Why Relying on Online Home Valuations Can Be RiskyBefore Zillow was founded in 2006, homeowners had limited options for estimating their property’s value: they either waited for their annual tax statement or scheduled an appointment with a local real estate professional.Since Zillow's inception, several sites like Redfin and HomeLight have emerged, offering instant online price evaluations. While it’s convenient to get a quick valuation by simply typing in your address, the key question remains: how accurate are these valuations?Just like a broken clock is right twice a day, many of these online valuation sites offer similar reliability. Relying solely on their numbers to price your home can lead to serious issues: overpricing could jeopardize your sale, while underpricing could result ... 06/05/2024

In a recent poll completed by the National Association of Realtors there were 4 main barriers that were stopping homebuyers from successfully becoming a homeowner. Increasing home prices, rising mortgage rates, lack of available homes and difficulty raising enough funds for a down payment were those 4 main reasons for over 75% of the respondents. With the Spring 2024 home buying season almost upon us, I wanted to give you some great ways to counteract each of these barriers and get on the road to homeownership.Increasing Home Prices - Home prices have been increasing for a while now but they really took off after the pandemic. The unique thing we are seeing is that prices are still going up even though the overall number of home sales are going down. When home sales go down, you usually... 02/25/2024

For several years now there has been a prediction of a Silver Tsunami, this wave has nothing to do with global warming but the prediction that homeowners that are 65 or older will start selling their current homes and moving towards smaller homes or other Senior living options.As we started to live longer and healthier lives there was a trend to stay in your current home longer than normal and home availability crisis that was exacerbated by Covid -19 has kept seniors in their current homes way longer than anyone anticipated.See All Homes For Sale NowThis so called Silver Tsunami has been predicted for many years but has not materialized but with 1 in 6 Americans now being 65 or older it seems inevitable that we will see many more sell. In recent  AARP 51% of Americans over 50 would lik... 01/20/2024

So this was actually the headline for another article (You can read it here) but I felt that most of their conclusions were totally wrong. They were not wrong that millennials are there own worst enemy when it comes to buying a house, they were just wrong about the reasons. I have 3 reasons why you are your own worst enemy and what you should do instead :Timing: Most millennials wait way too long or don't wait long enough. Real Estate has seasonality and you can expect the highest number of homes to sell between March 1st and the end of June, while October through December are annually when sales are at their lowest. When you purchase during the peak period you will not only face the highest level of competition but you will most likely pay the highest price, plus you will most likely h... 01/20/2024

So what is better than interest rates going down? I know, having someone else pay your down payment! Every year Housing and Urban Development (HUD) releases funds to assist first time buyers with their downpayment. The bad news is these funds don't last long. See Homes that are eligible for Down Payment AssistanceSo here is your official notice, do you want $7,500 towards your down payment? Then you will need to act fast and here is everything you need to know:Apply for Home Loan with First Bank - Kim SchultzFunds are Limited and are on a First Come, First Service BasisYou Must be Pre-Approved before Viewing and offering on homes to insure funds availabilityThere are income Limitations Based on Household SizeOther Requirements and/or Restrictions Borrowers can use FHA or Conventional Ho... 01/10/2024

When Mortgage interest rates started to rise in the fall of 2022 it caught many if not all home buyers off guard. As rates rose quickly from the 3's to the 7's it quickly changed what had been a runaway train real estate market to the Little Red Train trying to get over the hill. As rates stagnated above 7%  mortgage lenders had to come up with new and unique ways to bring affordability back to home buying.More: See All Homes For Sale in the KC Metro While rates have finally started to come back down, they are still high in comparison to the 3% days, unfortunately those day are gone and most likely not coming back anytime soon. So what is one to do? This is where those new and unique loan product come into play. While the 30 year and 15 year fixed rate loans are the most common, they al... 01/08/2024

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A "BAD HOME INSPECTION". HOME INSPECTIONS ARE IMPORTANT FOR HOME BUYERS, HOME SELLERS, LISTING AGENTS AND BUYERS' AGENTS.   THE HOUSE WILL BE UNDER A MAGNIFYING GLASS.  A good home inspection means that the home inspector examines every "nook and cranny" in a house and tests all systems and components. A HOME INSPECTION IS USUALLY A CONTINGENCY ON THE CONTRACT.  If the home inspector discovers and documents serious structural, systems, etc. defects, the seller is usually given an opportunity to cure or the buyer can void the contract.  If the home inspection finds the home in good condition with no structural or system defects, the contingency will expire or the buyer will remove it. HOME BUYERS BENEFIT FROM A HOME INSPECTION by learning about the condition of ... 01/03/2024

