2642 East Walnut Street Springfield, MO 65802

Property Site: http://tour.circlepix.com/home/YY3B2W

First time home buyer or investor looking for a super location? This 3 bedroom 1 bath home is in good shape and is sold as is. Home has hardwood floors and kitchen has been updated. Double pane windows throughout. Home has a long lasting metal roof for low maintanence. Central a/c and heat and security alarm system included. Need to see this one soon.

PROPERTY IS CURRENTLY UNDER CONTRACT

Bedrooms: 3

Bathrooms: 1.00

Price: $67,000

For more information about this property, please contact Mark Broadway at (417) 887-6664 or mark.broadway@coldwellbanker.com. You can also text 2451813 to 67299.

See more listings at: http://www.thebroadwayteam.com

MLS ID: 60014294

Is it a bad time to sell in the fall and winter months??????

We have now entered into the slow months of the year for Realtors.  Everyone takes time off to rest and relax because no one is buying houses when it's cold and miserable right?  NOT EVEN CLOSE!!!


If you were thinking about taking your house off the market because it didn't sell this spring and summer because it's coming to winter, you might want to rethink your strategy!  Because most people think this way, fall and winter is actually a GREAT time to list a home.  Inventory begins to shrink making YOUR house stand out even more.  When buyers are looking at houses in the cold, windy, winter months, they are serious about buying a home.  They most likely NEED to buy a home and guess who's house will be on the market, maybe the only one available?  YOURS!!!  The basics of supply and demand kick in and as supply shrinks, your house becomes more valuable and less competition!!!

I am amazed every year when folks tell me they want to take their house off the market because of winter.  I know sometimes, families don't want others walking through their house with wet feet or when they have decorated for the holidays.  I do understand that and totally appreciate that position.  However, there is a reason people put their house on the market; that's to SELL it.  They want to relocate, get transferred, want to upsize/downsize, want newer, etc.  Whatever the reason, there is some motivating factor that may need to be revisited.  I have sold many homes in December.  In fact, the very first home I sold, was closed on December 24th.  When showings happen in the fall and winter, I'm excited because those people are more motivated to buy.

So, if you are looking to sell your home, do not discount your agent when they want to continue to offer your home in the winter months.  They are doing it for YOUR benefit.

If you are in the Springfield Missouri area and are interested in selling, give me a call and let's see if we can help you achieve your goals.  My wife and I do NOT take the winter off like some might do. Many times, December is one of our busiest months.  We are here to help you.  We only work with people that know, like and TRUST us.  We would like to earn YOUR trust too so let us know if we can help.

Deb and I hope you and your family have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving holiday and you are around friends and family.  Give thanks every day for what you have.  We are ALL very blessed to be in America and be here at this time.

5117 North Farm Road 197 Springfield, MO 65803

Property Site: http://tour.circlepix.com/home/G2WV5S

Majestic oak trees shade this 4 bedroom 3 bath home on a hill in NE Springfield. You will have 3 bedrooms upstairs and a full bath and 2 bathrooms downstairs. Living room is spacious and includes a gas fireplace. Huge eat in kitchen for the family. Oh, did I mention the pool? Great place to gather the family and enjoy the sunset. 5+ acres to roam with a workshop and separate out building both with water and power. Workshop is 30x30x10 with a 10x30 overhang a stainless clad work bench,ac,propane furnace and a wood burning stove, also a 12x40 foot car port along side of it. has 220 service. Roof, AC are 5 years old. 1500 foot well. Property also has 2 bdrm apartment over garage for potential rental income or office. You will love the views from this property. 1 year home warranty.

Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms: 3.00

Price: $199,900

For more information about this property, please contact Mark Broadway at (417) 887-6664 or mark.broadway@coldwellbanker.com. You can also text 2403376 to 67299.

