Overland Park, Prairie Village, Lenexa, Olathe Blog

You can't pay your bills, your worried about your family's health, and the bank is threatening foreclosure. A short sale is when a bank agrees to sell a house for less than is owed on the loan., including closing costs, realtor fees, etc.There is often misinformation when it comes to this topic. I often find that people facing foreclosure contact me after the bank has started legal preceedings against them. It is hard to face the fact that you might actually be foreclosed on, but many do not realize the long term ramifications foreclosure can have on your financial health. Please consult with a professional as soon as you know foreclosure is a possibility. A short sale will only stay with you 2 years and a foreclosure can stick with you for a a decade! Please understand that you will be in a much better position if you tackle the short sale, than if you ignore the problem and let it ruin 10 years of your life. Short sales are the best of two evils and your bank will appreciate your effort to make the short sale happen because foreclosures on average end up costing a bank $60,000. Please do not go through the embarassment of getting foreclosed on because it is preventable.

-Daniel

PRICED TO SELL. Excellent condition, newer roof, nice foundation. There are 2 Bedrooms on the main level unit, and there are two 1-unit apartments on the second floor. This triplex has had same owners for the past 30+ years. Someone will get a deal on this. This multiplex is a legal, non-corforming use for current city zoning. Call with questions!

Virtual Tour

I got a Blackberry Curve 8530 for Christmas and I absolutely love it. This is not my first smartphone as I am a veteran by having a Palm Treo previously. This phone is much better than my old Palm Treo, but it is also better than previous versions of the Blackberry Curve.One obvious is reason is an upgrade in processors and memory. Also, the operating system is easy to navigate and the phone was a breaze to get setup. Email and web browsing is fast and easy. GPS feature is great. Trackpad is an improvement over the old track balls. Battery life is fantastic and phone has optional auto on/off feature so that you can set your phone to shut off when you sleep. It is great for making the battery last longer. I would highly recommend the Visual Voicemail App. Slacker Satelite Radio function is really neat, although speakers leave something to be desired and there is no flash for the camera. Bing appears to be the search engine partner as phone is reloaded with Microsoft Bing apps. The Blackberry Curve 8530 is far superior to all previous versons. Not many downisides. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMEND THE BLACKBERRY CURVE 8530.

When Google started in 1998, it was different from other search engines of the time for a number of reasons. Most search engines ranked websites solely by the number of clicks each website had. Google decided it could provide value to its users by providing more relevant content.

The way they achieved this initially was by ranking websites by the number of inbound links it has coming from other popular websites. It is still the main factor influencing how a website gets ranked in different search queries. Google has a "black box" with unknown search algorithms that change frequently, so no one outside of Google really knows completely how ranking and relevance is factored at any given time.

I have found the majority of real estate agents and many other small businesses do not have much of a web presence, so those that do are handsomely rewarded. If you are a small business owner, you have got to have a professional website and inbound links to it from other established, relevant websites. Web marketing is like the Wild West right now, so I suggest you claim your stake.

Note: While I can appreciate Google's strive for excellence, it is frustrating to me as a real estate agent and small business owner that my website ranking fluctuates so greatly. When you search for Overland Park Real Estate Agent my website is in the top position, but as recently as 6 weeks ago I was not even in the top 10. I have noticed similar patterns in several searches neighboring cities as well as for my home search of Prairie Village Real Estate Agent.

     In the current economy, fewer and fewer fans are willing to pay $100 for NFL team tickets. This has caused the NFL to enforce local cable blackouts in many different markets for the first time in nearly 20 years. These blackouts effectively block anyone within a 75 mile radius of the local team from viewing the game on their local cable tv. For the Kansas City Chiefs, who let's just say have had a rough couple of seasons, had their November 8th game against the Jaguars  blacked out in the Jacksonville area, as was the November 15th game against the Raiders.The San Diego Chargers had to rush to sell tickets at the last second for it to be televised in San Diego on November 29th. With the help of an extension, the Chiefs sold enough tickets to televise the Buffalo Bills game. Last week The Chiefs home game was blacked out in Kansas City.In the Chiefs past seven games, there have been three blackouts and two extensions granted. The remaining two, Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers in Kansas City, were close to not having enough ticket sales. The NFL organization has prospered for the past 20 years and now, when the going gets tough, the NFL plays hardball.

I think the picture below describes how I feel.We have already gotten close to a foot of snow this holiday. First time in more than 20 years. 

It was a long, rough year for the real estate market and next year probably will not be much better. I'm sure with all the spending we have planned for the coming years, it will most likely cause inflation because the excess suply of currency will lower the purchasing power of $1. The Federal Reserve aka "The Fed" has promised to fight inflation at all costs, and the way they fight inflation is by raising interest rates which thereby lowers the overall supply of dollars. Lowering the supply of dollars effectively raises the value of the remaining dollars left in circulation. In the 80's an interest rate on a home loan of 15% was considered phenominal.  Rates are now around 5%, an all time low. I would not be surprised to see rates climb to close to 10% in the next 5 years. Many people may not realise the full impact that would have on the real estate market and economy in general. For Sellers, that means the pool of buyers will be significaly lower. For buyers, this will significantly reduce your purchase power, making your loan payment much higher each month. My intention is not to be negative, but realistic and I'm am very positive about growth in the 5-10 year range.

Mission Woods: Located just north of Mission Hills and south of Westwood Hills on a 40 acre home site of the late William McKenzie Johnson, son of the county's namesake, Rev. Thomas Johnson, the city bears a name reflecting its wooded environment and the missions established there in the early to mid-1800s by the Methodists. Baptists and Quakers. The area was developed by J.C. Nichols Company in the 1930s as part of the residential expansion across the state line.

Phones seem to be changing faster than I can keep up with it. However, I got my first smart phone last year. My Palm Treo is awful. I hate it and think it is maybe the worst phone I have ever had. The intrigue of being able to easily make calls, text, surf the web, and retrieve emails on the go is too strong though and I decided to go with another smart phone. The new Blackberry Curve 8530 is pretty neat. Its processor and memroy are much faster than my Treo and ealier versions of the Curve.  and it is a little more business oriented.

 I would rate this phone 5/5, but then again anything looks good when compared to the Palm Treo.

Prairie Village and more specifically Prairie Hills has not been as affected as surrounding areas by the soft real estate market. Laura and I live in this subdivision and we absolutely love the area. There are plenty of parks, walking paths, shopping centers, and restaurants. There is an abundance of golf courses nearby. The neighbors are friendly and helpful.  It's nice to bike or jog to the Plaza through Mission Hills. There are mature trees, manicured grounds, statues, and lots of flowers. It really pretty, especially in the spring. The crime is low and police are very responsive. It's a great place to raise a family and start a business.