Bill here, just wanted to let you know why I love what I do.
This weekend I went out to view a property that I hope will soon show up as a listing. It was a nice warm day and my wife and I were talking about going hiking at the Arboretum, but instead I asked her if she'd like to go with me and hike this property while I looked at it, and took pictures. I was stunned to hear her say yes. She is not nearly as enthusiastic about the outdoors as I am.
So off we started. I parked the truck inside the gate of this 120 parcel and we took off. I got the normal comments about "how can I enjoy the property when I she spent all her time looking down to watch out for cow flop. But as we walked through a grove of trees we spotted two bucks in the next pasture. We were both excited and I tried to maneuver to get a shot of those bucks before they took off. They saw me and started to run so I shot off some wild shots and hoped for the best. (I did wind up with one with the two bucks at the top of the frame). But now that got her enthusiastic.
Next we had to ford a pretty muddy creek and I wondered if she'd want to turn back. But no she was a trooper and we got across with a little trepidation but no incident. By this time she was getting into it. She had a an aerial photo and was tracking our progress as we walked. I was snapping pictures of this gorgeous property. It always amazes me how much beauty there can be just a few hundred yards away from a road, and this was no exception.
We found that 3 small creeks wound through some gorgeous old growth timber to form a larger creek. We found hidden fields and pastures that were framed by these creeks. We found a hidden pond that was not even visible either from the road or from the aerial photo. The land owner had done a great job of landscaping around this pond that made for a hidden retreat. All in all it was one delightful surprise after another.
But the best part was when we got towards the end of the downstream flow of the creek and through the timber something caught my eye. We had pushed a herd of deer ahead of us and they were running across an open field. I don't know how many had run before we noticed them but my wife and I counted 14. So with those two bucks we had seen earlier we were now up to 16 deer we had seen, and my wife finally got a little understanding about how much I love what I do.
Yeah I sure miss sitting in a cubicle all day.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
What would Grandpa tell you to do.
Well I'm no financial expert. If I was I'd be writing this blog about traveling the caribbean from my beach from home in Cancun. And well, instead I'm writing it from the frozen plains. So if you are looking for great advice maybe I can link you to someone who can help.
But I know some folks who are smarter than me, and my grandfather was one of them. I'll bet this will sound like a lof of advice you've gotten from grandfathers. The first is "buy low, sell high" Well whether we are talking about real estate or stocks, now is the time to buy low. If you can buy now and don't in 18 months you'll probably wish you did.
The other thing Grandpa said was, "I had a chance to buy that ground 20 years ago for next to nothing, now look at what it's worth." Well unless you are over 75, today is the 20 years from now when you'll wish you'd bought some of these properties that will seem like they were just being given away. I can guarantee you in the rural real estate business I hear that one everyday.
Every now and then one of the folks whose land we've sold will tell us with a grin what they paid for some ground when they bought it, and how they almost didn't buy it because they were sure it was over priced.
Now my grandpa didn't say any of the following but they are still worth remembering. Mark Twain said, "buy land, they quit making it", and many people have said, "too soon old, too late smart. "
But I know some folks who are smarter than me, and my grandfather was one of them. I'll bet this will sound like a lof of advice you've gotten from grandfathers. The first is "buy low, sell high" Well whether we are talking about real estate or stocks, now is the time to buy low. If you can buy now and don't in 18 months you'll probably wish you did.
The other thing Grandpa said was, "I had a chance to buy that ground 20 years ago for next to nothing, now look at what it's worth." Well unless you are over 75, today is the 20 years from now when you'll wish you'd bought some of these properties that will seem like they were just being given away. I can guarantee you in the rural real estate business I hear that one everyday.
Every now and then one of the folks whose land we've sold will tell us with a grin what they paid for some ground when they bought it, and how they almost didn't buy it because they were sure it was over priced.
Now my grandpa didn't say any of the following but they are still worth remembering. Mark Twain said, "buy land, they quit making it", and many people have said, "too soon old, too late smart. "
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Top Ten Reasons People Should Be Buying
1. SELECTION, SELECTION, SELECTION.
Regardless of price range, there are plenty of houses from which to choose. There's a great selection of attached homes, condos and townhouses. You can find large lots, small lots, and a lot that will accommodate your boat or RV. You have many options. When resale inventories are low, buyers are forced to make compromises. Not today.
2. NO BIDDING WARS.
In 2005, we knew one family who made offers on 10 homes. They lost the first nine to the feeding frenzy that existed in the market-other buyers bid the properties up substantially from the original listing prices. There were even escalation clauses where buyers authorized their agents to outbid other offers by thousands of dollars. There's no competitive bidding in the buyer's market of today.
3. YOU CAN MAKE AN OFFER.
A few years ago when you made an offer, the only question was how high above the list price you should reach in hopes of being the best offer on the table. Today the sell price vs. list price ratio is about 96 percent. Sellers won't be insulted if you "make them an offer they can't refuse."
