Kansas City Real Estate Video Blog with Adam Butler

Have You Cleaned Out Your Gutters Yet?

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 17:23:00 +0000

When is the best time to clean your gutters? It’s always a good idea to clean them in the spring, but I recommend getting ahead of the problem and cleaning them now.

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The leaves are falling and filling up your gutters. Most people wait to clean their gutters in the spring when the rain comes, but guess what?

If you clean your gutters before winter hits, snow won’t pack those leaves down and clog your gutters. It is easier to clean your gutters when the leaves are dry, anyway. If you wait until spring, the leaves will be a soggy mess.

Not only that, if we happen to have a 40° day this winter, it could rain. If your gutters are clogged, that rain will come down the side of your house. If your sump pump does not keep up with it, you’ll wind up with water in your basement.

It is easier to clean your gutters before all the snow hits anyway.

So, check your gutters now. It’s always good to clean them in the spring, too, but cleaning the gutters now should help you avoid any major problems in the winter or early spring.

If you have any real estate questions or need to hire someone to clean your gutters, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I can certainly refer you to someone. I look forward to hearing from you!

Why Do You Need to Cover Your Home’s Spigots During the Winter?

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 18:28:00 +0000

Placing an insulated cover over your home’s outside spigots can prevent them from freezing over and possibly causing your basement to flood once you turn them on again in the spring.

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One of the easiest, cheapest winter home preparation tips I always recommend is placing an insulated cover over your home’s outside spigots.

If left uncovered during the winter, they can freeze over, which can cause your basement to flood once you turn them on again in the spring. Repairing that kind of damage can cost you a couple hundred dollars to fix.

You can buy insulated spigot covers at Lowe’s, Home Depot, or any hardware store for as little as $3. As you can see in the video above, attaching them over your spigot is a simple process.

Putting a little bit of money toward your home’s preventative maintenance can go a long way.

Most of us are almost done using our spigots anyway, so you might as well do this now. Putting a little bit of money toward your home’s preventative maintenance can go a long way.

If you have any other questions about preparing your home for winter or you’re curious about what’s going on in our Kansas City market, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to help you.

Santa Claus Is Coming to K.C.

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Thu, 30 Nov 2017 18:45:00 +0000

Come join us for an afternoon of fun with Santa. Bring the whole family!

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It looks like the Christmas season has snuck up on us again. It’s time to get those lights up and trim the tree. The Adam Butler Team, in association with our favorite lender, Eddie Miller from First National Bank, are sponsoring an afternoon of family fun with Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

On December 9, come on down to Collagen Row at First National Bank for a photo shoot with Santa. We’ll have the man himself in attendance, along with some refreshments. Bring your kids and pets to have their picture taken with St. Nick!

I tried to grow out my beard, but I’ll leave it to the professionals.

I tried growing out my beard to look like Santa, but I just ended up looking like a homeless man instead, so I'll leave it to the professionals. If you have any questions for me in the meantime, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I hope to see you soon!

A Quick Tip on Patching Your Walls

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 17:23:00 +0000

Today I have some advice about patching your walls: never use brushes.

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Today I’m at one of my investment properties touching up sheet rock dents in the wall.

I’ve got a little spackle on it, and I’m about to sand it down. While doing this, I realized that a lot of my clients don’t realize that if you use a brush to cover a patch, the strokes will show; almost all your walls are rolled on.

For little spots like this, I use a mini tray and roller to make the process easier. Regular-sized trays and rollers make a mess and would really be overkill for a small patch. When you roll it on, the texture matches the wall around it, and when it dries, it’ll look perfect.

If you’re ever touching up your walls, use whatever sized roller you need, just don’t use a brush.

If you’d like one of these little roller kits, I’ll be happy to give one to you. Call, email, or text me, and I’ll bring one over to you and say hi. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Why I Love Arbor Masters

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Thu, 19 Oct 2017 16:43:00 +0000

Arbor Masters is my preferred vendor for all things trees. They’ve done some fantastic work for me in the past.

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I’m coming to you live from my front yard today. As you can see in the background of the video above, one of my favorite vendors is here removing a pretty big tree from my yard.

I trust Arbor Masters to do a great job simply because they’ve done a great job for me before. Preventative maintenance goes a long way when it comes to tree care. These guys are always willing to come out and take a look to make sure all your trees are healthy and any damage they can cause to your home is minimal.

