Wichita, KS

What To Expect From Kirk Short When Selling Your Home in the Wichita, KS Metro Area

Are you thinking of selling your home in the Wichita Kansas area? There is much work to do and things to consider before hammering the real estate sign in your front yard. The first step being preparing your home to put on the market. Once your home is ready, it's time to interview prospective realtors. Most people don't know how to properly interview a realtor, and what questions to ask to point you to the realtor who is most qualified and likely to sell your home in the fastest time possible for the best price possible.

Nearly all realtors will put a sign in your yard and submit your listing to the Springfield MLS. They might even hold an open house and place an ad in the local newspaper. What do I offer that sets me apart?

Marketing - Let's face it...nobody buys a home out of the Springfield NewsLeader these days. It's all internet. If your agent is not heavy on internet advertising, your chances of selling are greatly diminished. Your home will be featured on each of my websites, including www.kansaspropertygroup.com, www.realtor-shorty.com, and www.investinks.com. I will syndicate your listing across the internet to various real estate websites, including, but not limited to, Realtor.com, Remax.com, Trulia, Zillow, HotPads, Oodle, Yahoo!, GoogleBase, Craigslist, FrontDoor, and more.

Reporting - I will provide you with Bi-weekly reports from my various websites showing how much activity you've received on the various websites, including how many views your listing has received, and how many people "clicked" on your listing for more information.

Showing Feedback - Electronic lockboxes allow realtors to monitor the showings on their listings. Each morning I check my showings for the previous day and send feedback reports via http://www.kansaspropertygroup.com. The showing agent will be asked to answer questions regarding your home such as how the home showed, whether the price is above market, below market, or just right, what their buyer's thoughts were of the home, and any suggestions they may have regarding your home. The agent's feedback is e-mailed to you so you're getting fresh, unfiltered feedback straight from the source.

Customer Service - Real estate is my full-time job. By full-time, I don't mean that I only work 40 hours per week. I work each time my phone rings. The phone number on the sign in your yard is my personal cell phone number. Prospective buyers will not have to be routed through my office or answering service, or be connected to an office voicemail that is only checked once a day. Their call comes straight to me. And yes....I answer my phone. :)

If you're considering selling your home in Wichita, Maize, Andover, Derby, Goddard, Bell Aire, College Hill or Valley Center, call me. My proven innovative techniques and marketing strategies will ensure that your property will the maximum amount of exposure required to sell in today's tough market.

The Coffee is always on,

How's my market doing?

Take a quick peek by using Home Smart's Market Reports! They rate markets on an A-F scale - remember school?? A is good, F is baaaaaaaad.

You can plug in your zip code and get a fairly quick idea how stable your market has been lately. For example, here's a couple in the Wichita market area.

From this one you can tell that 67212 is doing good and is a low risk market!

Zip 67203 here in Wichita has gotten a little bit worse since last year and is now a C rated risk.

How's your zip code doing?

Check it out, or let me help you find your next home or investment in our marketplace! We'll discuss what you are looking for as well as its potential growth in value and potential resale!

Sheree Wilkerson

Search for your next home at:

www.KansasHomeBuzz.com

316.461.0575

sheree@rwwichita.com

Wichita Homes for Sale-Bargain Hunters Market!

Have you heard the expression "Buy Low, Sell High"? Well now is the time in the Wichita Home Buyers Market to Buy Low, hold onto your real estate for a few years and Sell High! If you are looking for Wichita Homes for sale there are many bargains to be found. Interest rates are currently at 5% and below! and Wichita homes for sale are abundant so there are lots of choices, making this a Buyer's Market.

While some loan programs are no longer available, FHA loans still are and they are not just for First Time Wichita Homebuyers-any Homebuyer can qualify. FHA loans require little down payment and you can use funds that are given to you as a downpayment(possibly from a parent?) There is another loan program for Rural properties that does not require any Down Payment. As an experienced Wichita Realtor, I make it my mission to know the Wichita market and financing options for Wichita real estate.

For more information on finding a Bargain Wichita Home for Sale, just visit my website at:

Real Estate Update for 2008

2003 thru 2007, Wichita‘s average increase in home values rose 15.2%. 2008 values rose 3+% the first half of the year and were stable the second half. The Wichita, Kansas metro area was only one of 5 to 6 areas out of the top 100 metro areas that showed an increase in home values for 2008. There were areas in Florida, Arizona and Nevada that showed as much as a 30% drop in values during the same period.

Wichita real estate sales were down roughly 18% in 2008 compared to 2007 but a similar reduction in listing for sale tempered the reduction and created a balanced market for the metro area. 2008 sales were similar to 2003 sales which at that time was a record for the metro area.

The national unemployment rate has passed 7.2% and is projected to go close to 10% before the stimulus packages before congress take effect. Wichita's rate is 2/3^rd's the national rate even with the latest round of lay offs in the aviation sector.

Interest rates have reached a 37 year low the end of 2008 and January, 2009. 30 year fixed rate mortgages can be found in the 4.875 to 5% range with no points or origination fees. Now is an excellent time to refinance your home or possibly buy that new home.