See more listings at: http://www.thebroadwayteam.com

MLS ID: 60003537

Is a reverse mortgage a good idea

There is a lot of news out there about reverse mortgages and may have heard some bad things about them.  It's preying on the elderly, or just putting the heirs in debt when a house is left to the kids, etc.  While that happens......in ALL industries, there are some good things that a reverse mortgage could be an outstanding alternative for.  As the 'baby boomers' race to retirement, this will become a much more popular tool in the retirees lives.  So, let me give you some of the basics that you want to consider about a reverse mortgage and I'll start with the basics:

What is a reverse mortgage:  Simply put, a reverse mortgage is a mortgage that is placed on a free and clear home or almost paid for, where the owner can take out a lump sum payment or payments over time and supplement their retirement income.  To keep this simple consider this example.  These numbers may not be representative of an actual reverse mortgage and are only for examples to illustrate how this works:

             House value          - $100,000
             Amount owed       -       $0.00

             Reverse Mortgage - $75,000 (75% "LTV" or loan to value) it's technically not a loan!!

Option 1:  Take the $75,000 in a lump sum to pay off other bills, save, invest, etc.
Option 2:  Take the amount in payments over time of $312 per month for a projected 20 year period.

There is no interest charged or payments due until the owner is no longer living in the home. You don't make any payments while you draw on the equity in the home and you have no interest charged.  When you are no longer in the home, the company setting up the reverse mortgage will then take the home since they have a first lien and sell it or the heirs will negotiate to pay off the reverse mortgage and keep the home in the estate to be divided by the heirs.   It's a great way for someone not completely prepared for retirement financially to have much more security in their later years.  Now, that's the public face of a reverse mortgage that you see and hear in advertisements.

Now, here's the part you DON'T hear about.  You can use the money for ANYTHING.  So, lets say you have always dreamed of having a place in Florida to live in 6 months out of the year.  Take a reverse mortgage out, purchase a 4 plex; which is within the rules of the reverse mortgage guidelines.  Now, rent out 3 of the units and live in the other.  Another rule is that you have to live in the home the reverse mortgage is on for 6 months out of the year.  Now, not only do you have your equity working for you but you have rental income to live on AND a retirement place you've always dreamed of that is paid for.  When something happens to you, your heirs will now have rental income that will more than cover the cost of the reverse mortgage so they can refinance the reverse mortgage at a favorable rate that is paid for by the rental income plus have a place to vacation over the years.

With real estate being at a bargain price (that's a relative term you understand), you could take advantage of a fantastic opportunity to ride the appreciation swing up over the future years.  Not to mention the tax benefits received from owning investment property.

So, don't turn your nose up at considering reverse mortgages as a viable source of investment money to meet your retirement goals.  It could be that you will make MORE money in retirement than you make working!  Now, THAT'S what I call "the Golden Years"!

Why in the world YOU would want to invest in real estate

The other day, I visited with a guy would was in the category of a 'don't wanter'.  Now, that is defined as someone that has real estate (or anything else for that matter) and does not want to own it any longer!  He had it rented and just didn't want to deal with it any longer.  In his situation, he was correct because of life circumstances, family illnesses and just tired of it.

It makes me thing though that for every one person that is a 'don't wanter', there are many more out there that really WANT.  And the reasons are numerous but just to name a few, here's a handful of reasons why someone should want to invest in real estate:

1.  Value - Real estate remains a very good value these days.  Prices are increasing but at a reasonable rate where it doesn't cause a frenzy in the market.  

2.  Inflation hedge - Because it's a hard asset, as inflation kicks in, so will the price of materials, thus the value of housing will also increase.  Rents, sales are all impacted.

3.  Investment protection - with real estate, you have the opportunity to have investment protection like no other investment can provide.  Where else can you have equity in the property, property insurance, and cash flow.  On top of that, you have tax advantages through depreciation so you win, win and win.
4.  Predictable results - as long as you don't get crazy and think your bullet proof from over leveraging or overly creative, you can predict with a good degree of certainty what your return will be.  Most of the time 7-8 times better than what a bank can offer

5.  Lifestyle - it can provide a lifestyle that many people dream of but never take the opportunity to jump into.  However, that lifestyle is more attainable than you might imagine.

