Give me a call if you have any questions or would like to see what HUD homes are available for sale in our area in Central Oklahoma or right here in Kingfisher.

#1) Too Much Competition – It’s possible there are too many listing available in your price range within your market. When this happens chances are you are not going to see that many showings.

What To Do: This is one of those things you simply cannot control. In other words, you cannot reduce the number of listing on the market. What you can do is make your home more accessible to more buyers by lowering the price, offering favorable terms (ie. seller financing, closing costs, etc).

#2) Priced Too High – This is one of the most common mistakes I see home sellers make. If your price is too high you are not going to see too many buyers. If you happen to get a buyer you run the risk that the house will not appraise at the selling price and financing will fall through. Remember your house is worth what someone if willing to pay for it, NOT what you’d like to get out of it.

What To Do: First off you have to be realistic about your local market. Houses in your area may not selling like they used to. You also have to be honest with yourself and determine just how important it is for you to sell. Second work with a trusted real estate agent who has the data and can pull comparables to help you make an informed decision on a selling price.

WARNING: Don’t fall for the all too common real estate agent who promises to list your house at an unjustifiable high price only to come back later to ask you to lower your price because your house hasn’t sold. The first 30 days a house is on the market is crucial and if priced incorrectly the house will be ignored. If you lower your price later the first thing buyers ask is “What’s wrong with it, if the seller had to lower their price?”

#3) No Curb Appeal – In a job interview first impressions count. The same applies to selling a home. When selling a home if the buyer is turned-off by the outside of your home chances are they won’t go inside. Your house has to show well and that starts with the minute a buyer pulls up to the driveway.

What To Do: Make sure the exterior of your house is presentable. Trim shrubs, mow lawn, paint trim, replace rusted and beat up mailboxes. There are lots of inexpensive fixes you can to to the exterior of your house to increase its curb appeal. Do those prior to putting your house on the market and you stand a better chance of attracting buyers.

#4) Poor Marketing – Is your house being exposed to the largest pool of potential buyers? Is your agent accessible to potential buyers? What type of marketing is being done on a regular basis to attract buyers? Listing a house in the MLS and local newspaper is no longer enough.

What To Do: Make sure you real estate agent is marketing your house to the max.. Usually the MLS and a newspaper ad is what most agents do, but it shouldn’t stop there. How about syndicating your listing to national real estate website sites, ( AOL, Yahoo, Milltary.com, HomeFinder.com). Buyers are no longer local, they may relocate to your town from all over the globe. How about property brochures? YouTube videos? Does your agent have a flourishing and active social network (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin). Work with an agent who maximize marketing exposure.

Avoid these 4 common pitfalls and you stand a better chance of selling your home quicker.

If you have any questions or comments enter them below. If you enjoyed this article please share it with family and friends.

We listened to Urban Meyer, Tim Tebow, Marcus Buckingham and Angela Ahrents. We were very impressed by Tim Tebow and his commitment to the game as well as to his faith. Urban Meyer was an interesting speaker and was a pleasure to listen to. Marcus Buckingham and Angela Ahrents were also good speakers and both offered excellent tips and insight into leadership and running a business.

Over all the speakers were great and the Leadercast was well presented.

Why Was I Disappointed?

As I looked around the room I noticed the attendance was very small probably a couple of dozen people or so. Most from what I could tell had taken the day off just to come to this event. What struck me was the poor showing and involvement by some of the town’s largest employers in our town. Only a handful of employees  from local businesses were present. When you consider just how many large employers are in our town you would think they would have had a bigger presence. The lessons taught in this Leadercast would have applied to everyone from executive level down to administrative.

In my opinion the Chick-Fil-A Leadercast is a great opportunity for an employer to motivate and inspire their staff and to teach them the value of being a leaders. Hopefully next year we’ll see a bigger turnout.

Lifeway Church thank you for hosting this event and I look forward to next year.

This year the Chick-fil-A Leadercast will be simulcast at  LifeWay Church (across the street from the 89er theater). Here is list of the speakers of this years’ Leadercast.

Soledad O’Brien - Anchor and Special Correspondent for CNN

Tim Tebow - NFL quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner & best-selling author

Patrick Lencioni - Best-selling author & president of The Table Group

Marcus Buckingham - Strength strategist, best-selling author and researcher

John Maxwell - Leadership expert & best-selling author of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

Angela Ahrents - Chief Executive Officer, Burberry

Roland Fryer - Professor of economics at Harvard & CEO of the Education Innovation Laboratory

Urban Meyer - Head football coach for Ohio State University Buckeyes

Andy Stanley - Best-selling leadership author & communicator

Sheena Iyengar –  Author of The Art of Choosing & world-renowned expert on choice

Everything starts at 8am and goes until about 4:30 PM.

Hope to see you all there. You Don’t Want To Miss It!

But the law had one unintended consequence. It confused the hell out of everyone; consumers and real estate agents alike.

However the confusion is about to be cleared up with pending House Bill 2524. HB 2524 aims to streamline the Oklahoma Relationship Act. With a two year effort by the Oklahoma Association of Realtors and the Oklahoma Real Estate Commission the bill has made its way through the Senate and passed with 40 Ayes and 1 Nay and with with some changes. It will go back to the House where it is expected to be signed into law Governor Fallin.

