southwest missouri real estate: "In 4 or 5 years......"
- 06/15/11 06:01 PM
I wish I had a dime for every time I hear this phrase in reference to buying now and reaping the financial rewards of selling in 4 or 5 years. In the Midwest, the most popular catch phrase used to be, "someone from California will think this is a steal." But a depressed national real estate market made that phrase obsolete. Who knows, in 4 or 5 years it might come back.
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southwest missouri real estate: Did anyone watch HBO's Too Big To Fail?
- 05/24/11 03:15 AM
Last night HBO premiered Curtis Hanson's docudrama Too Big To Fail. And this morning I've read a couple of newspaper reviews that almost seem as if the reviewers were watching different movies. One guy called it "too boring to watch" while another called it "informative and riveting". Anyway, I watched and of course have my own opinion but thought I'd see what the Active Rain crowd, people that were immensely affected by the happenings of 2007-2008, had to say about it. William Hurt as Hank Paulson
In Southwest Missouri where I sell real estate, we are still feeling the effects of … (3 comments)
southwest missouri real estate: Ozzie Smith to be honored in Springfield, Missouri
- 05/16/11 03:56 PM
Southwest Missouri is Cardinal Country so I've been a St. Louis Cardinal fan since I've been a little kid. And of all the Cardinals Ozzie Smith, all-star short stop, was one of my favorites. Well the former Cardinal great will honored as the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame's 21st Legend on Wednesday as part of the Baseball Enthusiasts Luncheon at the hall, 3861 E. Stan Musial Drive. He will unveil his bust, the work of sculptor Harry Weber, following an introduction by fellow Hall of Famer Whitey Herzog who just so happens to be one of my favorite managers of all time too. … (4 comments)
It all begins with my daffodills to my tulipsand then the Irises join the party along with my climbing clematis and finally my roses. I just love my roses
Yes, Southwest Missouri is in full bloom as is my real estate business. Houses are moving and bargains don't stay on the market too long. Want a place to raise your own flowers? Call me.
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southwest missouri real estate: Funny things you see showing property. Part 2
- 05/07/11 11:12 AM
I know a lot of people loved John Wayne. My Dad did. And my Papa as well. An American Institution in the eyes of some people. To me, just the guy that starred in lots of westerns when I was a little kid. Well yesterday I was showing property in my native Southwest Missouri, which I might add has an abundance of John Wayne enthusiasts, when I ambled down to the walk-out basement which was no less a shrine to The Duke, himself. It had lots of movie posters and memorabilia but the one thing that caught my eye was a … (4 comments)
southwest missouri real estate: Crazy looking but effective.
- 05/06/11 04:45 PM
One of my favorite parts of showing houses is seeing crazy innovations that home owners come up with to make life better. About a month ago I blogged about an unusual but effective laundry basket-clothes sorting system. And today I saw another problem solver I wanted to share. I was showing a 3 Bedroom, 2 bath, over a walk-out basement home with an upstairs bonus room home when we entered the upstairs bonus room. Well you can't how much we were all surprised to find a full size door complete with door handle and door stop at the top of one of the walls of the … (9 comments)
southwest missouri real estate: Sometimes you have to be a ....witch to get the job done.
- 05/04/11 08:52 AM
(too nice) My office partner says I'm too nice. I reply that you can't be too nice. He retorts you can't be too nice to your grand parents or your grand children but in business you can be. I answer that my momma used to say, that you can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar. His answer is that flies don't lie and take advantage of you like some people will. (too mean) I tell him he taught high school for so long that he is jaded. He agrees but then says conniving adults have had many more years … (10 comments)
southwest missouri real estate: If you don't mean it, don't say it.
- 05/03/11 05:02 AM
The story of Gary Weddle, the middle school teacher who ten years ago vowed not to shave his beard until Osama bin Laden was either captured or killed, raises a good point in the world of real estate.
How often do we arbitrarily make statements in our lives that we really don't plan to keep or forget that we even said it? Well, if you're doing it with your kids at home it's one thing, but if you're doing it while showing property it can really come back and haunt you. Statements like: "Old man Jones owns the land to … (11 comments)
southwest missouri real estate: Word of mouth is still great advertising.
- 04/29/11 06:07 PM
Advertising. It's all about getting our names out. There are dozens of avenues to accomplish this from internet blogging to the simple business card. And one of the oldest and most effective forms of advertsing is good old fashioned word of mouth. A couple of weeks ago I got an email from a lady who wanted to meet me to inquire about me listing her house. It seems she was a member of a card club within her subdivision. As it so happened, I had recently listed one of the other card club member's home and it had quickly gone … (11 comments)
southwest missouri real estate: On Active Rain baby steps soon becomes giant strides.
- 04/22/11 07:22 PM
We all have to start somewhere and it's no different on Active Rain. I look back upon my own decision to start blogging and my first visit here. I think about all the good advice I've been given and the new friends I've met. In Southwest Missouri there are mega agents in the area just as there are mega bloggers in the rain. In both instances their name recognition sets them apart. These bloggers are informative and fun to read, but what I really enjoy is watching a new blogger grow and bloom into a mature blogger. Usually they start with simple posts sometimes just … (9 comments)
southwest missouri real estate: Great Food, Great Time, Helping Charities. Can it get better than this?
