke Quantrill which killed close to 200 Lawrence Kansas men and boys and destroyed about 25% of the city's houses (about 125 homes burned) and all but two of the city's businesses.  Home owners were robbed as well as the banks in Lawrence. Kansas Union soldiers retaliated and killed men and burned houses in five western counties of Missouri. So what prompted these attacks... 11/01/2012

FSBO? Why You Never Want to Go There! Sellers, sure, it looks great in concept to save the commission!  However, that is only in concept. Sellers, in a nutshell, you will lose almost 100% of the buyers and it is not safe to sell your house yourself (For Sale By Owner -- FSBO). Sellers, the little bit longer explanation is: 1) About 40% of the buyers in this area are transferees from somewhere else and require the expertise of a REALTOR because they are not comfortable with their knowledge of Lawrence Kansas Real Estate to buy homes for sale without a local Lawrence real estate professional. 2) About 50% of the buyers in this area tend to be "trading up" buyers who currently have their home listed with a local REALTOR.  Of course, once they sell, they depend on that same REALTOR to get t... 11/01/2012

Fox on Our Deck This Morning in Lawrence Kansas Real Estate Deerfield.  A little after 7am this morning, I went to our kitchen sink window and looked out to find a fox lying down on our wood deck.  I ran to get my camera and caught the following footage.  This appears to be a momma fox who has had its kits here in our neighborhood over the past several years.  She looks a bit worse for wear with a large sore on her back, her big fluffy tail almost depleted of fur, and his right hind quarter looks like she has been in a fight of some sort. Now when I say Fox on Our Deck This Morning in Lawrence Kansas Real Estate Deerfield, this is not out in the country (rural).  We are in a residential neighborhood in the Deerfield area. If you know anything about foxes, know what kind of fox this is, ... 10/22/2012

70.5 Percent Increase in Lawrence KS Area Homes SOLD Over Last Year says the Lawrence Board of REALTORS in Lawrence Kansas.  In September 2012, 75 homes SOLD vs only 44 in September 2011 Year Over Year (YOY). We are also seeing more houses being SOLD than are coming on the market as new listings.  In the past week, total single family Lawrence homes for sale declined from 377 to 358! I just added 1306 Oak Hill Ave late last night and it is under contract already! With a 70.5 Percent Increase in Lawrence KS Area Homes SOLD Over Last Year and inventory being depleted faster than it is being replenished, many price ranges for homes for sale are in a sellers' market (less than 6 months worth of houses to sell). Buyers looking to buy need to act swiftly when a new house comes on the market a... 10/19/2012

Why This Fall is a Great Time to Sell Your Home   The fall real estate market is an interesting time in the Lawrence, KS area. Typically, many sellers will either take their home off of the market or not list a home during the fall or early winter months. The feeling by most is that the spring and summer months are a better time to have the home on the market. Generally, during the spring and summer markets there are more people looking and more homes on the market, but this isn’t always a good thing when you are trying to sell.   There are some very valid points to consider when deciding if the fall/winter market is the right time to try to sell your home. This fall may even be a little bit different from most fall/winter markets. Here are some things to consider right now about the ma... 10/18/2012

922 Christie Ct Lawrence Kansas 66049 Homes For Sale Real Estate is under $70 cost per sqft and most average houses are getting SOLD for $100 cost per sqft. When you click on any of the photos below, you will be taken to the feature sheet for this property where you can also set up email alerts for other properties using your own search criteria.  Email alerts are crucial to you to find out about properties before anyone else so you don't get beat out by someone else in getting the house you want. VIDEO LINK TO 922 Christie Ct Lawrence Kansas 66049 Homes For Sale Real Estate   Lawrence Kansas Real Estate Homes for Sale Way Below Appraisal are hard to find.  Under $70 cost per sqft when the average Lawrence property sells for about $100 cost per sqft.  This end of the cul-de-sac, one lev... 10/18/2012

1620 Houses for Sale Down to 358 in Lawrence Kansas Real Estate shows the direction we are heading localling in our hosuing market.  From June 2007 we have had a loss of inventory availability to buyers of homes for sale by 1,262 houses! With only 1620 Houses for Sale Down to 358 in Lawrence Kansas Real Estate we are bound to start seeing listing prices rise due to diminished inventory.  Since we have SOLD about 1000 houses each year since 1988, we have a very stable market so we can use that figure as a benchmark.  With only 358 houses (single family), we are approaching only 4 months worth of inventory.  6 months worth of inventory or less is called a sellers' market. The problem is that when inventory drastically increases or drastically decreases as it is doing now, it takes a while... 10/17/2012

Advice for For Sale By Owners in Lawrence, Kansas   If you are selling your Home For Sale By Owner in Lawrence, KS, The Abram Team has some information that you may be for you. Selling a home on your own can be a challenging even in a good real estate market. There are so many parts to a real estate transaction. Putting a sign in the yard and showing the house is only part of the equation. The real estate agent spends countless hours behind the scenes making sure that items like title, inspections, mortgages are all in line and on time for closing. The other big part of selling a home is the advice that an agent can give a seller as far as preparing the home for market and showings. For sale by owner sellers also may not consider some things like showings and their availability to be pr... 10/16/2012

Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite!  Why Do We Tell Our Kids That? is what I used to hear growing up.  "What a horrible thing to say to our kids right before they fall asleep!" one might say. One could say nursery rhymes and lullabies are not much better! I remember growing up with my grandmother singing a lullaby called "Yama, Yama, Yama Man" and yet I don't remember having nightmares (maybe I suppressed them??).  It sounds a lot scarier on the public domain version of "Yama, Yama, Yama Man" with the much fast tempo and the more mysterious spooky music used than the soft, slow lullaby method my grandma sang. Here are some of the "scary" lyrics: Yama, Yama, the Yama man,Terrible eyes and a face of tan.If you don't watch out he'll get you without a doubt,If he can.Maybe he's hiding behind the c... 10/08/2012

Lawrence Kansas Homes For Sale Marketed On Over 10,000 Websites is what Sellers need to make sure every possible buyer of their house will be able to preview all of its features.  A sellers' narrated video, blogs, virtual tours, 3 MLS's (Lawrence, Kansas City, and Topeka), are just a few more of what Rob Lang offers to sellers of Lawrence properties.  Sellers need expertise when it comes to proper pricing and negotiation skills and of course need to be able to find solutions to bring about a successful closing. Sellers rely on their REALTOR to broker their most expensive possessions.  Rely on Rob Lang who has references from dozens of KS sellers and buyers who have trusted him to negotiate the best real estate deal possible.   NOTE: I can market your property for rent like the last thre... 09/26/2012