<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395</id><updated>2009-10-14T00:56:52.013-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Search Homes Kansas City</title><subtitle type='html'>Whether you are buying or selling your primary residence, a second home, an investment property, or relocating to a new neighborhood, Jacqueline McCroy Elbert can help make your homeownership dreams come true. 

To aid you in your home buying or selling process, my website, www.SearchHomesKansasCity.com, offers a wealth of information about the home finding and buying process along with information about the KC Metro area.</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>24</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-8880788912787184002</id><published>2008-09-25T15:13:00.003-05:00</published><updated>2008-09-25T16:17:58.194-05:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='home purchase'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='remodeling'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='first-time buyer'/><title type='text'>Stop Thinking About It And Just Do It!!!</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yhADuLp6bNo/SNv3MT5vDRI/AAAAAAAAADI/D9uhKNl37Ps/s1600-h/thomas.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250061581503368466" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yhADuLp6bNo/SNv3MT5vDRI/AAAAAAAAADI/D9uhKNl37Ps/s320/thomas.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;After thoroughly enjoying reading my friend Kerrie McLoughlin's blog (&lt;a href="http://thekerrieshow.blogspot.com/"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#3366ff;"&gt;http://thekerrieshow.blogspot.com/&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;), I thought "Stop Thinking About Blogging And Just Do It!!!" Now I realize I may not have as humorous a story as she...heck, when there are four little children around, there is bound to be a funny quote or story...but, possibly I might have something from my 18 years of real estate that someone might find interesting.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;Most recently my son, Thomas, and his new wife, Amanda, purchased their first home. As clients, they were wonderful to work with. When looking at a property they would look for the "potential". Now this might not sound like something to point out but it is. See, most buyers today cannot see beyond what they are looking at...they cannot see the potential of what a bit of work and effort would do to improve a property. Too much of that instant gratification mentality. Not so with Amanda and Thomas. They truly have an attitude that anything worth having is worth working for. &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;With the help of their lender, Ed Rafferty (&lt;a href="http://www.capfed.com/home/fiFiles/static/documents/Ed_Rafferty.pdf"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;color:#3333ff;"&gt;http://www.capfed.com/home/fiFiles/static/documents/Ed_Rafferty.pdf&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;), and Capital Federal's &lt;a href="http://www.capfed.com/home/loans.loans_home.loans_home_pil"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;color:#3333ff;"&gt;Purchase + Improvements Loans&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;they were able to purchase a home that had the potential of being lovely. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;br&gt;'A Purchase + Improvements loan allows you to buy the house you want and make the improvements with one mortgage loan. You may use your Purchase + Improvements for any improvements or permanent additions. You don't have to wait to make improvements, and you'll enjoy lower monthly payments compared to a separate home improvement loan. You simply submit your bids for the improvements at the time of the loan application, and Capitol Federal will appraise the house taking your bids for improvements into consideration. This allows you to borrow for your improvements now by taking advantage of the higher improved value.'&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;Well, Amanda &amp;amp; Thomas have moved into their home. The remodeled kitchen and refinished floors are beautiful. To date the interior painting is a work in progress...they choose to do that themselves...and once it is complete, the house will look nothing like the home they purchased. The cool thing is that they took a toad and turned it into the prince it was waiting to be.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;Oh, by the way, if this is something you or someone you know would like to do, give me a call. I'll be happy to follow up and take excellent care of you/them.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;Jacqueline McCroy Elbert&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;913.647.7162&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.searchhomeskansascity.com/"&gt;http://www.searchhomeskansascity.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-8880788912787184002?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/8880788912787184002/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=8880788912787184002' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/8880788912787184002'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/8880788912787184002'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2008/09/stop-thinking-about-it-and-just-do-it.html' title='Stop Thinking About It And Just Do It!!!'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yhADuLp6bNo/SNv3MT5vDRI/AAAAAAAAADI/D9uhKNl37Ps/s72-c/thomas.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-1469779900247382080</id><published>2008-07-09T17:50:00.000-05:00</published><updated>2008-12-13T00:31:58.933-06:00</updated><title type='text'>Homes &amp; Universal Design</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yhADuLp6bNo/SHU9e7JloQI/AAAAAAAAACg/w2F6ODO7UJ0/s1600-h/doorWkeys.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221146944489234690" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yhADuLp6bNo/SHU9e7JloQI/AAAAAAAAACg/w2F6ODO7UJ0/s320/doorWkeys.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here are just a few of many universal design features that are rising in popularity among homeowners:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;-&lt;/strong&gt;One-step entries&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;-&lt;/strong&gt;One-story living&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;-&lt;/strong&gt;Wider doorways and hallways&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;-&lt;/strong&gt;Lever handles instead of doorknobs&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Originally conceived in the 1970s to provide disabled people with a “&lt;em&gt;barrier-free&lt;/em&gt;” lifestyle, today universal design is embraced by people of all ages and physical abilities who seek greater convenience, comfort and safety in their homes.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It’s a trend that’s expected to grow, too.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Architectural experts say that as baby boomers age, the bending, stretching, climbing and toting that have traditionally been part of independent living will only focus attention on the benefits of universal design, and provide a distinct advantage to the homebuilders, remodelers and real estate professionals whose service includes universal design expertise.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.realestateforspecialneeds.com/"&gt;http://www.realestateforspecialneeds.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-1469779900247382080?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/1469779900247382080/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=1469779900247382080' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/1469779900247382080'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/1469779900247382080'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2008/07/homes-universal-design.html' title='Homes &amp; Universal Design'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yhADuLp6bNo/SHU9e7JloQI/AAAAAAAAACg/w2F6ODO7UJ0/s72-c/doorWkeys.