The Best Upgrades You Can Make to Sell Your Home

You don’t have to completely renovate or remodel your home before you put it on the market. Minor upgrades, like investing in curb appeal, get you a higher return on investment.

Want to sell your Kansas City Home? Get a home value report here 

Want to buy a Kansas City home? Search all homes for sale here

Should you work on major renovations or completely remodel your home before you put it on the market? I would say no. Minor upgrades actually get you a higher return on your investment than major renovations do.

The main reason minor upgrades net you more money is that huge construction projects always end up costing more money than you think they will. They also tend to take a lot longer than expected due to problems like scheduling conflicts.

The best place to spend money on your home is on the exterior. When buyers pull up to look at your home, those first 15 seconds are crucial. Your home should look as magical as Disney World. Make sure the lawn is freshly manicured and fertilized. Put down fresh mulch and invest in bright, colorful landscaping. Pull all of the weeds, too.

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Curb appeal helps sell homes.

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As for your house, make sure the windows are crystal clear. Paint your front door and power wash the house if necessary. Putting money into curb appeal will help your home make a great first impression on potential buyers. Many home sellers skip this step, so investing in curb appeal will also set you apart from the competition.

Research also shows that increasing the curb appeal of your home returns the most value for your money. Ultimately, curb appeal is what helps get buyers inside the house.

If you have any other questions about preparing your home for the market or about real estate in general, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you.

Watch Out for These Extra Costs After Closing

When buying a home, there are a few hidden costs you should look out for after closing. These include property taxes, utility bills, and home furnishings.

Want to sell your Kansas City Home? Get a home value report here 

Want to buy a Kansas City home? Search all homes for sale here

Buying a home is not just limited to the money that you’ll have to spend up front in the form of closing costs or a down payment; you’ll have to spend money after this point, too.

For example, you’ll have to pay property taxes. These taxes may be figured into your mortgage or you may pay them at the end of the year, but you’ll have to be prepared for them.

Another cost to keep an eye out for is your utility bills. Be sure to budget for your water and electricity bills as well as homeowners association fees, if applicable. Also, your home may run on propane or a private sewer system, so you’ll want to make sure you’re covered for those costs as well.

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Keep an eye out for property taxes and utility bills.

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An expert agent will be able to advise you on all of the different associated costs that come with homeownership and make sure you’re prepared to handle them before you make an offer on a house. You’ll also need to factor in some of the furnishings that you’ll need to purchase before you can move into the house. These can include simple things like window treatments or can be more major items that are necessary to make your family comfortable in your new home. Be prepared for these hidden costs when buying your next home and you’ll avoid unwanted financial surprises down the road. If you have any other questions about the buying process or anything else related to real estate in Kansas City, give me a call or send me an email. I’d be glad to help you!

Targeting Millennial Home Buyers

Attracting millennial home buyers means knowing what
they want in a home—like environmentally friendly features—and
knowing where to place your advertising.

Want to sell your Kansas City Home? Get a home value report here 

Want to buy a Kansas City home? Search all homes for sale here

How can you reach millennial home buyers?

You can start by finding your home’s best angle. While baby boomers might want a two-car garage, a large kitchen, and an extra storage space, millennials have their own wish list. According to the National Association of Realtors, millennials are looking for something way different than their parents are. Some of the main things they want are single-story homes, open floor plans (or split floor plans for the square footage they offer), media rooms, and hardwood or tile floors.

The neighborhood they live in matters just as much or more than the house they buy, and they’re looking to meet a specific need. This need can be living in an area where a lot of other families their age live, living close to where they work, or living close to a shopping center.

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Millennials want modern
 and green-friendly homes.

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If your home has environmentally friendly features, don’t hesitate to showcase them. It’s no secret that this generation is environmentally conscious, so they’re going to be looking for a home that has green-friendly features.

Modern homes are also popular with the millennials. Your house doesn’t have to be brand new or designed by a minimalist architect, but some simple staging before an open house could be all you need to capture this desire and bring in an offer.

As far as reaching out goes, you can target online advertising to find younger home buyers. You’ll have to place your ads where they will be seen, and that’s mostly online. Sites like Facebook are where they will be looking at neighborhoods.

If you have any questions or topics you’d like us to discuss, please text us or give us a phone call. We look forward to hearing from you!

What Online Listings Don’t Tell You

Searching for homes online is convenient, but there are certain issues that are impossible to identify from behind a screen that you can only know about by seeing the home in person.

Want to sell your Kansas City Home? Get a home value report here 

Want to buy a Kansas City home? Search all homes for sale here

The difference between how a real estate listing looks online and how it looks in person can be vast. There are three main issues that are nearly impossible to identify in an online listing that you need to be wary of:

1. The sizes of the rooms. Good photographers really know how to make a space look larger than normal by using wide-angle lenses and imaging software. It’s not always as clean as it looks online; sometimes it’s very hard to tell how clean a home is from the photos online. Experienced sellers that have been preparing their homes for months in advance are typically exhausted when the time comes to take photos. They may do a deep clean in the main areas, but may not necessarily clean the whole house.
2. The smell of the home. If you’ve been looking for a home for months and your agent finally sends you a listing of a perfect house that just came on the market, you’re naturally going to want to drop everything and rush to view the property immediately. Once you get there and open the door, though, your nose can get inundated with the smell of a thousand city zoos. This is a common thing that happens because nobody lists “bad smell” in their property description.
3. The quality of the neighborhood. I highly advise hanging out in a neighborhood for hours if you’re serious about purchasing a home in it. Don’t let the the online presentation persuade you into thinking that everything is perfect. If the neighbors are outside, it’s a good idea to introduce yourself and get a feel for the social culture of that street. Being there at seven in the morning and six or seven at night can give you a better feel for this type of thing.

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Good photographers know
how to make a space look bigger than it is.

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Here are some professional home shopping tips to consider when you’re looking at homes online:

• Don’t get emotionally attached.
• Use an expert advisor.
• Be patient.
• Don’t avoid listings that have bad photos.

If you have any questions, concerns, or topics that you’d like us to discuss in a future video blog, feel free to get in touch with me by email, phone, or text message. I look forward to hearing from you!

How to Sell Quicker Than Your Neighbor

When you’re in a competitive real estate market, there will likely be multiple sellers in your neighborhood at any given time.

When you are competing against your neighbors, there are some things that you should do to ensure you sell quicker than they do. Here are five tips on doing just that:

1. Update your landscaping. Make it look brand-new. Add mulch, remove damaged vegetation, and update with bright flowers.

2. Move out or make it appear like you have. Vacant homes show much better than occupied homes. In many cases, a motivated buyer may feel like it’s easier to buy that home and picture their own things in it. It’s hard to visualize their furniture and accessories in a property full of other people’s stuff. If this isn’t an option, move as much stuff as possible to a storage unit.

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Pricing is the most important.

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3. Add new painting and flooring. If you have to ask if you need new paint or flooring, the answer is most likely yes. We work with professional stagers and can help with this. When you live with the same flooring and carpet every day, it’s easy to feel like it’s “good enough.” However, you’ve got to compare your home to other properties for sale in the area to get an idea of what they are offering in terms of flooring and paint.

4. A professional walkthrough. A good video tour will sell the home to the buyer every time they watch it. You can sell the house to the buyer before they’ve ever seen it in person and make your listing stand out amongst those online buyers. Aerial drones are only adding to the kinds of views we can get of your home.

5. Price it right. This is the most important tip. You’ve got to price right from the beginning. There are three things that sell homes, as any good agent will tell you: price, location, and condition. Price is the most critical. People will look past the other two if the price is right. All buyers want to feel like they are getting a special deal, so come up with a plan to give them that deal. It starts with knowing your neighbors’ homes.

If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you.

How The Chip Glennon Team Helped Andrew Sell His Home

“We were extremely pleased. It was exceptional. The service we got on the seller’s end and the buyers end was great. Jennifer, our selling agent, did a great job - above and beyond. We had an above full-price offer in 48 hours. We can't complain about that process whatsoever. They did great. On the buyer's side, I think we were a bigger pain but Jennifer never complained, no matter how many houses we told her we didn't like.” 

-Andrew

How the Chip Glennon Real Estate Team Helped Barbara Get Approved

"I had a little difficulty with our first mortgage company but they put me in touch with another mortgage company and got us approved right away. We worked with Jamie and she was incredible. We had no problems, it was a good experience. I had my own mortgage company and they just couldn't get me approved, they couldn't get it to close. I told them to forget it, so I went to my realtor.  They asked what they could do and she put me in touch with this other mortgage company and got it done." 

-Barbara 

How The Chip Glennon Team Worked Patiently with Suzanne

"Poor Tracy, our realtor, worked with us for over a year to find a place. I think she showed us about every house under the sun. She was great. She did it willingly and happily. She worked her butt off for us, trying to figure out things that would work and everything that we wanted. It was a long process and even if she was annoyed with us, she never led on. We ended up finding a piece of land to build. She helped us with finding a builder. We had been looking for either land or a house. She was more than willing to work with us on finding exactly what we wanted and needed and making sure we didn't settle for something that wasn't what we wanted. She truly cared about what we were looking for." 

-Suzanne

How to Win a Kansas City Bidding War

Want to buy a Kansas City Home?  Click here to perform a full home search  Want to sell a Kansas City home?  Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation   You may also call us at 1-800-686-5088 for a FREE home buying or  selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. 

We are in a hot seller’s market right now, and there are a lot of multiple-offer situations happening out there. How can you win and buy the house when you are up against multiple offers?

The most important thing you can do is work with an experienced agent. You want an agent who is people-smart. The relationship between your agent and the seller’s agent is extremely important to positioning your offer in the best light. These agents are going to work together through closing to make sure things go smoothly for the buyer and the seller. However, each agent is still looking to get the best deal for their client. 

Now, one strategy you can use during a multiple-offer situation is writing a letter to the seller. Talk about why you fell in love with their property and what the property means to you and your family. It’s very endearing to the seller to think of another family enjoying the home and creating memories in it like they have. The letter helps you connect with the seller on a personal level.  

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Work with an experienced agent.

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You can also add an escalatory addendum. If you’re up against five other offers and you can afford it, this strategy can be very helpful. The escalatory addendum basically says that you will pay a certain amount, like $500, over the highest competing offer for the home. We use this clause very carefully. It might not work for everyone, but it can position you to win that property.

In a market like this, it’s not unusual to get beaten out on several properties before you get into a home. If you find the perfect one and you can be flexible on terms and price, we will work to make your offer the most appealing to the seller. 

If you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

Which Properties Are Hard to Sell?

Want to buy a Kansas City Home?  Click here to perform a full home search  Want to sell a Kansas City home?  Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation   You may also call us at 1-800-686-5088 for a FREE home buying or  selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. 

Out of the 1,900 home sales my team has worked on, we’ve noticed there are certain types of homes that are more challenging to sell compared to others.

1. Odd properties: Over the years, we’ve successfully closed plenty of these properties. For instance, we’ve dealt with schools that closed down. This also includes homes with a weird shape that aren’t perfectly squared or have much road frontage. However, there’s a butt for every chair, so everyone wants a property.

2. Overbuilt homes: This describes homes that are nicer compared to their neighbor’s homes. This can be problematic from a lending or appraisal perspective. However, we’ve sold many homes like this, but it’s important for sellers to understand the buyer’s concerns or difficulties.

3. Clients with unrealistic expectations: Our goal is to educate our sellers to be the most educated in the entire marketplace. Sometimes, a seller with unrealistic expectations might owe too much on a property or already pulled the equity out when they refinanced. Those forces can make it difficult for us, but it’s still possible. We look at four primary factors when analyzing a property: condition, price, location, and marketing.

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There’s a butt for every chair.

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4.  Homes not staged correctly: Buyers shop competitively, and constantly compare your home to others in the surrounding community. To achieve an advantage over other available listings, stage your home professionally. It should shine and look its best to sell for top dollar.

5. No reasonable access: Sometimes, sellers don’t allow buyers to view their home during typical hours, such as after work or during dinner time. Things like having a daytime sleeper can make a property difficult to sell.

6. Unprepared sellers: Clients can be unprepared for the real estate process expectation-wise from time to time. For instance, they might be uncomfortable with strangers coming into their home at inconvenient times.