Preventative maintenance goes a long way with your trees.

If you have a pesky tree, pesky branches, or just have a question about any of your trees, don’t hesitate to give Arbor Masters a call at 1-800-256-4193 or visit their website here.

If you have any real estate needs or questions for us in the meantime, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you.

An Easy Fix for Loose Screws

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Fri, 22 Sep 2017 16:30:00 +0000

There’s a quick, easy, cheap solution for loose screws I want to show you.

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A long time ago, my dad taught me a quick, cheap, easy fix for loose screws that never fails.

All you need to apply this fix are Elmer’s glue and a few toothpicks. Just squirt a little Elmer’s glue into the hole, jam the toothpicks in, and break them off. If you put your screw in after that, it’ll fit just like new.

This cheap, easy fix never fails.

The first person who emails me and tells me they tried this tip and it worked will receive a $20 gift card to Lowe’s.

In the meantime, if you have any questions or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home in the Kansas City market, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be glad to help!

Red Relief—Helping Those Impacted by Harvey and Irma

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 20:39:00 +0000

The Red Relief program by Keller Williams is dedicated to providing disaster relief to those impacted by Hurricane Harvey and Irma. Find out how you can help today.

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Keller Williams is here to help those impacted by Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma.

When it comes to Keller Williams, family is everything.

Our Red Relief program is dedicated to providing disaster relief to every family impacted by these storms.

Hundreds of Keller Williams agents have gone to Texas to help those in Corpus Christi, Houston, Beaumont, and more. More agents are on their way to help families in the path of Hurricane Irma in Florida.

So far, we have seen a tremendous outpouring of love from our volunteers and donors. Rebuilding these areas is going to take more than a couple of weeks, so it’s important that we keep the energy going in the coming months as we help people get back to their normal lives.

Help us provide disaster relief to those impacted by Irma and Harvey.

As we work to rebuild these areas, we could use your help.

Please consider donating to our Red Relief program. Your contributions will help us supply food, water, clothing, and building supplies to these communities.

If you have any questions about KW Cares, the Red Relief program, and our ongoing disaster relief efforts, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We appreciate your support as we work to help others through this difficult time.

Keep Up With Your Landscaping

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Thu, 03 Aug 2017 16:23:00 +0000

Don’t let your yard go to the geese—it’s much easier to take care of landscaping projects yourself.

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It’s very important that you keep up with landscaping this time of year.

You don’t want to let your yard get out of control. Good, clean landscaping adds value to your house. Plus, it just looks nice.

Don’t let crabgrass take over your yard or garden beds. Your house will benefit so much from your steady upkeep. After all, it’s much harder to track down some geese to do your weeding for you than it is to just take care of it yourself in the first place.

Your house will benefit so much from proper landscaping.

If you have any questions or need a referral to a landscaping company—I do not recommend these geese—just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

When Is It Time to Fly the Coop?

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 17:34:00 +0000

Is your family reaching a point where you home has begun to feel smaller and smaller? Today's advice is for you.

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Some birds that nested in a light fixture outside my house got too big to even get out, and it got me thinking about move-up buyers who have outgrown their home. I’ve notice this being a common problem for homeowners here in the Kansas City area.

My advice for you today is not to wait so long that your house becomes so small that you can't even get out.

Don't wait until your home gets so small that you can't get out!

If you're looking to move to your next home, check out all homes available on the Kansas City MLS here on our home search tool.

If you have any other questions or just need some helping flying the coop into a new home, give me call or send me an email. I'd love to help you out!

Taking a Page on Teamwork From Kansas Speedway

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 19:44:00 +0000

I was recently a guest out at Kansas Speedway and I thought it was a good opportunity to talk about the importance of every player when it comes to teamwork.

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I was recently a guest at Kansas Speedway of Jamie McMurray, the No. 1 car for Cessna McDonald’s. I wanted to give them a shout out today because they really put on a show of teamwork during the race.

My team focuses on getting you the best results thanks to years of experience and honing our negotiating skills. We're like this racing team in that so many people need to do their job just right to get the best results.

Just like this racing team, so many people need to do their job just right to get the best results.

It's always something we focus on.

If you have any questions about how our team works to get you the best deal possible when buying or selling a home here in the Kansas City market, give me a call or send me an email soon. I'd love to speak with you!