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-7291844642853348258</id><published>2008-05-23T13:59:00.000-05:00</published><updated>2008-12-13T00:31:59.072-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='remodeling'/><title type='text'>Advantages of Remodeling Now</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yhADuLp6bNo/SDcUu6xCSoI/AAAAAAAAACI/xwyTqVGAuhM/s1600-h/handyman.gif"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203650690731362946" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yhADuLp6bNo/SDcUu6xCSoI/AAAAAAAAACI/xwyTqVGAuhM/s320/handyman.gif" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;Rising energy costs and a middling economy have dampened consumer confidence, but for many homeowners, recent adjustments to the market may actually have a silver lining. For homeowners who've been looking to make updates to their property, there are a number of reasons that make this an attractive time to tackle a remodeling project.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Lower Costs&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;While it's unlikely that a contractor will offer to remodel your bathroom or finish your basement for fifty cents on the dollar, many are offering deals to encourage homeowners to invest in their services. Some companies are offering rebates or discounts to attract business. Others are simply more open to negotiating the bottom line. Generally speaking the better deals are for smaller projects, but exceptions can be found.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Shorter Waits, Faster Timelines&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;With new construction slowing in many areas and fewer homeowners funneling money into their own remodeling projects, many contractors have more time to take on new work. In years past homeowners often had to take a spot at the end of the line with their contractor of choice, as many companies had a backlog of work. In some cases start dates were set weeks or months out, and the total timeline for a project could be extensive if the contractor was working multiple projects at once.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Today, many companies are more able to schedule projects to begin in the short term. Timelines too are becoming more flexible.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Hiring the Best&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;During periods of construction boom, the average homeowner can have a tough time securing the services of the best local contractors. At those times the consumer has to compete for the contractor's business. While the situation is not completely reversed today, the average homeowner does stand a much greater chance of hiring a top-notch remodeling contractor than would have been possible even a year or two ago. Quality contractors are looking for new avenues of business, even if it means taking on minor jobs that may not have been on their radar in the recent past &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-7291844642853348258?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/7291844642853348258/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=7291844642853348258' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/7291844642853348258'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/7291844642853348258'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2008/05/advantages-of-remodeling-now.html' title='Advantages of Remodeling Now'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yhADuLp6bNo/SDcUu6xCSoI/AAAAAAAAACI/xwyTqVGAuhM/s72-c/handyman.gif' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-47427416950419542</id><published>2008-04-30T15:15:00.001-05:00</published><updated>2008-12-13T00:31:59.274-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='market trend kansas city'/><title type='text'>Market Trends</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yhADuLp6bNo/SBjU_fUfIfI/AAAAAAAAABs/aXSy7mEVkCA/s1600-h/markettrend.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195136357376139762" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yhADuLp6bNo/SBjU_fUfIfI/AAAAAAAAABs/aXSy7mEVkCA/s320/markettrend.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;I am licensed in Kansas and Missouri and I mainly sell in Johnson County (Kansas) and Kansas City, Missouri. In Johnson County for the month of March (2008) 131 new homes sold with an average sale price of $372,438. In comparison to the same time last year, 162 new homes sold with an average sale price of $391,355. That is a 19.7% drop in sales and a 4.8% drop in average sale price. In the resale market there was a 14.28% drop in number of homes sold in March 2008 as compared to March 2007 but a 2.45% increase in the average sales price. So, when combining the new home sales and the resale, there was a 15.26% drop in sales and a .38% drop in average sale price.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;Looking at Kansas City, for the month of March (2008) 60 new homes sold with an average sale price of $310,767. In comparison to the same time last year, 113 new homes sold with an average sale price of $245,061. That is a 46.9% drop in sales but a 26.8% increase in average sale price. In the resale market there was a 17.73% drop in number of homes sold in March 2008 as compared to March 2007 and a 9.2% drop in the average sales price. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;To checkout homes for sale in my area please go to &lt;a href="http://www.searchhomeskansascity.com/"&gt;http://www.searchhomeskansascity.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-47427416950419542?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/47427416950419542/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=47427416950419542' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/47427416950419542'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/47427416950419542'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2008/04/market-trends.html' title='Market Trends'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yhADuLp6bNo/SBjU_fUfIfI/AAAAAAAAABs/aXSy7mEVkCA/s72-c/markettrend.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-54360106196909377</id><published>2008-04-23T17:26:00.000-05:00</published><updated>2008-12-13T00:31:59.426-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='home value'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='adding value'/><title type='text'>4 Ways To Add Value To Your Home</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yhADuLp6bNo/SA-4-fUfIaI/AAAAAAAAABI/IX-Bz14rKBs/s1600-h/Duo_Living_Room.gif"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192572279080296866" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yhADuLp6bNo/SA-4-fUfIaI/AAAAAAAAABI/IX-Bz14rKBs/s200/Duo_Living_Room.gif" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;With resale in mind, there is a right way and a wrong way to add value to your home.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;In an increasingly energy conscious world, going solar for electricity can save money while you live in the home and be more desirable when you go to sell.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;When comparing to otherwise equal homes, a multi-room audio systems may make your home more preferable.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Adding or updating a home security system is often a good way to increase your home's resale value.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;While it may not add dollar value to a home, a home theater system can add a "coolness factor" that will make your home appeal to the right buyer at the right time.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here's the caveat: Be careful not to go to techie. Too many expensive toys may create a home that is too far out of the typical price range of the neighborhood. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you have questions, just give me a call (913.647.7162) or drop me an email.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.searchhomeskansascity.com/"&gt;http://www.searchhomeskansascity.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-54360106196909377?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/54360106196909377/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=54360106196909377' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/54360106196909377'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/54360106196909377'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2008/04/4-ways-to-add-value-to-your-home.html' title='4 Ways To Add Value To Your Home'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yhADuLp6bNo/SA-4-fUfIaI/AAAAAAAAABI/IX-Bz14rKBs/s72-c/Duo_Living_Room.gif' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-6237059462836282002</id><published>2008-04-04T16:00:00.001-05:00</published><updated>2008-12-13T00:31:59.568-06:00</updated><title type='text'>What About Foreclosures?