Category Archives: Misc. Real Estate

March 2, 2009 · 11:23 am

Ramblings….

…our charting boards at our Keller Williams Realty office in Olathe had twice as many entries on the sales board as the listings board. Is this just a spring bounce or are we beginning to clear off some inventory? jayhawk

…the Kansas Jayhawks have just beaten Missouri to a pulp to avenge an earlier league loss to them. That puts the Jayhawks on the cusp of winning their fifth Big 12 title in a row…9 of the last 13. Amazing.

…right now I’m working with a lot more “regular” home buyers than I am with investors. It’s been a trend over the last six months. With investor financing comparatively more expensive and difficult to come by it just makes sense. Now, a couple of the regular home buyers are combining some sort of the Buy & Live real estate investing strategies I’ve advocated for years. So that’s smart thinking on their part.

vacancy_sign_lrg_clr …rents seem to be holding up in most of Kansas City. Where I see a definite softness is in the real low income properties and on the outskirts of Kansas City. Blue Springs, which I’ve loved for years, has had a movement to “soft” and I’m no longer thrilled about it. Though it’s still not a bad place to be.

…here in the Kansas City real estate market we are holding up pretty well. But advantage still goes to the buyer in much of the area.

…why do some real estate agents give up so much information about their clients?

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Filed under Kansas City, Kansas City Real Estate, Kansas City Sports, Misc. Real Estate

November 24, 2008 · 2:34 pm

Phone Is Ringing Again…Whew

Phone calls always come before business. In September and October the phone all but stopped ringing. I have most definitely noticed an uptick in phone calls over the past couple of weeks.

Is this because the election is over?

Is this because people are doing solid evaluations and realize the real situation?

Is this just because?

I don’t know. But I can tell you that the phone is ringing again. And I suspect by Spring we’ll see a bit of a return towards normalcy. Now, I don’t think the investment property credit market will be smooth sailing by any means. But we should start moving that direction again.

Ah, Inspection Day

I have two inspections tomorrow for a couple of potential investment properties over in the Waldo neighborhood of Kansas City, MO. As an agent I get bored to tears going to inspections. But as a buyer…especially an out-of-town buyer…I’m big on recommending them.

I have good eyes when looking at a house. Still, I see things the second and third time I might not have noticed the first time. And then having a completely neutral set of eyes look at things can be a big benefit.

If you are really, really good at looking over a house you might want to forgo an inspection. But if you wouldn’t mind spending $325 on a very large investment I highly recommend the time and trouble to have a qualified houses inspector look at that potential rental property. If nothing else it will confirm or deny what your agent has told you.

Previewing Possible Rental Property

I took a couple of hours yesterday and looked at some possible rental properties over in the Waldo area of Kansas City, MO. I came away with three real good candidates and about 10 real losers. The good candidates would all fit at least the 1% rule. One is nearly turn-key while the other two are within $4,500 of being rent ready. All fall below the $80,000 price range.

If you would like me to send you these three homes (they are not my listings) just email me at listwithchris at kw.com and you know I’ll send them to you.

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We are 23 1/2 days away from Midnight Madness. That’s when the Kansas Jayhawks can start basketball practice for real. We’re going to be real young and real inexperienced this upcoming year. So it will be fun to watch these new kids develop. And heck, we got our reward last April.

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I’m taking my very, very soon to be 16 year old to Chicago this weekend for his birthday present. A new right-of-passage for the Lengquist household will be to take the new 16 year old’s away for a couple days as a last shot at having some influence over them as they begin to enter adulthood and explore their own ideas and ideals.

If you know of any “must-sees” in Chicago, be sure to drop me an email today or tomorrow.

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There is a lot of uncertainty out there in the markets. Stocks go up huge one day and down huge the next. As least with real estate it’s all steady, right? 🙂 And if you bought on proper fundamentals you are not losing money on a month to month basis. Today you can buy on even better fundamentals and make that property work for you. I’d love to discuss this in detail.

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Filed under Kansas City Sports, Misc. Real Estate

September 3, 2008 · 7:14 am

Proper Fundamentals Trump Economy When Buying Your Rental Property

There has been quite a discussion over at BawldGuy as to the shape and direction of the economy. Jeff maintains that the recovery is starting or at least poised to. At least one experienced real estate investor and one investment banker disagree thinking we are at least one to two years away. Both point to evidence supporting their suppositions. Both sides making excellent points. (Make sure to read the comments!)

I’m not here to sit in judgement. But does it remind you a little of the upcoming elections? So much of the way you behave has to do with the way you see the world.

Getting back to the BawldGuy discussion the thing that seemed to be relatively ignored by the Bears of the argument (not saying they are Bears…merely that their arguments are Bearish) is that you can still buy real estate investment property that makes sense with 10% down or 20% down. But you absolutely have to work your numbers backwards.

“However, even at 50 percent off, he could not find anything that would pencil out when he worked backwards from what tenants could afford to pay.”

Obviously, if you work your numbers from either 10% or 20% down (heck, 50% down) and after your taxes, insurance, property management, reserves, repairs, etc. the numbers do not reflect what a tenant will be willing to pay for that rental property then you are not buying on proper fundamentals.

If you do buy on proper fundamentals then whether the economy has a short burst of appreciation, a long term stagnation or even a short term deflation you are going to be okay. Because that property will pay for itself in good times and bad.

This doesn’t have to be rocket science, people. We all agree that over the long term real estate is a fantastic investment. So why are we arguing over 6-24 months?

The Answer: Because from where I sit, in Kansas City, we’ve been relatively insulated. Yes, we’ve experienced a slow down in all areas of real estate like everyone else. But deflation in the neighborhood of 50%? Thank God, no. If we had, maybe I’d sound more Bearish. 🙂

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Filed under Misc. Real Estate, Personal Real Estate Opinions

August 6, 2008 · 8:10 am

Landlord Loses His Mind

From today’s Kansas City Star:

Newark, Del. | Police have arrested a landlord who allegedly rammed his Hummer into a renter’s house, claiming the tenants were behind on their rent.

Police said the 30-year-old landlord crashed the SUV into a home on Lute Court in Harmony Woods about 3 a.m. on Thursday.

A 50-year-old woman an her 53-year-old husband sleeping inside an were jolted awake by a loud crash and the house shaking.

Officers learned the man was the landlord and went to his home and saw the damaged Hummer with a pine branch stuck in the front bumper.
|The Associated Press

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First, how does this help the landlord with his expenses? Second, how does it help collect the rent? And third, I’m sure there is much more to the story. Aren’t you? But hey, maybe he needed the money right now for gas. I might suggest that if your tenant hasn’t paid rent that you handle it a little differently. 🙂

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Filed under Misc. Real Estate, News Of The Weird