Owasso, OK

Selling Your Home Successfully in the greater Tulsa, Oklahoma area, isn't hard when you know what you're doing!

In this second part of my series, I want to focus on older homes, specifically in the Owasso, Oklahoma area. However, these tips will largely apply to any older home when it comes to updating and selling. I live in a house that is 17 years old. The homes in my neighborhood are about the same age also. They are typically one story, Ranch style homes. They were well built homes with big rooms, lots of brick and large kitchens. Some of the features typically include rough hewn wood beams in the vaulted living room ceiling, the old gold colored drawer pulls, door hinges and door handles and usually, a honey oak stain finish on the woodwork and doors. Here's a picture of my house as an example of these kinds of homes.

These house can sell well in today's market. However, to get top dollar, updating is essential, especially if you live in the Owasso, Oklahoma area. That's because Owasso is largely a new construction market. Our home values continue to be strong, but we have so much new construction that existing older homes have strong competition from them.

So lets talk about how you can do some of the essential updates that will get you the most bang for your buck.

Here's the original gold handled door pulls in our home (left) and the new hand rubbed oiled bronzed handles we are installing to replace them (right).

You can see from the picture above that we have the older honey oak colored stain in our home. You can also see that the door is NOT an older door anymore. Let me show the changes we are making to all of our doors. The doors on the left are the original doors in our home. The door on the right is the replacement we put on our daughter's room when she moved out and we began updating the house. You can see that we painted the trim also.

Now, compare our door "makeover" to that of a new construction house. I'd say we did pretty good.

Another unique feature to these homes is the rough hewn beams that are usually found in the vaulted living room ceilings. Sometimes people think it is a good idea to paint these. However, we find that leaving them their natural color is typically okay. Here's an example of some painted beams and our natural beams.

It may be hard to see, but these beams are blue. The beams in the pic on the right are their natural color.

One last area we'll look at here is the kitchen. Kitchens and bathrooms are huge selling points in houses. Typically the kitchens in older ranch style homes will have the honey oak colored cabinets with gold handles and laminate countertops. Many people will leave the cabinets the color they already are and replace the handles or knobs with updated ones. Leaving the laminate can be done, but to make your kitchen really pop, you might want to consider something like granite or corian countertops. This can be a significant investment, but the difference is amazing. The kitchen below (on the left) has laminate countertops. Compare it to the newer kitchen in the right picture with granite countertops.

Now, these tips obviously cost money and money can be tight...especially in a recession. So the question then becomes, "Can I sell my older Ranch style house without doing the updating?" The answer to that is yes. However, you're going to need to be very realistic with your asking price. You won't be able to get top dollar in an area where new construction provides strong competition.

That's tip number two in my series, "Selling Your Home Successfully in the greater Tulsa, Oklahoma area." Tune in tomorrow for another great tip!

The information, content and pictures in this Bob Haywood blog are the property of Bob Haywood. You must obtain written permission from Bob Haywood if you would like to use any of this content. Opinions expressed are those of Bob Haywood and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of other brokers, associates or home owners. Blogs may be used in their entirety using the reblog feature within Active Rain.

For the most complete information on the Owasso and Greater Tulsa Oklahoma housing market, be sure to check out www.BobHaywood.com

Summertime...and the livin is easy...

Ah what a great song by the famous Ella Fitzgerald. Here in Oklahoma, the crepe myrtles are at the height of their bloom and summer is almost over. And so is the recession...possibly. And so is the $8000 tax credit!

Don't let summertime and all the good stuff in the housing market pass you by. For market reports and advice on buying and selling your next home, contact Bob Haywood.

Contact info...

www.BobHaywood.com
918-272-7272 (Call or text!)

Oklahoma! It's a great place to live!

Say hello to Amy White with CityScape Mortgage in Owasso, Oklahoma, a great place to get your next home loan!
Amy White has been in the mortgage business since January 2005. She likes to say that the business chose her. That's because after she and her husband had bought five homes in seven years, she had had it with much of the poor customer service they had experienced in securing their financing.

"By the time we were purchasing our last couple of homes," said Amy, "I had researched the process of what it takes to get a loan and I found that it just wasn't that difficult." But it was the customer service that kept eating at her. It just wasn't there, at least not the way she thought it should be. So she decided to jump into the business in order to make a difference.

Not a bad idea for a mom who had managed a medical office where she did medical billing and assisting. And it's also not bad for a mom who had stayed home for three years after the birth of her youngest child.

Amy began her career in the mortgage business as a loan processor. After seven months she was already a loan originator. Then, after two years of working for someone else, she got her own broker's license. That's the beauty of the American dream. The ability to chose a career (or have a career chose you) and then to learn the business and advance to where you finally are actually a small business owner.

I asked Amy why she chose to work with Cityscape Mortgage. She said without hesitation that it was due to their reputation and large variety of loan products they offer to home buyers. Howard Doak, president and owner of Cityscape Mortgage was instrumental in the decision also. That's because of his commitment to providing the kind of service for clients that Amy believes in. So you might say that it was a great match right from the start.

Although she began in Tulsa, Amy now works out the of McGraw Realtors office at 12620 East 86th Street in Owasso, Oklahoma. Cityscape Mortgage leases offices there in order to provide service not only to customers but also for the real estate professionals at McGraw. She chose to move to the Owasso, Oklahoma area because it is a family based community and also because it is closer to her own home.