4. PATIENCE IS TOLERATED.
In the hot seller's market, everything was rushed. You had to find a house before other buyers did, then hurry up and make the offer. Today, buyers can take their time. They can look at several homes and think about their decision for a while.
5. DUE DILIGENCE IS WELCOMED.
In this market, a buyer is encouraged to obtain a home inspection, termite inspection and appraisal. In 2005, many buyers waived these contingencies in order to gain an advantage.
6. PLENTY OF SPECS.
Buyers sometimes had to play games if they wanted a newly built home. There were lotteries and waiting lists. Some buyers even slept in their cars in order to get to the head of the line.
7. REPAIR REQUESTS ARE ACCEPTED.
After buyers complete a home inspection, they're allowed to submit a repair request to the sellers. But in the past, seller often insisted the home be sold as-is. Many times, there were back-up buyers waiting for the primary buyers to upset the sellers, whose home was increasing in value almost daily.
8. FEW, IF ANY INVESTORS.
It's estimated that one third of all sales in 2005 were to investors. These buyers caused the market to inflate and affordability to decline. Mortgage fraud became commonplace. It's a great time to buy without having to compete with hundreds of prospective landlords.
9. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.
Today's buyers can find homes closer to work. In this market, reasonably priced homes are within biking or walking distance to schools, rapid transit lines and relatives.
10. REAL FINANCING IS AVAILABLE.
The "wink, wink" zero-down, no-doc, adjustable, sub-prime loans are gone. Fixed rates are back. FHA financing, first-time homeowner bond programs, and special loans for teachers or police officers are back in business. The bottom line: IT'S A GREAT TIME TO BUY REAL ESTATE!
copyright 2008 re/max International Inc., 1/22/08
Regardless of price range, there are plenty of houses from which to choose. There's a great selection of attached homes, condos and townhouses. You can find large lots, small lots, and a lot that will accommodate your boat or RV. You have many options. When resale inventories are low, buyers are forced to make compromises. Not today.
2. NO BIDDING WARS.
In 2005, we knew one family who made offers on 10 homes. They lost the first nine to the feeding frenzy that existed in the market-other buyers bid the properties up substantially from the original listing prices. There were even escalation clauses where buyers authorized their agents to outbid other offers by thousands of dollars. There's no competitive bidding in the buyer's market of today.
3. YOU CAN MAKE AN OFFER.
A few years ago when you made an offer, the only question was how high above the list price you should reach in hopes of being the best offer on the table. Today the sell price vs. list price ratio is about 96 percent. Sellers won't be insulted if you "make them an offer they can't refuse."
4. PATIENCE IS TOLERATED.
In the hot seller's market, everything was rushed. You had to find a house before other buyers did, then hurry up and make the offer. Today, buyers can take their time. They can look at several homes and think about their decision for a while.
5. DUE DILIGENCE IS WELCOMED.
In this market, a buyer is encouraged to obtain a home inspection, termite inspection and appraisal. In 2005, many buyers waived these contingencies in order to gain an advantage.
6. PLENTY OF SPECS.
Buyers sometimes had to play games if they wanted a newly built home. There were lotteries and waiting lists. Some buyers even slept in their cars in order to get to the head of the line.
7. REPAIR REQUESTS ARE ACCEPTED.
After buyers complete a home inspection, they're allowed to submit a repair request to the sellers. But in the past, seller often insisted the home be sold as-is. Many times, there were back-up buyers waiting for the primary buyers to upset the sellers, whose home was increasing in value almost daily.
8. FEW, IF ANY INVESTORS.
It's estimated that one third of all sales in 2005 were to investors. These buyers caused the market to inflate and affordability to decline. Mortgage fraud became commonplace. It's a great time to buy without having to compete with hundreds of prospective landlords.
9. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.
Today's buyers can find homes closer to work. In this market, reasonably priced homes are within biking or walking distance to schools, rapid transit lines and relatives.
10. REAL FINANCING IS AVAILABLE.
The "wink, wink" zero-down, no-doc, adjustable, sub-prime loans are gone. Fixed rates are back. FHA financing, first-time homeowner bond programs, and special loans for teachers or police officers are back in business. The bottom line: IT'S A GREAT TIME TO BUY REAL ESTATE!
copyright 2008 re/max International Inc., 1/22/08
Friday, January 18, 2008
Blogging
Hey ya'll. Danicia here. I have only one correction to Bill's introduction. Which, by the way, it really makes my day when I can correct Bill as it doesn't happen very often. My truck is not a 1/2 ton is is a 1 ton dually. Just a quick reminder to all you horse people out there, with the weather soooooo cold, please make sure you heat your water tanks. Colic is 3 times more likely to happen in the winter months due to horses not wanting to drink ice cold water. It is very important for them to have clean warm water. Have a great weekend.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
So this is how you do a blog?
Welcome to the first blog of http://www.ruralkc.com/ If you haven't figured out what we are all about we are a real estate team that specializes in selling rural property near the greater Kansas City area. We are going to try and keep the sales stuff out of this blog as much as possible. But if we occasionally slip, well be patient with us, after all we are trying to make a living here.