Prepare for storm season in Kansas City

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Tue, 02 May 2017 17:01:00 +0000

We recently had a pretty nasty storm here in Kansas City. With storm season on its way, there’s one thing you need to make sure you do.

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With the storm season fast approaching, it’s essential to take a look at the trees around your home. What condition are they in? Are you worried a storm could potentially knock down a tree and cause damage to your property?

Now is the time to have a certified arborist come take a look. Power lines are also a huge concern when it comes to trees and storm season. Kansas City Power and Light will trim back foliage around the main power pole, but the lines running to your house are your responsibility as the homeowner.

Being proactive about your trees now could save you time, money, and a large amount of stress.

An arborist will come out to give you a free evaluation and provide you with an estimate for trimming. Being proactive about your trees now could save you time, money, and a large amount of stress.

If you have any questions about getting ahold of an arborist, or if you have any real estate questions, please feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I’m always happy to help.

Keeping Groundwater From Intruding on Your Home

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 17:18:00 +0000

Water is a home’s worst enemy. Today, I wanted to show you how to keep groundwater out of your home using my house as a live example.

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Groundwater in your basement is an issue that nobody wants to deal with, so today I have some preventative maintenance tips that I wanted to share.

Water is a home’s worst enemy and it can get in three ways: your roof, plumbing leaks, or groundwater.

To get water to shed when there’s heavy rain, you need one inch of drop per foot. As you can see in the video above, there’s a spot near my home’s downspout where water will pool and try to get into my basement when it rains.

I’ve started by adding some dirt to divert water. I’ve brought in a dump truck’s worth of dirt, but $1.33 per bag at a hardware store will take care of it too.

Water is a home’s worst enemy.

I created a nice slope that will keep water from pooling when it rains. Some people would say that this is what a sump pump is for, but the best sump pumps to have are the ones that never have to run!

If you have any other questions about preventing groundwater from getting into your house or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home here in the Kansas City area, give me a call or send me an email. I’m always here to help!

Why Are We in Such a Strong Seller’s Market?

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 17:21:00 +0000

We are in an extremely strong seller’s market now, despite slightly increasing interest rates. That said, sellers need a strategy if they want to capitalize on this great market.

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Right now, we are in a strong seller’s market.

Interest rates are still historically low even though they have started to creep up a little. Now that the election is over and rates are still low, things are really selling pretty quick. Inventory is extremely low for the number of buyers out there and as a result, homes are selling within a couple of days.

We have a great strategy to help sellers get top dollar in this market: our “Coming Soon!” program. We put up a “Coming Soon!” sign in your yard two weeks before your listing goes live on the MLS. That way, we get plenty of calls about the house before it comes on the market.

Our ‘Coming Soon!’ program directs buyer demand to your home.

By driving up buyer demand, this program helps you get multiple offers and higher prices because buyers do not want to miss out on your house. Then, you get to choose the best offer. Another benefit of this program is that our houses are selling very quickly.

Rates will creep up soon but if you’ve been thinking about selling, now is a great time to get a record-high price for your home.

If you’re curious about what your home is worth in today’s market or you have any other questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

Why Updating Your Kitchen Is Always a Smart Move

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Wed, 22 Feb 2017 17:07:00 +0000

Hands down, remodeling a kitchen before you sell will get you the best return on your investment. Today I’ll go over a few things you can do to update your kitchen if you’re on a budget.

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Kitchens are the number one selling factor in a house, which is why I want to talk about the best ways to update yours before you put your home on the market.

A beautiful, updated kitchen will get you top dollar every time. The kitchen being remodeled in the video above is going from a very small to a very large kitchen, but most remodels don’t need to be that extensive.

There are a few things you can do if you don’t have the budget for a complete remodel. If you have golden oak cabinets, have them painted or go to a darker stain. Replace fixtures and make the switch to a gas cooktop. Additionally, if you have Formica countertops you’ll want to update to granite or quartz.

A beautiful, updated kitchen will get you top dollar every time.

You might not even be thinking about selling your home anytime soon and that’s fine, but when you do decide to sell, you’ll get the best return on your investment if you update the kitchen.

If you have any questions about updating your kitchen, updating other parts of your home, or if you’re nervous about putting money into an update, I’d be happy to come by and talk with you about your options. If you have any other real estate-related questions, please don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

Our Referral Appreciation Party Was a Blast!

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Fri, 27 Jan 2017 17:30:00 +0000

We appreciate every referral a client sends us. To thank all our clients for their referrals, we held a casino night.