</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yhADuLp6bNo/R_aXJjCdWwI/AAAAAAAAABA/cMGDbI0fb7Q/s1600-h/QuestionMark.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185498211243875074" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yhADuLp6bNo/R_aXJjCdWwI/AAAAAAAAABA/cMGDbI0fb7Q/s200/QuestionMark.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;The following is an email I received from a client: &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Dear Jacqueline,&lt;br /&gt;I had a question, what about looking at foreclosed homes? What are your thoughts? Mary &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;Well Mary, when it comes to foreclosures there are &lt;span style="color:#009900;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;pros&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt; and &lt;span style="color:#009900;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;cons&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt; to these properties.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The &lt;span style="color:#009900;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;pro&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt; is that the bank is not in the business of holding onto properties so often they are priced more reasonably.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color:#009900;"&gt;Cons&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; are that the person did not have money to keep up with the mortgage and most likely did not keep up with the care and maintenance of the property. Also, there are times that the people who had the home, being upset with the pressures of their failing finances, may have done damage to the property prior to leaving.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;One more thing…banks sell these homes “as is” with no disclosures or warranties. Here is the but…But, you may have inspections and if you find that there is more there than you want to tackle then you may cancel the contract and get your earnest money back.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you guys go in knowing that you are going to have to do work then let’s give it a shot.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.jacquelineelbert.com/"&gt;http://www.jacquelineelbert.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-6237059462836282002?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/6237059462836282002/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=6237059462836282002' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/6237059462836282002'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/6237059462836282002'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2008/04/what-about-foreclosures.html' title='What About Foreclosures?'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yhADuLp6bNo/R_aXJjCdWwI/AAAAAAAAABA/cMGDbI0fb7Q/s72-c/QuestionMark.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-709301427193760863</id><published>2008-03-06T16:32:00.001-06:00</published><updated>2008-12-13T00:31:59.758-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Non-toxic Spring Cleaning'/><title type='text'>Non-toxic Spring Cleaning!!!</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yhADuLp6bNo/R9B0xXbDFfI/AAAAAAAAAAM/hFNrEUIKF0E/s1600-h/bucket_cleaning.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174764363298575858" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 141px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 148px" height="185" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yhADuLp6bNo/R9B0xXbDFfI/AAAAAAAAAAM/hFNrEUIKF0E/s320/bucket_cleaning.jpg" width="320" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;With Spring just around the corner the urge to open the windows and do a good house cleaning is great. This year rather than using toxic chemicals try making your own nontoxic cleaners at home. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;▪ &lt;strong&gt;All-Purpose Cleaner:&lt;/strong&gt; Mix 1/2 cup vinegar and 1/4 cup baking soda into 1/2 gallon water. Great for removing water deposit stains in shower stalls, on chrome bathroom fixtures, windows, bathroom mirrors, etc.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;▪ &lt;strong&gt;Air Freshener:&lt;/strong&gt;  Baking soda with lemon juice or dried &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;lavender&lt;/span&gt; in small dishes absorbs odors around the house without dulling your sense of smell. On the other hand, commercial air fresheners coat nasal passages and mask smells to diminish the sense of smell.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;▪ &lt;strong&gt;Disinfectant:&lt;/strong&gt; For wiping surfaces mix 1/4 cup borax into 1/2 gallon hot water. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;▪ &lt;strong&gt;Bathroom Mold:&lt;/strong&gt; Mold in bathroom tile grout is a common problem and can be a health concern. Mix one part hydrogen peroxide (3%) with two parts water in a spray bottle and spray on areas with mold. Wait at least one hour before rinsing or using the shower.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;▪&lt;strong&gt; Carpet Cleaner:&lt;/strong&gt; Mix equal parts white vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Spray directly on stain, let sit for several minutes, and clean with a brush or sponge, using warm soapy water.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-709301427193760863?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/709301427193760863/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=709301427193760863' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/709301427193760863'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/709301427193760863'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2008/03/non-toxic-spring-cleaning.html' title='Non-toxic Spring Cleaning!!!'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yhADuLp6bNo/R9B0xXbDFfI/AAAAAAAAAAM/hFNrEUIKF0E/s72-c/bucket_cleaning.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-7496914303159745308</id><published>2007-12-17T10:22:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2007-12-17T10:25:20.517-06:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>Here is a link to my weekly "REAL ESTATE NEWS CHANNEL":&lt;a title="http://realtytimes.com/vnc/JacquelineElbert" href="http://realtytimes.com/vnc/JacquelineElbert"&gt;Click Here&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This week's segments are full of interesting and useful information that I think you will enjoy whether you are a buyer, seller, homeowner, or renter.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Some of the topics covered this week are:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Real Estate Outlook&lt;/strong&gt; - The economy's messages for real estate in the past week have been just about as mixed as you can get.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mortgage Moment&lt;/strong&gt; - Jan Demas discusses making "Mortgage Payments online".&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Market Condition&lt;/strong&gt; - Kihei, Hawaii, fueling a healthy housing market is super healthy job growth--reported in the last few year at 17.94%.report local experts.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ask the Expert&lt;/strong&gt; - "My grandfather is giving me his home. There is a $20,000 mortgage balance. The lender says that I cannot get a loan unless my grandfather sells the house to me for at least the $20,000 value. He says my grandfather can "give" me the equity. Do I have to do it this way?"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Video of the Week&lt;/strong&gt; - This week's amazing video.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You can also tour my latest listing as well as view some of my personal favorites.I hope you enjoy this week's show.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you have any comments, please e-mail (&lt;a href="mailto:ForSale@JacquelineElbert.net"&gt;ForSale@JacquelineElbert.net&lt;/a&gt;) them to me.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-7496914303159745308?