SIX REASONS WHY LIVING IN THE COUNTRY IS BETTER FOR YOU

 

Out in the country, life moves a little bit slower. If you have ever lived in big cities, next to the ocean, and in city-adjacent suburbs, but it isn’t until you move to the country that you finally feel like you could really breathe. The benefits of country living have been pretty well researched. Science shows that living in the country is beneficial for both your physical and your mental health. And while city and suburb living certainly have plenty of their own benefits, there’s something about country life that just does the body good.

Rural areas account for 97% of U.S. land but house just 19.3% of the population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. That’s a lot of room to spread out for those who appreciate the quiet, privacy, and open sky of the country. Whether you’re trying to decide between city life vs. country life or just need some reminders about why living in the country is a great choice, read on for six of the biggest benefits inherent in rural living.

1.   Cleaner air

The further out into the country you get, the more your air quality improves.  Researchers have a few ideas for why this might be, including less pollution, the greater abundance of trees and grass, and perhaps even exposure to cell-improving phytochemicals that get released from plants, fungi, and microbes.

Pollution in more heavily populated areas comes not only from a lack of greenery, but also tiny yet harmful particles released into the air from trucks, buses, cars, factories, and other mainstays of urban environments. These particles travel into the lungs, where they impair breathing and increase the risk of serious illness.  Escaping this polluted air for the country means better breathing and better protection against chronic conditions like asthma and heart disease.

2.   Less crime

Residents in rural areas are less likely to be the victims of a wide range of crimes versus those who are living in the city or suburbs. These include simple and aggravated assault, robbery, and theft. Part of the reason for this is just a sheer numbers game—there are fewer people in the country, thus less opportunity for crime to occur. There’s also a higher percentage of police officers per capita—2.8 officers per 100,000 people in non-metropolitan counties compared to 2.6 officers per 100,000 people in metropolitan counties.

Crime can happen anywhere, and the country certainly isn’t guaranteed to be completely free of it. Still, if you’re looking to live somewhere where you can feel more comfortable letting your kids ride their bikes alone to school or leaving your windows open for a cool breeze while you sleep, statistically, the country is going to be your best bet.

3.   Better psychological health

Your brain actually functions differently in the country. Living in an urban environment over-stimulates two-key, and potentially harmful, regions of the brain: the areas that regulate emotion and anxiety. Scientists believe this is the reason they see higher rates of mental health problems in cities than in non-urban areas. In the country, the brain is less likely to experience this kind of overstimulation. The benefits? Lower risk of anxiety disorders and mood disorders. There is also research showing that city living increases schizophrenia risk, likely due to unknown environmental factors that impact developing brains.

You’re not going to be able to completely prevent a mood disorder or mental illness just because you live in the country, nor are you guaranteed to have less stress in your life simply because you’re out of the city. But you are going to avoid some of the increased risk factors for these psychological ailments that are deeply connected with city life, and it’s the benefit of country living worth considering.

4.   It’s cheaper

Cities are expensive to live in. It’s already well-established that living in the suburbs is cheaper than living in the city, and the cost of living drops even further for rural areas. A study looking at the cost of living for urban and rural areas in Pennsylvania found that those in the country paid less for everything from groceries to health care to transportation, with the greatest price differentiation having to do with housing costs (12.7% less in rural areas than urban areas).

Of course, what you pay to live somewhere—and what you get for that money—is going to differ depending on your exact locality. But if you’re looking for somewhere to spend less and get more, the first place you should start your search is in the country.

5.   Exposure to nature

Being outside in the open air is connected with many of the benefits of country living. And while you don’t have to go out to the country to find some sunshine and trees, head out to rural land and you’ll definitely find more of it than you will in the cities and the ‘burbs. As for specific benefits, immersing yourself in a natural environment is good for everything from improving your short-term memory to lowering your blood pressure.  It might even make you more creative.

Spending more time in nature is a great way to improve your health, and when you’re living the country life, you don’t have to go very far to reap the benefits. Natural paradise can be found right outside of your door, instead of a car or bus ride away.

6.   Easy access to organic food

Out in my own country paradise, I don’t have a Whole Foods within 30 miles of me but I do have multiple farms, all within a ten-minute drive, where I can buy fresh eggs, fruits, and veggies right from the source. The type of food that our bodies really need is in abundance out in the country, as is available land if you want to start growing your own.

