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Low inventory levels- Cami’s team can help sellers & buyers!

The lack of available real estate inventory results in a “seller’s market,” posing a challenge for buyers.  It can be a good thing, depending on what side of the transaction you find yourself!  The Kansas City real estate market has been very hot, often resulting in multiple offers on Day 1.  Many sellers find themselves receiving OVER asking price with no contingencies attached. A hot market is typically good news for home sellers: inventory is low, and competition is high.

This process can be sped up even MORE if your house has some or all of the following:

  • Custom/upgraded finishes
  • Priced right, under the guidance of a real estate expert
  • Desirable school district
  • Finished lower level
  • Fresh, clean paint and floor coverings
  • Desirable neighborhood with nearby amenities
  • Location near schools, highway access, shopping, restaurants

On the flip side, buyers will be up against a lot of other people vying for the same piece of property, and up against a short supply of existing homes.  Also, first-time buyers in high demand areas may find that their best offer is beaten out by cash buyers and investors.  Use an experienced real estate agent (like any one of us on the Cami Jones Collaborative Team!) to help you get a handle on the market and look over what’s available.  You will need to decide where you can or can’t (or aren’t willing to) compromise.  Remember, finishes and appliances and paint colors are easy to change, location isn’t.  (Read our previous post on HOT neighborhoods in south Johnson County!)As a buyer, you’ll want to get your financing lined up so you don’t waste any time in a hot market.  Once you find the house…be ready to pull the trigger with your offer! And be ready to offer without contingencies.  In a hot market, sellers will likely take the cleanest offer:  the one with no contingencies, the one with the most money down and the one offering the quickest (or most preferable) closing date.

How Our Team Helps Buyers:

New Buyer Consultation

We want to meet with you! Contact a Cami Jones Collaborative agent to schedule a new buyer consultation. We’ll sit down and discuss your wants, needs, and timeline.

Determine How Much House You Can Afford

During your consultation, we’ll put you in touch with our trusted loan officers for a free pre-approval. Knowing you’re pre-approved not only helps you narrow your search but shows sellers you’re a motivated buyer.

Set Up a Home Match Account

This is an exclusive tool that Cami Jones Collaborative offers you through our partnership with ReeceNichols. With the help of your Cami Jones Collaborative. agent (or on your own), set up a custom Home Match account to begin researching available homes in your desired community.

Preview Homes and Tour Different Areas

Now it’s time to see your choices up close, and start to gauge the market. Your agent can quickly set up showings of homes you’re interested in. And since we are partners with ReeceNichols, you’ll have the chance to view hundreds of open houses in just a few days at their special Open House Celebration weekend each month.

Make and Negotiate an Offer

Once you’ve found THE one, your Cami Jones Collaborative agent will prepare the offer to purchase and review all the details. No stone will go unturned to make sure everything is on the up-and-up.  After the contract is submitted, your agent will use her expertise to negotiate the purchase of the home with your best interests in mind, while continuing to communicate with you every step of the way.

Finalize the Contract and Mortgage Paperwork

Now that the seller has agreed to all of the terms, the paperwork, inspections, appraisals, and mortgage will be finalized. Begin packing and planning for your big move!

Closing Day & Move In!

Pop the champagne, the big day has come. Your agent will be by your side on closing day as you sign the paperwork to purchase your new home. Celebrate accordingly!!  YourCami Jones Collaborative team is never finished. While your home purchase is complete, we will continue to be a resource for any and all home-related questions.Above all, be flexible and be patient!  Your dream house awaits, it’s just a matter of time.  Good luck!  Contact us today and let us help you sell and find your next home!*image from ReeceNichols; based on Heartland MLS Statistics

Cami’s team offers best-in-class marketing support

When you use the services of a Realtor®, you want to be sure they are using every available marketing tool to help move your property. You can be assured that the Cami Jones Collaborative team will do just that!  We consistently move more real estate in Kansas City than other teams because we know marketing and we intimately understand this market.There’s much more to marketing a home than simply inputting the info into MLS, watching and waiting.  Our team has decades of combined experience and multiple tools at our disposal to market your home.

Transaction Support

Christine Carlson is our team’s transaction coordinator.  She spends her days (and nights!) coordinating every detail of the transaction pertaining to your sale or purchase.  There are no details left to chance.  Through Christine’s expertise, she supports our real estate agents while supporting each one of our clients.

Online Marketing Support

We are committed to helping our clients achieve maximum exposure for their listing.  This includes maintaining active social media accounts.  We regularly post and promote our listings on our social media channels.  You can  like us on Facebook , follow us on Twitter and Instagram.  We’re even on LinkedIn, as Cami Jones Collaborative, ReeceNichols.  We have an established network of colleagues who look for and anticipate our listings and are ready to share our content.  This sort of “viral marketing” often leads to offers early in the process!

