BBQ Capital | Kansas City Real Estate Investing | Real estate investing and property management in Kansas City.

July 18, 2007 · 7:25 am

Isn’t This Interesting?

At our office listings are down a little bit but sales are way up. What does that mean? This market has been a little confusing. But generally, here in Kansas City, the real estate market is still moving right along for those that price their homes properly.

That is especially true of the Olathe market. Heck, I’m listing a home in Olathe on Friday and a careful study of that neighborhood shows there is only a 60 day supply. That’s a lot different than what you are seeing on the cable news programs.

Remember, you live in the Kansas City area. They don’t report your news. That’s not conspiracy theory. Just facts.

Kansas City’s New Sprint Center

This morning at the weekly Kansas City Breakfast Club meeting we had a guest speaker by the name of David Pulford. David is the Director of Operations for Kansas City’s new Sprint Center, the key component to the new Power & Light District.

Being both informative and fun, here were a few of the nuggets David shared with us…

There are 2,204 windows (that’s a lot of cleaning!).
There are 11,000 parking places in close proximity to the Sprint Center, or so he says…
The Sprint Center opens October 13, 2007.
There are 36 events planned between October 13th and December 31, 2007.
The Sprint Center will be open for public tours from October 10-12th.
Man hours to build the Center are approaching 1,000,000.
For basketball, the Sprint Center will seat about 18,000.

Now, because David is sworn to secrecy upon penalty of death he could not share with us all the events that are currently scheduled. He did say that information should be made public in the next week or two. David also brought up that Disney’s High School Musical would be coming as an ice production. (Sounds like a nightmare to me…though my 9 year old would love it.)

Regarding a permanent tenant David promised we would have both the NBA and NHL locked in by January.

Okay, the previous sentence is patently false. I just wanted to upset David. Although I’m sure he is working hard to do his part to make it happen.

On a personal note, and as a college basketball junkie, I am happy the Sprint Center is coming. The more Big XII basketball we can get here the better my life will be. Oh, and “Rock Chalk.”

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Filed under Kansas City, Kansas City entertainment, Kansas City Sports

July 16, 2007 · 2:04 pm

REALTORS & Pilots: No One Needs Them Till Something Goes Wrong

For the related story to this compelling video, click here.

Many of you know I like to compare my real estate business with my flying hobby. And all of this talk about whether REALTORS are really necessary, are they paid too much, whose money is the commission remind me of pilots.

And by that I mean this. Pilots earn their way up the pay scale ladder like anyone. And when they get to the top area they are making $150,000 or more in some cases. And people love to say “are they worth it?”

After all, the computers practically fly the thing. And I want my tickets cheaper. Can we cut his salary a little and save money? Well, I guess you could. And then the really experienced guys might find other options.

How much would you have paid that pilot that landed that Jet Blue plane? Would you have been negotiating his salary as you flew around LA for 3 hours burning off fuel so he could put that bird on the ground? Did you see how straight he kept that thing going down the runway? Did you notice no one was killed? How much should that pilot make for his services? After all, most of the time there is no emergency, right?

Seldom, and I mean seldom, am I involved in three real estate transactions in a row and not have to get into some sort of troubled waters and get things cleared up. It could be;

title problems.
loan problems.
appraisal problems.
inspection problems.
other agent problems.
flood plain problems.
insurance problems.

Do I need to list all of the possibilities. When you pay a competent real estate agent you are paying for their education, their licensing fees, their overhead, their insurance. You are also paying for their experience, their knowledge, the professionalism.

Think about that plane the next time you are wanting to discount your agent’s commission. If you want me to cut my rates by 40% I may only be inclined to solve 60% of your problems. It’s just human nature, right?

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Filed under Misc. Real Estate

July 16, 2007 · 7:30 am

Real Estate Investor Commitments

So, Chris. What are the commitments a real estate investor has to make to be successful?

That’s a great question I received not too very long ago. And it’s a complex answer. But I’m going to try to boil it down to a 4 topic blog post. Obviously, you’ll need more counseling with your chosen real estate professional.