In the city, access to unprocessed, healthy foods is not quite so extensive. Urban food deserts are especially problematic in low-income areas, where small markets and gas station snack bars often stand in for fancy organic grocery stores. In the country, even those with less to spend can easily purchase high-quality foods for cleaner diets. There are many pros to eating organic foods, chief among them less exposure to the harmful pesticides used to produce food on a mass level.

The takeaway

There are benefits to country living that you won’t find anywhere else, and the diversity of country land means that if you want something specific in addition to your rural environment—say, nearby water or mountain views—you can get that too. There are always going to be some trade-offs (for me, it’s having to drive an hour just to meet friends who still live downtown for dinner a couple of times a month), but if you can’t get enough of green meadows and big blue skies, the benefits of country living may just outweigh the negatives.

If you’re thinking about moving out to the country, consider the pros and cons, and make an informed decision based on the way that you like to live your life. Even the most adamant city dwellers may find that they feel a certain sense of joy and freedom when they trade the crowded streets for the cornfields.

As always, if you are thinking of moving to the country, give the Rural KC Team a call.  We can help you with almost every aspect of moving to the country.   Give the Rural KC Team-Keller Williams Partners a call at 913-837-0760 or 913-837-0411, or go to our website at ruralkc.com.  Have a great day.

 

RENOVATIONS TO AVOID BEFORE SELLING A HOME

 

Renovations to avoid before selling a home

There are plenty of things Sellers can do to make their homes more appealing. Depersonalizing, improving curb appeal, and proper staging are givens. But many Sellers believe that major renovations will lead to major price bumps, which often isn’t true. Help your clients avoid overdoing it with these tips on which renovations to avoid and which to do instead.

Avoid: Installing all new flooring

New flooring is definitely a tempting renovation to make. However, there are two obstacles that Sellers may overlook with new flooring.

1. It can be very expensive and have a cascading effect.
2. There’s no way to know whether a Buyer will like the new floors.

According to HomeGuide, the average cost for new flooring in a medium-sized room (about 330 sq. ft.) ranges between $1,660 and $4,620. And wood, which is one of the more popular flooring types, tends to lean toward the higher end of that range, often going above it. Plus, once Sellers start in one room, they may be tempted to redo others.

While the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) found that Sellers typically do see a positive cost recovery from new wood floors, it’s a relatively small bump.

• $4,700 cost estimate
• $5,000 cost recovery estimate

Given the time and cost invested, it’s important that your Sellers know that installing new wood floors likely won’t lead to a big price bump.

In addition, it’s difficult to predict whether the floor the Seller likes are one Buyer also like. There’s a decent chance that the newly installed floors will reflect the Seller’s personal taste, which may not align with the tastes of Buyers.

Instead, deep clean current flooring

Instead of a major renovation, suggest a deep cleaning of the current floors. If your Sellers can do it themselves, it may only cost them a day or two of time plus a relatively small cost to purchase or rent a wet/dry vacuum.

And if your Sellers would rather leave it to the pros, they can hire professional cleaners for a fraction of the cost of a renovation. When cleaned properly, professionals can make floors look brand new!

Avoid: Converting a garage to living space

For Sellers who have a garage (especially an attached garage), it may be tempting to convert it to a bedroom or living space. However, this is a notoriously low-value upgrade.

With more homeowners getting back to in-person work and school, a functional garage has much more value than an extra living space. In addition, Sellers may need to invest money into heating and cooling to truly make a garage livable, on top of getting proper building permits. That can get expensive and time-consuming fast, and for something, many Buyers don’t really want.

Quite simply, most Buyers would prefer a functional garage to extra living space.

Instead, consider a new garage door

Rather than converting the garage, you may want to suggest replacing older garage doors. It’s less expensive than converting the garage to a living space. It’s also an upgrade that Buyers truly want, according to NAR.

Avoid: Building a sunroom from scratch

Sunrooms may be becoming more popular, but they’re unlikely to help you make more money from a sale. In fact, in some cases, Sellers will only make back about 52 cents for each dollar they spend on a sunroom.

Instead, try professional window cleaning

If more light is the goal, a professional window cleaning is a much less expensive upgrade than a sunroom renovation project. Dirty and grimy windows are notorious for blocking light, so a professional cleaning can help. Clean windows are also an excellent way to boost curb appeal.

Also, consider replacing light fixtures

Another, less expensive option than building a sunroom is to replacing light fixtures with more modern light. In older homes especially, warmer lighting can make rooms feel darker than they should. Consider suggesting adjustable LED lighting that allows for 3000K, 4000K, and 5000K light. That gives Buyers options for cozier and warmer light (3000K) though brighter, daylight-mimicking light (5000K).