Offline Marketing Support

Offline (traditional) marketing support can encompass anything from hosting Open Houses to regular communication with other agents.  Sometimes, we are able to feature our listings on Tuesday agent tours, which ups the exposure to the agent community.  We offer professionally prepared marketing materials to highlight your home and showcase its features to potential buyers.  This includes best-in-class photography and staging opportunities.  You have the wonderful property…it’s up to us to highlight it and sell it for you!Here are three of our featured listings; feel free to take a look!

Listing #2072753
SELLER SAYS BRING OFFER! Gorgeous Rick Standard 1.5 Story in the sought after Lionsgate by the Green subdivision in Overland Park. Brand new kitchen renovation just completed with stainless appliances and double ovens. This home has a beautiful “Coastal vibe” and inviting on every level. Formal dining room, hearth room and living room give flexible entertaining options. First floor office with gorgeous built-ins.The finished lower level has wonderful features which include 5th bedroom/bath, bar.
Listing #2076925
Great opportunity for investors or buyers that want a Charming 100+ year home & want take on additional updating! This 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 3-story home had a jump start before it hit the market with newly refinished hardwood floors, completely updated kitchen with granite counter tops and all new SS appliances! There is all new carpet in the bedrooms and bathrooms have been updated. Interior of home has been freshly painted in soft grays. Don’t want to miss this one in Kansas City, MO.
Listing #2070682
MOTIVATED SELLER…BRING OFFER! This Beautiful 1.5 story on a gorgeous treed lot is perfection. Gorgeous all natural hardwood floors, stunning new light fixtures. This open floor plan with loads of natural light with a cozy “Coastal” feel is perfection. First floor large master with huge closet, first floor office, big open mud room connected to the first floor laundry. 2nd Floor has 3 bedrooms and spacious loft. Complete with finished lower level and walk-out basement. This home sits at the end of a cul-de-sac in south Overland Park, KS.

 

Give us a call today!  You can reach our team at 913.402.2550.  Want to come see us?  Our brand new office is conveniently located at 5000 W. 135th St. Leawood, KS 66224.

 

5 benefits of listing with Cami Jones Collaborative

We are often asked why someone should hire us or use a licensed Realtor® when listing their home for sale.  Aside from the fact that we like to have lots of fun and enjoy our clients immensely, there are some really good reasons why you should enlist the help of Cami Jones Collaborative when it comes to listing your home.  Probably the most-often heard argument against using a Realtor® is this:  “I can just sell it myself FSBO and save a ton of money, not to mention save the hassle of showings when I’m not ready for them!”There are several important things to consider when listing your home, and listing with a real estate agent makes all the sense in the world.  It’s no secret, but every homeowner wants pretty much the same things out of a house sale and has the same goals.

House Sale Goals

  1.  Homeowners want to sell the property.  This is obvious.
  2.  People want to sell their home for the best possible price.
  3.  They want to sell it with the least amount of hassles and inconvenience (see above).
  4.  People want to sell it within a certain time frame based on any number of factors.  Sound about right?

So, why use a Realtor®?

  1. Realtors® are trained professionals.  You use professionals for many aspects of your life; bankers, builders, repairmen, stockbrokers, educators, etc.  Why take a chance when it comes to one of your most important investments?  Our team members are skilled and objective negotiators.  This is a benefit in what can be an emotionally-charged experience.
  2. Real estate agents have access to the vast majority of available buyers! According to the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) 2016 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends Report, 87% of all buyers purchased their home through a real estate agent or broker.  We have a vast network of real estate colleagues and can often bring buyers to you as soon as (if not before) the sign goes in the yard.

So, why use Cami Jones Collaborative?

  1. Experienced agents, like Cami Jones, Missy Hutton, Mandy Doull, Stacy Vollmar and Rebecca Kyger bring pricing expertise, negotiating skills, and market access to the table- and can often land you a higher selling price as a result. They know the ins and outs of the local market, what it will bear and what the comps are. Pricing right is everything!  Don’t make pricing your home a guessing game; do it right the first time.
  2. We have Christine Carlson as our team’s transaction coordinator, and she works hard for YOU.  Every “i” is dotted and every “t” is crossed by Christine.  In short, every detail of your transaction is carried out impeccably with nothing left to chance.
  3. Exposure- you want your home to have maximum exposure to as many potential buyers as possible.  This exposure includes professional marketing (online and offline) materials, hosted open houses, and regular communication with buyers’ agents.  We do it all!

