The Brian and Kindra Show

On Episode 29 of The Brian and Kindra show, they discussed flipping houses. It takes a lot to flip a house and the ratio at which houses can be flipped is small. Roughly per 100 houses on the market, one is flippable. The goal of flipping houses is to see a large return on the final product. Flipping houses is a team project involving contractors, bankers, insurance agents, planners. You can flip a house on your own, but there is more risk. Most importantly, always expect the unexpected!  You never know if you will find termites, mold, etc. Expect these issues not just for time management, but for money management as well.The goal is to flip a house quickly to get it on the market helping to keep your profit margin more protected.  A lot of investors can flip a house in 30 days, but they have more availability of flippable homes in their market. In the Woodward area if you’re looking for a house to flip, you may find the house to be in a condition that takes longer to rehab and resell. Attempting to keep small window of time to flip a house in Woodward is hard because contractors are busy and there aren’t a lot of them. Rather than having multiple contractors available like you would in a larger city, our local contractors tend to be very busy and don’t have as much availability. There are too many factors of what can go into flipping a house to put a definite cost number on it. When flipping a house you have to think like an investor, not a homeowner. When flipping a house, you need a back-up plan. If the house doesn’t sell in six months, you may find that converting the flip house to a rental property is a wiser option. This will take you from a six-month investment to a 15-year investment as a landlord. Funding for flipping houses has many options. Banks could loan you 7-8% interest money for short-term loans. People have also refinanced their primary residence, pulling out a second line of credit. The most important thing is to be educated. If you’re going to buy a flip house, Brian and Kindra can write a contract that gives you a ten day period to do inspections and verify that you are comfortable facing the issues you may encounter in your rehab. They have good connections and contractors who will meet you at the house and help give you the worst case scenario to plan for. Because of the condition of ‘flippable options’ here in the Woodward area, the properties may not be good candidates for a lot of the finance options just mentioned. Most houses that people purchase locally for flips need to be cash or an in-house bank loan. If you choose to obtain a loan, you need to have a good, established relationship with your lender. Brian and Kindra hope these tips have been helpful to you. As always, if you have any questions or need help, please feel free to reach out to your local real estate professional.

On Episode 28 of The Brian and Kindra show, they discussed Home Inspections with Kenny Snider.  Home Inspectors have been licensed under the Construction and Industry Board since 2003, but oddly enough, started under the Health Department. An Oklahoma home inspectors license is good for the entire State of Oklahoma.Most home inspectors will have an agreement they share with the customer that details what they will be inspecting versus what they will not inspect.  Brian and Kindra notice that a general home inspector typically doesn’t look at sprinkler systems, swimming pools, hot tubs, etc. They do look at the electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and structural functions of a home. They check-out the outside of the home, roof, paint, siding, driveways, heat & air, etc. Inside they check windows, plug-ins, plumbing, ceilings, steps, chimneys, etc. If there is a problem, the home inspector doesn’t suggest a repair, they put it into their report to call a professional repairman or more specialized contractor to further investigate the issue. The home inspector’s report is usually detailed with pictures and a breakdown of the issues. The reports that Brian and Kindra have received from Kenny range from 13 to 60 pages and at the end is a summary. When an inspection is completed for the purpose of a home purchase, the agents and customer will typically review the report particularly focusing on the end summary. They then discuss that summary with the home buyer to verify the buyer is still satisfied with the property or to evaluate if the buyer would like to request some repairs. Kindra noted that many of the issues the home inspector finds are deferred maintenance issues, something that wouldn’t become a concern with regular maintenance such as paint damage, water heater drips, and under sink drips. Brian, Kindra, and Kenny agree that they see homeowners get used to something that is wrong, that it starts to feel right. Brian and Kindra are proponents of a pre-listing home inspection. Kenny agrees that would be a huge benefit for the seller. You’ll have unbiased, professional feedback on your home and a headstart on any issues that need addressed. This will make both the home inspection that the buyer orders and the appraisal easier. A home inspection of a 2,000 square foot home will usually take a couple hours and cost approx $250 locally. The buyer and seller are welcome to attend, but sometimes the seller’s presence may bother the buyer. With the buyer present, the home inspector can discuss any found issues at that time rather than them waiting to see it in the report. Additionally, the tone of a report can come across as scary, so being present makes it more personable.  (This price is based off of Kenny’s charges and can vary from inspector to inspector.)Brian and Kindra hope these tips have been helpful to you. As always, if you have any questions or need help, please feel free to reach out to your local real estate professional.

