Jan

4

It’s COLD!!! 3 Easy Steps to Protect your pipes!!!

Posted by Caramarie Gibson under For Buyers, For Realty Professionals, For Sellers, General Information

It has been a long time since Missouri has experienced such drastically cold weather. During such a large lapse of time between these harsh subzero temperatures, it’s easy to forget how fragile our plumbing pipes can be, and how simple it can be to protect them. Frozen pipes can be a huge pain and a very large expense to repair. So during these next few weeks, be sure to take these simple precautions to save yourself some time, some money, and one huge headache…

1) Keep cabinet doors open to any plumbing running along any exterior walls.

2) Keep faucets in the home running with just a slight drip coming out. This will keep movement in the pipes and prevent them from freezing.

3) Lastly, refamiliarize yourself with where your main water shut off valve is. Should you experience any frozen pipes, this will be the first place you want to run to and turn off in order to get the water to stop and to minimize damage.

Follow these three important & easy steps and you should be more than prepared to protect your home, your sanity, and this wonderful new year!!!

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Jul

7

Thinking of Buying a Home for your Kids??? Tips to Keep in Mind

Posted by Caramarie Gibson under For Buyers, For Realty Professionals, For Sellers, General Information

Tips for Parents Buying Homes for Children
With home prices low, now could be a good time for parents to give their children a home or even an investment property.

Here are some suggestions for managing the tax consequences from Mark Luscombe, tax analyst with Wolters Kluwer.

  • Give a cash gift. Individuals are allowed to gift up to $13,000 per person in a given year without incurring gift tax. That means a couple could give their offspring and spouse $52,000 in a single year to go toward a down payment.
  • Lend money. The government requires that family members meet or exceed minimum loan rates to avoid having the loan be considered a gift. The rates are currently low. One way to handle this is for parent to use the $52,000 gift exclusion to forgive both interest and principal.
  • Use a trust. Set up a qualified personal residence trust, or QPRT. You’ll need an attorney to handle this transaction, but in a nutshell, parents put the home they want to give their children into a trust. At the end of a pre-set term, the home passes to the children with no taxes due.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Shelly Banjo (06/25/2009)

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Jun

2

As Rates Rise, Fed Holds Steady

Posted by Caramarie Gibson under For Buyers, For Realty Professionals, For Sellers, General Information

Daily Real Estate News  |  June 1, 2009  |  

As Rates Rise, Fed Holds Steady

Yields on U.S. Treasury bonds rose in March and April and yields on mortgage-backed securities continue to increase, pushing 30-year fixed home loans up to 5.44 percent—the highest rate for mortgages since early February.

The Federal Reserve is buying Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in an attempt to keep borrowing costs low and to provide the financial system with money for lending.

However, there is some concern about the amount of borrowing needed to fund the campaign, which has resulted in the purchase of $130.5 billion in long-term Treasury debt and $481 billion in MBS so far. Yet the market still believes the central bank will expand its purchases in order to restrain long-term rates.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Jon Hilsenrath and Liz Rappaport (05/29/09)

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Jan

27

Existing-Home Sales Show Surprising Gain

Posted by Caramarie Gibson under For Buyers, For Realty Professionals, For Sellers, General Information

Existing-home sales rose unexpectedly while inventory declined, led by a surge of sales in the West, according to the National Association of Realtors®.Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – jumped 6.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.74 million units in December. The number compares to a downwardly revised pace of 4.45 million units in November, but 3.5 percent below the 4.91 million-unit pace in December 2007.

For all of 2008, there were about 4.9 million existing-home sales — 13.1 percent below the 5.65 million transactions recorded in 2007. This is the lowest volume since 1997 when there were 4,371,000 sales… 

Full Story Available by clicking the following: http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2009012601?OpenDocument&WT.cg_n=RMO&WT.cg_s=RSSDaily

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Aug

27

Types of Loan Progarms available…

Posted by Caramarie Gibson under For Buyers, For Realty Professionals, For Sellers, General Information

With so many changes going on in the market, it is often hard to find a reliable source for accurate information. In response, the Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors has put together a site specifically for the Kansas City area and the loan programs available here. You can look up the terms, and research the different loan types available, and whether or not they could be for you. It also has tons of useful information, statistics, answers to frequently asked questions, and more. Lastly, it also has information on many grant programs available through the state and various cities around the area to help many residents throughout the area with their downpayment. While there are income qualifications and maximums, it is still worth investigating and checking out. For more information, visit: www.KCHOMEPROGRAMS.com

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Aug

27

Blogging is BACK!!!

Posted by Caramarie Gibson under For Buyers, For Realty Professionals, For Sellers, General Information

Well, contrary to all the media “coverage” you hear about how bad it is–GOOD NEWS–IT’S NOT!!! I have been absent in my blogging because I have been BUSY with Real Estate! Believe it or not–People are still BUYING, houses are still SELLING, and the world is still TURNING! YES!!! So, while I apologize for my absence, I want to sincerely thank all of my wonderful clients who have been keeping me busy–as always, YOU are my top priority!

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Mar

17

And the winner is…

Posted by Caramarie Gibson under For Buyers, For Realty Professionals, For Sellers, General Information

Drum roll please…The winner of the $30.00 Cheese Cake Factory Gift Certificate is #079! If this is you, Congratulations! It’s your lucky day! Keep your card and call me to claim your prize–I’ll get it to you ASAP! Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone! And remember, true Irish men don’t drink and drive…

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Mar

11

GREAT ARTICLE from The Kansas City Star!!!

Posted by Caramarie Gibson under For Buyers, For Realty Professionals, For Sellers, General Information

Finally, a great, great, GREAT article on the housing market from the Kansas City Star. If you are planning on buying or selling real estate anytime within the next 12 months in the Kansas City area, this article is a MUST READ!!!

Area housing industry experts discuss KC real estate market

The state of the housing market, both here and across the country, has become Topic A in recent economic discussions.

A long, unprecedented boom in construction and home price appreciation has given way in recent months to a glut of unsold homes, a sharp construction slowdown and pressured home values.

To gauge the state of the market heading into the spring buying season, The Kansas City Star’s business editor, Chris Lester, recently convened a panel of local housing industry experts to discuss the marketplace. Read More…

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Feb

20

They may call it ugly, but I call it pretty darn neat…

Posted by Caramarie Gibson under For Buyers, For Realty Professionals, For Sellers, General Information

Here is an interesting article from the Kansas City Star and the overall market value of housing around the Metropolitan Area in 2007. There are many surprising results. It is broken down by zip code so you can get a pretty good idea of what the overall trends in your neighborhood are. However, it is not set in stone. For a more detailed market analysis based on your particular situation, consult your local realtor.

Read More…

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Jan

28

The "Semi"-Smoking Ban Hits Kansas City

Posted by Caramarie Gibson under For Buyers, For Realty Professionals, For Sellers, General Information

A city wide public smoking ban has been a hot topic across the Kansas City area, with heated perponents on each side. On Thursday, January 24th, the city council approved a ban on smoking in most restaurants, but not bars, by a final vote of 8-4. The ban is set to go into effect in 60 days. Here is the latest from the Kansas City Star of how the ban will affect Kansas City citizens. Read More…

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