What are the expected changes to the Oklahoma Broker Relationship Act?

Before we dive into the new language let’s take a look at the language that was added back in 2000. The law back then authorized two types of broker relationships, a “transaction broker” and a “single-party broker”.

A transaction broker was defined as “a broker who provides services by assisting a party in a transaction without being an advocate for the benefit of either party.” In other words their function was to act as a facilitator to help and assist both seller and buyer in closing the transaction. All without favoring one party over the other.

A single-part broker was defined as a broker who entered into a written agreement with a party in a transaction to provide services for the benefit of that party. A single-party broker represented just his client and worked very much like a traditional agent. A single-party broker could obtain permission from either part to work as a transaction broker.

Not only that but a broker could be a  single-party broker to one party and a transaction broker to another.

ARE YOU CONFUSED YET?

 Well if you are so were hundreds of other.  Lots of confusion with both consumers and licensee about how the law really works out in the field.  Most of the confusion was in the differences between single-party brokers” and “transaction brokers”, the responsibilities of each and the effectiveness of how it was conveyed to the consumer.

Introducing House Bill 2524

HB 2524 should eliminate the confusion by removing the two type of agency “single-party broker ” and “transaction broker” and replacing it with a single broker definition that states each agent will have the same duties and responsibilities regadless of the transaction.

Lisa Noon, CEO of OAR said the bill will help clarify how a licensee would perform when involved with one party or both parties in a transaction.

No longer will there be a “single-party broker” or a “transaction broker”. Everyone will be a broker with the identical duties and responsibilities.  An agent can still work with one party or both and those responsibilities and duties will be outlined in the brokerage agreement between the agent and their client.

If the bill becomes law it will take effect on November 1, 2013.

To see the entire bill Click Here

Add your comments below and if you like this article please share it on Facebook. If you’re still a bit confused shoot me an email and I will help anyway I can.

In fact, while studies have shown your own property value could take up to another 4 percent hit if you’re within a quarter mile of a foreclosure ultimately snapped up at auction or taken back by the lender, the thing to remember is this: Most buyers today are only interested in homes that are “move-in-ready,” so if yours isn’t … well, there’s your problem.

“Buyers generally look at ‘as-is’ properties that need work, and say ‘I’ll pass,’” says Patsy O’Neill, a sales associate with Sotheby’s in Montclair, N.J. “That’s why I tell clients it’s worth making certain strategic fixes if they’re looking for quicker and more profitable sales.”

So, which “fixes” are worth it, and which aren’t? Read on:

Worth It: Addressing major maintenance and safety issues. Would you buy a house with faulty electrical wiring? Enough said.

Not Worth It: Major bath renovations. “Whatever you do might not suit the buyer,” says O’Neill, “and meanwhile, you’d have spent as much as tens of thousands of dollars.” Meaning, stick to things like repairing cracked shower doors, and save your visions of a modern-day spa for your own new abode.

Worth It: Ripping up old carpeting. Whether you replace it with new carpets or refinish the underlying wood floor is less important than getting rid of an eyesore.

Not Worth It: Major kitchen renovations. Same “taste” issue as above.

Worth It: Anything that enhances “curb appeal.” If the first thing prospective buyers notice even before exiting their cars is that your roof looks like it’s been whipped by a tornado, say, chances are you’ve already lost the sale. “It’s a huge turn-off,” says O’Neill, “and makes buyers predisposed to find even more things they don’t like.” So, if your roof needs replacing, check out the Value Collection Lifetime Designer Shingles from GAF (the largest roofing manufacturer in North America), which have the look of luxury shingles but at very affordable prices (www.gaf.com).

Not Worth It: Anything that screams clutter. The less of “you” there is, the more likely prospective buyers are to imagine themselves happily living there.

The museum has over 300 skeletons on display within it’s 7000 square foot facility. You’l find hundreds of skulls and skeletons from all over the world.

The museum opened it’s door in October 2010 and was built by the founder of Skulls Unlimited Jay Villemarette. It houses the largest privately held collection of osteological specimens in the entire world.

Opportunities for Education

The museum considers education it’s number one priority and has many resources to help children and adults understand the form and function of the skeletal system. On their website you will find a couple of free downloads called Museum Scavenger Hunt that are fund to complete as you make your way around the museum. In addition your will find a whole page devoted to “Reading a Skull“.

In addition there are education programs for kids from Pre-K to 12th Grade. All the education programs are tied to Oklahoma State “Pass” science standards.

Exhibits

There are twelve major exhibits including “What Is a Skeleton”, Primates: Monkey & Apes, Reptiles and Amphibians, Carnivora and Oklahoma Wildlife.

The Museum of Osteology is located at

10301 South Sunnydale Road
Oklahoma City, OK 73160

Tel: 405-814-0006

Click Here to Go to their map and directions page.

If you’ve been to the museum let us know what you think below.

