Category: REALTOR® Life
Emotional Intelligence in Real Estate Negotiations
Negotiations can often become tense and emotionally charged, particularly when parties have different expectations or conflicting interests. I recently heard a fellow Realtor® say, "We are the thermostat, not the thermometer of the transaction. We set the tone, not measure it." Your Realtor® has two buckets, one with water and one with gasoline. An agent with a high level of emotional intelligence understands which one to use. Read More
My Cheap Vacations
Some of you may have seen my recent vacation photos on Facebook. Over the last six months, I’ve traveled to Vero Beach Florida, Guatemala, St Louis, Scottsdale Arizona, Ft Lauderdale Florida, and Moab Utah. Some of these trips have been fairly expensive, like Scottsdale and Ft Lauderdale (mostly because of the resorts I chose to... Read More
The Spring Parade of Homes is happening right now
wife and I decided to take a Saturday afternoon and go see all the new construction homes on the Spring Homes Tour. This time though, we decided to only look at homes priced over $700,000. That was a few years ago so a home at $700,000 in Kansas City was considered the starting point of the luxury market. Today that number is probably closer to $1 million. New construction prices pretty much start at $500,000 now, so a $700,000 home is more average in most new construction communities. Read More
When Will Home Prices Drop in Kansas City?
If you’re thinking about buying or selling a house right now, you’re not alone. The housing market has seen a lot of unusual trends in the past couple of years, so it makes sense that you’d want the latest update on what’ll happen in the market before you decide to buy or sell. The truth... Read More
Three Years Ago, Our Entire World Changed
Three years ago on Saturday, March 21, 2020, I was running some errands late in the afternoon. I’d forgotten and left my phone in the car and when I got back into the vehicle, I looked down and noticed I had more than 20 voicemails and text messages on my phone! Most of the voicemails... Read More
My Many Travels
I had some changes in my life last year that caused me to give serious thought to what I want in this life. As I’m getting older, I realized there are many places I want to travel to and experience new things. In September, I threw this out to all my friends and family to... Read More
Why Selling a House in the Winter May Be the Best Decision Ever
Nobody buys or sells a home in the winter, right? Wrong! In fact, if you check the numbers, you’ll find that a good chunk of home purchases happen during the coldest months of the year. Yes, spring is generally the most popular time of year to sell a house, with hordes of buyers looking to move... Read More
Better Communication with People
A few weeks ago I was at a party and standing with a small group of people, chatting about various subjects. It was just small talk and nothing too serious, but one of the men in the group felt the need to respond to every statement that was made. And worse, no matter what the... Read More
When is the perfect time to get pre-approved for a mortgage?
I wish that homebuyers understood the importance of getting pre-approved for a mortgage. Too many times, they start looking at homes online, touring open houses and even talking to a real estate agent well in advance of actually getting that pre-approval letter. Look, I get it, digging into your financial situation isn’t the fun part.... Read More
Thousands of Realtors Quitting the Business
In March 2020 when the pandemic hit, the restaurant where Jennifer Smith was working as a waitress announced a temporary closure. By June, it turned into a permanent one. Unemployment was a shock for Jennifer, who had been working in the restaurant industry for 15 years. “That was heartbreaking,” she said. “Being in the restaurant... Read More