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/7496914303159745308/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=7496914303159745308' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/7496914303159745308'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/7496914303159745308'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2007/12/here-is-link-to-my-weekly-real-estate.html' title=''/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-8417042414645060095</id><published>2007-12-11T11:13:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2007-12-11T11:17:49.149-06:00</updated><title type='text'>My Weekly "REAL ESTATE NEWS CHANNEL"</title><content type='html'>Here is the link: &lt;a title="http://realtytimes.com/vnc/JacquelineElbert" href="http://realtytimes.com/vnc/JacquelineElbert"&gt;Click Here&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This week's segments are full of interesting and useful information that I think you will enjoy whether you are a buyer, seller, homeowner, or renter.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Some of the topics covered this week are:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Real Estate Outlook&lt;/strong&gt; - If you are a value investor and you're looking for affordable markets where property values are defying the national downtrend then check out a new report from the federal government.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mortgage Moment&lt;/strong&gt; - Jan Demas discusses "Negative Ammortization".&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Market Condition&lt;/strong&gt; - Seattle, WA, prices are up nearly 5% from this time last year, a result of more buyers than sellers in the market at this time, report local experts.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ask the Expert&lt;/strong&gt; - "I inherited property along with my stepmother &amp;amp; would now like to sell; however, I have not been able to locate her for six years. The court named me as overseer of the property &amp;amp; anything that pertains to the property including all decisions must be communicated through me. Can I sell without her consent?"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Video of the Week&lt;/strong&gt; - This week's amazing video.You can also tour my latest listing as well as view some of my personal favorites.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I hope you enjoy this week's show. If you have any comments, please e-mail (&lt;a href="mailto:ForSale@JacquelineElbert.net"&gt;ForSale@JacquelineElbert.net&lt;/a&gt;) them to me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.youfinallyfoundit.com/"&gt;http://www.youfinallyfoundit.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-8417042414645060095?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/8417042414645060095/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=8417042414645060095' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/8417042414645060095'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/8417042414645060095'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2007/12/my-weekly-real-estate-news-channel.html' title='My Weekly &quot;REAL ESTATE NEWS CHANNEL&quot;'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-2464128899669503583</id><published>2007-12-07T10:38:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2007-12-07T11:37:17.899-06:00</updated><title type='text'>Changes To The ACORN Program</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;Here is an update on some changes that have taken place on the ACORN program.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;With all of the scrutiny on 100% financing that has come about, Bank of America and ACORN have made some changes to their program. They have gone back to a &lt;strong&gt;3% down payment &lt;/strong&gt;requirement and &lt;strong&gt;620 credit score&lt;/strong&gt; for ACORN.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The following is more information about the ACORN Loan Program:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;ACORN Housing Corporation (AHC) is a nonprofit subsidiary of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Up to &lt;strong&gt;97% loan-to-value&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;No PMI required.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Down payment (If applicable) can come from gift or down payment assistance programs.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Seller can contribute up to 3% toward closing costs, escrows and prepaid items.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&gt;620 Credit&lt;/strong&gt; score required for 1-2 unit properties, 660 for 3-4 unit properties.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;$500 minimum investment from buyer/borrower.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;30-year and 40-year fixed rate products and 10/30 fixed rate Interest only product. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Applicants’ income may not exceed the 80% of median income for each County/State. KC Metro 80% LMI = $52,560.00 (variations for each County &amp;amp; State).&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Available in the following States:Arizona, California, Connecticut, DC, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, &amp;amp; Washington&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Primary residence only. Eligible property types include single-family homes, townhomes, condos, modular homes and two- to three-unit properties.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Allows for higher debt and housing ratios and the use of undocumented income.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Homebuyer education required and provided by ACORN.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;For more information and instructions go to &lt;a href="http://www.acornhousing.org/"&gt;http://www.acornhousing.org/&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Good news: Bank of America still has their Community Accommodation 80/20 loan for low to moderate income borrowers that have no down payment. In addition they may do down payment assistance programs and grants to help ACORN applicants find the 3% down.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For more information about &lt;a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.sellthisdamnhouse.com"&gt;mortgages &lt;/a&gt;or &lt;a href="http://www.jacquelineelbert.com/remaxmidstates/modules/agent/agent.asp?acc=44455&amp;amp;p=text&amp;amp;id=2488"&gt;buying/selling a home&lt;/a&gt;, email me at &lt;a href="mailto:SellIt@SellThisDamnHouse.com"&gt;SellIt@SellThisDamnHouse.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-2464128899669503583?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/2464128899669503583/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=2464128899669503583' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/2464128899669503583'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/2464128899669503583'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2007/12/changes-to-acorn-program.html' title='Changes To The ACORN Program'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-6193297554260201471</id><published>2007-12-03T16:33:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2007-12-03T16:55:37.460-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='winter'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sellers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='disadvantages'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='advantages'/><title type='text'>Advantages and Disadvantages of Selling Your Home in the Winter....</title><content type='html'>&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color:#009900;"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#000000;"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#ff0000;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;color:#cc0000;"&gt;Winter Sellers: Advantages&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color:#ff0000;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#009900;"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#000000;"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#ff0000;"&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color:#cc0000;"&gt;Smaller Housing Inventory:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; Because the holidays are traditionally slower selling season and sellers are just as busy as buyers at this time of year, few homes are put on the market towards the end of the year. In addition, many previously listed properties are taken off the market as a temporary measure. While the number of active buyers is lower during the winter, sellers also face less competition.