If you want more information or have comments, I'd encourage you to leave your comments below.  I'd love to hear from you

Selling your house yourself

Many people look at selling your home themselves rather than hiring an agent.  Believe it or not, you can find an agent that will work with you to make that happen.  I'm one of them.  Selling your home yourself is a very tricky proposition.  You have to consider many factors; like marketing!  Putting a sign in the yard will cover those that drive in your neighborhood but, what about all the others that don't?  Ok, take an ad in the newspaper.  Not many folks are looking the the paper these days and you still have to pay for the ad.  Internet!  There are some sites that advertise but, your still paying for the membership and you have no guarantees to find buyers.

Now, say you have a buyer.  What do you disclose that's wrong with the house?  If you don't, you could get into some trouble later with the buyer should you close.  What about paperwork, contracts, addendums, closings.  The list goes on and on.  Truth is, you will get more money using an agent and less headaches, at less costs than if you did sell it on your own.  FSBO's (For Sale By Owner) can be successful and there are stories where the right buyer comes along but, odds are much less that you'll sell the home for the highest price in the shortest amount of time unless you use a real estate agent.  I enjoy working with folks like that though and don't mind if they were successful selling their house on their own.  I know I've helped someone along the way and that will come back to me someday.

If you would like to see some of the houses on the market in Springfield and surrounding area, go to our site; www.thebroadwayteam.com.  On the home page, enter the criteria you would want to look at, save your search and keep up to date on all the properties in the local market.  This can help you have a better idea what your house could be worth.  Now, you might ask, why in the WORLD would an agent put that information out to help someone sell their house on their own?  It's simple, I really love real estate and if I can help someone with information on their house, they will remember me and maybe refer me to someone that needs my help.  I realize not everyone wants a Realtor but, when you do, you'll hopefully think of US!  Thank you for taking the time to look at my blog and hope you have a terrific summer!!!!

Growing a business

I am a part of a local networking group in Springfield call the MOB; Masterminds Of Business.  It's a fantastic group of business men and women that get together to pass along referrals and to close business here in the Ozarks.  I was privileged to have an opportunity to teach an orientation class today of new members to help them get the most out of the group. 

I am always amazed how similar businesses are and how they all deal with similar problems, challenges and solutions. 

Growing businesses are not always easy.  It takes patience, time and some hard work to produce the luck you have in being successful.  (Notice I do believe in producing your own luck.)  Networking is one of the most efficient ways to rapidly grow a business and sustain any business......even real estate.

One of the very basic fundamentals of business is that people do business with people that they know, like and trust.  In our meeting, trust came out as the most important factor of referring someone.  It was interesting to note that trust will be almost automatic when referring business.  Here's an example.  In our business, we have people that can do many things; HVAC, plumbing, etc.  We stay in touch with those people to make sure they know us and we know them.  We have a client that we sold a home to almost a year ago that they were working on remodeling.  We gave them the name of a person we've worked with before that we felt would do a good job.  About a month later, we asked how all that worked out.  We were shocked to learn that not only did they do the job we had discussed, they hired him to do many other projects around the house as well!!!!  The homeowners didn't know him when he started but trusted us to give them a good person.  The worker earned more trust just doing a good job.  That's all the selling he had to do.  Needless to say, it was a win/win/win for everyone.  Yes, it was a win for us because we have happy clients that will recommend us and use us for their real estate needs in the future because we earned even more trust.  But it was a great win for both our client and the person doing the work too!

That being said; anytime, as agents we make a referral of a business for a service to a client or prospect, it pays off to have the confidence in the folks you work with because you never know when that referral causes you to earn more business or lose more business.  Either way, you get MORE!

Now, since it's spring, we are fortunate to get to watch some robins grow out just outside our kitchen window.  Very fun to watch these little guys be cared for and grow.  Yesterday was Mothers day so as a tribute, here's a picture of 'mom' doing what they do best.  Taking care of the little one.

 

Wish everyone a very good a prospers week.

Mark