Layna's Blog

How do you get leads?

Layna Lambert (Keller Williams) — Wed, 30 May 2007 09:06:12 -0500

I know I know, use your center of influence. But, what if, you are 23 and live in a town where you have no family and all of your friends have a combined worth that would be lucky to get them a value meal at Mickey D's?

I really have a heart for helping first time buyers and I am in a great position right now to do so because, while I am licensed, I am more of an assistant to a PRO in the business. I would love to bring in great people for her and I to work with together so that A) I can help them and B) I can help her business.

So... how do you get leads? I know for you experienced agents it is all about past clients, but how did you get them to begin with? Summer is upon us, I'm on a break from college and I NEED YOUR HELP!

Classes, Paperwork and Books- oh my!

Layna Lambert (Keller Williams) — Tue, 29 May 2007 10:01:51 -0500

Man, there sure is a lot that goes into being a real esate agent huh? I'm not sure what other states require, but in Kansas and Missouri, it seems like a lot. I went in last week for some Post Licensing classes at Career Education and while the instructors are great, the material can be SOOOO boring!

All of that being said, I find with each class I take, that I come to respect the real estate profession more and more. As agents, we are responsible for A LOT! It is important that clients find someone who actually knows what he/she is doing. I am so lucky to work for Marti Shuey because not only is she a great boss, but also is an expert real estate agent in our Kansas City area.

My heart goes out to first time buyers in the Kansas City area, that is why we love working with them so much. There is an abundance of information and you must have an agent that A) Knows what she is doing and B) Will take the time to explain everything to you.

College Students Want to Know.

Layna Lambert (Keller Williams) — Tue, 15 May 2007 09:28:01 -0500

So.... I am taking an intersession Advanced Public Speaking Class at my college, The University of Missouri Kansas City. It is by far the most intense schedule I have ever seen. Since we are doing in 15 days what it takes most 18 weeks to accomplish, you can imagine what the work load looks like.

My professor, Dr. Linda Kurz, assigned to us our first 8-10 minute, power point, informative speech last week. "What the heck am I going to talk about with so little time to prepare?" I thought to myself. I was trying to remain aware of my 20 something audience. She had suggested to all of us that we try to write our speeches on something we know because obviously we didn't have the time most students do to research a topic. Even though I didn't think the kids, and that is what we all are, in my class would be too terribly interested in real estate, I went for it anyway.

I presented my speech on "The Four Major Steps to Buying a Home" last night and you would not believe the response! These young adults were so eager for someone to simply explain the process to them. Even though it was an 8 minute speech, I must have stood up there for 20 more minutes just answering questions! One young man in my class is going to start working for a large computer company here in Kansas City and has no idea what to do with the money he will be making... "Buy a house!" Then there was the young lady who is engaged to be married and she and her husband needed information on what to do... "Buy a house!" Even my professor was asking me questions about what kind of return she could expect for redoing her kitchen or bathroom which opened the door for me to run comps for her on her area.

We can't count out our youth, especially the ones ambitious enough to sign up for a class like that! Establishing long lasting relationships with the younger generation is a smart move to help those first time buyers.

Single Women Unite!

Layna Lambert (Keller Williams) — Tue, 08 May 2007 09:49:21 -0500

Did you know that more than 1 in 5 homes buyers last year were single women? And according to Elizabeth Weintaub of About.com

Twice as many unmarried women are buying homes than single men.

Single women make up more than one-third of the growth in real estate ownership since 1994.

I think that is impressive! She goes on to state the....

Top Three Reasons Unmarried / Single Women Buy a Home

Strong desire to own her own home.
Need more space or want smaller home.
Relocate closer to job, school or family

I was a 19 year old single woman when I bought my first home and I was still single at 21 when I bought my second. For me, buying a home was not a gender thing, it was a practical money thing. Buying a first home for anyone, whether it be a newlywed couple, a single mom or a young man right out of college takes a special kind of agent. I know for a fact that Marti Shuey is that kind of agent because she was that agent for me.

