At Home in KC : The Real Estate Blog of Kansas City Realtor, Sarah Snodgrass

Cabinet Refinishing & Cabinet Painting

sarahkc — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:54:23 +0000

The before and after pictures below are from a home I recently sold in Leawood. It was a newer home, but my clients wanted a sleek, more modern look so they had the cabinetry stained. I think it turned out fantastic. This is such an easy and cheap way of completely changing the look of your kitchen, baths, staircase… Anywhere that has an outdated stain color or with paint that needs updating. This work was completed by State of the Art painting, Beverly Tovar, (913) 238-9170.

BEFORE

AFTER

Top 10 Reasons to Live in the Neighborhood of Brookside, Kansas City

sarahkc — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:38:19 +0000

Here are just a few things that contribute to a high quality of living in Brookside:

The Trolley Track Trail – Popular walking, bicycling, and running trail stretching six miles from Volker (UMKC) to 85th and Prospect. The trail exists along an old streetcar line.
Parks – There are pocket parks all over Brookside, some in plain sight with the usual jungle gyms, kiddie pools, and tennis courts; but there are also hidden parks that are tucked away known only to the houses that back to them.
The MAX and other bus routes – With the increasing cost of gasoline and the growing awareness of reducing air pollution, riding the bus is becoming a larger part of city living. The MAX is a rapid transit line stretching from the City Market to Brookside/Waldo. We love to ride it downtown for First Fridays.
The Brookside Farmers’ Market – Your chance to buy fresh locally grown veggies, flowers, meats, and goods every Saturday in season.
Shops, restaurants, bars and grocery stores – Everything you need is right here.
Friendly neighbors and active neighborhoods - Don’t be surprised if your neighbors turn out to be some of your best friends.
Bikeability and Walkability – Trails, sidewalks, and close enough proximity to be able to ride to many places around town.
History – Live in a beautiful, well-built home from the 1910-1940’s. Here you will find tudors, brick, limestone, stately colonials, craftsman bungalows and more.
Scenery – Brookside is full of mature trees, statues, and fountains.
Events – Brookside is host to popular events such as the annual Brookside Art Fair and the Brookside St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

limestone home with spanish tile roof

New colorjive website helps you pick paint colors

sarahkc — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:39:44 +0000

This is the coolest thing. I have just spent the last hour picking colors for rooms that I don’t own or need to paint, just for the fun of it. I dearly wish I would have found this website about 6 months ago before agonizing over new kitchen paint colors and living room colors for my house. The colorjive site allows you to download a photo of a room you want to change, then choose different colors from a vast color pallette and switch out the wall colors. You can even choose Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams paints. The only challenge is that your photo has to have pretty balanced light, or the paint colors catch on the shadows and bright spots and your new color doesn’t fill in correctly. Here are some before and afters examples of what this site can do.

before

after

before

after

Colorjive

Kansas City First-time Home Buyers: Tax Credit Extended

sarahkc — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:15:36 +0000

According to this article, senators have agreed to extend the first-time home buyer tax credit through April 2010. I’m not sure if I believe our debt-ridden government can afford this, but it would sure be hard to turn-down a cool $8,000! On a similar note, prices are down and interest rates are still hovering around a very low 5%, so this is obviously a great time to be a buyer in the local marketplace.

I’m going to have a couple new listings between now and April so let me know if you are looking for something special and can’t seem to find it… One will be a well-maintained starter home in Hyde Park in the low $100’s, and another will be a quintessential Dible-built tudor style home in Brookside/Waldo between $100-200k. Both have respectable owners who really l0ve their homes and take care of them the way they should be. I’m excited about both of them and you will be too!

Research & Old Photos of my Home’s History – Brookside, Kansas City

sarahkc — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:21:06 +0000

Check out this old tax assessor’s photo of my home in Brookside from 1940:

It was very easy to obtain – Mister Snodgrass just emailed his request to an assistant in the Landmark’s Commission and she promptly emailed this photo to him at a minimal cost of $5.00.We were sent a much larger size than I have featured here. Should you desire more information, such as the builder, architect, the way it originally looked, or even the name of the first owner, we have a wealth of resources at our disposal from both the Kansas City Public Library’s resource page on researching the history of your house and the city of Kansas City’s web page on historic research.

