Category Archives: Kansas City

May 7, 2008 · 9:01 am

You Can Be Defrauded: It’s Easy

Every one of us likes to think we are so smart and so wary that we cannot be defrauded. Bull. If I learned anything as a PI all those years in the Washington, DC area it is that anyone, and I mean anyone can be taken advantage of.

When we think of fraud in real estate we think of lying on loan apps, lying about disclosures, lying about this & that. But here is the deal. There are people out there that have nothing better to do but sit around all day and night trying to figure out how to take advantage of you. You really don’t stand a chance. Trust me on this.

I’ve seen too many people of all shapes, sizes, economic & education backgrounds be taken advantage of in ways that would make your hair curl. Currently I am helping a couple of people to work out of decisions that seemed like no-brainers at the time but with a few months behind them cannot believe how easily they were misled. Before you criticize just be glad it wasn’t you. It could have been.

Take a few minutes and do a Google search for Brent Barber, our Kansas City real estate fraud guy. (Just click his name.) Read especially, if you have the time, the article in The Pitch that lays out the whole scheme in detail. He is actually quite proud of his industriousness in taking your properties.

I just wonder what he could have accomplished as an honest member of our society. Now he’s in prison for 19 years. And we are getting messed over again because we have to pay for him to live for free. Jeez.

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Filed under Investment Property, Kansas City, Legal Issues, Misc. Real Estate, Real Estate Investing, Worth Reading

May 6, 2008 · 12:19 pm

Think KC

Chris Gutierrez, President of KC SmartPort, Inc came to speak to my breakfast club this morning and I was really impressed with him, his presentation and what Think KC is trying to accomplish here in the Heartland.

In case you are not familiar with Think KC, they are the red dots all over town with KC in the middle. Promoting the Greater Kansas City area for new business (thus new jobs, new housing, new commerce, new tax base, etc.) that comes from outside our metropolitan area is their job. They have been actively involved in this whole Bombardier project that is down to Kansas City and Montreal. If that comes through it could bring an estimated 2,100 jobs and have an unprecedented impact on the Kansas City area.

Anyway, getting back on track, I think that Think KC should be on every Kansas Citians radar. They really promote the whole area and not just the Kansas City area or the Overland Park area or the Blue Springs area. Chris even said that when they show a map of the KC area to out of town investors and would be comers that they take off all the lines that define boundaries. I like that.

Other items Chris mentioned include;

Kansas City is #1 in railroad tonnage.
Kansas City is #3 in trucking.
Animal health is really on the grow throughout the entire corridor between Manhattan, KS and Columbia, MO.
Data and call centers are coming to Kansas City because of our central location/time zone, cheaper energy and labor costs and costs of living. (I know Olathe has really benefited from that!)

Chris found it difficult to contain his enthusiasm for the Kansas City area and stated that with all that is goin on, including the Power & Light District, they are getting more inquiries than ever.

Kansas City needs more like Chris. Proud of his community and ready to tell anyone who will listen about the advantages we have here. Think KC. You will be glad you did.

KC REI, Rants, Thank You’s and Stuff

– I’m dealing with a closing snafu to top all closing snafus. I was fully prepared for a “situation” on the closing of this Overland Park investment property. And I covered all the angles. Followed up. Checked in regularly with the selling agent for my buyers. And still the closing cratered because of a wild card that I simply cannot control. When I have a couple days distance behind me I’ll write about the details for you. Because right now all my adjectives and descriptions are unprintable for a family blog. And man, do I feel for the buyers.

– Many of you may have figured out that I’m a sports fan. Specifically, I love my Kansas Jayhawk basketball. What a year the University of Kansas has had. Won the Orange Bowl. Won the NCAA tournament and brought to the Kansas City area the first national championship this city has seen since the Kansas City Wizards won the MLS Cup in 2000. But for those of you that don’t consider soccer a sport you have to go all the way back to 1988 for the previous championship which again was the KU Jayhawk basketball team. Hey Kansas City Royals and Kansas City Chiefs, it might be nice if you could contribute a little, too.

– I’m flabbergasted at the lack of quality investment property available right this minute in Johnson County, Kansas. There are a total of 36 duplexes currently on the market and only two have any hope of getting my “thumbs up” at this time. Dear Sellers, from what I’ve seen your investment properties are over-priced and under cared-for. Why should buyers pay top dollar for a property with shaky tenants, 22 year old roofs, furnaces leaking carbon monoxide and enough wood rot to keep a carpenter busy for a week?

– Just because Johnson County investment property sellers seem to be a little delusional doesn’t mean there aren’t quality buys around the Kansas City area. I’m still very bullish on the Blue Springs & Raymore/Belton areas over in Missouri.

– Yesterday was my birthday. Any guesses as to how old?

– For you Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas real estate investors I may have a property coming up that you will be interested in. Probably priced around $125,000 with rents at $675/side. This duplex is a three bedroom, two bath and one car garage. I know the property manager well (he referred me to the seller) and I can put you in touch with him for the rental history…when the time comes. Drop me an email if that sounds interesting.

– Dear WordPress, not impressed with your recent changes. No spellcheck. Your new way of adding photos is cumbersome and doesn’t work about 75% of the time which is why there are none for this post. And working out bugs before rolling out a new version of the editor would have been swell. Sorry readers.

– A special “thank you” needs to go out to all our readers. The readership of BBQ Capital : Kansas City Real Estate Investing keeps going up and up. It is both humbling and exciting. Always feel free to leave comments and I really encourage you to send me topics of which you’d like to see covered. After all, this blog is not only for me, it’s for you!