Even better, many LED fixtures are fairly easy for Sellers to install themselves.

Avoid: Entirely new appliances if your current ones work well

One of the benefits of being in a Seller’s market is that Sellers don’t need everything to be brand new. If major appliances like their oven and refrigerator still work well, there’s little reason to replace them. As long as they look as good and function as they should, upgrading appliances are unlikely to increase the home’s sale price noticeably.

Instead, purchase a home warranty for the Buyer

A home warranty from 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty (2-10 HBW) is a less expensive and more inclusive way to convince Buyers that their appliances will work well. Sellers can purchase coverage for the Buyer and provide three big benefits.

1. It’s proof that the appliances work well as they are since appliances must be in good working order to qualify for coverage.
2. If a major kitchen appliance breaks down from routine use, the home warranty may help reduce the cost to repair or replace it drastically.
3. Buyer coverage can protect many of the home’s most important systems—like heating, cooling, and plumbing—in addition to major kitchen appliances. That gives buyers peace of mind that their home will function well when they move in.

Conclusion

Sellers don’t need to commit to huge renovations to sell successfully. With our expertise, along with the fact that it’s a Seller’s market, there are many smaller improvements they can make to attract Buyers and have a successful sale.

As we guide our clients-both Buyers and Sellers-through the process, we would recommend 2-10 HBW to help you provide added value and show prospects that we are the agents you want to work with. 

Contact the Rural KC Team/Keller Williams Partners, Inc. for more information 913-837-0760 or 913-837-0411.  We are always here to help you with your real estate needs. 

Also, if you are interested in a Home Warranty, we recommend 2-10 Home Warranty.  Give us a call and we can refer you over to Mandy Wiseman with 2-10 Home Warranty.

 

Is Your Yard Equipment Ready for Spring?

As spring finally starts to arrive, there are likely a number of tasks around the house that will be kicking off in the coming weeks. Whether you’re mowing the lawn, prepping the garden, or refreshing those flower beds, it’s time to break out your equipment and get to work. One question, though: Is all your yard equipment actually ready for spring?

If you’re like a lot of people, at the end of the year you just clean up your equipment a bit and put it into storage. If you don’t do anything else with it, though, this can actually shorten your equipment’s life and increase the likelihood of breakdown during the busy spring period. Before you dive into all those spring tasks, here are a few things you should do to keep your mowers, tillers, and everything else running smoothly.

Change Those Fluids

When was the last time you changed the oil in your mower? How old is the gas in your trimmer? As the spring arrives, you should start your equipment out with fresh fluids. Not only will this ensure that your engine is properly lubricated when you start your various spring tasks, but it will also prevent potential problems that can result from old gas breaking down over the long winter months.

Depending on the equipment you use, this can also be a great time to lubricate other moving parts or grease any bearings that might have dried out while things were in storage. Check your owner’s manuals to see if there are any other fluid or lubrication recommendations for your equipment while you’re working on your spring prep. If you can’t find the owner’s manual, check the manufacturer’s website or other online resources for tips.

Sharpen Your Blades

There are many pieces of yard equipment that feature blades or other cutting surfaces. These can get dull as time goes by, and in some cases may even pick up a little bit of rust over the winter depending on where you live. This can cause some serious problems heading into a new year, resulting in uneven cuts and potentially even contributing to blade damage or other failures. Before you fire things up for the first time this spring, spend a little time sharpening those edges to make sure that everything’s working like it should.

Of course, not all blades can be revived by simple sharpening. While you’re checking them out, look for cracks or other signs of damage in the blades that can’t simply be buffed out or sharpened away. If a blade is cracked or damaged, replace it completely instead of trying to sharpen it. Cracked or damaged blades can break while under the stress of use, potentially causing damage or injuries in the process. The cost of a new blade is a small price to pay for staying safe while working around the house.

Other Equipment Maintenance

Depending on the equipment you have, there may be other maintenance tasks you need to perform as well. Changing oil filters, fuel filters, and spark plugs are great beginning-of-spring maintenance activities that go a long way toward getting your year off on the right foot. If you use electric equipment, test-charge any batteries to make sure that they can still hold a good charge after being in storage for the winter. Pneumatic and water hoses should be checked for leaks before use, and any nozzles or sprayers should be cleaned to remove dust and other gunk.

As always, if you have any questions or would like to speak to one of our agents, please feel free to contact us at 913-837-0760 or 913-837-0411.  Have a great day and happy Spring. 

