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Questions to Ask Before Selling
Your Home
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When you think of selling your
present house and buying a new home in a new area, there are many
concerns. Such as:
- Can we sell our present home?
- How long will it be on the
market before we get our money?
- How much can we ask for the
present home?
- What is the cost to sell the
present house?
- What items need attention to
make the present home show its best?
- How will the marketing be
handled? Such as: Signs, newspaper ads, internet buyers,
corporate referrals, company-to-company referrals, open houses,
& marketing to other Realtors?
- How many different search
engines will my home be shown on?
- Will my house have its own web
site showing schools, shopping,& hospitals?
- How will my house be
electronically marketed with daily e-mails?
- What will be the direct mail
marketing program?
- Where will open houses be
advertised & how many days before the open houses?
- Who will hold the open houses?
Will the house be marketed 7 days-a-week?
- How will the listing price be
arrived at so the property isn't priced below the market or
priced above the market which would cause buyers to buy another
property rather than yours?
- How will you be able to tell
which marketing technique is attracting the most buyers to your
property?
- How will the closing process
be handled?
Marketing real estate
is our only business and all of the above questions you should
have answered before you sign a listing agreement. For answers to
all your real estate questions, just e-mail Ruth at
rsimnitt@rtsimnitt.com
or call 1-785-267-8655 or Terry at
tsimnitt@rtsimnitt.com
or call 1-785-231-7568. |
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Thinking of
Remodeling?
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In an effort to reduce lead
poisoning in children, the Environmental Protection
Agency is proposing a broad rule requiring
contractors working on homes built before 1978 to use
lead-safe work practices.
The proposal, published on
January 10, 2006 in the Federal Register, would create the
first nationwide requirements covering the way contractors
perform routine renovations and clean up afterward. For any work
that could disturb
lead-based
paint; Such as removing paint such scraping or
sanding, removing wallpaper, replacing windows, etc. Contractors
would have to take various steps to minimize clients exposure,
including using special vacuums, sealing off work areas and
posting warning signs.
The
National Association of Home Builders says
some members estimate the rule could
boost the price of home renovations by25% for consumers,
because of expenses for insurance, training and equipment. If
the rule is finalized in its current form, it could change the
way many contractors work. At least one contractor or worker on
the site would have to be EPA- certified
in lead-safe work practices and would have to train
workers on the site. Currently, general contractors involved in
routine remodeling are required under federal law to give
families an EPA pamphlet on how to protect themselves from lead
paint hazards during renovations.
The likelihood of a home
containing lead-based paint varies
with the home's age. According to a 2002 survey by the
Department of
Housing and Urban Development, just 24% of housing built
between 1960 and 1977 contains lead based paint, while it is
founding 69% of housing built between 1940 and 1959 and 87%of
housing built before 1940. HUD
researchers also found that housing in the northeast and the
Midwest had about twice the prevalence of lead paint hazards
compared with housing in the south and west.
The public has until April 10,
2006 to submit comments on the proposal. The agency will then
consider the public's input and issue a final rule.
For more information e-mail
Terry at tsimnitt@cox.net
or see www.rtsimnitt.com
If we don't have the information needed, we will find it. |
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What Do You Do With
Tenants Stuff?
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(After They've Left or
Been Evicted)
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| What is a owner/landlord going
to do with old furniture, toys, appliances, cars, etc. left behind
by tenants? A lot of owners say "I'll just set it on the curb and
let the trash man pick it up."
Here is the Kansas
Law. Kansas Law spells out the procedure for holding
and then disposing of property left by a tenant A) Where there has
been an abandonment, B) where the tenant has been removed as a
result of a forcible detainer eviction, or C) where a tenant has
given or received a notice to quit and leaves as expected.
First,
the law directs landlords to collect all personal property and
place in storage. The landlord is required to hold the property
for thirty days.
Second,
at least fifteen days prior to disposal of items, a notice must be
published in the local newspaper stating the name of the tenant, a
brief description of the property being held, and an approximate
date of disposal of the property. (At least thirty days after
possession of the property).
Third,
within seven days after a notice is published, the landlord is
required to mail a copy of the notice to the tenant at the
tenant's last known address. If the tenant arrives to claim the
items within thirty days, the landlord must return all items to
the tenant as long as tenant reimburses the landlord for expenses
including storing the property, placing the ad, and any other
amounts due to the landlord.
Fourth
, the landlord has the right to sell or dispose of the property
after thirty days, as long as the above requirements have been
met. The landlord can apply the proceeds from the sale of the
property: a)to the debts that are due him or her from the tenant
and, b) if there are profit after all debts are paid, the land has
the right to keep the proceeds.
* This is not
intended be legal advice – You should
consult with your lawyer |
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Getting Noticed In
Cyber Space
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| Way back in 1998, (has it been 8
years already?), I entered the world of building web sites. I had
no clue how the internet worked, but I knew I was hopelessly
hooked to "surfing the web". I met with Terry & Darrell Simnitt
one day and told them that they should have a web site to list all
their auctions on. Terry (as he usually does) threw me a curveball
of a question that caused me to sit back and really think about
what it meant to have web site. He said that having auctions on
the internet was all fine and dandy, but if no one knew it was
there, what good was it?
After a bit of thought, I proceeded to suggest that the web
address should be on all the sale bills and print advertising and
that we'd have to submit to internet search engines. This
satisfied Terry and I proceeded to design an basic web page for
Auctions by Simnitt Bros. and we set about marketing the web page.
In the years that followed, we
discovered that email was actually the tool that was the most
powerful. I now send out over 2000 emails for each and every
Simnitt Bros. auction. Most of these email addresses have been
aquired by people signing up on the web site. Terry also sends out
hundreds of emails every week promoting the listings that he &
Ruth have and also the real estate he auctions with Darrell. The
power of this "push" method of advertising is immeasureable. There
is always an exponental effect as well with the ability of folks
to forward the message on to friends and family.
Still, having a web site,
including mentioning the web address in other advertising media,
and emailing is inconsequential if the web site does not have
content that is of significance. And having deep content is not
enough if a site is hard to navigate to find the information the
visitor wants. Or even worse if it loads so slow that people get
impatient & just move on.
So what I've learned over the
years is that to make a web site an effective marketing tool,
people must know it's there, it must be easy to use, and must
provide suffcient information that they will be motivated to
return and take a look at what's new the next time they recieve an
email in their inbox.
Contact me and I'll be happy to
show you what can be done to make sure your business or
organization can recieve maximum benefit from the World Wide Web.
Mike Robinson
All-Star Marketing Solutions
www.allstarmarketingsolutions.com
mike@allstarmarketingsolutions.com
(785)633-4320 |
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