We are luckier than most people because we love the rural life. So we don't just get to sell a piece of real estate we almost always sell someone their dream come true. It's the American dream to find a peaceful place in the country sort of like Thoreau's pond where you can really find yourself away from the noise and interruption of the city.
So let me introduce ourselves. If we've managed to get the picture posted properly you'll see a couple of folks sitting down. Of the folks sitting down I'm Bill Gaughan the old fat balding guy. Sitting beside me is my partner Danicia Duncan. I can already tell I'm going to get some emails saying that we should have named this "Beauty and the Beast" real estate, but Danicia is too kind to let that happen.
We formed this real estate team because we believe that you should do what you love and the money will follow. We both love the country, country living, and the value of country property as an investment. So the opportunity to combine what we love with our profession was just too great to pass up.
Danicia is our equine expert. She is an accomplished barrel racer, rider, horse owner, and all around equestrian. So when you have questions about horses or horse property she'd be the one I'd go to. She also drives a 1/2 ton, dual wheel, six speed, diesel, ram pick up, that intimidates my little Chevy Colorado. But that doesn't intimidate me near as much as her going full speed around a barrel on top of 1300 lb horse.
I like the outdoor recreational life. I grew up at a time when fishing and hunting were the past times of boys rather than video games. Frankly I consider my self a lot luckier than kids today who spend their time indoors rather than outside chasing frogs, and picking up turtles like I was able to do. Nothing much gives me more satisfaction than seeing a family purchasing a piece of property that their kids are going to able to run around on with no worries other than the occasional scraped knee or bee sting.
OK back to the picture. Standing is Jim Rogers. He's a pretty good old boy from Arkansas and you won't likely find a more honest diligent guy to help you find what you want than Jim. Standing next to Jim is Katie Morris. Frankly Katie keeps all of this together. She helps with the marketing, and advises us on the technology. Believe me it takes a lot of patience for her to work with us, We approach technology like someone hearing rattles in a pile of leaves. But bless her heart she smiles kindly and waits until I've left the room before she rolls her eyes at one of my lame questions.
Now we want to make this blog of interest to you. So you should know that I won't be the only only one blogging here. You'll hear a lot from Danicia as well. We want to answer your questions about country living, moving to the country, building in the country, where to find resources, or anything else that crosses your mind. We'll try to answer those questions in this blog. So email us at info@RuralKC.com or give us a call at 913-440-4139 and let us see if we can be of help.
We are luckier than most people because we love the rural life. So we don't just get to sell a piece of real estate we almost always sell someone their dream come true. It's the American dream to find a peaceful place in the country sort of like Thoreau's pond where you can really find yourself away from the noise and interruption of the city.
So let me introduce ourselves. If we've managed to get the picture posted properly you'll see a couple of folks sitting down. Of the folks sitting down I'm Bill Gaughan the old fat balding guy. Sitting beside me is my partner Danicia Duncan. I can already tell I'm going to get some emails saying that we should have named this "Beauty and the Beast" real estate, but Danicia is too kind to let that happen.
We formed this real estate team because we believe that you should do what you love and the money will follow. We both love the country, country living, and the value of country property as an investment. So the opportunity to combine what we love with our profession was just too great to pass up.
Danicia is our equine expert. She is an accomplished barrel racer, rider, horse owner, and all around equestrian. So when you have questions about horses or horse property she'd be the one I'd go to. She also drives a 1/2 ton, dual wheel, six speed, diesel, ram pick up, that intimidates my little Chevy Colorado. But that doesn't intimidate me near as much as her going full speed around a barrel on top of 1300 lb horse.
I like the outdoor recreational life. I grew up at a time when fishing and hunting were the past times of boys rather than video games. Frankly I consider my self a lot luckier than kids today who spend their time indoors rather than outside chasing frogs, and picking up turtles like I was able to do. Nothing much gives me more satisfaction than seeing a family purchasing a piece of property that their kids are going to able to run around on with no worries other than the occasional scraped knee or bee sting.
OK back to the picture. Standing is Jim Rogers. He's a pretty good old boy from Arkansas and you won't likely find a more honest diligent guy to help you find what you want than Jim. Standing next to Jim is Katie Morris. Frankly Katie keeps all of this together. She helps with the marketing, and advises us on the technology. Believe me it takes a lot of patience for her to work with us, We approach technology like someone hearing rattles in a pile of leaves. But bless her heart she smiles kindly and waits until I've left the room before she rolls her eyes at one of my lame questions.
Now we want to make this blog of interest to you. So you should know that I won't be the only only one blogging here. You'll hear a lot from Danicia as well. We want to answer your questions about country living, moving to the country, building in the country, where to find resources, or anything else that crosses your mind. We'll try to answer those questions in this blog. So email us at info@RuralKC.com or give us a call at 913-440-4139 and let us see if we can be of help.
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