BUYING A VACATION RENTAL?

 

Buying a Vacation Rental?
Be Sure to Read Through This Guide First

Buying a vacation home can provide you with a relaxing option for getting away from it all. You’ll have an escape from the outside world and a vacation spot that really feels like your own.

If you’re thinking about buying that vacation home as an investment property, however, there are some additional considerations worth making before you purchase your second home. Owning a vacation rental property requires more effort than simply owning a vacation home. So if you are thinking of investing in a short-term rental, make sure you read through these helpful resources and guides first:

Figuring Out Financing for Vacation Rentals

Should You Buy a Vacation Home?

Planning to Rent Out Your Vacation Home? Understand the Tax Rules

5 Vacation Rental Property Expenses You Shouldn’t Ignore

Buying a Lakehouse: What You Need to Know

How to Get a Mortgage on a Vacation Home: It's a Whole Different Game

Deciding Which Vacation Location Is Best

Economics of Buying a Beach House: Read Before You Buy

50 Dream Homes in the Woods That Will Make You Long to Escape It All

The 10 Best Places for Buying a Vacation Home in the US

Take Stock of Tax and Business Requirements

 

How Do I Report Rental Income on My Tax Return?

What Legal Requirements Are Needed to Start a Business?

Research How to Create an LLC

Short-Term Rentals: Laws, Licenses and Taxes

 

Sprucing Up a Vacation Rental Property

 

Preventive Maintenance for Vacation Rental Homes

How to Furnish Your Vacation Rental For the Best Guest Experience

Everything You Need To Know About Rustic Design

The Best Gear to Outfit a Vacation Rental or Airbnb

 

Managing & Marketing a Vacation Rental

 

VRBO's Dead. Airbnb's Not Great. How to Market a Vacation Rental?

How to Boost Your Social Media Strategy for Your Vacation Rental           

The Value and Cost of Property Management vs. Self-Management

 

There’s a lot of valuable information in the links above and you may not find all of it useful. Since purchasing an investment property can be such a major financial decision, however, it may be worthwhile to read through at least a few of the resources above and do your own homework. This way, you will be certain that owning a vacation rental property really is right for you, and you can find a vacation rental that is right for your needs and goals as well!

By: Tina Martin

 

As always, if you are thinking of buying or selling rural property, call the Rural KC Team/Keller Williams Partner.  It's all we do!  Have a great day.

EYE-CATCHING PAINTING TIPS FOR HOMEOWNERS

 

EYE-CATCHING PAINTING TIPS FOR HOMEOWNERS

The way your home is decorated says a lot about you, your family, and your lifestyle. Not only does choosing the right colors set the mood in a place, but putting those colors in the right spots can also dramatically change the features of a room. There are so many ways to use color to change your home!

Using Paint to Change the Game

The possibilities that new paint creates are literally endless. And the great part about playing with paint is that it’s really easy to change if you decide you’re not thrilled with the results. Unlike building projects, changing the paint in your home can be done with limited expense or hassle.

Here are just a few ideas to enhance the details of the house you already have:

• Pay close attention to the door. Your front door is one of the best spots for setting the mood for your whole home. It says something that your windows never could, so it’s important to paint it like it matters. Matching the house trim is old hat; today’s front doors feature bold or fun colors that complement the rest of your outdoor color scheme. Some houses can also see a bump in interest when homeowners try the same trick on their garage doors.
• Choose bold trim colors. Your trim doesn’t always have to be white, though it shouldn’t be the same color as the wall. Instead, you can make a huge statement by highlighting some of the more decorative elements of your home with paint colors that have something to say for themselves. Pair light gray walls with black trim or choose several different colors to accent ornate trim work in older homes.
• Rethink built-in cabinets and shelving. Plenty of homes have built-in shelving or cabinets, but most homeowners opt to paint these the same color as the trim in their homes, effectively hiding a potentially eye-popping element. Instead of blending your built-ins into the background, choose colors to highlight them. Painting doors a different color than walls and trim, or selecting a bold or bright color for the back wall of an open shelving unit can really make a statement. This trick can also work for the risers on wooden staircases.
• Why not white? A lot of people shy away from white walls because they feel like the color lends an institutional feel to a room, but white doesn’t have to be hospital-grade. There is a range of barely their colors within the white spectrum, and you can enhance them with color pops in the room itself. It’s your house; if you want a white, don’t let anyone tell you you’re wrong. Choosing a trim color that complements your white is also vital to success with all-white walls.
• Color on the ceiling? Sure! There’s been a long tradition of ceilings being painted a flat white, but that wasn’t always the case. In the past, ceilings have been havens of color in rooms of various sizes and shapes. Depending on the effect you’re looking to create, you can use lighter or darker colors to visually raise or lower the ceiling, or accent decorative ceilings with color for added dimension.
• Try textured paint. Wall texture comes and goes as a trend, but it’s a great way to deal with older homes that may have irregular or downright rough walls. Today’s texture paint goes well beyond Venetian plasters, giving you a huge range of options in texture and more ways to get an end result you’ll absolutely adore. Use a heavy texture as an accent, or go a little lighter for interest throughout your living space.