Below is an example of what these lower rates mean to you:

Original loan of $150,000 at 6.75% shows a P&I payment of $972.90.

Refinance at 4.875% the same $150,000 loan and get a $793.81 payment.

That's almost a $175 monthly savings you can apply to the principal, pay off high interest rate credit cards or for the same original payment, buy a $33,500 higher priced home.

Final sales results have come in for 2008 and all the RE/MAX brokers in Wichita were again #1 in Listings sold for 2008 and #2 for total sales. RE/MAX Realty Professionals two offices were #1 in units sold per agent of the top 5 companies in total sales. All the RE/MAX Realtors were #1 in units sold per agent of all real estate brands. The two offices of RE/MAX Realty Professionals were #5 in the city in total sales last year and did this with 48 agents. The 4 companies who out produced us averaged 188 agents.

Hey - it's me again... Eric Henderson, Broker of Advantage Partners LLC Realty in Wichita, Kansas.

I've been learning a lot on these boards, and on other sites... I've worked my butt off to get some good listings from Ocwen, First Preston, Bank of America, Fannie Mae and others - I do a ton of BPO orders...

If you are like me - you might be wanting to take your business to the next level - hire an assistant to help with the data input chores and contract followup.

I have long been a fan of delegating authority and responsibility with full oversight and final approval - if you catch my drift - but trying to find someone in your local market who understands what a BPO is, the vendors out there, what they require different from each other, how to get info from our MLS and county courts etc... well... they just don't exist in any large numbers... I learned the hard way...

I have tried hiring a local person - spending the time to train her - then realize she was related to another broker... sneaky... I found a younger college aged person to help organize things, be a customer care coordinator and follow up with all my leads online - but she moved... I found a ex-mortgage broker that wanted to get his license, so I paid for it - gave him listings, trained him on bpo order and how to research... but he got suckered into a low-paying hourly job working for another broker...

I've tried hiring from local employment center and companies that place individuals with disabilities... just trying to get some of these people to just show up for work is hard enough...

I just can't afford to spend so much time and money investing in an individual to find that it does not work out... Ever feel like this?

The point is, ladies and gents, it's dang hard to find someone to do what we do on a regular basis...

BUT THERE IS HOPE!!!

I remember reading many articles through the years - some even by "Mr. Internet" himself in the REALTOR magazines... all focused on "Virtual Assistants"... or real people that know the business but are now working from home or a small office to help professionals around the country - or world...

Basically - you decide what you need to have done on a regular or part time basis - even a one time job is acceptable to some agencies and individuals... someone with reasonable qualifications finds your help wanted post - and will basically be an assistant to you - remotely. No one ever needs to know... but does it work?

Now - this idea is not new - there are many resources online for finding help and hiring tele-commuting employees and contract work... but trying to find someone that is talented in sales, customer service, the Internet, and understands our processes as a listing and BPO agent - well - that gets difficult...

I am here to say - it WORKS. I recently hired a few assistants - one in Florida, on in Washington and the other is in California. One works on writing articles, updating my website and writing blog posts for me... another calls on all my leads, classifies them, gets them preapproved then sends each client back to me or to one of my agents as a prequalified hot buyer with a list of exactly what they are looking for... kinda cool right? The last one helps me with data entry chores - understands our mls service and how to pull comps. ALL of them are former or current real estate agents - most are full-time parents that just decided to stay home with the kids, and while they are in school they just want something to do... AND THEY ARE VERY AFFORDABLE TO MY SURPRISE!

I want to give you a tip - don't pay for listing your job... seek out qualified individuals, get referrals, and find out how much they know BEFORE you hire... Now, like some of the services out there that you will find - ones devoted to real estate agents seem to be the logical choice - I found that these were the most expensive and usualy set up by a broker or agent trying to supplement his or her income... not a bad idea - but more expensive to me...

Please help me add to this list - and write a review of your vendors and how you found them...

My favorite so far -

1) HireMyMom.com - believe it - the best place for top talent I have found. I was expecting a bunch of uneducated, unmotivated individuals and hoping for at least one or two good ones to choose from - what I get was a TON of VERY QUALIFIED professional women who are at home most of the time now - that really put my experiences to shame when it comes to expertise in the world of REO, mortgages, real estate in general and sales... I posted a simple Real Estate Virtual Assistant wanted ad - and instantly had resumes pouring in from all over the country! I have current and ex real estate agents, retired brokers, attorneys and corporate higher-ups who all have responded to the ad... All ages, and enough experience and knowledge between them all to seeming run this entire country! Seriously! I actually checked some of their claims out - like the one that had so much senior level underwriting experience or the one that ran a real estate law office in New York...

Simply the best... but for PENNIES! My ad was for $10-$15 per hour - THATS IT!!! Aprox $200/week for each position... and I am getting TONS of inquiries STILL TO DATE!

Guys - I found some help - these ladies are just awesome and will take care of your clients - AND YOU... If they help you with a big close - REWARD THEM! I am doing more business now than I ever thought possible - and I don't have the overhead of an in-house employee!

Go there - NOW - post a position if you are serious about getting some help - there are some amazing people there that are available NOW...

Got a favorite Real Estate Virtual Assistant? Tell us about it - pros. cons?