Let our team help you!  We make the listing process easy and will have you on the road to selling your beautiful home in no time!  Give us a call today!  You can reach our team at 913.402.2550.  Want to come to see us?  Our brand new office is conveniently located at 5000 W. 135th St. Leawood, KS 66224.In the meantime, please like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram!

Selling your home? Here’s what you can expect.

Once you’ve made the decision to sell your home, you set into motion even more decisions.  It makes good sense to enlist the help of a seasoned real estate professional.  You use professionals for many aspects of your life; bankers, builders, repairmen, stockbrokers, educators, etc.  Why take a chance when it comes to one of your most important investments?  Use a skilled and objective negotiator in what can be an emotionally-charged experience. What can you expect? -We’ll work together on the timing of the listing.  When to put your home on the market is an important decision, and we’ll come armed with historical data for your neighborhood and the local market in general.-We’ll help you get your home ready to sell.  We’ll point out updates that will net you the biggest bang for your buck, and discuss pre-inspections and other potential areas of concern.-We’ll help you get to the “right” listing price.  Experienced Realtors®, like our team members at Cami Jones Collaborative, bring pricing expertise, negotiating skills, and market access to the table- and can often land you a higher selling price as a result. We know the ins and outs of the local market, what it will bear and what the comps are. Pricing right is everything!-We’ll help you stand out and get noticed.  You want your home to have maximum exposure to as many potential buyers as possible.  This exposure includes professional marketing (online and offline) materials, hosted open houses, and regular communication with buyers’ agents.-We’ll help you negotiate and close the deal!Let our team help you!  We make the listing process easy and will have you on the road to selling your beautiful home in no time!  Give us a call today!  You can reach Cami Jones at 913.521.8809.

5 real estate terms both buyers and sellers should know

If you regularly follow our blog, then you know that we’ve been going through a list of common real estate terms, five at a time!  There are so many real estate terms that surface during the buying and selling processes…it’s enough to make your head spin!  (This is one of the reasons why it pays to employ the services of a licensed Realtor– read more about that in our previous post on the topic!)  We thought we’d take a few terms at a time and give simple explanations for each, courtesy of National Association of Realtors (NAR) Real Estate Glossary.  For the full list of the terms and definitions, click here!  For the first five terms that we covered, click here!Fixture: Personal property that has become part of the property through permanent attachment.Gift letter: A letter to a lender stating that a gift of cash has been made to the buyer(s) and that the person gifting the cash to the buyer is not expecting the gift to be repaid. The exact wording of the gift letter should be requested of the lender.Good faith estimate: Under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, within three days of an application submission, lenders are required to provide in writing to potential borrowers a good faith estimate of closing costs.Gross closed commission income: The total amount of commission income a real estate sales agent or broker receives from closed transactions.Gross sale price: The sale price before any concessions.Ready to take that next step and make a move?  Let the experts from Cami Jones Collaborative help you!  We’re with you every step of the way.  (And no, we won’t test you on these terms!) #JPA

5 (more) real estate terms you should know

 If you regularly follow our blog, then you know that we’ve been going through a list of common real estate terms, five at a time!  There are so many real estate terms that surface during the buying and selling processes…it’s enough to make your head spin!  (This is one of the reasons why it pays to employ the services of a licensed Realtor– read more about that in our previous post on the topic!)  We thought we’d take a few terms at a time and give simple explanations for each, courtesy of National Association of Realtors (NAR) Real Estate Glossary.  For the full list of the terms and definitions, click here!  For the first five terms that we covered, click here!Down payment: The amount of cash put toward a purchase by the borrower.Dual agent: A state-licensed individual who represents both the seller and the buyer in a single transaction.Earnest money deposit: The money given to the seller at the time the offer is made as a sign of the buyer’s good faith.Escrow account for real estate taxes and insurance: An account into which borrowers pay monthly prorations for real estate taxes and property insurance.Exclusions: Fixtures or personal property that are excluded from the contract or offer to purchase.

5 (more) real estate terms you should understand

 There are so many real estate terms that surface during the buying and selling processes…it’s enough to make your head spin!  (This is one of the reasons why it pays to employ the services of a licensed Realtor– read more about that in our previous post on the topic!)  We thought we’d take a few terms at a time (starting with “A” of course) and give simple explanations for each, courtesy of National Association of Realtors (NAR) Real Estate Glossary.  For the full list of the terms and definitions, click here!  For the first five terms that we covered in our last post, click here!Commission: The compensation paid to the listing brokerage by the seller for selling the property. A buyer agency agreement may require the buyer to pay a commission to his or her agent.Contingency: A provision in a contract requiring certain acts to be completed before the contract is binding.Conventional mortgage: A type of mortgage that has certain limitations placed on it to meet secondary market guidelines. Mortgage companies, banks, and savings and loans underwrite conventional mortgages.Counteroffer: The response to an offer or a bid by the seller or buyer after the original offer or bid.DOM: Days on market.  The number of days a property has been on the market.