I can't forget everything she went through to help me get my first home in Kansas City. She was patient with me as I slowly inched my buget farther and farther down. She was a great mother figure, often telling me, "Layna, this is a cute house, but a bad area... I don't think you'll be safe." She was never quick to try and get a sale. In the end, I think her commission must have only been a few hundred dollars, a far cry from what she normally made, but she treated me like I was $500,000 home buyer.... I never forgot that.

So here we are, three years later and I'm her assistant and partner in crime- trying to treat those first time buyers the way she treated me!

Newlyweds and New Homes!

Layna Lambert (Keller Williams) — Fri, 04 May 2007 10:39:28 -0500

On November 28th, 2006, a random Tuesday afternoon, my beloved boyfriend became my beloved fiancé! I immediately started planning for our big day. Being the Type A person I am, I practically had the whole thing planned within a month! The one thing that we didn't have to worry about, however, was buying our first home.

I already own a cute a little bungalow in the Waldo area of Kansas City and even though it is a small house, the payments are low, the area is safe and it will offer us a little financial wiggle room as we build a great foundation for our marriage- and pay down our hefty student loans!

Some newlyweds are not going to have it so easy. On top of having to consolidate bank accounts, possessions and learning to live together for the first time, a lot of them are going to make that first step into buying their first home.

From one newlywed to another, here are some things to consider:

1. Don't get in over your head. I personally believe (and so does my fiancé) that it is better to live modestly for the first few years of our marriage, so that we can better position ourselves for our future. Unless you are just rolling in the dough, a $250,000 home may not be the best choice.

2. Separately, sit down and write out all the things that are important to you in a home. Do you want a big kitchen? Must the house have walk in closets? Once you have written down those things, come together and discuss what you are willing to compromise on and what you are not.

***This next one is for the girls only***

3. Let him have his own room or special area in the house. I only say this because I have seen some of my fiancé's things and, well, lets just say that I'm not too sure I want his Marvel Comic's poster hanging in our bedroom. I have agreed that he can take the spare room as his "Boy Palace" as long as he leaves the rest of the decorating up to me!

Even if it is a $50,000 fixer-upper, I would be honored to help you find it, because no matter what the price, a first home is something very special.

Rainy Day

Layna Lambert (Keller Williams) — Wed, 02 May 2007 14:48:17 -0500

You know, some people's parents told them to "Save up for a rainy day." I, on the other hand, never had those parents. Being the product of divorced parents, I watched my mom work, pay rent, and buy lots of things we never needed. During the summers when I was with my dad, I watched him spend like crazy on credit cards and live way beyond his means. The whole concept of "planning for my future" was very foreign to me. That is, until I met my friend Nona.

Nona came from a very traditional Tongan family (Tonga is an island in the South Pacific). Her family was very big on saving, living modestly, and owning property. "You are making good money now," She told me one day over coffee. "You need to buy your first home."

"My first home! What!? I'm 19 years old", I thought to myself. I should be worrying about when the newest Coach purse comes out! After some discussion with friends, family and a lot of prayer, I thought, "Why not!"

I was living in California at the time. It was 2002, when interest rates were 1%- okay, maybe not 1%, but they were low! I asked if anyone knew of a good agent, she then put me in contact with a mortgage company, the next day we went out looking and the day after that... I put in a full price offer on a Condo in the Valley. It all happened so fast.

I had only lived in my condo for about 12 months, when certain circumstances in my family led me to move back to the Midwest. You would think that only living in a home for 12 months, I would have walked away with little to no money right? Not in California! My condo sold for $15,000 over asking price in one day!!! At 20 years old, I had made a $30,000 profit on my first home!

Please, don't get me wrong. I am not bragging. If anything, I would want people to know that if a small town, 19 year old girl from Neodesha, KS can make money in real estate. Anyone can! Buying that first home is always scary, put think about the payoff in the end. It's a great way to save, without realizing you're saving!