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We’ve got some great footage of our referral appreciation party to share with you. This was a celebration for all of the people who have referred friends, family, and coworkers to us that we have been able to take care of.

To say thank you to all of these people, we decided to hold a casino party, which was a blast. We had craps tables, mice races, and more for people to bet on. Check out some great footage from one of the mice races in the video above.

Our casino party was a huge success.

We just thought we would give you a quick taste of some of the fun things we like to do for our clients when they refer business to us. If you or someone you know is looking to buy or sell in Kansas City, we would love the opportunity to take care of them too. All you’ve got to do is give us a call or send us an email. We are always here to answer any questions you may have about real estate.

How Can You Keep Water Out of Your Home This Winter?

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 18:02:00 +0000

Most people leave their hoses attached through the winter. You shouldn’t do that. Here’s what you should do instead.

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While most people don’t think having water in your basement is an issue in the winter, there is something they should be aware of when it comes to their spigots and hoses.

A lot of people leave their hoses attached year-round, and in the winter, the water left in there can freeze. This could cause your spigot valve to bust on the inside, which will cause water to leak into your basement when you turn it back on. Here’s what you should do to prevent it:

1. Make sure to disconnect your hose.

2. Invest in a spigot insulator. They only cost a few dollars, but they will protect your spigot against the elements and prevent it from freezing.

This problem is easily preventable.

As we take a look at the inside of the home in the video above, you’ll see that the spigot valve keeps the pipes from getting cold and bursting. You don’t want water shooting around in your house when you turn it back on. Cover that spigot and you won’t have to replace anything.

If you have any questions about how to do this or any other questions about real estate, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you.

A Quick Press Conference

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 18:18:00 +0000

Today, I’m answering three client questions from the Kansas City Royals press room.

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Today I’m in the Kansas City Royals press room to answer a few quick questions I often get from clients.

First of all, what’s happening with interest rates? I expect that interest rates will remain relatively low for the rest of the year. In fact, they will most likely stay low through next spring as well.

Next, do we really give away season tickets to our clients? The answer is yes! We love to give away tickets to the Kansas City Royals to our clients. It’s just one way for us to say thank you, so keep an eye on your emails and check out our video blog to get your tickets.

Keep an eye out for a chance to get tickets to a Royals game!

Finally, can we help your friends and family achieve their real estate goals? Absolutely. We are never too busy for your referrals, so send your family and friends our way.

If you need any real estate help, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

Do You Know Someone Looking for a Job in Real Estate?

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Tue, 08 Nov 2016 16:46:00 +0000

We are looking for a new member to join our team. If you know anyone who fits this job description, we would love to hear from you.

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We are reaching out today to ask for your help. We are currently looking for a full-time real estate professional with six months of experience or more to join our team. We want to train this person on the way we do business, which is by putting the client first and letting everything else work itself out.

If you know anyone in real estate who might be interested in our team, let us know. Maybe it’s a new agent looking for a place to take their career to the next level, or maybe it’s an agent who is looking for more support from their team.

If you know anyone, reach out to us.

Whatever the situation, if you have somebody in mind, give us a call or send an email directly to adam@adambutlerteam.com. Of course, any conversation we have will be confidential. We really appreciate your help on this and we look forward to hearing from you soon!

A Big Thanks to All My Wonderful Clients

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 16:32:00 +0000

I wanted to take this opportunity once again to say thank you to all my amazing clients who I've had the pleasure of working with.

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Today I'm pleased to be joining you from a client appreciation event for all the wonderful people I've had the chance to work with. We've got photos happening, as well as grilling, popcorn, cotton candy, and all the fun stuff you can think of.

We're here at Louisburg Cider Mill where they have a really cool corn maze, and it's a really fun place to bring my clients out to and get the chance to see them again, say hello, and watch their kids grow. It's amazing how old I am these days! Seeing clients' kids grow from babies all the way up to teenagers really makes you feel old–in a good way!

We're always here to help.

So I just wanted to thank everybody for coming out and saying hi, as well as all of you that helped out with the event. If you couldn't make it this time, join us next year! We look forward to seeing you again and staying in touch with your family.

As always, if you have any property needs or questions about real estate in Kansas City, I'm always here to help. Give me a call or send me an email anytime.

How Does It Feel to Be Debt-Free?