On Episode 27 of The Brian and Kindra Show, they sat down with Richard Burrows, Store Manager of Sherwin Williams in Woodward to discuss paint tips and trends. One thing Kindra has learned in real estate is paint is not just pretty, but paint is also for property preservation. If you’re planning to list your home on the market, one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to increase its value is also one of the simplest, paint. Your home is more likely to sell with a fresh coat of paint, which is the first thing buyers see. Regarding interior paint, the right color of paint can create an illusion that a small room is bigger and vice versa. Light and neutral paints will make a room brighter and appear bigger. Warm and dark paints will make a room cozier and appear smaller. Don’t forget to freshen-up baseboards and trim. Having a contrasting color, typically white, in these areas can make a good impression on buyers. Should you paint your ceiling with the same paint you use on your walls? This is a preference, not a rule. Ceiling paints are generally flat finishes, white is the most common. Flat paints on ceilings will help minimize reflection and glare. Warm, neutral colors make it easier for potential buyers to imagine themselves living in a home because the paint goes with just about anything.  As realtors, it’s important for Brian and Kindra to pay attention to national and local trends of real estate. They remind us that what trends are on the coasts, might not be as prevalent in the midwest. Regarding exterior paint, it’s recommended to have no more than three colors. As the exterior is the first thing buyers see, having too many colors can make the home appear choppy, smaller, and distracting. Try using a 60-30-10 model for painting the exterior, 60% body (stucco, brick), 30% trim and garage doors, and 10% front and shutters with a pop of color. Why is paint so important? Research shows that an interior paint job can provide a 107% return of investment and an exterior paint job can provide a 55% return. Brian and Kindra have seen these results twofold. Between the fresh smell and clean look, putting the extra time in for fresh paint will help sell your home. Wanting to touch up paint in your home and don’t know the specific color? Sherwin Williams has two tools that allow you to color match. ColorSnap, is an app with a corresponding device that scans the color and tells you the closest color available and what some differences are. If you want to be more precise, you can bring a sample into the store that they will scan it with a photospectrometer. Brian and Kindra hope these tips have been helpful to you. As always, if you have any questions or need help, please feel free to reach out to your local real estate professional.

On Episode 26 of The Brian and Kindra Show, Troy White, County Commissioner for Woodward County District 1 shared some things about how the county operates. As realtors, Brian and Kindra often comment that they have to sell Woodward before they can sell the home as they meet people moving into the area.  Knowing how the county is run and being aware of the financial stability can help in selling the community and homes.  Traditionally, a County Commissioner is viewed as someone to grade roads. Troy views the job as a Business Manager of the county. A lot of money is spent and comes into the county from property taxes. These funds go towards many things (ex. EMS, D.A.R.E., Ag extension, health dept. etc.) and it all comes across the commissioner’s desk. Woodward County gets roughly 15% of annual property taxes, the remainder goes to the schools. The 15% goes towards aforementioned county services. The county road/highway districts do not receive any ad valorem tax dollars. What they do get is money back from the state based on gross production tax, vehicle tax, fuel tax, population, and miles of roads. Every month they get that money to run payroll, purchase rock, run motor graders, etc. The money received is never the same and has had up to 40% difference per month. Now, the big question often asked by buyers is how costly are the annual ad valorem taxes of a property they are interested in purchasing.  Additionally, we have many current owners asking why their property tax increases. It’s a challenging subject and can leave many in heated discussions!  The county assessor has a very complex job in assessing properties. Many believe the assessor is who holds the power in determining how much to tax, but that isn’t the case!  The assessor is actually told when and how much to raise the property taxes in the county by the State of Oklahoma.  The assessor is really more of an administrator of what the state mandates.  Brian and Kindra encourage you to reach out to your county officials to engage in further healthy discussion.  Their positions hold much more responsibility than one may expect and they have great information to help us all better understand the workings of the county government to keep Woodward a great place to live.  

