Real Estate at Lake of the Ozarks: January 2015

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

How To Choose Your Real Estate Agent

If you’re planning on buying or selling your Lake of the Ozarks home in the near future, finding a good real estate agent to represent you is absolutely crucial. A dedicated, experienced real estate agent in the Lake area will be there to help you, guide you, and fight for you. With so many dollars at stake, having this constant ally by your side makes a huge difference—but how do you find the real estate agent that is right for you?

If you’re preparing to buy or sell your home, take the time to interview a few different real estate agents so you can find one whose experience and personality will be a good fit for you and your family. Here are a few good questions to help you get to know your potential real estate agent.

If You’re BUYING A Home, Ask Your Potential Agent…

1. What Type Of Buyers Do You Prefer Working With?
Some real estate agents gear their approach towards a certain type of buyer, such as couples preparing to buy their first home or families looking for a second home at the Lake of the Ozarks. Make sure the real estate agent you choose has experience representing buyers in your position.

2. How Do You Prefer To Communicate?
Some parts of real estate transactions are incredibly time-sensitive. You don't want to risk missing out on your dream waterfront home because of a communication failure. Make sure your potential real estate agent will be easily accessible and will communicate with you via the method that works best for you.

3. How Do Your Final Sales Prices Compare To The Asking Prices?
As the home buyer, you usually will not have to pay the full asking price for your new home at the Lake of the Ozarks. An experienced buyer's agent will be able to coach you on how to negotiate the price to reach a number you and the seller are both satisfied with.

If You're SELLING A Home, Ask Your Potential Agent...

1. What Is Your Marketing Strategy?
Successfully selling your home is all about visibility. How will your real estate agent market your home? Can he/she guarantee your home will have great visibility on the market? How will he/she reach out to prospective buyers to promote your home? Make sure your agent's strategy aligns with your vision.

2. What Is Your Going Rate?
As the seller, you will typically be responsible for paying both of the real estate agents involved in your transaction - your listing agent and the buyer's agent. Make sure you know in advance what percentage of the price of the home you will be expected to pay to the real estate agents.

3. Do You Offer Any Guarantees?
If your home does not sell in a timely manner (or if for some reason you decide not to move) will you be able to cancel your agreement with your listing agent? How can he/she guarantee that your home will be sold? These are tough questions to ask and to answer, but it's crucial that you are both on the same page before you sign any contracts.

Contact Susan Spica For Real Estate At The Lake of the Ozarks!

If you're looking for a dedicated real estate agent at the Lake, I would love to set up a time to talk to you. With twenty-five years of experience selling real estate at the Lake of the Ozarks, I am well-equipped to help you and your family with your real estate transaction. I look forward to working with you!

Susan Spica, Professional Realtor

BerkShire Hathaway HomeServices
101 Crossings West, Ste. 202
Lake Ozark, MO 65049

Office: (573) 365-6868
Susan's Cell: (573) 280-0484
Gina's Cell: (573) 889-9477

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Tips for an Effective Final Walk-Through

Buying a home at the Lake of the Ozarks is such an exciting process! Your dream home is finally becoming a reality, and you can't wait to close and begin moving in. Your excitement and impatience is certainly understandable (and completely warranted), but it's important to make sure you're giving appropriate time and attention to each step of the home buying process.

One of those crucial steps is the final walk-through. The final walk-through is an inspection performed by you, the home buyer, a few days (or a few hours) before closing to make sure everything in the home is in the condition you agreed upon with the seller - that agreed-upon repairs have been made and that no new damages have occurred. You don't want to be caught with any unpleasant surprises!

As with most steps in the process of purchasing a Lake of the Ozarks home, there are certain tips and tricks you can use to make your walk-through more thorough and more effective. Here are some of the tricks I've learned as an experienced Realtor at the Lake of the Ozarks.

Bring your paperwork. All of it. Bring your contract, the home inspection report, and the seller's property condition disclosure form. You won't be able to address issues that were already identified and agreed upon in the paperwork, so having these documents along to refer back to is a good idea.

Check the lights. Flip on all of the lights (and the ceiling fans) in the house to make sure they're all working properly. If you want to be extremely thorough, you can bring something to plug into all of the outlets to make sure they work as well.

