Category Archives: Kansas City Real Estate

October 8, 2008 · 3:15 pm

Kansas City Real Estate Investing

There are great equity deals. There are great cash flow deals. Are there any deals with both?

Real estate investing is getting easier and harder all at the same time. Financing an investment property is more challenging. Not impossible. Just more challenging. But finance you must (a Lengquist must) in order to use leverage to your advantage. Finding homes that meet your criteria, well, that’s gotten a little easier.

Notice I didn’t say simple. A good rental property still has to have certain aspects to make it attractive to possible tenants. And it’s usually those nicer amenities that make the prospective rental property less attractive, affordability wise. Ever notice how the nicer the property is the more money down it will take to make it cash flow?

There is a happy medium. And for many out there that happy medium is a sliding scale depending on your target price point, cash available before and after closing and target tenant pool.

Kansas City real estate investing is still a preferable path to travel than much of the country. And I’ll still put our investment properties here in the heartland up against anything your stock market is doing. One of the nice things about real estate in stable markets is it’s not prone to panic selling. Thank you, Jesus.

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Filed under Kansas City Real Estate, Real Estate Investing

September 30, 2008 · 8:53 am

Proven Neighborhoods, Proven Rents

If you can take your eyes away from CNN and Fox News just for a moment, I’d like to remind you about the established neighborhoods I am familiar with when it comes to owning Kansas City area real estate investment property.

Pure Cash Flow
If you are looking for cash flow, cash flow, cash flow but do not want to be in neighborhoods where your personal safety is threatened, think the Skyline neighborhood over by the old Bannister Mall. Or eastern Kansas City just east of I-435 and north of 63rd St. And lastly, there is Ruskin. By far the most labor intensive of the lot with the highest turn-over/vacancy rates. But cash flow, none-the-less.

Some Cash Flow – Steady Values
Waldo. Waldo. Waldo. Located close to downtown KC, the Plaza and with JoCo to the west Waldo is a great area to own or rent. Working class homes mixed with homes of the upper middle class and everything in between. Love the area. Also a fan of the Kansas City, Kansas area right around the University of Kansas Medical Center. But don’t stray too far… And I love the Blue Springs area.

Break Even Rental Housing That Appreciates…Regardless
Johnson County, Kansas is the great. Housing values have softened. Notice I said softened. Not plummeted like much of the nation. But rentals for 3 bedrooms, 2 baths are very hard to find. Every property manager I know says rents are strong.

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Filed under Kansas City Real Estate, Real Estate Investing

September 5, 2008 · 1:05 pm

Good News & Not So Good News

“Residential real estate conditions weakened or remained soft in all Districts, except Kansas City, which reported a modest increase in sales since the last report.”

The quote from above comes from Money & Markets. It’s worth the read.

The positive is KC gets an “atta boy.” The bad news is the rest of the author’s opinion. As always, I believe a glass half full can also be viewd as half empty. So you decide.

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Filed under Kansas City Real Estate, Worth Reading

July 24, 2008 · 8:16 am

First Time Home Buyers In Kansas City

Attention first time home buyers in Kansas City. And yes, that includes Overland Park, Olathe and a dozen other cities. The current mortgage crisis will now benefit you!

The House has passed a bill that will likely become law within the week. It’s a bill that no one wants to stand in the way of so it’s pretty much a done deal. How will this help the first time home buyer in the Kansas City area? Well, if you;

Are a first time home buyer
Have purchased or will purchase a home between April 9, 2008 and July 1, 2009
Have individual income of less than $75,000 or as a couple earn less than $150,000

If you meet those 3 standards you are eligible for a $7,500 tax credit.

Now, you will be expected to pay that back over the course of the next 15 years interest free. So it’s not free money. But it’s discounted money. If inflation ends up being 5% this year, well…hopefully you get the picture. I’ll work out the math for you a little later today but you will be saving hundreds and possible a couple thousand in interest over the course of that 15 years.

(Further details will be announced as I dig deeper into this Housing Rescue Bill.)

So if you are a first time home buyer and looking to purchase a home in the Kansas City area you need to contact me today. Regardless of where you are looking be it Olathe, Overland Park, Blue Springs, Lee’s Summit, Shawnee or a host of other suburban cities or Kansas City. If I am not knowledgeable about the area of town you are looking I’ll hook you up with someone who is.

With a FHA loan, 3% of the purchase price and good credit this makes it easier and more economically feasible to be a first time home buyer than ever before!

Olathe, Overland Park & Shawnee, Kansas Rank High In CNN/Money’s Best Places To Live 2008

I’ve written here in the past about how high Overland Park and Olathe, Kansas rank in CNN/Money’s Best Places To Live 2007 and before. Now the 2008 Best Places To Liveis out and Olathe, Overland Park and Shawnee, Kansas are all on the list along with Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

# 9 Overland Park, Kansas
#11 Olathe, Kansas
#39 Shawnee, Kansas
#79 Lee’s Summit, Missouri

As a professional real estate agent in the Kansas Cityarea I have helped people buy homes and investment properties in each of these cities. I can tell you without a doubt that I can recommend each. I live in Olathe. I grew up in Overland Park. And Shawnee is just a stone’s throw away.

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Filed under City Comparisons, Kansas City Real Estate, Olathe

June 23, 2008 · 6:08 am

Kansas City Area Property Tax Valuations

The Kansas City Star has put together all of the metropolitan area county government’s tax appraisal sites into one handy little web page. Simply click on Property Tax Valuation and follow the link to your county.

I checked a few of my properties and was quite please, from a homeowner standpoint, that the property tax valuations had dropped a little for my homes in Olathe. Now, if I were selling I wouldn’t be thrilled! Funny thing is that I think my personal home is actually worth every penny and more of last year’s tax valuation. This year’s dropped. It’s an imperfect science for the county and I realize that. So I’m not too worked up about it!

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Filed under Kansas City Real Estate

June 9, 2008 · 8:11 am

Kansas City Investment Property

I was reminded again all weekend long how lucky those of us that live in the Kansas City area have it when it comes to investment property ownership. As many of you know I love talking with Jeff Brown regarding investment property. When we talk single family homes he says “no way” in San Diego. I know the same is true throughout much of the coastal areas.

It seems, however, that in many/most places between the Ohio River and the Rocky Mountains that we can choose to own single family homes as investment property. Sure, it takes a little more up front capital to make the numbers work for you and not against. But really, is putting 20%-25% down on a vehicle that will take you to retirement such a horrible thing?

Depending on your situation I may sometimes recommend 10% down on a duplex. Other times I may recommend 25% down on a single family home. Especially if we can pick up the rental home $10,000, $20,000 or even $40,000 below market. No, you will not be able to turn it around and sell it right away for a profit in this soft market. But what that the intent anyway? Airline to Kansas City

Think golf. Different clubs for different results. California real estate investing has a pretty narrow scope, now. Maybe one or two clubs left in the bag. But the California real estate investor, like the Maryland real estate investor, does have a choice. Get on a plane. Visit Kansas City. I think you’ll like what Kansas City has to offer in the way of investment property.

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Filed under Investment Property, Kansas City Real Estate, Real Estate Investing