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color:#cc0000;"&gt;Serious Buyers:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; People who are willing to rearrange their holiday schedule and brave the elements to shop for a home in general tend to be motivated, serious buyers. In many cases buyers at this time of year are invigorated by the promise of impending year-end bonuses. The demands of the season in large part also eliminate false alarms casual buyers from who are “just looking”.&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color:#009900;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color:#009900;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color:#009900;"&gt;Winter Sellers:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color:#009900;"&gt;Disadvantages &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color:#009900;"&gt;Bad weather:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; Potential homebuyers are only human, so naturally winter’s stormier conditions can convince many consumers to stay indoors. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color:#009900;"&gt;Shorter days:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; Most buyers prefer to view homes in the full light of day, even when casually looking at houses and neighborhoods by car. With fewer daylight hours in the winter, homebuyers are usually limited to weekends for in-person showings. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color:#009900;"&gt;Busy schedules:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; Time is at an absolute premium during a season of shopping for presents, attending holiday parties and traveling to visit relatives. Most people don’t feel they can spare time during these months to shop for homes or plan the move to a new home.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you have questions or are interested in selling your home, email me at &lt;a href="mailto:Sellit@SellThisDamnHouse.com"&gt;Sellit@SellThisDamnHouse.com&lt;/a&gt; or call (816.520.3620) I would love to help.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Jacqueline McCroy Elbert&lt;br /&gt;RE/MAX Realty Suburban&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.sellthisdamnhouse.com/"&gt;http://www.sellthisdamnhouse.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.realestateforspecialneeds.com/"&gt;http://www.realestateforspecialneeds.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-6193297554260201471?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/6193297554260201471/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=6193297554260201471' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/6193297554260201471'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/6193297554260201471'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2007/12/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-selling.html' title='Advantages and Disadvantages of Selling Your Home in the Winter....'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-9118766231044630801</id><published>2007-12-02T08:53:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2007-12-02T08:54:08.541-06:00</updated><title type='text'>Why Good Credit Is So Important....</title><content type='html'>Effective Dec. 3, 2007, a change in conventional loan programs and PMI that is going to have a significant effect on many of homebuyers! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This affects everyone with a credit score below 680.  Unless your FICO score is at least 680 or you are putting put 30% down, your interest rate will be higher.  PMI companies assign letter grades to a person’s credit score.  The difference between an "A" and an "A-" pricing is significant. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Example:  100% financing on a $200,000 loan and the Buyer(s) has a 659 credit score:&lt;br /&gt;PMI before change: $160        &lt;br /&gt;PMI after change: $236&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Give me a call (816.520.3620) or drop me an email (&lt;a href="mailto:ForSale@JacquelineElbert.net"&gt;ForSale@JacquelineElbert.net&lt;/a&gt;) if you have questions about this or any other Real Estate matters.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thanx-&lt;br /&gt;Jacqueline McCroy Elbert&lt;br /&gt;RE/Max Realty Suburban&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.sellthisdamnhouse.com/"&gt;www.SellThisDamnHouse.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-9118766231044630801?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/9118766231044630801/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=9118766231044630801' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/9118766231044630801'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/9118766231044630801'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2007/12/why-good-credit-is-so-important.html' title='Why Good Credit Is So Important....'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-117093893050503983</id><published>2007-02-08T06:18:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2007-02-08T06:49:46.983-06:00</updated><title type='text'>Classsic Tudor</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/271/3827/1600/337800/blkwht.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/271/3827/320/929121/blkwht.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The old and the new meet...the result is stunning.  Gourmet Kitchen, bricked Sun Room, spacious Family room with windows across the back, plus picturesque landscaping that provides beauty and privacy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.realestateshows.com/129758"&gt;&lt;img src="file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/Administrator/My%20Documents/My%20Pictures/button.jpg" width="152" height="40" border="0"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This classic Tudor style is located in &lt;a href="http://www.fairwaykansas.org/"&gt;Fairway, Kansas&lt;/a&gt;; one of many towns which make up &lt;a href="http://www.jocogov.org/"&gt;Johnson County&lt;/a&gt;.  Fairway is a rather popular area, even though the land area is only one square mile.  What makes it so desireable is the charm and the location.  The much over used phrase, "Location, Location, Location", is so true when you are talking about Fairway.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-117093893050503983?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/117093893050503983/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=117093893050503983' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/117093893050503983'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/117093893050503983'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2007/02/classsic-tudor.html' title='Classsic Tudor'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-117052694256669686</id><published>2007-02-03T12:18:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2007-02-03T12:22:23.326-06:00</updated><title type='text'>The City Of Fountains</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/271/3827/1600/295627/KCMO.gif"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/271/3827/320/522959/KCMO.gif" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;                                 &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Kansas City....the "City Of Fountains".   Truly beautiful.  As you drive north on Ward Parkway, early on a spring morning, the trees are budding and the flowers are blooming, you come upon the circle fountain at Meyer Boulevard...gorgeous! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The interest in fountains began in the late 1800s.  The first fountains were practical in purpose.  They were of animals like birds, horses, dogs, etc.; the fountains were for beautification of the city.  It was not until the early 1900s, the development of the Country Club Plaza, by J.C. Nichols, and his use of fountains to replicate the town of Seville, Spain, when the interest in fountains exploded.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A walk thru the Country club plaza, music on the corners, with an unexpected fountain here and there.  