At the end of 2019 it was looking like real estate was heading for a correction, there had been a solid 8+ years of rising prices and based on past markets real estate was due for a correction. What nobody saw coming was a pandemic, Covid 19 changed how people view and value their homes. Fueled by low interest rates and Covid Cash, homes sales in the summer of 2020 became a runaway train with homes selling way over list price with multiple offers immediately after listing. This continued all the way till the fall of 2022 when rising interest rates finally took the steam out of the engine.Since then home sales have been a roller coaster, we saw really weak sales in the fall of 2022, only to see a huge rebound in the late winter and spring of 2023. The market then flattened out in the sum... 12/20/2023

Are you considering a new construction home in 2024? Well, the local homebuilders believe that you are. Recent numbers show that homebuilders have increased their starts by 18% in November and 42% over the previous year.New Construction Homes in Overland Park KansasNew Construction Homes in Olathe KansasNew Construction Homes in Lenexa KansasNew Construction Homes in Leawood KansasWith the anemically low inventory of resale homes available, builders are stepping up to create much needed inventory, in fact new homes make up almost 40% of the current available inventory.Another great reason to consider a new home now is that interest rates are expected to improve next year, right about the time that many of these new homes will be ready for occupancy.If you are considering building new ho... 12/19/2023

I was surfing around the internet and while visiting multiple news and social media sites I saw nothing but negative news about the current real estate market.  There were probably 10 articles about a pending crash in real estate values and equally as many articles about lawsuits pertaining to real estate commissions. All of this negative news was really getting to me, especially since I have never been more optimistic about a coming year in my 23 years as a real estate agent.  I started looked for some positive real estate news and found nothing, so here is some.Let's start with interest rates, this fall interest rates shot up to 8% and it had an adverse effect on home sales but what has not been reported is that interest rates are now firmly is the 6's and many 5 year and 7 year fixed... 12/16/2023

Buying a home is a big part of the American Dream but building a New Construction Home is the ultimate dream come true. When it come to building your new dream home there are 3 major ways to get it constructed, start from scratch, pick one up under construction or buy a completed builder spec home. Dirt Start- When you choose a dirt start you get to pick everything, you get to pick the perfect lot, choose your builder and pick or design a custom floor plan. You will also get to choose everything from paint colors, fixtures and so much more. When you do a dirt start you also take on a lot of risk, cost overruns can unexpectedly increase your budget with things like excavation costs and material overages, a dirt start will also take the longest to complete. The builder will need to get pe... 12/13/2023

Check out this hot new subdivision in South Overland Park / Stilwell. The New Southern Meadows will be just South of 183rd St and Mission Road, when completed there will be over 1200 homes on 510 acres. It will feed into the Award Winning Blue Valley School District and home price will be from $500,000 to 1.5 Million + .Southern Meadows will feature luscious terrain with amenities that include a mountain bike trail, pickelball, tennis, clubhouse, competitive lap pool, basketball and frisbee golf. This will be some of the best amenities found in any subdivision in South Johnson CountySouthern Meadows will also feature some of the best home builders that Kansas City has to offer. You will find multiple reverse 1.5 story, 2 story and 1.5 story models available from Doyle Construction, Gabr... 12/08/2023

Over the last several years the inventory of available homes has been extremely low and the competition to buy the homes that do come up for sale has been fierce.  This has led a lot of buyers to consider New Construction Homes. Building a new home can be exciting but it can also turn into an absolute nightmare if you don't have  plan from start to finish.One of the first steps is to meet with a lender who specializes in New Construction financing , this will help you get pre-approved and create a budget for your new home. This is where the 70/20/10 Rule will come into play.See New Construction Homes in Johnson CountyThe base price of the home or the cost to build the house should be 70% of your total budget. The price of the land or lot should be 20% of your budget and the final 10% sh... 12/07/2023

