Category Archives: Real Estate Investing

Okay. So I must have been living under a rock to be the one person involved in talking about real estate investing to not know about John T Reed’s Real Estate Guru Rating page. I found it today’s through Christopher Smith’s Equity Scout.

I must say that Mr. Reed seems a bit (how should we say?) cranky. But, I like cranky. And in most cases I laughed out loud because I agreed with him.

Oh, dear. What will he think of me?

Well, I cannot control that. But in the mean time if you want some truth and entertainment, why don’t you click the link above.

(Sorry no pictures. I’m treating you like a grown up. I knew you could handle one post here about real estate investing that didn’t have pictures.)

The University of Kansas Jayhawk basketball team plays the Trojans of USC on December 2nd. So mixing business with pleasure, I will be visiting the lovely city of Los Angeles from November 30th to December 4th. I have to come out to watch my Jayhawks put the beat down on OJ Mayo and his Trojans. (Or so I hope!)

Anyway, after speaking with a couple of my Los Angeles clients it looks like I’ll be getting together with them and a few of their friends (thanks Jeff Brown) to discuss real estate investing in Kansas City.

I would love to meet you to. We can get together for a coffee or something and just meet so that you can see I’m not the Boogie Man or the guy from Glengarry Glen Ross.

Again, if you have even a passing interest in moving some of your real estate investment portfolio from the Los Angeles area to the Kansas City area, just give me a call at 913.568.1579 or drop me an email. I’d love to hear from you.

Miscellaneous ramblings about the Kansas City real estate investing market…

– I spoke the other day about a real treat I had found from an investor. I put the word out to my real estate investors and they responded in far greater numbers than I could satisfy. Why?

The properties were 3 duplexes in a 55+ community. Both sides rented at $1,075 on 4 of the 6 units, $975/side for the other duplex. Asking price was $220,000 and HOA took care of all exterior maintenance for $100/mo. per building. Oh, did I mention they were located in one of the fastest growing suburbs in Kansas City?

Now here’s the good news. The seller of those properties have given me a tip on another builder also looking to get out of his construction loans. He too has had to rent out his new construction homes to help keep from going under. So I’m entering negotiations today to see where those will head.

I’ve been predicting good things for this winter for the Kansas City real estate investor. Looks like it’s going to happen. (But don’t get too excited. Every year I predict the Jayhawks will win the NCAA tourney, too.)

– Where is fall? Seriously, I had to take my sweatshirt off at my son’s football game on Saturday because I was hot. Enough already. Jeez. Some of the trees still have green leaves.

– I know of a Waldo home that is 3 bedroom and 2 full baths that just rented for $1,150/mo. I have a 3 bedroom 1.5 bath home in Waldo for rent at $965/mo. that is generating some traffic. The rental market remains very strong in Waldo. And for that matter, throughout much of Kansas City.

– Congratulations to the Jayhawk football team. They are in rarefied air at #4 in the BCS standings. Unbelievable. I’m still peeing my pants from hanging 76 on Nebraska. Sure I know Nebraska isn’t up to their usual standards. But they are still Nebraska. Those kids were recruited over the kids Mangino has. And they’ve hung 60+ points a game on us for decades!

– This Saturday I’ll be teaching at UMKC’s Communiversity a class on real estate investing. As I understand it the class is about 75% full. I’d love to see you there. We’ll talk about real estate investing in general. But specifically we’ll talk about getting rich slowly to build a retirement worth having.

Come on out. It’s about real life real estate investing for real people.

Here are a few myths that need to be dispelled about my abilities. I’m doing the best I can. But I’m only human. This just happens to be my full time profession. Well, that and rasing four kids!

• I cannot tell the future any better than you can when it comes appreciation, foreclosures, etc. (I can use market data to tell you historical trends.)
• When negotiating I cannot tell you the exact thought process of the opposing party. (I can give you best “guesses” based on experience, suspected motivation and deduction.)
• I cannot control the behavior of the opposing party or their REALTOR advocate. (I can be a buffer between you and them and give sound, reasonable arguments as to why you are making the offer or counter offer you are making.)
• I cannot find income houses that fit your criteria if your criteria is not realistic. (No, there are no brand new duplexes selling for $150,000 here in Kansas City that have 100% occupancy and rent for $900 a side. At least not that I’m aware of.)
• I cannot control the market. (I realize you want $300,000 for your property. I get that. But the market says it’s worth $250,000. I’m not saying that, the market is.)

Of course, I could go on. Here’s the deal, if you are an experience real estate investor here in the Kansas City market you may have a lot of the same opinions on property that I do. We may even come to a lot of the same conclusions. But wouldn’t you be wise before making any sizable investment purchase to compare notes and have a neutral set of eyes looking at your potential deal.

And if you are brand new at real estate investing, even if it’s new to investing in the Kansas City market, you really do need the expertise of a REALTOR advocate. One that knows the Kansas City market. One that knows real estate investing.

Yesterday while combing through the MLS I found a real treat! I emailed the listing to my investor client base that actively invests in real estate here in the Kansas City area. To give you a clue as to how good the investment looks I have 11 potential buyers for 3 properties. Ooops.

That’s a good thing for me, I guess. But I need to see if I can dig any more of these up to keep the others happy.

If you want to be added to my “mail-to” list just email me. Just so you know, I work on a first response, first served basis. It’s the only way I know to be fair.

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Keep in mind the time of year. As you drive home this evening be careful! I don’t want you driving over a little ghost or goblin. So slow down and enjoy the ride.

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One thing I try to remind everyone at Halloween is how real estate signs seem to magically move from one part of a city to the other. So if your house is for sale, do your REALTOR a favor and put the sign in the garage for the night.