One question people always ask is if our lakes ever freeze over in winter...The answer is Never! If you're looking for a place to retire with mild weather, consider Branson and Table Rock Lake. Our average winter temps are 40, although it has been warmer this year in the 50's and 60's!

Exciting announcment today, you'll now be able to fly to Branson on Southwest! Please read news article below for details at this link-

http://www.ky3.com/news/ky3-southwest-airlines-planes-will-soon-fly-from-branson-airport-20120120,0,3870776.story?track=rss&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

 

Please read the latest news article-taken from the Branson Daily News. It seems they are still working out the noise ordinance issue along with infastructure to be in place before any part of the 65,000 seat complex including staff offices could be occupied. 

http://bransontrilakesnews.com/news_free/article_7d093f02-4263-11e1-bfa6-0019bb2963f4.html

So I've decided this year where ever I am in the Ozarks I'm going to start shooting video. I think a lot of buyers may find the information presented in a video useful especially when shopping for home. I find people are more interested in whats around the home than the actual home itself, or at least for starters they can tell if a certain area or neighborhood is going to fit them. So here goes my media blast about Taneyville MO, a quiet little town with lots of history, milk cows in their meadows with a backdrop of the Ozark Mountains surrounding it.

  

It was a cold but clear day on Table Rock Lake, and I was showing condos in Kimberling City and thought I would shoot a video. These are wonderful lake side units starting at 199,000.

There have been 127 homes that have sold on the foreclosed market in the past 3 months in the Branson area and they are selling faster than ever before!

The reason being is not the shortage of them. In fact we have at least 2 everyday listed. The buyers are getting quicker and taking less time to make up their mind. For example I had sent out a property to prospects the same day it was listed, as I was emailing, the listing agent was writing a contract and two other agents were driving out to see it with their buyers. Kind of a "rat race"!

So there you go, it was gone within the day. There are more buyers just like you who want a deal and they are lined up for these babies.

So if you're really serious about buying a good deal in our area, my suggestion would be to get on a plane and head to the Branson Airport, spend a week with me and be prepared to make offers.

There's no time to wait, prices have not been this low on housing in a lifetime. If you want to buy, ACT NOW!

To start your search click on the search MLS box to your right. I'll be in touch!          

Want to know what the difference is in school districts and general demographics of Branson and Hollister? Is there really that much difference across the bridge? Click here to find out! 

http://carriehiggs.searchbransonmls.com/micompare/zip/65616/comparezip/65672/

 

Hollister Mo just lies east of the Taneycomo Bridge from Branson, and the two towns are really right next to each other with the water seperating them. Hope this link is helpful to you in your home search for general information. Thanks! 

I've sold several foreclosed homes to buyers over the past year, and now I hear there's another wave of them coming? So I thought I should write a little about what I know of buying a foreclosure in the Branson/Taney County or Stone County area. There is a certain mindset that makes buyers more successful, if you can stand it! 

1. Don't be afraid of dirt, mold, and whatever else is lurking in the corner: Think about the previous owner that occupied this home. They probably bought this house during the real estate frenzy a few years ago when anyone could buy and everyone qualified, and lenders were making the big bucks-soon the times changed and this buyer is working two jobs to pay his mortgage and make a living. Do you think he had time to clean his house and maintain it? No. All the lower end foreclosed homes have the same dirt and same smell and the same lack of care. This is normal...(for the most part.)

2. Be prepared to see leaks and water damage: If a home has not been maintained properly sometimes you have cracks that are not sealed and roof damage that was never repaired. Or, like most foreclosed homes after the owner is out sometimes it takes a good six months or more for the home to come on the market. This leaves a home exposed to the elements of heat and cold-pipes bursting in winter, or broken windows and doors blowing open letting the birds in to live( just saw it this week!)

3.NO DISCLOSURE: Pretty simple you have no information about the home besides what you see. No history of who lived there, what was replaced or repaired, or any other information that most buyers would want to know to make them feel at ease.

4. The price is right- Most of these homes are priced so low there is no more room to bargain. In the Taney/Stone county area most foreclosures are just knocking the price down a few thousand. So if you're looking at 99,000-expect you may get it for 95,000.

5.Don't expect perfection and watch out for tax liens: Not all foreclosed properties are horrible, actually I've shown several that are in great condition and like new, especially if it was a second home or vacation home. But usually there's always something. Again think of the previous owner-some owners can no longer afford to pay their property taxes or federal taxes. When the home is listed for sale sometimes you don't know about the tax liens until the title search is done and the title can not be transferred. This can really take the wind out of your "sale":)

There's more tips I'd like to share with you, possibly I'll have even more after the next few months!