5 real estate terms you should understand

There are so many real estate terms that surface during the buying and selling processes…it’s enough to make your head spin!  (This is one of the reasons why it pays to employ the services of a licensed Realtor– read more about that in our previous post on the topic!)  We thought we’d take a few terms at a time (starting with “A” of course) and give simple explanations for each, courtesy of National Association of Realtors (NAR) Real Estate Glossary.  For the full list of the terms and definitions, click here!Adjustable rate mortgage (ARM): A type of mortgage loan whose interest rate is tied to an economic index, which fluctuates with the market. Typical ARM periods are one, three, five, and seven years.Application fees: Fees that mortgage companies charge buyers at the time of written application for a loan; for example, fees for running credit reports of borrowers, property appraisal fees, and lender-specific fees.Back-up offer: When an offer is accepted contingent on the fall through or voiding of an accepted first offer on a property.Buyer agent: The agent who shows the buyer’s property, negotiates the contract or offer for the buyer, and works with the buyer to close the transaction.Closing: The end of a transaction process where the deed is delivered, documents are signed, and funds are dispersed. 

5 ways to get ready to have an Open House

The summer buying season is in full swing!  If you’re looking to move, chances are your Realtor will host an Open House to show off your property.  There are several things you can do to ensure that it’s looking its best…and maximize your chances of reeling in a quick offer!

  • Clean everything.  And then clean it again!  Don’t just straighten.  Dust light fixtures, blinds and wash the baseboards.  Make sure the windows sparkle!  Make sure the shower door sparkles! You want to get top dollar for your home, and curb appeal on the outside coupled with a sparkling inside will go miles toward getting you there.
  • Declutter everything.  Potential buyers don’t want to see your stacks of mail, newspapers and your children’s school work.  Pull things off the refrigerator, clear off those kitchen counters and coffee tables.  Family photos on the tabletops or countertops?  Put ’em away.  You want buyers to imagine themselves living in their NEW home, with their belongings!  The less of your stuff they see…the more this is possible!
  • Think about fresh flowers.  Flowers set a wonderful mood.  A bud vase on your bedroom nightstand coupled with fresh flowers in the kitchen makes a great statement!
  • Have pets?  Figure out what to do with them during the open house!  Nothing will turn a buyer off faster than a) a house that smells of its pet, and b) a pet that is present during the showing.  Again, you want the buyers to imagine themselves in your property, so if you are at all able, send the pet(s) to a neighbor, or to pet day care or let them drive around in the car with you during the showing!
  • Don’t forget to turn on the lights and angle the blinds so natural light comes in!  Light makes everything look brighter and really sets a stage for your showing.  If you’ve cleaned and done everything we’ve recommended, you will want to show off every nook and cranny!

TheCami Jones Collaborativeis anxious to meet with and help you make your listing a success!   Give us a call today! You can reach Cami Jones at 913.206.2410

Finding out your home’s value

We’ve helped many sellers and buyers throughout the years.  One common thread seems to be the thoughts you have before making the decision to sell.  Obviously, you put great thought into where your next home will be, but first things first, you have to put your current one on the market.  What can you expect to get for your property? Do you have a sense for what similar properties are going for in and around your neighborhood?  Do you know what the market trends are for your area?We can help!  We make it super easy for you to learn these things, and arm yourself with information that makes you a more informed seller.  What do you need to do?

  1.  To begin, you can request a personalized Neighborhood Market Trends Report.  It only takes about 10 seconds!  Here is the link to request that report.
  2.  Next, you can request a Professional Home Value Estimate.  Again, super easy, and only takes a few seconds.  Here is the link to request that.

It’s important to note that the above referenced report is an estimate based on the information you provide to us.  Once you meet with one of the professionals on the Jones-Plattner & Associates team, we’ll be able to take into account things like upgrades, custom finishes, lot nuances, etc.We’re here to serve you. Please let us know what’s on your mind, and we’ll get you an answer as quickly as we can!  We look forward to serving you and showing you why it pays to go with #JPA!*Information presented on this site and webpage is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified by the users of the site. The providers of this website and associated content make no warranty, either expressed or implied, as to the accuracy of the data contained within or obtained from this Web Page. By utilizing this report you agree to the TERMS OF USE