Kansas Free Classifieds

Just found out about a new website where you can post free classifieds for Kansas.

http://justkansas.com/

Budget Friendly Staycations

By Capitol Federal
True Blue Convention Sponsors

While you may be working to stay within your budget, don't deprive your family of a vacation. Instead, find a fun, budget-friendly location for a "staycation," an inexpensive vacation enjoyed by staying close to home. There are many interesting and historical places to visit. After budgeting hard all year to save money, your family deserves the time to relax and enjoy one another. Below, review the "8 Wonders of Kansas" from the Kansas Sampler Foundation, compiled from the votes received by the non-profit foundation, working "to preserve and sustain rural culture." While driving to your destination, don't forget to enjoy the scenic beauty of the drive. The Flint Hills, Gypsum Hills and Smokey Hills provide some of the most beautiful and unique scenery in the country. Don't forget the camera!

8 Wonders of Kansas

* The Big Well at Greensburg
* Cheyenne Bottoms and Quivira National Wildlife Refuge
* Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum in Abilene
* Kansas Cosmosphere & Space Center in Hutchinson
* Kansas Underground Salt Museum in Hutchinson
* Monument Rocks and Castle Rock in Gove County
* St. Fidelis Church (Cathedral of the Plains) in Victoria
* Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Chase County

Tips to Family Budgeting

By Capitol Federal
KAR's True Blue Convention Sponsor

Just as Capitol Federal's foundation strength is based on growing its capital reserves, that is exactly what each family must do to be able to meet any future economy. It has been said, "Pay yourself first." Determine how much of each paycheck your family can set aside as "reserves," then open a separate savings account for those funds. Knowing that you should maintain at least six to eight months in "reserves," you'll be surprised how quickly you are able to save.

Track exactly how much each member of the family is spending per month. Discuss which expenditures are "needs" and which are "wants," then decide where to cut in order to save.

To maintain the strength of your family budget, always pay your bills on time, and do not purchase beyond your means. Watch for sales and use coupons, clipping them from the newspaper or searching for them online. Review your insurance once a year. Preventative maintenance on the home, car and your family's health is vital.

Protect your family from identity theft and occasional errors that need correction on your credit report. It is best to correct these errors immediately than for them to sit in your credit report unchallenged. Check your credit report from each of the major credit reporting agencies once a year. Visit annualcreditreport.com or the three agencies at: Equifax (equifax.com), Experian (experian.com) and TransUnion (transunion.com).

Whether you're newlyweds just starting out in life, have a growing family or heading to retirement, these basic budgeting tips can allow your savings to grow. Keep your family's budget plan healthy through the years, building on your reserves, so when difficult financial times arise, you will be prepared.

BUDGET BASICS MONTHLY WORKSHEET:

INCOME:                                    _____________________
EXPENSES TOTAL:                       _____________________
Monthly Savings Contributions:     ____________________
Home Mortgage or Rent:              ____________________
Car Expenses:                             ____________________
Other Loans 1 (Credit Cards, etc.): ____________________
Other Loans 2 (Credit Cards, etc.): ____________________
Utilities (Gas, Electric, etc.):           ____________________
Phone:                                       ____________________
Cable:                                        ____________________
Groceries:                                   ____________________
Education:                                  _____________________
Childcare:                                   _____________________
Insurance:                    Life -       _____________________
                                   Home -    _____________________
                                   Auto -      _____________________
Charitable Donations:                   _____________________
Entertainment:                             _____________________
Medical:                                      _____________________
Beauty (Hair Cuts, etc.):               _____________________
Membership Dues:                       _____________________

Short Sales Webinars

In the past few days, I've had several REALTORS® call looking for quick, easy-to-access short sales webinars that they can use themselves, or use in a sales meeting. So I went looking, and here's what I've found -- for FREE -- from your REALTOR® Association.

Please note that KAR is also teaching CE classes on short sales at various locations across the state this year. Check KansasRealtorEducation.com for dates and times.

Until then ...

This is about 61 minutes long, and when you click on “PLAYBACK” the slides come up, and you can see the timer going in the bottom left hand corner, but the audio doesn’t actually start until about 50 seconds in – don’t panic like I did!! You will need to sign on to Realtor.org to get this information - but it's free and easy.

