Melody Anderson's (postcardsfromthelake) Blog

Winter weather stalls real estate showings for a few days.   Aside from a few cold days here and there, the Lake of the Ozarks area has had a fairly mild winter this year. But this week we finally got to experience some of the delightful aspects of winter with our first snowfall of any significan...

Many religions offer ceremonies for spiritually clearing homes.   Having lived in New Mexico for many years, with its convergence of so many rich cultures and traditions,  I have attended a number of house-warming ceremonies in which homes were blessed and cleared of any possible negative energie...

Sales of single family residences down 30% from last year An analysis of recent sales figures reflects what we knew already: that the sales of single family homes in 2008 were down substantially from previous years.  To see it on a graph is even more impacting. Sales of single family residences i...

First National Bank in Camdenton posts lowest rates in 37 years!   Every cloud has a silver lining, and here is the upside to our down market: First National Bank in Camdenton has posted interest rates below 5% for fixed rate loans including USDA first-time home buyer loans.    These rates are th...

Short term real estate forecast for the Lake of the Ozarks is anyone's guess.  In a typical market, it's always easy to predict home-buying patterns in and around the Lake of the Ozarks and to advise homeowners accordingly. Typically, at the first sign of spring, inventories will begin to swell i...

Simply rearranging furniture can have great effect!   Ten years ago I assumed that having a beautifully decorated or staged home required the assistance of a professional decorator or, at the very least,  making a trip to a furniture store and purchasing the nicest pieces my budget would allow.  ...

Life-long residents say they wouldn't live anywhere else                                                                                 I have been working with a young couple in recent months trying to help them buy their first home.   Life-long residents of Macks Creek, their won't consider ho...

Chateau Lake of the Ozarks is apt to bring national exposure to the lake area  John Q Hammons, one of the nation's premier developers of luxury hotels and resorts, expects to break ground on his $90 million dollar lakefront resort project this summer.   The Chateau Lake of the Ozarks will be a 15...

Life-long residents say they wouldn't live anywhere else                                                                                   I have been working with a young couple in recent months trying to help them buy their first home.   Life-long residents of Macks Creek, their won't consider ...

Amateur photographer, Rick Hebenstreit makes photography fun.   Rick Heberstreit's self-portrait During an internet search the other day I came upon a series of photos by Kansas City area photography hobbiest, Rick Heberstreit.  Following a link which lead me to his online photo gallery, I was ca...