As always, feel free to call the Rural KC Team at 913-837-0760 or 913-837-0411 with any real estate questions you might have.  The Rural KC Team is affiliated with Keller Williams Partners.

WHAT IS A SMARTLOCK?

 

Home security is important. As smart technologies continue to grow in popularity, an increasing number of homeowners are turning to higher-tech solutions to meet their home security needs. While options like smart cameras and connected doorbells are becoming much more common, not as many homeowners realize that it’s possible to upgrade their doors with smart locks as well. These locks come in a variety of designs, offering some pretty interesting options to those who want to take their home security to the next level.

What Are Smart Locks?

As the name implies, smart locks are door locks that have “smart” connected functions. This means that you can lock and unlock the locks remotely without the need to physically unlock them with a key. They often offer status monitoring as well, allowing you to see whether your doors are locked or unlocked (and in some cases, even whether the door is open or closed.) While there are fully electronic smart locks available that can only be opened remotely, the majority of consumer smart locks feature a physical keyhole and/or a numeric keypad for access as well.

For most smart locks, you can lock, unlock, and monitor them using a smartphone app or a connected hub device such as Google Home or Amazon Alexa. Remote key fobs (similar to those you see with most cars) may also be used to control the lock remotely. Some locks also incorporate biometric features, allowing you to lock or unlock the device by touching a fingerprint reader.

Smart Lock Advantages

There are a number of benefits to installing smart locks on your doors. By allowing you to unlock the door remotely instead of having to use a key, you can get into or out of the house faster when your hands are full or in emergency situations. This remote feature also comes in handy if you realize that you forgot to lock the door when leaving the house or if you need to have someone stop by and pick something up for you while you’re away.

Smart locks also give you a greater degree of control over who can and can’t access your home and when that access is granted. Many models connect with other devices such as smart doorbells or connected camera systems, letting you see who’s at the door before making the decision whether to lock or unlock. In many cases, you can even include the smart locks in smart home routines that you’ve programmed on other devices, having them lock or unlock at certain times or when certain routines are run. This can improve the overall security of your home, allowing the doors to lock automatically when potential threats are detected or at times when no one should be visiting.

Installing Smart Locks

Most smart locks aren’t much more difficult to install than standard lock units, though they are likely to have more post-installation setup required. Many smart locks function as a deadbolt, though they may incorporate the doorknob and standard door lock as well. Depending on the model of a smart lock being installed, additional components such as a solar panel and battery unit may be included in the installation as well. These components may be integrated into the lock mechanism, or they may be separate.

Once a smart lock is installed, it still needs to be configured to work with your app or other devices. This is usually a pretty straightforward process, similar to pairing a device with your phone via Bluetooth, though some users may experience problems during installation or integration into an existing smart home setup. After setup is complete, the locks should function without issue, using encrypted digital keys over a wireless or Bluetooth connection.

As always, if you have any questions about this blog or about rural real estate, please don't hesitate to contact us at 913-837-0760 or 913-837-0411.  Have a great day!

HELP WITH KEEPING YOUR HOME PET-FRIENDLY

HELP WITH KEEPING YOUR HOME PET-FRIENDLY

 Pets play a large part in many families. While these fuzzy (and sometimes not-so-fuzzy) friends can bring a lot of fun and companionship, keeping pets happy and healthy can take a lot of work as well. One way to keep this under control is to improve the overall pet-friendliness of your home. Much like babyproofing before bringing home a new child helps to prevent accidents and other problems, putting in some time to make your home more pet-friendly now will save a lot of headaches and other issues down the line.