Real Estate sales are always a big topic of interest and for 10 + years homes sales had been increasing steadily but ever since the pandemic sales have gone to another level. With 2022 in the books, it is a good time to look back at last years home sales.Find Your Johnson County Dream Home HereHampton Place has always been a great place to live and even after interest rates started to rise last fall, the sales in Hampton Place remained strong. While the total number of homes SOLD in 2022 was substantially less that 2021 (20 vs 36) it wasn't due to lack of interest but a lack of willing sellers. The average sales price rose almost 5% and on average SOLD in 5 days or less. Hampton Place also smashed the previous record with a $660,000 home sale.As we start 2023, sales have remained strong... 03/10/2023

At the end of 2019 it looked like real estate sales were poised for a slowdown, after about 10 years of steady run the market was finally starting to run out of steam.  Well we all know what happened next? Mr Covid came in and changed everything, low interest rates and ultra low inventory of available homes set off an unprecedented run up in real estate prices across the country. For over 2 years there has been record growth in home prices that we thought might never end. Housing prices along with gas prices, food costs and just about everything else set off a major jump in inflation that required the Federal Government to raise interest rates.Find Your Johnson County Kansas Dream HomeIn September of 2022 we started to see the effects of these rate hikes as the once 3% mortgage rates st... 02/08/2023

Fast rising interest rates have caused an upheaval in the real estate market, as the Fed raised rates home sales have slowed and it is creating a unique opportunity for buyers. However, many buyers are getting hung up on the higher interest rates.Marry One These Houses Here are a few small things to consider, historically rates have averaged in the 6% + range. The low 3% rates were a historical low that was brought on by the Great Recession and we may never see rates that low again. Date These RatesOne thing you may consider is starting with an adjustable rate that is fixed for 5, 7 or 10 years, those rates are currently in the 4's and remember you can always refinance the next time that rates come down.Use our simple philosophy : Date the Rate, Marry the House! 09/07/2022

Since the begining of the Pandemic in March of 2020 we have seen several major changes when it come to purchasing a home. With extremely low interest rates and a desire to create a sanctuary to feel safe during Covid-19 home sales and prices took off, creating the greatest sellers market ever. Well, finally after 2 1/2 years we are finally seeing signs that this runaway train real estate market is coming back to reality.  With inflation on the rise the Fed Chief started raising interest rates and that has led to a slow down in sales as the cost of financing a home has priced many buyers out of the market. While most buyers have fixated on the interest rates, they have lost sight of what they have gained. Here are the 3 main reasons why now is the best time buy.Bidding Wars - Over the la... 09/07/2022

There is new way to sell your home in Johnson County Kansas and in recent months companies like OpenDoor and OfferPad have been bombarding the airwaves and local mail boxes with offers to buy your home for cash. These companies are part of a new trend call "iBuyers" or "Instant Buyers".Instant Buyers will make a cash offer on your home generally within 24-72 hours. For many home sellers this can be advantageous if your situation requires a quick sale or if you have a home that may be in need of extensive repairs. You get to sell your home without having to go through the typical steps of having to get your home ready for the market and get to forego all of the showings that come with selling in the traditional manner.For those of you who are not sure if you want to pursue this avenue th... 12/20/2021

This is a picture of my first home, I purchased it in Denver Colorado in 1993 and I paid a whopping $67,000 for this 2 bedroom 1 bath brick bungalow west of downtown Denver. I was 23 years old and didn't have a clue of why I wanted to buy a home, it just seemed like a good idea. It turns out that good idea completely changed my entire financial future. I kept the home until 1998 and SOLD it for $149,000, an $82,000 increase in value.  Over the next 7 years I owned multiple homes in Denver and kept gaining equity through home ownership.Click Here to See My First Homes Zillow Zestimate, You will be ShockedIn 2005 my wife and I chose to relocate to Overland Park and the equity gained from our homes in Denver allowed us to build our dream home, a home that we have lived in for 15 years and ... 08/23/2021

We have been seeing a declining number of available homes for sale for several years now but in January of this year those numbers sunk to the lowest levels in history. Comparing the number of available homes this year vs last year at this time there is an over 50% decrease.This is very troublesome as we head full on into the traditional Spring and Summer selling seasons. This severe lack of inventory has created a panic like frenzy amongst would be buyers to secure new listing as they hit the market.More: Find your Dream Home NowThis frenzy has created multiple offer bidding wars on most new listings as they hit the market. This has also led buyers to extreme measures when placing their bids. "They say that desperate times require desperate measures", well those measures now include of... 03/29/2021