Now, that is saving for a rainy day!

Ward Parkway Shooting

Layna Lambert (Keller Williams) — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 13:19:29 -0500

As a resident in the Waldo Area, I was just as shocked as everyone to hear about this horrible shooting. In light of the Virginia Tech incident, sadly, I'm sure we've all become a bit more sensitive to these senseless acts, but it is one thing to have it happen in your back yard! I was working out at the 24 hour fitness in the Ward Parkway Shopping Center yesterday afternoon. Luckily, I left shortly before the shooting occured. How could this have happened in our cute, quiet Waldo area?

As details of the crime become more known, I'm sure that we can all agree that this was just one isolated incident and Waldo is just as safe and charming as it ever was. If you want more information on upcoming events in this wonderful area go to The Waldo Homepage and check out the calendar of events. If you are interesting in buying your first home in this area... contact me!

Pre Approval first!

Layna Lambert (Keller Williams) — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 12:25:37 -0500

As scary as it is and as much as I hate to say it... Step One is the money stuff. I remember when I started looking for my first home I would sit in front of online searches for hours and hours. Slowly but surely the price range I was looking at started going up and up. Before I knew it, I was looking at homes with mortgage payments more than I was making in one month!

Moral of the story... GET PRE-APPROVED. These lenders know better than anyone how much you can afford. It is better that you know now and not later what you can spend when you look for your first home. It will save you some heartache later. In fact, a smart real estate agent in Olathe or any other area, probably won't even starting looking at homes with you until you get pre approved.

Not to mention that a lot of those "online mortgage calculators" can be deceiving. A lot of the time they don't factor in the mortgage insurance (if you have to have it), the homeowners insurance or the taxes and interest.

So, you may be asking yourself, "How do I get pre-approved?" Good question. I would recommend that you gather up paycheck stubs from the past year as well as bank statements, and ask around for a good lender. In my humble opinion, it is better to go local. Ask your family and friends who they have used or check out Marti's website under Vendors. Each one of those people are people we have personally worked with and think do a wonderful job working with first time home buyers.

Still not feeling confident? Check out this website about the different stages of pre-approval and then call me!

Introducing myself!

Layna Lambert (Keller Williams) — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 09:14:36 -0500

Hi all! I hope this gloomy Wednesday morning is treating you all well. I just wanted to take a quick second to introduce myself. I am a blogging newbie, so any help/advice/words of wisdom are welcomed! Special thanks to Chris Lengquist for taking the time on Friday to get some of us started on Active Rain. I'm looking forward to "getting my blog on"! Have a great day!!!

Baby's first blog!

Layna Lambert (Keller Williams) — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 08:20:17 -0500

I feel like someone should be here to take my picture. This is my very first blog! It was probably three months ago when Marti (my partner in crime) said, "Layna, do you know anything about blogging?" As a 20 something I thought blogging was for emotionally unstable kids who needed to pour out their feelings onto the web. I, apparently, was wrong.

Cut to me, three months later sitting in a class taught by the one, the only, blogging legend himself Chris Lengquist. Chris is our resident 1031 tax exchange, investment property guru around here, but he is also a very active blogger and has seen much success from his daily blogs. In his class I came to the quick conclusion that blogging wasn't just for emo kids (emotional kids) anymore.

By not only setting up, but also maintaining this blog on a daily basis, I sincerely hope that I can bring some new information and advice to all of you first time home buyers looking to settle down in the Kansas City area.

When I started looking for my first home I know that felt completely overwhelmed. I had no idea what questions to ask and even if I did, I'm not sure I would have spoke up for fear of sounding so young. The agent I had stumbled onto was willing to help me, but because I needed so much "hand holding" I could tell that I was not her ideal client. I promise to never make my clients feel like they are inconvenience! Even though it was a scary process, it was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life!

Your first home buying experience, whether it is here in Olathe or anywhere in the Kansas City Area, should be a positive one.

I will always do my best to make sure that happens!