Pet-Friendly Homes

There are a few different concerns you should consider when trying to come up with ways to make your home more pet-friendly. Think about whether there are any areas of the home that your pet might get hurt or sick if they get into. Do you have a pet that’s likely to chew on things? Stop to consider what those things it chews on are made of. Take an inventory of all the things that you don’t want your pet to damage or break; how many of them can’t be replaced?

As you can see, pet friendliness includes more than just restricting access to certain parts of the home. A truly pet-friendly home is one that will keep your pet safe in many ways while also protecting important items from your pets. There are a few different ways to go about this, of course, and there is no one right answer when it comes to how you should approach making your home more pet-friendly.

Common Pet-Proofing Techniques

The way that you approach pet-proofing and making your home more pet-friendly will depend in large part on how your home is designed and decorated. With that said, here are a few ideas to serve as starting points for your pet-friendly revamp.

• Check the interior of your home for peeling paint or similar problems, especially if you have an older home. Some paints contain materials that could be toxic for pets, so removing peeling paint areas and giving everything a fresh coat of pet-safe paint can help to keep your companions safe.
• Secure potentially dangerous areas like stairwells, fireplaces, and crawlspace access points. Replace rusted or loose coverings to make sure that they can’t be pulled back or shaken free by a determined pet. Then install baby gates or other barriers as needed which will allow you to get through but prevent passage by those without opposable thumbs.
• Lock up cleaners and other chemicals where your pets can’t access them. Some scented cleaners may smell like food to pets, and even non-toxic chemicals can still make pets sick or cause other problems if ingested. If you have medications in the home, they should be locked up similarly.
• Get a trash can with a sturdy lid, preferably one that can be operated hands-free. This will not only keep trash from being spread out in your home but can also keep pets from eating things that they really shouldn’t.

Of course, this is just the start of ways to secure your home and make it safe for your pets. Regardless of the specifics, though, the end goal is to make sure that there are fewer things within reach of your pets that could potentially cause them harm.

In some cases, more extensive work might be required for your home to be truly pet-friendly. Stop and consider whether any changes need to be made to your home’s layout to eliminate hazards or otherwise protect your pets and keep them out of places they don’t need to be. You should also talk to contractors, landscapers, and others to make sure that you’re choosing pet-friendly materials and plants for your home.

We hope you have enjoyed this week's blog.  As always, if you have any questions about rural real estate, please don't hesitate to contact the Rural KC Team at 913-837-0760 or 913-837-0411.  Have a great day!

PRE-QUALIFIED OR PRE-APPROVED? WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

There’s a lot to learn when you’re starting out on your home buying journey. From concepts like earnest money to closing costs, it’s a lot to take in during a very short period. But of all the things to know, understanding the difference between being pre-qualified and pre-approved for your mortgage is one of the most important.

Why Your Mortgage Application Status Matters

It’s always been a good idea to bring a strong offer to the negotiating table when it comes to real estate, but it’s even more vital when the market is short on inventory and long on buyers. If you’re in a multiple offer situation (and sometimes, even if you’re not), the sellers are going to weigh the various offers they receive to decide if they think your offer is enough to bring in what they need to sell their home, as well as considering how strong an offer it is.

A strong offer is one that has a lot of the obstacles already removed. For example, if you need to sell your house before you can close on the one you’re making an offer on, this might be considered a weak offer for some sellers. A weak offer doesn’t mean a bad offer, necessarily; it’s simply an offer that looks like it could be tricky to actually get to the closing table. The risk versus reward is too high. This is why having the right kind of mortgage application status plays in your favor when it comes to negotiation.

Mortgage Pre-Qualification Versus Mortgage Pre-Approval

When you meet with a lender for the first time, they generally ask some probing questions about your income and assets, as well as your expenses and credit file. They’re not just being nosy; that lender is trying to help figure out just how much home you can qualify for and what programs might be best for your financial picture. Sometimes, these lenders will send you elsewhere because their banks or partner lending institutions simply can’t help you, but in a lot of cases, they’ll produce something called a pre-qualification letter.

Pre-qualification goes largely by your word about your income and expenses and is not a promise to lend. It’s simply a hypothetical among a list of hypotheticals. If you do in fact make this much money, your credit is as assumed, the house you choose lines up with these guidelines, and rates don’t change dramatically, you should be able to buy this much house. You can see how that would be a bit dodgy for a seller to hang all their hopes on.

A pre-approval, on the other hand, shows that you’ve gone through the additional steps to reach the highest level of mortgage approval you can get without actually having a house secured (the house you choose also figures into the final approval, but just how it figures depends on the loan program). For a pre-approval, you’ll need to provide income documents, permission for the lender to pull a full credit report, and details on any assets or liabilities you hold that aren’t included in your credit file.