Test the appliances. Double-check that the air conditioning, heater, oven, refrigerator, water softener, dishwasher, and any other appliances included in the contract are functioning.

Check the walls and floors for any new damage. If the previous owners had not yet moved out when you first toured the home, they could have left some scratches or scuffs on the walls or floors as they moved their belongings out of the house.

Test the water flow. Turn on all of the faucets, flush the toilets, and run the water in the showers and bathtubs. If the refrigerator has a water/ice dispenser, you can test that too.

Take stock of what's in the home. Did the previous owners leave things behind that were not specified in the contract? If the items were not included in the contract (and you don't want them), you can require that the sellers remove them before closing.

Perform an overall sanity-check. The final walk-through is your opportunity to make sure everything is as you expected it to be. Walk through the home (and around the yard) one last time before you close to make sure that everything is as it was when you last saw it or as you and the seller agreed that it would be.

If you do it right, the final walk-through will ensure that you aren't stuck with any unpleasant surprises after you close on the home. Your Lake of the Ozarks Realtor will most likely be present during the final walk-through, so feel free to ask him/her for suggestions during the walk-through.

Looking for a new home at the Lake of the Ozarks? I would love to help you find your dream home! Contact my office to get started today.

Friday, January 16, 2015

Lake of the Ozarks Drawdown Has Begun

Ameren Missouri officials use Bagnell Dam to control the water level at the Lake of the Ozarks. In January and February of every year, officials lower the Lake's water level by several feet in order to prevent flooding when the spring rains hit.

If you are the proud owner of a waterfront home at the Lake of the Ozarks, there are certain steps that must be taken in order to protect your dock from damage during this annual drawdown. Here's a little bit of background information on the drawdown, and some suggestions for protecting your docks.

Annual Lake Drawdown at the Lake of the Ozarks

The ideal water level for the Lake of the Ozarks is about 660 feet above sea level. March and April typically bring heavier rains, so throughout January and February of every year, plant officials at Bagnell Dam lower the water level at the Lake to about 654 feet above sea level.

These numbers serve as general guidelines. Officials at Bagnell Dam must consider a wide variety of factors when choosing the exact water level, such as the demand for power generation and weather predictions.

Dock Preparation Methods

6 feet may not sound like a lot, but docks can suffer serious damage when the water level drops that much if proper preventative measures have not been taken. Here are some suggestions for protecting your docks from damage during the drawdown:

Lengthen dock cables to allow room for the dock to lower as the water level does
Make sure the pins and hinges connecting your dock to your seawall have proper leeway for the dock to drop down
Install a deicer to keep ice blocks from forming around your dock

Osage River Residents Need To Take Action Also

The Lake drawdown does not only affect people with lakefront properties. People who have docks along the Osage River (beneath Bagnell Dam) need to take action also in order to prevent damage to their property. If at all possible, most people recommend that you take your dock out of the river. If this is not possible, however, then you should lengthen your dock cables to allow the dock to move with the current. Just like the lakefront residents, you should also install a reliable deicer to prevent ice buildup around your dock.

Homeownership certainly comes with its fair share of responsibilities. When you live at the Lake, though, the benefits far outweigh the costs. If you are considering buying a home at the Lake of the Ozarks, please don't hesitate to give me a call! I would love to help you find your new dream home at the Lake.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Protect Your Home From The Cold

These bright sunny skies have been lovely, but the biting cold weather has served as a reminder that winter (and all that comes with it) is still very much upon us. Harsh, cold temperatures can be very hard on your homes at the Lake of the Ozarks. As your trusted real estate agent at the Lake, I urge you to take precautionary methods to protect your homes (and yourselves) from this frigid weather.

Here are some of the steps I recommend taking to help protect your homes from the cold.

☃ Insulate exposed pipes with foam pipe insulation.

☃  Clean your gutters so water cannot pool and freeze in them.

☃  Remove/cover window air conditioning units.

☃  Fill any cracks and/or holes in the sides of your home with caulk.

☃  Add weather stripping around your doors to prevent losing warm air.

☃ Have de-icers on hand.

☃  Trim tree branches close to your home or where you park your car.

