Mission Hills masterpiece opens its doors for special tour
The rain held off earlier this week for the “Mission Hills Masterpiece Tour and Luncheon” presented by Kristin Malfer & Associates with Reece & Nichols. Agents flocked to the stunning new home at 2301 W. 68th St., where they were greated by the agents (Jamie Howe, Malfer and Tricia Napper) and the builder of the home himself, Cory Childress with Evan-Talan Homes.
Out on the back deck were Penny Borel, Kathi Monter, Collette Fultz and Dina
Gardner, all with Reece & Nichols.
The new home features a stunning spiral staircase. Tom Rosberg with Bank of Prairie Village greeted guest Genie Ullom with Reece & Nichols.
Kim Schulte with RE/MAX Best Associates digs into the Italian luncheon spread.
The Hopkins team, Becky and Bruci at Prudential, admired the stone
work and extensive landscaping outside the 2-story home. Below, Donna Martin, Babs Tuley and Tonya Witmer, all with Reece and Nichols, enjoyed some dessert in the kitchen after their tour.
Single-family units up for 5h straight month
Local new-home permits continued to climb for the fifth consecutive month, according to the Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City. A seasonally adjusted total of 208 single-family homes were permitted in March, up from a revised total of 183 homes in February. Housing units in the Greater Kansas City area dropped more than one quarter last year, and the metro region finished 2009 with 3,651 total housing units permitted, down from 5,062 total units the year before.
McGuff leads KC Home Inspection
It’s part of the home-buying process that can make or break a deal, but it’s often overlooked - the home inspection. Bill McGuff is one of the best in the business. He’s been inspecting homes for 18 years and started his own company, Kansas City Home Inspection, 11 years ago. His inspections look at structural components such as the roof, attic, siding, doors, windows, gutters, grade and foundations, as well as mechanical components such as heating, cooling, electrical, plumbing, kitchen appliances and bathrooms. He’s a one-man operation, and he goes all over the metro area. Recently, MetroWire caught up with Bill to ask about the home-inspection process:
What are some of the common problems you see in a lot of homes?
The most common defect I find is wood rot on the exterior of the home. I often find rot on windows, doors, siding and trim. I would say the second most common defect I find pertains to the furnace. I find many furnaces that are rusted and neglected. I think it is an out of sight, out of mind thing for most home owners.
What advice would you give to agents or brokers to pass on to their sellers?
The best advice I know for an agent to give a seller is to have an inspection done before they put their home on the market, before any defects can be identified to a prospective buyer. The seller can then choose to have them repaired before the house goes up for sale.
Do you have any unusual stories about recent homes you inspected?
One of the most unusual home inspections I did lately was on a vacant home in rural Garnett, Kan. The home apparently had a mice problem and was infested with black snakes. The snakes were wrapped around the pipes in the basement ceiling, and they were on the basement floor and also in the sump pit. I was totally creeped out. Fortunately the exterminator was there performing an inspection. He’s a rural exterminator so he carries a snake grabber. He got rid of the snakes before I did my inspections. He was like Saint Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland.