I believe many of you out there doubted my prediction that the 2008 Kansas City Royals would go undefeated this season. Well, don’t look now but we are 3-0, baby! Three down and 159 to go!
Legal disclaimer: I am not certifiably insane nor do I actually believe the Royals will go undefeated this year. It’s just that with my Jayhawks already into the Final Four, the football team winning the Orange Bowl (for Pete’s sake) and now the Royals are 3-0 I am ready to believe anything!!!!!
Filed under Kansas City Sports
As I mentioned a couple months back I joined the Landlords of Johnson County, Kansas at the behest of one of my clients. I’m glad I did. Even if the only meeting I ever go to was my first last evening.
There must have been between 75-80 people there last evening to listen to three officers affiliated with the Bank of Blue Valley speak about financial planning, getting your affairs in order and the state of the current economy. I’ll have more to say about that in a post tomorrow. Much more. Believe me.
My 43rd birthday is next Tuesday (gift cards are best) 🙂 and I had to be one of the five youngest people in the room. At my table I sat and tried to be as quiet as possible while listening to two couples that had owned investment property for the last 25 years or more. And more than one property. From listening I could gather that one had traded their properties from time to time while another had pretty much sat on the same properties the entire time.
This isn’t a post to say one was right and one was wrong. I could easily show you the guy trading every once in a while has assets that would double, triple or even quadruple what the all-time holder has. No. This is a post about networking. About brain-storming. About being part of a mastermind.
Yes, I eventually was asked questions and shared the experiences that I have encountered. At our table was another couple (in their thirties?) who owned at least two properties. I couldn’t help but think that besides myself they were probably getting the most out of this meeting before the speakers spoke.
One of the reasons we have so many loyal readers here at Kansas City Real Estate Investing is because I know you come here to share experiences. To listen. To learn. To filter through everything to find what you need.
Now, I’ve only been to one meeting of the Landlords of Johnson County. But I’ll guarantee you I’ll go back! More than any investment club meeting I’ve ever been to this has real value to real real estate investors. These attendees were people with experience. With common sense approaches to owning and managing rental properties. These were people with decades of experience building wealth the old fashioned way.
If you are an investment property owner in Johnson County, Kansas (a requirement to join) I would like very much to encourage you to visit their website and consider joining the association. There is so much more I am eager to learn. And I believe I can learn from the Landlords of Johnson County.
It’s that time of year again for college basketball. The coaching carousel starts and where it ends nobody knows. Coaches leave here and sign there. They proclaim their loyalty even as they have the AD from another university on hold.
And they all have work contracts. For three years. Or five. Or even funnier, ten. Yet, they leave. And they never get punished. It’s insane. Well, except for poor Rich Rodriguez formerly of West Virginia. Seems West Virginia actually expected him to honor his contract. How insane is that? 😉
Let’s just say we find a house we love and we purchase it. Six years later we decide we like another house better so we just leave. No recourse on the mortgage. No bothersome sales process. We just leave.
Most jurisdictions that I’m familiar with have 10 day (or so) “free look” periods for buyers that allow them to conduct due diligence and inspections to decide if this really is the house they want to purchase. Well, what if the “free look” period extended all the way up to closing? Or what if the contract wasn’t ever enforced anyway if someone left?
I guess in some respects it is that way. Forfeit a meager deposit of $1,000 and you really can just “walk-away.” And besides, a good attorney I know feels every contract has sufficient wiggle room to cause problems to the side trying to enforce a contract.
I don’t know. Maybe I’m just frustrated with where our culture has gone. I try to do the right thing. Really I do. And I know others do, too. But I can see the train crash coming. Can you?
Filed under Personal Real Estate Opinions
For those who live in Olathe I would invite you out to one of these concerts. They are great. See a full review of the Olathe free concerts here.
Filed under Olathe
I was informed by Stacey Taylor of Countrywide Home Loans this morning that they are no longer doing any 100% LTV consumer home mortgage loans. Of course, this has been true for the real estate investor for about a year now. And this seemed inevitable.
My question is, how much tighter will loan standards become even for qualified buyers? (By qualified I mean credit scores of 680 and above with solid income and employment history.) We may be headed too far in the wrong direction on this issue. Now, I was never a big proponent of 100% loans. But in certain cases….
This is not to say that you cannot find a 100% LTV home loan anywhere on the market. It is just to say that it looks like you’ll have to scratch Countrywide off your list.
Filed under Financing Options
BBQ Capital | Kansas City Real Estate Investing 