A pre-approval isn’t instant; it requires more review, and you’ll need to choose a lending program to be approved for. However, doing all this extra work shows potential sellers that you’re already putting in a lot of effort to ensure you can actually close when the day comes and that you’re eager to move the process along as quickly as possible. That’s the kind of buyer a seller wants to see!

If you are ready to purchase a property, give the Rural KC Team a call.  Bill at 913-837-0760 or Danicia at 913-837-0411.  We have lenders ready to help you!

CHOOSING YOUR COUNTERTOPS

 

CHOOSING YOUR COUNTERTOPS

The countertops in your kitchen can make a big difference in how your kitchen looks overall. If you’re tired of your kitchen looking old and dated, updating your countertops is a great way to completely revitalize its look. There are a number of materials used in modern countertops that will help your kitchen stand out.

Countertop Materials

Here are just a few options to consider if you really want to give things a modern look:

Soapstone
Stone surfaces have long been a favorite material for kitchen countertops, but soapstone has come into its own in recent years. Its heat and stain-resistant like granite, non-porous (and thus liquid-resistant) like marble, and has a softer texture than you’ll find with many stone surfaces. Just be careful, as there are two actually different materials that are sometimes called soapstone; one of these is talc, which isn’t going to give you the surface that you’re looking for. The soapstone that you want to get is steatite, which fortunately is much more common when shopping for countertop materials.

Leathered Granite
Granite has been popular as a counter surface for years but has always had the drawback of being a porous material, meaning you have to be careful with spills. Leathered granite solves this problem while giving the classic stone a modern update as well. The surface of the granite is slightly roughed by diamond-tipped brushes, enhancing the stone’s natural color while cutting back on some of the shine and closing those infamous pores. The end result is a durable stone countertop with a unique look and a slight texture that really does feel similar to leather.

Engineered Quartz
Like granite, quartz has been used as a countertop material for years. So what’s the deal with engineered quartz? Unlike traditional quartz countertops, these are made with ground quartz mixed with resins to create a very hard and natural-looking surface. Colors can be added to create tints to match a wide range of decorating styles. Engineered quartz resists staining, corrosion, and damage from most cleaners. Just keep in mind that, like natural quartz, these countertops can still be damaged by heat.

Solid-Surface Acrylics
There are a few different brands of solid-surface acrylic countertops available, notably including Corian and Swanstone. These countertops mix acrylics with resin to create a stain-resistant surface that’s available in a wide range of colors, and that can be sanded to repair scratches or other small bits of damage. Perhaps more importantly, the man-made nature of these countertops means that they can be easily customized to meet the specific needs of your home. Their main drawback is that they tend to be vulnerable to heat damage, given that they are still made of plastic.

Concrete
Over the last several years, concrete countertops have become very popular in modern kitchens. They can be made on-site to ensure that they match your unique kitchen perfectly, and their dense nature means your countertops can take a beating without suffering much damage. Textures, acid-stained colors, and more can be added to the countertops during the creation process, and additives or sealants can significantly reduce the porosity of the concrete itself. These countertops do occasionally have issues with cracking, though modern methods have reduced this significantly. Even when they do crack, however, most concrete countertops can be repaired on-site.

Thank you for reading our blog this week.  As always, if you have any questions or any real estate needs, please don't hesitate to call us at Bill-913-837-0760 or Danicia-913-837-0411.  

 

Garage Door Options

Here are some current garage door trends that could speak volumes:

• Bright Colors. There was a time when garage doors came in muted neutral colors and whites, and absolutely nothing else. Thankfully, those times are in the rearview mirror and we’re living in a far more enlightened – and vibrant – age. Bright colors can help enhance especially interesting woodwork on garage doors, complement homes with a lot of colors, like Spanish styles or Victorians, or make fancy hardware pop like nothing else. Be careful with bright colors, though, because there is such a thing as too much; you can end up overwhelming the rest of your home if you don’t use them with caution. White trim on a brightly colored garage door, for example, can help contain the energy if you need to tone it down a bit.
• Sleek Industrial Lines. There’s something about clean, sharp lines that can turn a modern house into an ultra-modern one. Those industrial lines are still a hot commodity, as are glass panels in nearly invisible aluminum frames. The look isn’t right for every home, but an industrial garage door can be an incredibly flexible design element, especially when placed against square-cut stone, dark-colored shiplap, or natural wood siding.
• Country Cottage Styling. The whole country cottage meets industrial hardware look has really had some staying power. Not only does it give a big helping of nostalgia to a lot of people, it also makes it easier to blend more modern elements into older homes that may have been seriously deprived of any sense of self by excessively generic remodels of the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. It may come as no surprise, then, that garage doors that are designed to echo the same look are also super popular. Choose carriage house doors or doors that resemble barn doors for an industrial cottage look beyond the interior of your home. Pairing these garage options with Dutch lap siding or irregular stone or brickwork can really make both the doors and the house pop.
• Natural Wood. Sure, natural wood doors have been available for some time, but never in anywhere near as many designs or tones. Look for solid wood doors for a lot of rustic flair, or choose a synthetic wood door for a modern home to give it a little more earthy feel without all the maintenance. Your industrial homestead can really make a statement with wooden garage doors made from horizontal stripes in different wooden tones.
• Asymmetry. Mid-century modern homes are gaining a lot of popularity these days, but until recently there wasn’t a great garage door complement for them. Say hello to the asymmetrical door. With garage windows on one side rather than across the top, these unusual statement doors are perfectly paired with other square and rectangular outdoor elements, just like what you’d find on a vintage MCM ranch style home. Those side windows still let in a lot of light, while allowing a great deal of security and privacy inside your garage. It’s kind of the whole package.

As always, the Rural KC Team is here to help you with all of your real estate needs.  Visit our website at ruralkc.com or give us a call.  Bill-913-837-0760 or Danicia 913-837-0411.  Have a great day!

READY TO REFINISH YOUR CABINETS?

 

It’s been a long year, and it’s ok if you’re tired of staring at those kitchen cabinets you’ve frankly hated for years. 2021 is a year about promise and change, and you can start the process in your very own home. There are lots of ways to give your cabinets a new look, whether you prefer something more classic or super contemporary. There’s an option for every budget, and most of the time you won’t even need to replace your cabinets or counters, unless you just really want to.

Remake Those Cabinets to Create Your Dream Kitchen

When it comes to giving your cabinets new life, you have options. Some are pretty simple and don’t require a lot of effort; some are quite challenging and may generate a great deal of mess and confusion. They’re all valid options, though, depending on just how much time you’re willing to put into the project.

You’ll have the most flexibility if you’re working with wooden cabinets, whether or not they’ve been painted previously. Laminated cabinets (also sometimes called MDF) are a bit of a different beast and are very difficult to change once they’ve been installed. Here are a few things you should consider, depending on your cabinets:

• Swapping Hardware. Sometimes, the thing making your cabinets feel old and dated is the hardware. It might sound like a small thing, but heavy cabinet hardware from the 1970s has a whole different feel than more streamlined contemporary hardware. If you’re on a small budget, or you can’t have your kitchen torn apart for an extended period, investing in new hardware could give you a whole new look.
• Repainting. This is generally, only a trick to try on cabinets that are made of wood, but if you use specially designed paints and primers, you can often make paint stick to laminated or metal cabinets. Choose a paint that’s self-leveling and dries hard, like a latex-based enamel cabinet paint, along with a bonding primer, for the very best results.
• You’ll need to take the doors down, sand the existing finish just enough to rough it up, and allow for plenty of dry time, but because these paints are tintable, the sky is really the limit. It goes on just like other high-grade paint, so mix and match colors, paint two-tone designs on your existing cabinetry, or freehand it with fancy designs for a look you really love.
• Re-staining. This will only work with wood cabinets, but you can really change the look of a room simply by re-staining your existing cabinets. It’s possible to strip old paint off of painted cabinets, but be warned: it will be a lot of work and mess, so do it outside as much as you can.
• Once you have all the old stain or paint sanded off, apply your new stain per package directions. Today’s stains come in a lot more than traditional “wood” colors; many can create simulated whitewash or aged wood, or add a thin tint of color that will still allow the wood grain to show through.

If redoing your cabinet doors seems like it may be more mess than you’re prepared to deal with, or you want to change the actual design of your cabinet doors, another viable option would be to order all new cabinet doors. You may still need to paint or stain the cabinet bases to match, but a whole new design is a lot easier to achieve with new doors, and replacing those doors is a lot simpler than replacing all your cabinets.

That's our blog for the week.  Feel free to contact the Rural KC Team for all of your real estate needs.  Bill-913-837-0760 or Danicia 913-837-0411.  Take a look at our awesome website at ruralkc.com.  Have a great day!