Despite these curve balls, there’s a strategy for every kind of property. We can help you in this process. If you’re thinking about buying or selling a Kansas City home, give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to help answer your questions!

Sell Your Kansas City Home With a Contingency

Want to buy a Kansas City Home?  Click here to perform a full home search  Want to sell a Kansas City home?  Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation   You may also call us at 1-800-686-5088 for a FREE home buying or selling  consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. 

Oftentimes, sellers approach us about contingent offers in Kansas City real estate. How do you sell a home with a contingency?

You can sell a home contingent on your home going under contract or closing. That’s preferable if you have a buyer’s agent for your second purchase. We call that a domino, since there can be multiple dominoes with closings that need to fall. 

Contingencies can definitely complicate the process. Although we do this all the time, we don’t do it often in a hot market like this one. We’re experiencing bidding wars more and more often. There are more buyers than sellers right now, which is simple supply and demand. The market favors sellers, so buyers don’t have as much flexibility with contingencies.

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You can sell a home contingent on
your home going under contract or closing.

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As a buyer, you need to meet the seller’s demands to compete with other competitive offers. Don’t be surprised if a seller doesn't accept your offer if it relies on your home being sold. When you’re selling, you’re in the driver’s seat.

The good news is that we have a ton of strategies to navigate this. We have a lot of experience in different types of situations to prepare us for curveballs. We understand it can be scary, so that’s why we have these plans to help you out the best way possible. 

If you’re thinking about buying or selling a home in the surrounding area, give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to help answer any questions you might have!

The Secrets to Finding the True Value of Your Kansas City Home

Want to buy a Kansas City Home?  Click here to perform a full home search  Want to sell a Kansas City home?  Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation   You may also call us at 1-800-686-5088 for a FREE home buying or selling  consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. 

How do you find out what your home is worth? There are many ways, but today we want to focus on a few best methods for finding the true value of your home.

The first thing you need to do is identify your X-factors. Look at three homes that have sold recently that are most similar to your own. The price those homes got per square foot is one crucial X-factor. Another one is the current supply and demand of buyers and sellers for homes like yours in the market today. If you miss the market, and your home isn’t priced in the sweet spot, your home could sit on the market and, ultimately, expire.

Next, you need to hire a local specialist to help you. In order to find a great agent, you need to ask the agent you interview the right questions. For one, you want to figure out their track record. Ask how many homes they sold last year and look online at their reviews to see if they are as good as they say they are. Make sure they are in-the-know and capable of getting as many eyes on your property as possible.

When selling in the Kansas City area, it’s crucial to get the opinions from experts. If your home is a unique property and there aren’t three comparable sales in the market, it may be difficult to come up with a price on your own. It’s only about $400 to get an appraisal and we often encourage our clients to do it. Being educated on the value of your home is a very important factor when selling, and an appraiser can be a very valuable part of that process.

Buyers are very educated nowadays. In fact, they are often better educated than sellers are because they are viewing many properties and they know what their money will buy them in the current market. This is why it’s crucial to price your home in the sweet spot; if it’s too high or too low, the right buyers might never even lay eyes on your property.
If you have any questions about how you can put the perfect price on your home, or if you would like our assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to help you!

3 Strategies to Sell Your Kansas City Home This Spring

Want to buy a Kansas City Home?  Click here to perform a full home search  Want to sell a Kansas City home?  Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation   You may also call us at 1-800-686-5088 for a FREE home buying or selling  consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. 

If you plan on listing this spring, you have to make your home stand out among competition. It’s the busiest real estate season of the entire year. Fortunately, I have some simple strategies to help you sell quickly and for top dollar in Kansas City this spring.

• Amp up the curb appeal. Refresh the landscaping, including the mulch and flowers. Maybe paint the front door and fertilize the yard.
• Address repairs. Think ahead and fix any repairs. Take this opportunity to fix minor repairs that could otherwise come up in a home inspection.
• Get serious about marketing your home. With the influx of inventory, you’ll likely experience intense competition. That’s why it’s so important to show your home in its best light during the springtime. Market like you mean it!

If you’re thinking about listing this spring, give me a call or send me an email! I’d be happy to serve your real estate needs in the surrounding area.