Based around science the display are not only visually interesting but also teach various scientific principles as well. For example the Who Dun It? sponsored by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is a unique exhibit that challenges you to solve a crime as you learn about the many scientific techniques the OSBI uses to help solve crimes. The kids were loving this display due to it’s interactivity, and the way in which the information was presented.

We also had the opportunity to view the movie Extreme in the dome theater. Again if you have never been to see a movie at the Science Museum Oklahoma you really should as this Imax experience will have you totally immersed in the movie in seconds.

Throughout the day there are various live science demonstration that you can attend including the classic liquid nitrogen experiment. Eating a cheese ball dipped in liquid nitrogen is visually interesting and the kids as well as the adults were having a blast. (I won’t ruin the surprise by telling you what happens. you gotta go and see for yourself.)

There is so much to do at the museum that a simple blog post won’t do it justice. Take a day to visit the Science Museum Oklahoma I guarantee you won’t be disappointed and your kids will love you for it.

Address:
Science Museum Oklahoma
2100 NE 52nd St
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73111 US

Visit this page for hours of operation and ticket prices.

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Anyways this is going to be lots of fun and we have a fantastic cast (other than myself . It’s being directed by Tyler Mueggenborg and performance dates have been set.

The Kingfisher Community Theater production of Lend Me A Tenor will be February 9, 10, 11 and 12. Reserved seating for each night (first 4 rows) will be $20. General Admission will be $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Tickets will go on sale soon.

Let me leave you with a little taste of whats to come. Here is a video I took of one of our rehearsals.

However it’s important you understand the home buying process in order to be a smart consumer. Every year hundreds of misinformed buyers especially fist-time purchasers and seniors become victims of predatory lending or loan fraud.

The following 11 tips will help you become a smart consumer:

1. Before you buy a home, attend a homeownership education course offered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-approved, non-profit counseling agencies.
2. Interview several real estate professionals (agents), and ask for and check references before you select one to help you buy or sell a home.
3. Get information about the prices of other homes in the neighborhood. Don’t be fooled into paying too much.
4. Hire a properly qualified and licensed home inspector to carefully inspect the property before you are obligated to buy. Determine whether you or the seller is going to be responsible for paying for the repairs. If you have to pay for the repairs, determine whether or not you can afford to make them.
5. Shop for a lender and compare costs. Be suspicious if anyone tries to steer you to just one lender.
6. Do NOT let anyone persuade you to make a false statement on your loan application, such as overstating your income, the source of your downpayment, failing to disclose the nature and amount of your debts, or even how long you have been employed. When you apply for a mortgage loan, every piece of information that you submit must be accurate and complete. Lying on a mortgage application is fraud and may result in criminal penalties.
7. Do NOT let anyone convince you to borrow more money than you know you can afford to repay. If you get behind on your payments, you risk losing your house and all of the money you put into your property.
8. Never sign a blank document or a document containing blanks. If information is inserted by someone else after you have signed, you may still be bound to the terms of the contract. Insert “N/A” (i.e., not applicable) or cross through any blanks.
9. Read everything carefully and ask questions. Do not sign anything that you don’t understand. Before signing, have your contract and loan agreement reviewed by an attorney skilled in real estate law, consult with a trusted real estate professional or ask for help from a housing counselor with a HUD-approved agency. If you cannot afford an attorney, take your documents to the HUD-approved housing counseling agency near you to find out if they will review the documents or can refer you to an attorney who will help you for free or at low cost.
10. Be suspicious when the cost of a home improvement goes up if you don’t accept the contractor’s financing.
11. Be honest about your intention to occupy the house. Stating that you plan to live there when, in fact, you are not (because you intend to rent the house to someone else or fix it up and resell it) violates federal law and is a crime.

What is Predatory Lending?

In communities across America, people are losing their homes and their investments because of predatory lenders, appraisers, mortgage brokers and home improvement contractors who:

• Sell properties for much more than they are worth using false appraisals.
• Encourage borrowers to lie about their income, expenses, or cash available for downpayments in order to get a loan.
• Knowingly lend more money than a borrower can afford to repay.
• Charge high interest rates to borrowers based on their race or national origin and not on their credit history.
• Charge fees for unnecessary or nonexistent products and services.
• Pressure borrowers to accept higher-risk loans such as balloon loans, interest only payments, and steep pre-payment penalties.
• Target vulnerable borrowers to cash-out refinances offers when they know borrowers are in need of cash due to medical, unemployment or debt problems.
• “Strip” homeowners’ equity from their homes by convincing them to refinance again and again when there is no benefit to the borrower.
• Use high pressure sales tactics to sell home improvements and then finance them at high interest rates.

What Tactics Do Predators Use?

• A lender or investor tells you that they are your only chance of getting a loan or owning a home. You should be able to take your time to shop around and compare prices and houses.
• The house you are buying costs a lot more than other homes in the neighborhood, but isn’t any bigger or better.
• You are asked to sign a sales contract or loan documents that are blank or that contain information which is not true.
• You are told that the Federal Housing Administration insurance protects you against property defects or loan fraud – it does not.
• The cost or loan terms at closing are not what you agreed to.
• You are told that refinancing can solve your credit or money problems.
• You are told that you can only get a good deal on a home improvement if you finance it with a particular lender.