- 04/15/11 03:56 AM
If you are in Southwest Missouri this weekend you have to stop by and visit The Springfield's Rotary Club's 12th annual Rock'n Ribs BBQ Festival. What is it you ask? It's over 60 teams from all over coming together to compete for the best barbecue in a 'Kansas City BBQ Society' Sanctioned event. And the best part (or maybe the second best part if you really like ribs) is that all proceeds go to 5 charities in the Ozarks. Last year this event raised over $160,000 and it just keeps getting better and better. So put on a bib, stuff your … (5 comments)
southwest missouri real estate: It's almost time for Sucker Day!
- 04/14/11 05:48 PM
If you live in Southwest Missouri you are familiar with Nixa's Sucker Day. If not, I'm here to tell you about it. Since 1957 when local barber Finis Gold started this long standing tradition, the people of Nixa have closed up shops and shut down schools to eat deep fried fish (Suckers) grabbed from the nearby Finley River.
This year it falls on May 14. Booth rental for arts and crafts is $45 and entries for the Sucker Day Parade will be accepted until May 1. Sucker Day in Nixa, like Apple Butter Days in Mt. Vernon, the Broiler Festival in Crane and Ernte … (6 comments)
southwest missouri real estate: A real life commercial for the iPhone
- 04/14/11 09:34 AM
People usually love or hate their phones. I have a college age son who I'm not sure could not function without his. But I can't say much. I can't imagine a day at the office without mine neither. My office partner also has a college age son. He had bought an airline ticket to fly from Oklahoma City to Chicago to check out graduate school at Wheaton University. After getting out of class he hurried to the airport to find he had left his driver's license at home. Now for most of us that would be a problem, but a … (1 comments)
southwest missouri real estate: Too good to make up
- 04/12/11 05:27 PM
Earlier today I posted a blog about first impressions and how important the primary picture can be. In the earlier post I showed how the listing agent used a picture of a toilet as his first picture on the Greater Springfield Board of Realtors MLS. I went on to explain that I hoped it was just a mistake. After all, in the Ozarks half million dollar homes are not all that common so one expects great curb appeal. So my curiosity got the better of me and I revisited the before mentioned listing. Honestly, I half expected to see a front picture … (15 comments)
And as you see there's nothing special about this picture other than it's the opening picture, the first shot you see of this half a million dollar home. Now i understand in some parts of the country half a million bucks is not a lot of money for a house, but in this neck of the woods it can buy a mansion and what do you see? A Toilet. So I thought that maybe the agent decided to use it to … (7 comments)
southwest missouri real estate: World Fest opened yesterday At Silver Dollar City in Branson
- 04/08/11 04:35 AM
One of my favorite things to do is take my son to Silver dollar City near Branson. and one of my favorite events that takes place there is World Fest. It started yesterday and will run through May 8. They bring in artists from all over the world to perform and the food is unbelievable. Some of the new performers this year include the Mayorov Russian State Circus, Canadian Powerhouse, Rhythms of Rajasthan, Irish Eyes are Smiling and a Slovenian Polka Party. Combine these groups with some of the returning groups of last year and you have a feast for … (2 comments)
southwest missouri real estate: One lunch and learn I'm really looking forward to.
- 04/06/11 06:08 PM
Tomorrow my home office is having a lunch and learn to introduce our new web site that each agent can customize to fit our particular needs. Keep in mind that while Murney Associates is the biggest real estate agency in Springfield, Missouri it's not a nationally known agency like.....well you know who I'm talking about and quite frankly our company web site was a little lacking (I'm being nice here). But hopefully that is quickly going to change. So tomorrow I plan to swing through Chipotle Mexican Grill and grab a chicken burrito before leaving my old web site behind and … (8 comments)
southwest missouri real estate: What a smart idea. Moms take notice.
- 04/06/11 07:51 AM
One of the better things about showing houses in southwest Missouri is seeing both the good and bad ideas that home owners have come up with to make their lives easier. Sometimes the ideas are so silly that they make you laugh. Once, when I heard a client ask "What the hell is that?", I knew we had stumbled on such an innovation. Other times the innovations are ingenious. Like yesterday while showing houses around Springfield,I came across an idea in a laundry room that I just had to share. Now keep in mind that these pictures were taken with my cell phone, so … (6 comments)
southwest missouri real estate: 6 counties, 1 bobcat, 2 flocks of turkeys, 4 houses, a near rear end collision later...
- 04/05/11 05:47 PM
Last week I blogged about showing several houses in 5 counties and the escapades that went with these showings including too much junk food and no offer. This week these cash buyers were back with four more houses to look at scattered throughout southwest Missouri. So today I spent the day driving through six counties across some of the prettiest farmland one could ever hope to see with Red Buds and Bradford Pears in bloom and an abundance of wild life including a scampering bobcat and two of the biggest flocks of turkeys that I have ever seen. As a matter of … (7 comments)
southwest missouri real estate: If Chris Hanson enters your office, your life just hit the crapper.
- 04/04/11 04:48 PM
We've all seen his work, especially the Dateline series "To Catch a Predator" and we've sat in our homes wondering how stupid can these men be? Well tonight on TV I saw Chris in action again, but this time he was exposing women who were swindling people out of not hundreds nor thousands but hundreds of thousands and in one case over ONE MILLION DOLLARS! And get this: IT"S ALL LEGAL! He showed woman after woman who claimed to be fortune tellers reel these people in before sucking them dry of their money. And yes, one poor man got so caught up in it, … (13 comments)
I wish I had a dime for every time I hear this phrase in reference to buying now and reaping the financial rewards of selling in 4 or 5 years.
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