Location, Location, Location

It’s all about where you live.  Proximity plays a big role on peoples housing purchases. Depending on the buyer they may want to be near certain entertainment venues or shopping meccas that match their life style, others want to be as far away as possible.  Location has a big impact on housing prices and number of buyers. (There are many other factors such as condition, layout, style, size, school district, hospitals, etc.)  Below is a list of Kansas City entertainment, activities, and shopping that might bring buyers to your home based off of your homes proximity/location.

 

Entertainment-

Sprint Center

Kauffman Center

Star Light Theater

Uptown Theater

Midland Theater

Kemper Arena

Power and Light District

18^th and Vine

Boulevard Brewing Company- FREE tour and beer

Kansas Speedway

 

Activities for the family-

Kansas City Zoo

Worlds of Fun/Oceans of fun

Schlitterbahn

Science City/Union Station

Lego Land

Sea Life

Kaleidoscope- FREE entry

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art – FREE entry (donations appreciated)

Liberty Memorial- FREE to walk around (payment required for the museum)

City Market- FREE entry

Arboretum

T-Bones

Royals

Chiefs

Sporting KC

Power Play

Dave and Busters

Sadlers Indoor Racing

 

Shopping-

Plaza

Crown Center

Oak Park Mall

Town Center

Corbin Place

Zona Rosa

Legends

Ward Park Way

Independence Center

Dooms Day- Will Your House Still be Standing?

This post is a little on the extreme what if scenario of a possible dooms day. Probably not likely but has been a big topic among the news, movies, and extremists so I thought of creating a unique post- still about housing.  You can purchase missile silos for under a million- surprisingly.  Some of the current missile silos up for sale have been partially converted to houses and some silos still have functioning parts.  They are the perfect combination for end of the world/dooms day, safety from tornados/weather, peaceful (typically on acreage and below ground), income potential (you can usually make money on the towers if they still exist), a lot of space for the money, and they are extremely unique (your friends probably wouldn't have one). My husband likes to show me missile silos on the internet all the time, so I have seen quite a few!  He hopes to own one some day!  A lot of the current missile silos have similar selling points of typical homes one the market.  Missile silo features: large rooms, pool, work out room, Jacuzzi tub, city water and utilities, fencing, paved access, horse stables, elevators, acreage and more.

 

Check out this link to see photos of some current silos for sale and their features: http://www.missilebases.com/properties

 

 

Dooms day prepping must haves in or near your missile silo:

 

-water

-food

-fire starter/matches

-coal/wood for burning and cooking

-hunting contraptions/devices (knives, guns, axe etc.)

-clothing

-soap

-first aid kit

-money or items for bartering

-gas masks

-transportation (bicycle)

-flash light/candles

-rope

-tarp

Energy Efficiency​- Reduce Your Monthly Bills

Making your home more energy efficient can make a huge difference. Not only can you help save the environment, you can save money, and make your home more desirable.  You can go all out by getting solar panels or something as little as changing to energy efficient light blubs.

 

Things you can replace or add/update in your home to become more energy efficient:

 

*add insulation- easiest place to add insulation is in the attic, but if you are able to blow insulation into the walls of ceiling it will help keep your home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter- especially in older homes

 

*update appliances- purchasing energy efficient appliances will reduce the amount of power used. 

 

*service your furnace- servicing your furnace once a year will help keep your furnace running as efficient as possible, also don't forget to change out the furnace filter monthly

 

*update your windows- upgrading to double or triple pane windows makes a huge difference

 

*put solar shades on the exterior of your windows- more if you have single pane windows and don't want to upgrade to double or triple

 

*plant a tree- once the tree is large enough to shade your home you will be glad you planted it! (don't plant it too close to the foundation- once the tree starts growing you don't want the roots trying to go through your foundation)

 

*add solar panels- create your own energy and get away from the electric company altogether. These can be very pricey, there are lots of government tax incentives right now for solar!

 

*replace incandescent light bulbs with compact florescent-  florescent lights last longer, a little more expensive up front but worth it

 

*use your attic fan- in the summer this can help keep the a/c off a little longer.

 

*siding replacement- the tighter your home is sealed the less heat/ac you lose

 

The easiest things you can do is turn off lights when they are not needed, unplug computers and devices when not in use, close doors quickly after entering and exiting, keep your house temperature at a reasonable level- don't make your furnace/ac work harder than it has to, turn fans on in bedrooms to circulate the air, and try having a fire in your fireplace in the winter!

Hoarders- Over the Top

Hoarders, if you haven't seen the show you have probably heard about it.  Who knew there were so many people out there that cant get rid of anything or get rid of very little. When homes have a build up of trash, junk, treasures or stuff it deteriorates the home over time.  The weight of the items can put so much pressure on the floor it could damage it permanently or worse the floor could cave in. Homes are not built for significant unforeseen weight.  If you notice stuff piling up in your home, its best to have a garage sale once a year or donate it to local charities.  My theory is: if you haven't opened the box in one year or used the item, you probably don't need it.  Of course there are some keep sakes that you might not look at or use in a year, but you should try to find a place for them where they can been seen or used- not being stored away and forgotten about.  People accumulate stuff over time which is fine, you just want to make sure the accumulation doesn't become overwhelming.  Just think, if you ever have to move it will be that much more to take with you and then you have to find a place for it in the next place. Also, when you put your house on the market you want as little as possible in your home (within reason). You want to show all the room that is available making the rooms look larger and more usable.  Too much clutter could turn people away.  My husband is always mentioning how he thinks we should fill up our empty bedrooms because there isn't much in the rooms. I hate to store stuff we don't need so we keep very little extra items in the rooms; besides a bed for guests!