My favorite is the "Boy and The Frog" fountain found at 302 Nichols Road &amp; Central Avenue. The fun and innocence of childhood is depicted in this fountain.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/271/3827/1600/401779/KCBoyFrog.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/271/3827/320/969160/KCBoyFrog.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.kcfountains.org/education/history.htm"&gt;Click here for a wonderful site for the history of the Kansas City Fountains&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-117052694256669686?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/117052694256669686/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=117052694256669686' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/117052694256669686'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/117052694256669686'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2007/02/city-of-fountains.html' title='The City Of Fountains'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-116820904265021989</id><published>2007-01-07T16:28:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2007-01-07T16:34:25.780-06:00</updated><title type='text'>Overland Park, Kansas</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/271/3827/1600/168318/biketrail.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/271/3827/320/2002/biketrail.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;According to &lt;a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2006/snapshots/PL2053775.html"&gt;CNN's Money.com&lt;/a&gt;, Overland Park, Kansas was rank #6 in their 10 Great American Towns.  This is a list of "places that offer big-city opportunities and amenities -- with a lot more green space and a lot less stress".&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The average price of a single family home is around $250,000 with the average income of $89,792.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Living here I have always known it was a wonderful place.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="www.YouFinallyFoundIt.com"&gt;www.YouFinallyFoundIt.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-116820904265021989?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/116820904265021989/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=116820904265021989' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/116820904265021989'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/116820904265021989'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2007/01/overland-park-kansas.html' title='Overland Park, Kansas'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-116736597901015919</id><published>2006-12-28T22:18:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2006-12-28T22:19:39.510-06:00</updated><title type='text'>Maintenance Free Living</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/271/3827/1600/47959/front.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/271/3827/320/575647/front.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Beautiful two bedroom, two bath, maintenance free, ranch&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://client.rmsd.imprev.net/409/1174/index.ipv"&gt;&lt;font size="4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Click Here for Virtual Tour&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="www.YouFinallyFoundIt.com"&gt;www.YouFinallyFoundIt.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-116736597901015919?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/116736597901015919/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=116736597901015919' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/116736597901015919'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/116736597901015919'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2006/12/maintenance-free-living.html' title='Maintenance Free Living'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-116575748570809035</id><published>2006-12-10T07:29:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2006-12-10T07:31:25.996-06:00</updated><title type='text'>Is Your Site Handicap Accessible?</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/271/3827/1600/3642/handicapacessible2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/271/3827/320/30706/handicapacessible2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Each December 3rd there is an observance; International Day of Disabled Persons.  E-Accessibility Day, accessibility to information technologies, is this year’s theme.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;WHO, the World Health Organization, estimates that there are around 600 million disabled people worldwide.  This represents about 10% of the world's population. Around 80% are believed to live in developing countries. Only three out of 100 leading websites around the world meet the needs of persons with disabilities, such as the visually or manually impaired. The United Nations is working to raise awareness of the significant benefits to persons with disabilities and society when they are empowered with increased access to information technologies. Making information technologies available to persons with disabilities is not only a matter of human rights, it is good for businesses. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Studies suggest that accessible websites &lt;br /&gt;• appear higher up the page rankings of search engines &lt;br /&gt;• can save costs on web maintenance. &lt;br /&gt;• allows companies access to a largely untapped customer base&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The UN cited the following as KEY SHORTFALLS &lt;br /&gt;93% failed to provide adequate text descriptions for graphics&lt;br /&gt;73% relied on JavaScript for important functionality&lt;br /&gt;78% used colors with poor contrast, causing issues for those with color blindness&lt;br /&gt;98% did not follow industry web standards for the programming code&lt;br /&gt;97% did not allow people to alter or resize pages&lt;br /&gt;89% offered poor page navigation&lt;br /&gt;87% used pop-ups causing problems for those using screen magnification software&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-116575748570809035?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/116575748570809035/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=116575748570809035' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/116575748570809035'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/116575748570809035'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2006/12/is-your-site-handicap-accessible.html' title='Is Your Site Handicap Accessible?'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-116499479960327293</id><published>2006-12-01T11:39:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2006-12-01T11:39:59.936-06:00</updated><title type='text'>YEAH!!  FIRST SNOW OF THE YEAR!!  YEAH!!</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/271/3827/1600/85725/snowday4.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/271/3827/320/516649/snowday4.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I Love Snow Days!!&lt;br /&gt;Probably worse than any child, I look forward to seeing the name of my children's school scroll across the tv screen...School Closings...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Then there is the downside of snow days...snowy, icy walkways.  If I could ask one thing of those selling their homes, please clear your driveway and walkways.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-116499479960327293?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/116499479960327293/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=116499479960327293' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/116499479960327293'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/116499479960327293'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2006/12/yeah-first-snow-of-year-yeah.html' title='YEAH!!  FIRST SNOW OF THE YEAR!!  YEAH!!'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-116377152151034036</id><published>2006-11-17T07:49:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2006-11-17T07:52:02.276-06:00</updated><title type='text'>Third Quarter Market Results Are In</title><content type='html'>Hello from &lt;a href="http://www.jacquelineelbert.com/RemaxMidStates/modules/agent/agent.asp?acc=44455&amp;p=text&amp;id=2489"&gt;Johnson County, Kansas&lt;/a&gt;!!  Third quarter market results are in.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The average sale price was $270,800; up from the second quarter of 2006's $268,300.  