I always like to ask small business owners about their biggest challenge or strangest experience. For Amy, her biggest challenge was to help a client who was self employed to refinance seven investment properties within a one month period. Obviously that was before today's mortgage environment, but it was still a tough assignment. But she got it done. They all closed successfully.

One other thing I like to ask about it how the business is doing, since they first began. Amy told me that her business has tripled since her first year. I would say that's what one would expect when you provide outstanding customer service!

To contact Amy, just stop by the McGraw offices in Owasso, Oklahoma. Her hours are Monday through Fridays from 9:00-5:00. She's available nights and weekends also. To contact her by phone, call 918-557-7967. Just ask for Amy White, Mortgage Diva!

The Cityscape website can be found at www.CityScapehome.com

The information, content and pictures in this Bob Haywood blog are the property of Bob Haywood. You must obtain written permission from Bob Haywood if you would like to use any of this content. Opinions expressed are those of Bob Haywood and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of other brokers, associates or business owners. Blogs may be used in their entirety using the reblog feature within Active Rain.

For the most complete information on the Owasso and Greater Tulsa Oklahoma housing market, be sure to check out www.BobHaywood.com

Welcome to the John Tooley Farmer's Insurance Agency in Owasso, Oklahoma where the insurance isn't just for the farmers, it's for everyone!

John Tooley began his insurance business endeavor with Farmer's Insurance in January 2007 after having been in the telecom industry for 10 years. And why would he do that? Why would he move from a large corporation to the uncertainties of owning and operating a small insurance business? Simply put, he did it for his kids. "I would get up every morning and go off to work and I'd work hard," John said, "but when I'd get home at night, my kids would have no idea what I had done idea. I wanted to do something generational...something where my kids can come into my office and I can show them the inner workings of a business so that they can only know what I do everyday." He also wanted to do something where the kids could jump in and get involved when they become adults and enter the work force. That is if they want to.

John began his career with Farmer's Insurance in the district office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He worked out of that office for about a year and then moved to his current location in Owasso in February 2008. He decided to move to Owasso because that's where he lives. And that's also where the bulk of his customers were located. However, like many small business owners in our area, John services clients in all of greater Tulsa, Oklahoma.

I asked John why he chose the insurance business as opposed to other forms of small businesses, like real estate. He said it was because he liked the small business opportunities and because he saw it as a great opportunity for long term business with less up front expenses than some of the other business types out there.

So how does one go from working in a big telecom industry to owning and operating an insurance business successfully? Well, you have to conquer a couple of big challenges. For John Tooley, those challenges were getting to know people and getting his name out in the public. And John was able to accomplish both quite successfully. One of his strategic moves was working with me to begin a BNI (Business Networking International) Owasso group. He also enrolled in the Leadership Owasso organization and completed classes in the history and future of the Owasso, Oklahoma community. Another key to success for John has been staying consistently visible in public place. For example, walk into the El Fogon Mexican Restaurant or the Owasso Applebees at lunchtime and ask for the John Tooley table. They'll show you right to where he will probably be found, eating lunch with a friend.

I asked John what the strangest thing someone has ever asked him to insure was. He thought for a moment and then replied with a smile, "A herd of cows." He doesn't insure herds of cattle, but apparently there is insurance out there for such things.

John chose to partner with Farmer's Insurance because of the reliability and stability of the company. He asked about people's experience with the company and heard many say that they were pleased with how Farmer's Insurance had handled their claims process.

When you visit John's office at 10314 North 138^thEast Ave (Suite 102) in the Coffee Creek Professional Buildings in Owasso, Oklahoma, you'll be greeted by Cathy Haney who is a Customer Insurance Service Representative. Cathy has been with the agency since May of 2009. She found out about the position from a friend, went in and interviewed and got the job.

At the John Tooley Insurance Agency, one of the motto's is, "The Door is Always Open." Office hours are Monday through Fridays, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. John is available for weekend and evening appointments also. John's websites are http://johntooleyinsurance.com or http://www.farmersagent.com/jtooley.

So, if you find yourself needing a competitive insurance quote or if you're looking for top notch customer service, call John Tooley. He'll take excellent care you and your insurance needs!

The information, content and pictures in this Bob Haywood blog are the property of Bob Haywood. You must obtain written permission from Bob Haywood if you would like to use any of this content. Opinions expressed are those of Bob Haywood and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of other brokers, associates or business owners. Blogs may be used in their entirety using the reblog feature within Active Rain.

For the most complete information on the Owasso and Greater Tulsa Oklahoma housing market, be sure to check out www.BobHaywood.com

This is my dog Teddy Bear. She's one of those pets that came home with my daughter when she was in high school. "Oh daddy," she said, "Isn't the puppy SOOOOOO cute!" And then it was how she would take care of the dog and yadda, yadda, yadda. Of course, we already knew who would take care of the dog, but that didn't matter because the puppy was so cute we couldn't say no.

After my daughter and her boyfriend (who helped her get the dog) broke up, she didn't have much interest left in Teddy Bear. But I didn't care because I had already stolen her as my own. She's just a mixed breed dog, but to me, she's the best (dog) friend I've ever had. In fact, Teddy Bear converted me from being a cat person to a dog person! Even as I write this right now, she is lying at my feet. She's a great friend!

And I think she makes a pretty good model for publicity too!