☃  Set your thermostat high enough that your pipes won't freeze if you leave town.

☃  Seal holes around ceiling fans and light fixtures to keep warm air from escaping into the attic.

☃  Keep an emergency kit with batteries, flashlights, and a battery-operated radio.

☃  Make sure you always have enough food in your house to feed your family and your pets for at least three days.

Winter storms (or prolonged exposure to exceedingly cold temperatures) can take a serious toll on homes, so be sure to thoroughly check your homes for damage after particularly harsh conditions have passed. Do you have any other suggestions for keeping your home safe in cold weather? I'd love to hear your suggestions!

Friday, January 2, 2015

Buying Your First Home - 6 Tips

Buying your first home is a big step, and it can be a little scary. Even though they may want to purchase a home of their own, many people second-guess themselves, saying that they're surely not in the same position as most "real first-time home buyers."

While it can be easy to trap yourself in these limiting thought patterns, they're simply not accurate. In reality, buying your first home is a completely unique experience. There is no "one-size-fits-all" description of a first-time home buyer. If you're seriously leaning towards buying a home, chances are that you're ready - and it's certainly not too soon to start preparing. If you're thinking about buying your first home at the Lake of the Ozarks, here are a few tips to keep in mind.

1. Start Budgeting Now
It's never too soon to start a serious, detailed tracking of all your income and expenses. If you're planning on buying a home by yourself, then you'll obviously only need to track your own finances. If you're planning to buy a home with another person (even if you're not married), you should track your finances together. The sooner you get a better idea of exactly how much money you earn each month, how much you spend each month, and how much you earn each month, the sooner you'll be able to realistically identify what type of monthly mortgage payment you can afford.

2. Determine Your Top Priorities
When buying your first home, it's easy to get so swept up in the excitement of it all that you forget to stay focused. Help guard yourself from this common mistake by sitting down with everyone who will be a permanent resident of the new home and making two lists: one covering the things you absolutely require, and the other covering the things that you would like to have, but that aren't necessities. If you choose to hire me as your Realtor at the Lake of the Ozarks, send these lists to me and I will help you find several homes to look at that match your lists as closely as possible. We can begin narrowing down the search from there.

3. Homeowners Associations: Yes or No?
Deciding whether or not you would be willing to consider purchasing a home within a homeowners association can help you narrow your search ahead of time. Homeowners associations can be great organizations, but they're not for everyone. While they offer fantastic perks and benefits, they also require annual fees and include some restrictions on the types of things you, the homeowner, are allowed to do with your property. If you're looking at a home that is part of an HOA, it would be a good idea to familiarize yourself with some of its requirements and the benefits it offers.

4. Take Notes
As an experienced real estate agent at the Lake, I cannot stress the importance of note-taking enough. It seems hard to believe at first, but when you visit even just five houses, they start to run together. Was the spare bedroom upstairs in the second or the third house you toured? Which one had the stainless steel appliances? As you walk through different houses, write down everything that catches your eye - both positive and negative. When you leave the house, flesh out your notes as needed and then rank the home on a scale from 1-5 (5 being "love it"). Trust me, you'll really appreciate having these notes to review at the end of the day!

5. Remember: the Home is Only Part of the Package
When you buy a home, you're not just buying a home. You're also buying the location. It's important to like the house, but it's also important to like where it is. You could do a complete remodel of the house, but at the end of the day, it will still be in the same neighborhood. How do you feel about the houses that surround yours? What about the commute to work?

While we're on the subject, I want to bring up another important point. The view is another aspect of the areas surrounding your house, but unless you can also purchase the property that makes up your view, it's important not to buy the home for the view. When someone else owns that land, it can change. That peaceful, wooded cove could become the location for more condominiums. If you like the view, I strongly encourage you to purchase the property as soon as you can.

6. Relax - And Have Fun!
Most people think of buying their first home as this huge step - and it is. But that doesn't mean you can't have fun with it! Remember that everyone is on the same team. You, the sellers, the real estate agents, the mortgage lenders... everyone wants the sale to go through. Stressing out about things will only complicate the matter. Settle down, take a deep breath, and let's go find you your first home at the Lake of the Ozarks!