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Mon, 10 Oct 2016 16:09:00 +0000

We’re celebrating my friend and teammate Nick Wagner’s freedom from debt today at Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University.

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I’m joining you today from Nashville, Tennessee at Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. I’m here to celebrate my friends and teammate, Nick Wagner, who is now doing a debt-free scream today.

Watch Nick and his family celebrate their freedom from debt.

Check out the video above to watch Nick and his family celebrate their freedom from debt.

As always, if you have any questions about buying or selling Kansas City real estate, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to help you!

Join Our 5th Annual Fantasy Football League This Fall

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 16:01:00 +0000

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This year, we will have our 5th Annual Adam Butler Team Fantasy Football League! If you haven’t joined us before, we sponsor the league, host draft nights with beer and pizza, and offer prizes.

It’s a lot of fun and it is just our way of saying thank you to our clients. We want to thank you for your business, have a great time, and get to know you even better.

It’s just our little way of saying thanks!

I’ll send more details about dates and times in late August to do the draft. It’s going to be a great time! I look forward to seeing you there!

How to Save the Trees in Your Yard

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 20:14:00 +0000

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Pruning your trees is very important if you want to avoid unnecessary diseases. There’s nothing worse than having to cut down trees on your property, as you lose some of the natural beauty they provide, and it can cost up to $2,000.

Using an electric chainsaw is the best way to prune the trees in your yard. In order to keep your trees healthy and looking nice, go out and look for dead limbs on your trees and cut them down! Pruning is a great way to make sure you can avoid some serious problems with the tree in your yard.

If you’re not comfortable pruning your trees yourself, we do a lot of work with a great company called Arbor Masters. They’ll come out to your property and take care of your trees for you!

If you have any questions about how to take care of the trees on your property, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to hear from you!

Why Can’t You Trust Zillow to Find Your Home’s Value?

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 18:59:00 +0000

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The idea behind Zillow’s Zestimate feature is to give you an estimate of your home’s value. While we truly believe that Zillow is generally a great real estate resource, we recommend being careful about the Zestimate feature in particular.

The Zestimate gives you a very vague idea of what your home is actually worth. In most areas, they are only within 10% of the actual value 50% of the time. So, if you have a $500,000 house, half the time Zillow will tell you it’s worth somewhere between $450,000 and $550,000. That’s a huge range, and half the time Zillow will not even put your home value inside it!

If you want an accurate idea of how much your home is worth, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to provide you with a free market analysis so you can get a clear picture of what your home is really worth! Give us a call or shoot us an email at any time. We would love to hear from you!

How to Keep Your Foundation from Cracking

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 18:39:00 +0000

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Today I’m relaxing poolside at one of my client’s houses that we’ve sold, and not worrying about the foundation at all - no different than what most people are doing during the summertime. Worrying about things like water infiltration and keeping the proper grading around your foundation so it doesn’t seep in is something people usually do in the springtime. I will tell you, however, that this is a mistake.

What I mean by that is if it’s a really dry summer and the soil around your foundation doesn’t get the proper moisture, it will shrink. When the dirt shrinks, small gaps in the ground can emerge that can move your foundation and generate cracks and other damage that can be expensive to repair.

Just because it’s summer and there’s not a lot of water doesn’t mean that you don’t have anything to be worried about. It only takes a teeny bit of shrinkage for a foundation to move and give way to a hairline fracture. Make sure the soil around your house stays moist. If we get two or three weeks without rain, put your sprinklers on the ground and drag the hose around. Adding a little water to the dirt so your foundation can't move will be money well spent.

To prevent cracks in the foundation, make sure the soil around it stays moist.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I would be happy to help you!

Now Is a Great Time to Buy in Kansas City

adam@AdamButlerteam.com (Adam Butler) — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 16:41:00 +0000

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Interest rates are down, and they have been for a while. Everyone was expecting rates to go up, but they actually dipped further the other day in the wake of the Brexit! What does that mean for you?

It’s a great time to buy a home. Even though the market is still pretty hot, it has started to slow down a bit, and you won’t see rates this low again for a long time. If you’re trying to get into your first house, buy an investment property, or upgrade, it's a great time to lock down these low rates.

Typically, rates tend to jump up after elections. They should remain low for the next couple of months, but by next year we will definitely see rates in the 4% range. Now you can still get a home with a 3.5% interest rate. You can even get an investment property to generate a little passive income each month.

If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!