(Tax) credits, credits, and mo’ credits; the Energy Efficiency Tax Credit

sarahkc — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:00:14 +0000

2009 is the year of the tax credit. The government just loves to make us buy things when we don’t really need them. Cash for Clunkers, 2009 Federal Housing Tax Credit, and the 2009-2010 Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency. I’m just learning about the latter credit as the Snodgrass household has an HVAC system out of the Mesozoic Era. Yes, it is perhaps time for an upgrade, and why not buy a high-efficient system? If we stick with a traditional gas furnace and central air conditioning system, we must purchase a A/C system with 16 SEER rating, and a furnace with an AFUE of 95 or greater (i think this means 95% efficiency) to qualify. This could be on the pricey side, but with the credit we basically get 30% off (in the form of a tax credit), which is a pretty hefty discount. So if the system costs $5,000, we get the full $1,500 credit. In addition, you may be able to find local dealers running specials on system upgrades so be sure to shop around.

Mid-Century Retro Bathroom Tiles

sarahkc — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:42:59 +0000

I found an great blog entry from one of my very favorite blogs, Retro Renovation. Check out these ceramic mosaic floor tiles by Nemo Tile. This style come in 60 shades, and be sure to browse the rest of their ceramic, glass and porcelain tiles which are some of the best collections I have ever seen.

I still see original bathroom flooring that looks very similar all over the older areas of town such as Brookside, Prairie Village, Westwood, Waldo and Midtown, but much of the original is looking pretty shabby after 50-70 years of wear and tear. It can be found in mid-century ranches, cape cods, and many traditional post-war housing. I love the idea of remodeling our older baths to an updated and more modern version of the original. It really looks adorable in our homes, and I think more appropriate than going the old world or Tuscan route which feels incongruous to me.

My Kansas City/Brookside Retro Kitchen Renovation – Barstools

sarahkc — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:05:18 +0000

My retro barstools arrived, and they look perfect in my newly pink kitchen with polished chrome hardware. Check them out below. Photos of the finished kitchen will be coming soon. We are still putting on some finishing touches such as curtains and artwork, but the pink cabinets are finished, all the trim and walls have been painted (thanks, Sherwin Williams for your vintage modern color palettes), and the hardwoods have been refinished. It is looking so cute and retro!

Great Lunch yesterday

sarahkc — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:16:55 +0000

Happy Gillis for lunch, Babycakes for dessert. What a way to spend a rainy afternoon. I knew about Happy Gillis from its origins as the Happy Soup Eater – the soup catering/delivery business, so I was expecting to have soup for lunch. There were probably ten sandwich options, but only one sad little soup option on the menu today – potato soup. It was delicious and obviously made with fresh, quality ingredients, but my expectations for soup were so high that I was a bit disappointed. Both sandwiches we tried were great and made with fresh artisan breads which I think can make or break a good sandwich. It is an excellent lunch spot, and I would highly recommend it.

After lunch, my friend Katherine, who was taking me out to celebrate my recent birthday, treated me to a strawberry cupcake with strawberry butter-cream frosting from Babycakes in the River Market neighborhood. They are a small little cupcake shop and bakery – great for popping in for a sweet treat, or you can call them for party orders. They had rearranged the store a bit since the last time I was there with more retail stuff. Besides the cupcakes, they were selling some drinks, cupcake stands and the funniest greeting cards I’ve seen in a while such as “Momma said there’d be days like this but she didn’t tell me there’d be this many!” As expected, my strawberry cupcake was delicious, although I’m not very discerning when it comes to cake.

Should I be on HGTV?

sarahkc — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:27:55 +0000

A producer from HGTV contacted me today (ok, and pretty much every other agent in KC). They are looking for an agent with clients buying a home to be on one of their House Hunters episodes which will be based in the Kansas City area. How funny would this be – I’m not really comfortable with the spotlight and I have no idea if my clients would agree to this, but something has me so tempted to apply. Below is the press release. I probably won’t just because I always feel so embarrassed for the realtors in those shows – they never have anything of substance to say and they only show them unlocking doors. They just say things like, “How pretty.”, and “What is your favorite house”, and “over here is the bedroom”. None of the gritty, dramatic stuff that I live out.

HGTV’S HOUSE HUNTERS IS COMING TO KANSAS CITY!

For Immediate Release

HGTV’s hit TV series, House Hunters, is coming to Kansas City and surrounding areas, and we’re looking for homebuyers and real estate agents who want to appear on the show!

House Hunters follows buyers and their agents on the hunt as they find just the right house for them—and every story is different. If you’re an energetic and outgoing homebuyer currently working with a real estate agent, we’d love to hear from you.

We are currently looking for homebuyers who are:

· Closing within the next 1-4 months, this includes buyers who are actively bidding on a home or newly under contract

· Fun, enthusiastic, and have a great story to tell

· Purchasing within a 90 minute drive of downtown KC

House Hunters airs weeknights at 9/8c on HGTV and is produced by High Noon Entertainment. To learn more about the show visit HGTV.com/HouseHunters