During the same periods, third quarter number of homes on market was down (4590) from the second quarter (4844), 2466 homes sold third quarter while 2851 homes were sold, and days on market went down by three days.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On a scale of 1 being a Buyer's Market and 5 being a Seller's market, as reported by the &lt;a href="http://www.jacquelineelbert.com/RemaxMidStates/modules/agent/agent.asp?p=findahome.asp&amp;page=&amp;selected=&amp;acc=44455&amp;searchtypeid=&amp;showregionmap="&gt;Heartland MLS&lt;/a&gt;, the market in Johnson County is a 4.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.SearchHomesKansasCity.com"&gt;www.SearchHomesKansasCity.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-116377152151034036?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/116377152151034036/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=116377152151034036' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/116377152151034036'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/116377152151034036'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2006/11/third-quarter-market-results-are-in.html' title='Third Quarter Market Results Are In'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-116355337484386991</id><published>2006-11-14T18:58:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2006-11-14T19:31:13.893-06:00</updated><title type='text'>Bank of America has a great new loan program</title><content type='html'>&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;font size="4" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;MyCommunityMortgage&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;li&gt;Interest-only options&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;li&gt; 40-year terms&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;li&gt; No minimum borrower contribution&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;li&gt; Eligible for temporary 2-1 interest rate buydown..... &lt;strong&gt;Plus&lt;/strong&gt;.......&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Loan to Values to 100% for one-unit properties (&lt;br /&gt;    Available for two- to four-unit owner-occupied properties)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;li&gt;Reduced PMI rates&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;li&gt;    Flexibility on credit histories, nontraditional credit accepted&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p align="left"&gt;&lt;font size="4"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Here is the biggy---&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;font color="#FF0000" size="4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;Extra flexibilities with options to teachers,police officers, firefighters, health care workers, &lt;em&gt;and &lt;/em&gt; people with disabilities or a family member with a disability&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font size="5"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font color="#FF0000"&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;        &lt;br /&gt;    &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-116355337484386991?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/116355337484386991/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=116355337484386991' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/116355337484386991'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/116355337484386991'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2006/11/bank-of-america-has-great-new-loan.html' title='Bank of America has a great new loan program'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-116300201480709563</id><published>2006-11-08T10:05:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2006-11-08T10:07:10.573-06:00</updated><title type='text'>"Hello, Mom. We Were Robbed"</title><content type='html'>The phone rang early this morning.  It was my son, a senior in college.  "Hello, mom. We were robbed". A man came into the house, that he and three other students are renting, demanding money.  Thankfully the boys did not fight with the robber rather they gave him what he wanted and he left.  You know, of all the things I worry about when my children go off, this was not even on my radar...silly me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to Steve Trundle, president and CEO of Alarm.com., homes without security systems are three times more likely to be burglarized than homes with security systems.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The &lt;a title="http://www.homesafetycouncil.org/safety_guide/sg_security_w002.aspx" href="http://www.homesafetycouncil.org/safety_guide/sg_security_w002.aspx" target="_blank"&gt;Home Safety Council&lt;/a&gt; states that "According to law enforcement officials, the following facts are true:&lt;br /&gt;Most break-ins occur in the daytime.&lt;br /&gt;Most break-ins are committed by teenagers.&lt;br /&gt;Vacant homes are inviting targets.&lt;br /&gt;Burglaries are often crimes of opportunity. "&lt;br /&gt;Checkout their site, &lt;a href="http://www.homesafetycouncil.org/"&gt;http://www.homesafetycouncil.org/&lt;/a&gt;, for more safety tips and checklists.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-116300201480709563?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/116300201480709563/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=116300201480709563' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/116300201480709563'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/116300201480709563'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2006/11/hello-mom-we-were-robbed.html' title='&quot;Hello, Mom. We Were Robbed&quot;'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-116294389612328717</id><published>2006-11-07T17:57:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2006-11-07T18:01:48.266-06:00</updated><title type='text'>The Importance of Home Inspections</title><content type='html'>You have found the house of your dream, placed an offer, negotiated, came to a meeting of the minds with the Sellers....now what? It is time to do inspections. Believe it or not there are Buyers who will question the importance of inspections. Yes, there is an expense associated with having inspections...there is an even bigger potential expense if you do not have inspections.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here are the some myths and the facts according to the California Real Estate Inspectors Association (CREIA):&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Myth:&lt;/strong&gt; An inspection isn't needed as long as a qualified person tells you the condition of the property.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;REALITY:&lt;/strong&gt;A qualified professional inspector, licensed in states that require it, or otherwise certified by a respected trade group, or both, will inspect your home and report findings in a written document. A checklist of items inspected along with a narrative of his or her findings provides the best documentation. Some reports also may include an action list of items needing attention and digital photos to illustrate the findings. The report is a formal, final, and factual declaration of what was discovered about the property the day the home was inspected. The document overshadows spoken claims that come with no documentation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Myth:&lt;/strong&gt; A termite inspection is all you need to know about a home you're buying.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;REALITY:&lt;/strong&gt;Termite inspections, chimney inspections, structural inspections, environmental inspections and a host of others may be necessary and important to get the best inside knowledge of a home's condition, but they are not home inspections. A professional home inspection will address the overall performance of the accessible structural elements, the functionality of the major systems, and some safety aspects of a home and its various components. Herein lies another value of a home inspection. Should the inspector find evidence of termite, chimney or structural problems he will recommend an inspector qualified for the specific look-see.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Myth:&lt;/strong&gt; You only need a general contractor to do a home inspection.