Time

Almost all of the Buy & Hold real estate investors that I know have other professions. The investors that own 1-3 rental properties tend to help find them, manage them and are involved in the day to day operations.

But that’s tough to do when you get to 5+ income properties. Your “day job” is generally pretty involved to generate an income that allows you to own income property. And dealing with 5-10 tenants on an ongoing basis can begin to consume all of your spare time.

So then it’s time to bring in a good property manager. But you’ll still need a little time to work with him/her.

Money

I’ve seen the infomercials and heard most of the “gurus”. However, you are still going to need to make a financial commitment if you are going to own rental property. What happens if the tenant doesn’t pay for a month? Or it’s vacant? Or the roof needs replacing?

And don’t forget to keep a minimum of 3 months mortgage payments per property in reserve. The day will come when you will be glad you did.

Patience

Patience? Yes, patience. Patience to find the right property. Patience to find the right money. Patience to find the right property manager. Patience to find the right tenant. Hot heads don’t do well with Buy & Hold real estate investing.

Though you might try out for A&E’s latest series of frauds, er, flip shows.

Time

Chris, you already mentioned time. I know. I know. But I’m now talking about time to let your investment grow and mature. The sweet spot here in Kansas City for investment properties is right about 5-8 years. After 5-8 years The 4 Benefits have peaked and will now start a slow slide down on returns.

Don’t try to shortcut the 5-8 years. In most cases it’s the time you’ll need to maximize your investments so that you can then turn them and start over again.

Real Estate Investing Risk Management

Real estate investing as a means to secure a retirement worth having is all about risk management. And risk management can best be accomplished through education and due diligence.

Nobody goes into a business transaction hoping to lose money. (Well, maybe if they can take advantage of passive loss but that’s a whole other post.) The key is knowing what the current position of the property is, what the income and expenses really are and utilizing past performance mixed with current variables to forecast the next 5-8 years.

Does that sound complicated? It doesn’t have to be. Real estate investing is not rocket science. But it’s not child’s play, either.

Spend time educating yourself before you jump in. When you went to college, did you research your school or just go because they had a good basketball team? (You may not want me to answer that.) Read. Choose a good professor and then start your journey.

And subscribe to this blog’s RSS. That way you can keep up to date with what is happening in the Kansas City real estate investing market.

Free Concerts In Olathe, Kansas – A Great Evening For The Whole Family

One of the things about being a busy real estate agent based out of Olathe, Kansas is the crazy hours. There are a lot of times when I want to do something fun with the family but need to provide service to my clients instead.

But not last night. At 7:00 pm the Olathe Concert Series brought to our city Mark Selby along with opening act Fast Johnny Ricker. (Fast Johnny pictured right.) So Marie and I packed up the four kids +1 and headed over to Olathe’s Frontier Park. Now, I’ve written about the Olathe Concert Series before. And we’ve had fun there.

But last night was another level.

Before yesterday I had no idea who either of these guys were. I had heard of John Ricker. But never heard anything by him. I had never heard of Mark Selby. But as it turns out, these two dudes rock and can bend some strings and sing. For fun, you should check out their websites and listen to a few tunes.

So consider this post a plug to get out and listen to live music here in Olathe, Kansas. Jeez. They bring it to our front door. Cover bands. Singer/songwriters. Established bands. New bands. The works. It’s a good time and it’s FREE.

Two of my kids had fun.

Pictured is the actual shirt I bought along with the Mark Selby cd titled “and the horse he rode in on”.

Now, the license plate shirt is the one I bought. Though I should have gotten the Big Joe Turner shirt, as well. There is another great blues guy. And you KNOW he’s from Kansas City.

So citizens of Olathe and Kansas City, get out and have a good time. Now I’m fully aware that a man cannot live only on real estate, blues and bbq…but I’m doing the best I can.

Pictured left is Mark Selby.

Some of his song writing credits include;

– Blue on Black made a hit by Kenny Wayne Shepherd
– There’s Your Trouble made a hit by The Dixie Chicks

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Filed under Kansas City entertainment, Olathe