On Episode 25 of The Brian and Kindra Show, they discussed the Historic Downtown Woodward Main St. with Director Sarah Vaverka. As Realtors, Brian and Kindra believe that their job is not only to sell a home, but to sell Woodward and Northwest Oklahoma. Woodward Main Street is a non-profit organization, who is also a part of Oklahoma Main Street. Their mission: To help create a unique and vital downtown, that enriches the business community. Every event they produce is to enrich the downtown area. Brian and Kindra highlight the close-knit community of Woodward to draw attention to its uniqueness, getting people to come to Woodward and stay in Woodward. They promote Woodward as a community that is active and thriving and Main Street is just that. In just over a year, Woodward Main Street has been under new direction. For the first year, the goal of Main Street was to remind the community that there is a downtown. Establishing a multitude of events like First Friday, Main Street is now thriving. First Fridays happen on the first Friday of each month (except for two), hosting a community or retail event in the Main Street corridor. The first First Friday in 2019 was Food Truck Wars. This was easily one of the biggest events of the year and is something they plan to grow yearly. For 2020, they established a Food Truck Committee and have partnered with Woodward Tourism and The Arts Theatre.Why discuss Woodward Main Street on a Real Estate show? Brian and Kindra firmly believe that the independent, self-employed businesses, like those on Main Street, are the heart of the town. If you are looking to start a business or open shop, there is a lot of help out there. Currently, there are several vacant/available buildings on Woodward Main Street and there are four new businesses that have opened on/or transferred to Main Street. Between Brian, Kindra, and Sarah the connections to discuss an idea and start a business are at your fingertips. Brian and Kindra can set you up with a great location on Main St and as Director, Sarah loves to connect people and make a warm welcome. Woodward Main Street businesses have done a great job pivoting during COVID-19. A lot of them have websites that you can shop from, making it easy to shop local. All the ‘Friends of Main Street’ are linked on the Woodward Main Street webpage, woodardmainstreet.net.Brian and Kindra LOVE Woodward. They love real estate and want to support the community in which they live. They believe in supporting Woodward and that is one of their biggest goals. Brian and Kindra hope these tips have been helpful to you. As always, if you have any questions or need help, please feel free to reach out to your local real estate professional.

On Episode 24 of The Brian and Kindra Show, they discussed how real estate agents set the asking price of a home. There are four ways that people get a price; 1 - Automated Evaluation Model (AVM); 2 - Comparative Market Analysis (CMA); 3 - Broker Price Opinion (BPO); 4 - Home Appraisal. Listed 1 - 4, least to most in accuracy as well as in cost. First the AVM or Automated Evaluation Model. Is an AVM accurate? It can be! Zillow’s Zestimates is a good example.  Their goal is to be within 4.5%, but in some markets they are 20-30% off. In Woodward, the Wheatridge edition has houses ranging from $50K to $230K. What an AVM does is pinpoint the home and averages the price based off of the last sold homes in a 1 mile radius. This is bad because an AVM adds in distressed properties, whereas a realtor doesn’t. A distressed property is bank-owned, a rental property, a family transfer not at full price, or anything needing a lot of repairs.Second, a CMA. Real Estate agents do a lot of CMA’s. Brian and Kindra have spent years perfecting their model and are always tweaking it. They take into consideration things like location, condition, functionality, age of the home, etc. They compare the property to similar properties that have sold and to similar properties that are listed. They see what the property is competing against and compare it as close as possible to things that have sold just like it. The CMA is not an appraisal and can vary by who it was completed by. Less-reputable agents may present a higher CMA in order to get the seller’s business. Thirdly, a BPO. These are more detailed and you have to justify why something is or is not valuable to a property. Brian and Kindra don’t see a lot of these, unless they are doing a relocation or foreclosure. With foreclosures, a foreclosing company might send out 2-3 realtors, for 2-3 opinions, for the same price as an appraisal. Finally, a home appraisal. Brian and Kindra get a lot of people asking for an appraisal before listing, discovering that they want an opinion on what to list their home at. Most people don’t want to pay the appraisal fee and realize that CMA’s have enough value to list the property. An appraisal is only as good as the day it was done. The market ebbs and flows and we certainly see that in Woodward. An appraisal does three pricing variations in one report, a market appraisal, cost appraisal, and an income appraisal. Appraisals are 30-40 pages long compared to the AVM report that is only one number, CMAs that are one page, and BPOs that are a couple of pages. You don’t need an appraisal before listing a property. Appraisals have their value and are sometimes warranted, but you can get by with a CMA. For Brian, the difference between an appraisal and CMA is, an appraisal proves a value and a CMA is going out to find and set the market value of your home. Realtors want the property to sell in a timely fashion and evaluate where it should sell in today’s market. Does an agent price it low to sell fast? No. Realtors have the numbers to back-up the home price and if it sells quickly, that means it was priced right. Brian and Kindra want their sellers to walk away with as much as possible and want everybody to win. They work hard pricing it to sell in 30-90 days. If it sells quicker, that's great! Brian and Kindra hope these tips have been helpful to you. As always, if you have any questions or need help, please feel free to reach out to your local real estate professional.