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;REALITY:&lt;/strong&gt;Some states forbid general contractors from performing both home inspections and corrective home improvements on the same property because there is the potential for a conflict of interest. A general contractor certainly has the background to be a good professional home inspector, but don't confuse someone who works primarily as a general contractor with a home inspector, unless he has been licensed or trade group-certified in the home inspection field. An inspector certainly needs to know facets of the building trade, but he or she must also recognize and evaluate patterns of deterioration and wear affecting building structures and mechanics. An inspector maintains an applied knowledge of plumbing, mechanical, electrical, and fire safety issues for structures of all ages and has a general idea of building codes in effect when a particular home was built. Those aren't necessarily the callings of a general contractor.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Myth:&lt;/strong&gt; You don’t need to present at an inspection.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;REALITY:&lt;/strong&gt; Neglecting to attend a home inspection can be a big mistake, often giving rise to needless questions and misunderstandings. The best way to be informed about a house is to attend the inspection. It is also a great way to learn how to operate your systems as well as finding out about their current condition. A professional inspector will want you to be present during the inspection to familiarize you with the home’s systems and point out specific conditions outlined in the report. A complete inspection report can assist buyers with future maintenance scheduling. Remember, if the inspection report contains information that is not understood, contact the inspector for further explanation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Myth:&lt;/strong&gt; An inspection report is a seller's repair list.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;REALITY:&lt;/strong&gt;While the seller can choose to use the inspection as a repair list, unless the buyer and seller agree to such a contingency in the contract, the seller is under no obligation to make repairs, especially if the home is sold "as-is." The only exception is when a home inspection turns up conditions law mandates must be cleared before the home is sold. The home inspection lets the buyer know what he or she is getting for the money -- before signing on the dotted line. With that knowledge, the buyer not only protects the investment, but perhaps gains some negotiating points, based on the condition of the home.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Myth:&lt;/strong&gt; A home sold "as-is" does not need an inspection.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;REALITY:&lt;/strong&gt;If you, as the buyer, don't get an inspection, you won't know what the "as-is" is. "As-is" merely indicates the seller, within the realm of the law, has decided not to make repairs, upgrades or other improvements before selling the home. Many states require the seller to disclose known defects or other conditions that could affect the value or salability of the home, but, unless law also requires repairs, upgrades or certain code compliance before the sale of a home, or the contract stipulates such action as a contingency, the seller is under no obligation to make repairs.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-116294389612328717?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/116294389612328717/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=116294389612328717' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/116294389612328717'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/116294389612328717'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2006/11/importance-of-home-inspections.html' title='The Importance of Home Inspections'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-116060072035223601</id><published>2006-10-11T16:04:00.000-05:00</published><updated>2006-10-11T16:05:21.023-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Did you know....</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/271/3827/1600/thomas%20rugby%20tackle1.jpg"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/271/3827/1600/AmeliaRowing1.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/271/3827/320/AmeliaRowing1.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Did you know that in the Kansas City area we have rowing. Rowing? Yes, it is not just an east coast sport.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Kansas City Rowing Club (&lt;a href="http://www.kcrowing.com"&gt;www.kcrowing.com&lt;/a&gt;) is made up of experienced and novice rowers, men and women, adults and high schoolers. It truly is a beautiful sport to watch. Our daughter began rowing her Sophomore year in high school. She has gained the experience of a sport she may do the rest of her life along with calloused hands and overall fitness. This is a sport a mother can watch...unlike rugby.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Yes, Kansas City also has rugby. Having lived in KC since 1968, I had no idea that either sport exsisted here...but they do and with great following. As I said, rowing is a beautiful sport to watch. Rugby is not. This is not a sport for mothers to watch. To the best of my understanding, rubgy is like football without the pads. Unlike rowing, rugby is not a sport you can play as you get older. In one game I witnessed a player being hit so hard that an ambulance was needed to remove him &lt;em&gt;PLUS &lt;/em&gt;my son's friend tore his ACL. No, this is not a sport for mothers to watch.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Check back as I will post new and different things about Kansas City. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-116060072035223601?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/116060072035223601/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=116060072035223601' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/116060072035223601'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/116060072035223601'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2006/10/did-you-know.html' title='Did you know....'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34690395.post-115868824963838815</id><published>2006-09-19T12:31:00.000-05:00</published><updated>2006-11-14T17:52:56.476-06:00</updated><title type='text'>Selling Your Home In This Market</title><content type='html'>The one truth in any market, the home that is clean, well maintained, attractively staged (both inside and out), and priced right is the one that will sell quickly. It makes sense...we all like things that are visually appealing plus fairly priced.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Constant research of the metro Kansas City's market helps me keep up with the local spots and communities which are appreciating the fastest. By keeping you informed on the latest trends in the local marketplace and educating you on the buying and selling process, you will be able to make the best decision for the most important purchase or sale.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My goal is to assist Buyers and Sellers in meeting all their real estate needs through creating trust and an ongoing relationship as your metro Kansas City, in both Kansas and Missouri, real estate source.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please give me a call (913.647.7162) or e-mail me at &lt;a href="mailto:ForSale@JacquelineElbert.net"&gt;ForSale@JacquelineElbert.net&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/34690395-115868824963838815?l=searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/feeds/115868824963838815/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34690395&amp;postID=115868824963838815' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/115868824963838815'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/34690395/posts/default/115868824963838815'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://searchhomeskansascity.blogspot.com/2006/09/selling-your-home-in-this-market.html' title='Selling Your Home In This Market'/><author><name>Search Homes Kansas City</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14894129451413942626</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='02752092405638624205'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry></feed>