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Filed under Investment Property, Kansas City, Kansas City Sports, Misc. Real Estate, Personal Real Estate Opinions

March 29, 2008 · 8:28 am

School Districts And Property Values

Ever notice how school districts and property values go together? Take the Kansas City School District. It’s perceived to be in constant turmoil with very little idea of which direction it’s heading. (See all the turnover in the Superintendent position.) Houses in the KC School District, by in large, are much less expensive than their counterparts just a mile or two to the west in the Shawnee Mission School District.

That’s it. Nothing complicated. Just look at the intrinsic values of your investment properties, too.

Kansas City’s Rich And Famous

Back in the beginning of March Lani Anglin-Rosales did a blog post about Famous Texas Alumni. And I got to thinking about doing one about Famous University of Kansas Alumni. But, hey, this is Kansas City so we should make note of the famous Kansas Citians regardless of which side of the state line they were from or what school they attended.

To be eligible for the list they must have been born & raised in the Kansas City area or made their bones here.

WALT DISNEY : Dude with a mouse.

DANNI BOATWRIGHT : Pretty girl. Oh, and I think she won Survivor.

HARRY TRUMAN : Midwestern sensabilities in a crazy world. I’d still vote for him.

TOM WATSON : At least for a little while he made Jack Nicholas nervous.

ED ASNER : Chuckles the Clown episode is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen on television.

AMELIA EARHART : Famous, ground breaking aviator.

ROBERT ALTMAN : Oscar winning director.

BUCK O’NEILL : This man, may he rest in peace, is one great American. Although he’s not in the Baseball HOF, there is an award named after him.

BIG JOE TURNER : Just sit back and listen to the blues, man.

DR. JAMES NAISMITH : Well, he actually lived and died in Lawrence, KS. But close enough. Heck, he invented my favorite sport. He had to be included!

MAURICE GREEN : World’s Fastest Man. (Well, maybe not anymore.)

COUNT BASIE : Kansas City style jazz at it’s best.

GEORGE BRETT : Kansas City’s greatest baseball player. A HOF’er who would have been a catrillionaire if he’d played in New York or Los Angeles.
(As a personal aside to George, don’t feel too badly. He seems to have done alright in his financial life.)And there you have it. A collection of Kansas City talent. Now, there are more, of course. But I’ve run out of time. And it’s not likely I have the patience to continue. Enjoy the list. Feel free to add names in the comments section!Oh, and I just have to say this because of the time of year…

….Rock Chalk!

No Soup For You!!!

You’ll have to excuse me if I feel a little like Yev Kasem today. Why? Let me explain.

As most of you have read me whine I’ve had the flu that just won’t end. Not running a temp anymore but the headache, stuffy nose and cough just won’t go away. Much like this %@c&!*@ weather we’ve been experiencing.

Well anyway, I met with a client last evening and that went pretty well considering I didn’t think I could breather during the entire conversation. Heck, even for my son’s birthday dinner last night I had to breath before chewing so as not to suffocate during the chewing portion of my meal.

So I go to bed last night convinced the worm is turning. Find hope where you can find it, right? I had felt much better. The weather was all the way up to the upper 30’s and I had remembered that it was going to be 50 soon. WRONG.

That idiot weatherman has given us another day in the 20’s. (I realize it’s immature to blame Steve Busby for the weather. But I just don’t care.) Now as I look out my window here at 8:41 am it’s almost a whiteout with snow!

Kansas City Weather Scares Man Back To San Diego!

Last summer I sold a listing to a guy from San Diego (he had his own agent…we just hit it off). The place was a dump in a great neighborhood and was considerably under priced because of condition. He called me to tell me the place has been totally rennovated and he wants me to come by and see. And oh, by the way, he needs a property manager because he’s had it with Kansas City. One year. One winter. Worst I can remember, was all it took. He had just returned from San Diego where he had purchased a house because our winters are “too harsh.”

(Cover your kids’ ears.) No shit.

My only question is: Can I come with you?

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Filed under Kansas City

February 28, 2008 · 2:17 pm

An Investing Point By Jim Cramer

Last evening while waiting to go to sleep I broke a rule I generally have about watching Jim Cramer’s Mad Money program. My rule is usually: Don’t. It’s not that I don’t think he knows what he’s doing. Heck, he knows 1,000% more than I do about the “market”.

It’s just that I usually don’t watch Cramer because of his style. It reminds me of Beavis when he had too much caffeine and he turned into Cornholio. Only that was supposed to be funny.

Anyhoo, as I flipped through he caught my attention with a rant about the differences between professional investors and the amateurs. There were several points all of which I found interesting. And upon further reflection it occurs to me that one point is very much a part of my mantra as well;

The professional investor is first concerned with how much money he could lose. Not how much money he could gain.

That’s one of the reasons I love real estate investing right here in boring but very stable Kansas City. And why within the Kansas City metropolitan area I’m even choosier still as to what neighborhoods I will recommend investors to grow their portfolios.

As stated before, I’m not a big fan of the lower priced neighborhoods. Growth is slow. And neighborhoods can turn for the worse rather quickly. And I’ve also stated that I’m not sold on the condo boom in downtown KC because I think there is too much inventory at too high of a price. That’s more speculative than I like.

So I guess I have a little Cramerica in me after all.

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Filed under Kansas City, Personal Real Estate Opinions

Tagged as Jim Cramer, Kansas City, Real Estate Investing