Here’s the information on this webinar:

* Basics and best practices on handling a short sales from the listing and selling sides.  

Freddie Mac Short Sales Webinar (October 2008)
Freddie Mac developed a Webinar entitled "Introduction to Short Sales for the Real Estate Professional." Freddie Mac staff consulted with NAR extensively in developing the Webinar. The program covers the following topics:

* Freddie Mac's mission to homeowners;
* key statistics on delinquencies and workouts;
* understanding the real estate professional's perspective on the current environment;
* retention and liquidation workout options;
* and the short sales process.

This is a document that NAR created that might be a good basis for a sales meeting for you. http://www.realtor.org/MemPolWeb.nsf/pages/ShortSaleWorkflow?OpenDocument

Hope it helps!

To VOW or not to VOW, that is the question!

Now that our MLS's have adopted their VOW rules as per the NAR/DOJ court settlement, I am getting lots of questions from brokers and agents about VOWS.  Questions like:

1. How do I make my website comply with the new VOW rules? 
2. How can I tell if my website is a VOW? 
3. Since I invite people to sign up for news and listing updates, is my website a VOW?
4. Should I have an IDX website or should I have a VOW?

All great questions.  First, I always advise folks to ask their MLS for the IDX and VOW rules adopted by the MLS.  Next, I advise folks to actually read them.  A broker/Participant is ultimately responsible for the acts of their agents, so if you are an agent then you need to make sure your broker is involved in your decision making process. 

Once you have read the rules and understand them, then you can start  thinking about what kind of website you want to have and what you want it to accomplish. 

Now that we are beginning to see more vendors coming out with VOW solutions that you can purchase, you can start seeing what is available.

I do not recommend any one company, but this company has a good Q/A section about VOWS vs. IDX and other topics.  I think this page is at least a good place to start to help you sort things out:

http://tinyurl.com/cutak2

Stay tuned as I will continue to post resources on this forum as I come across them. I have also attached some powerpoint slides that talk about the legal differences between VOW and IDX.

Please feel free to post your questions and ideas about VOWS on this forum so everyone can benefit!

Open House on Commercial Buildings

Open House on Commercial Buildings. I'm posting on behalf of Richard Farrar of Liberal, who is experiencing technical difficulties, but had a question ...

Richard asks, "I would like to ask anyone out there if they have done an Open House on a Commercial building, and if so, any helpful tips to draw people to it. Or is this just unheard of or not worth doing. Any suggestions? Thanks, Richard"

Put the Obama Administration's Homeowner Bailout to work for you

Here is a link to the fact sheet on the "Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan" laid out by the Obama administration yesterday: http://tinyurl.com/stabilityfactsheet Why do I include it here under the business ideas forum?  Because you have customers and clients that you helped buy a home in the last two years.  You know that some of them probably bought more house  than they could really afford, but since the lender found a way to make it work, they bought it anyway.

It could be that those buyers may not be sleeping well at night, worried about whether they might have their home foreclosed upon.  You know who these people are...why not strengthen your relationship with them and give them a call to let them know about this plan and offer to see if they might benefit from taking advantage of these new government options.  If they do, you will look like a hero, if they don't they will still think good thoughts about you because you bothered to check on them.  Either way, it is a pretty good chance they will they will say good things about you to their friends and family...who might just be thinking about buying or selling their home. 

Ahh...will this newfangled thing really catch on???

Click on the link that follows to see a really interesting video about newspapers being available on the Internet back in 1981.  It is funny at so many levels, but makes you think of how far the Internet has come since then. 

What is happening to your local newpapers?  The Topeka Capital Journal is an incredible shrinking giant---and we are in a capital city.  Here you go! http://tinyurl.com/dgvyg7

10 Ways to Use Trulia to Enhance Your Online Presence

I found this post on the Trulia blog and found some Trulia tools I didn't know about http://tinyurl.com/5wfzxh
.  Great ideas for enhancing your online presence...and only one of the 10 costs you money.  I love it!  Enjoy!