Whenever I have a wonderful experience, I like to pass the word around so others can avail themselves of a good thing!  So today I'd like to pass around a good word about the : Westlink Avenue Hair Studio I had visited this place years ago, when it first opened, but hadn't been there for a few years for some weird reason.  Partly because I'd forgotten about it!  However, I recently found myself duly in need of a good competent imaginative stylist - STAT!  I had visited a styling school and the result - while a decent cut overall - was horrendous looking on me (the model copied from was a 20 yr old teeny weeny rocker chick with blonde hair - she looked stunning!).   Afraid to go out in public, I racked my brain to think if I knew anyone who could possibly salvage my poor head with what ... 01/08/2010

Are you ready to stretch out your wings? Want to break free of apartment cell living? Want a place to do your own thing without losing a deposit? You may want to consider owning - and I've got the perfect place! For the same or less than comparable rents, you could own this home.  On an FHA mortgage, at 5% interest, no points, you could be looking at this home's payment being roughly $730/month.  $3365 down payment, which can be borrowed/gifted from a relative if need be. (See below for details/disclaimer). For that much a month, you can enjoy homeownership - no more neighbors stomping above you or yelling below you, no more leaks from the apartment upstairs letting their tub overflow AGAIN.  Want to paint those walls purple - you go right ahead!  No landlord telling you that you can't... 12/03/2009

New WAAR report shows that our market has been a Seller's Market for a bit and although inventory has increased slightly, it's still leaning towards more of a Seller's Market.   Totally different from what you hear on tv, isn't it?I agree with WAAR - it's a Seller's Market here... IN SOME PRICE RANGES.  For instance, this chart was pulled from the marketing report and shows the breakdown of sales in price ranges for September.   You can see that out of 816 sales for the month, 584 or 72% of them were for homes under $159,999.  That's the ones bracketed in Red for you.  The ones in Green are what I call the "sweet spot" - 35% of ALL sales were between $100,000 and $159,999! I'd say 100% that anything in the sweet spot is a Seller's Market, and pretty surely anything under $159,999.  Howe... 10/15/2009

Sweet and Sour Meatloaf - Just like Mom used to make, sorta!Those of you who know me are probably spewing pop out of your nose at the idea of me posting a recipe! Ha! Just because I happen to know how to burn water doesn't mean that I'm not married to someone who can do more than push Start on a microwave! This recipe was one of my Mom's and happens to be my favorite meal.  It was very often requested for parties, where she did a Meatball version.  Meatball making is time-consuming work, so the preferred method is now a Meatloaf, but it's yummy yummy nonetheless!  Evertime I mention he cooked this for me, I'm asked for the recipe!Here you go! Ingredients 1 egg 1 1/2 lbs beef 2/3 c Cracker crumbs 1/3 c chopped onions/green peppers (optional) 1 1/2 t  salt 1/4 t ginger 1/4 c milk 2 Tbs co... 10/15/2009

Two Famous Country Acts Playing Wichita If you're familiar with the Wichita area, you know we've spent a ton of time and money and breath in building our beautiful new Intrust Bank Arena!  Whether you were for or against the building, noone can deny it's a very neat looking structure and destined to bring in some great talent to entertain the community! First to bat, or the first listed so far, will be the award-winning Brad Paisley!  I hear he puts on a great act with some pretty mean guitar-playing! Paisley will be the Arena's opening act on January 9th.  Probably not the next to play, but the next to announce for the area so far is Taylor Swift.  Yes, THE Taylor Swift, one of few country stars to win an MTV VMA!  Her music crosses genres and is played on country, pop, and many other ... 10/13/2009

Deciphering Real Estate Ads Over the weekend, I received a plea for help from a friend located in another state.  She'd been searching online for properties, and noticed acronyms that she just couldn't make out.  The one she finally gave in and called me on was FROG.  She was concerned that it was a new decorating style, like the roosters, chefs, or ducks that were popular! In fact, it's generally a Finished Room Over Garage. What other acronyms might you run across in real estate ads, why are they used, and what on earth could they mean?   Originally the purpose of them was due to the high cost for real estate ads and the need to squeeze as much info into as cheap an ad as possible. Another reason was the limited number of characters original MLS systems allowed as well.    Hence the ... 09/28/2009

Smoke Alarms are Great, but Should you Sprinkler? Tornado siren tests, ambulances, fire truck sirens, police sirens, fire tests, tornado drills, and more! In a world where alarms are norm, would you even notice if the smoke alarm went off?   Would your spouse? Your kids? I can say that I sleep through alarm clocks daily - I don't know if I'd wake up.  I have one child who requires medication to sleep (yes, requires. Otherwise he does NOT sleep AT ALL) - he wouldn't wake up if a train drove through the house. The other 2 kids - I know for certain the baby would, but my 4 year old... hmmm... The point being that a Smoke Alarm, while loud and obnoxious, has a chance to be ignored.  And obviously if you're not home, it does no good at all.  You may have one that's wired into your home secu... 09/21/2009

The Kansas State Fair is like a whole world unto itself. Just forty minutes west of Wichita the fair is close to the best little city in Kansas.   One can easily get lost in time and space while wandering around the 280 acres of buildings, rides, fairways and commercial vendors. There is so much to see and so much to do it all can't possibly be done in a single outing.   Get there first thing in the morning on the first weekend. That's the best time to see all the many different animals before or shortly after they are judged. There are cows of many different varieties. More than one breed of goat (my personal favorite among the mammals), sheep, and many beautiful horses. Even llamas, or alpaca as the ones at the fair are, make an appearance.   After the buildings that are a temporary h... 09/15/2009

Disclosure Q&A - The Law doesn't exempt FSBO's Q.  I was going to list my home with a real estate agent, but I was told that I'd then have to let buyers know about the water problems in my basement.  If I sell it on my own, I don't have to do a disclosure, right? A. One important thing that For Sale By Owners often forget, and traditional sellers too, is the rule of disclosure.  By law, you have to disclose something of material fact about the property.  That means that if you KNOW something is wrong with the house or area, you can't just hide it.   As a Realtor®, we also have to disclose material facts about the home.   Sometimes, a seller thinks that since if he tells his agent and we HAVE to tell a buyer, they can get around this by either not telling their agent, or selling the hom... 09/14/2009

Here Fico, here boy!   No wait - Fico isn't the family pooch,  FICO is something much bigger and something many of us don't understand, but are affected by daily.  Particularly those of us looking to buy a home or make any other financed purchase.   Here's a brief overview of what FICO is and what it means to you. FICO is just another credit score.  Your credit score is a number that summarizes your risk to anyone loaning to you, and FICO is just one of the corporations that calculates your credit risk.  It stands for Fair Isaac COrporation - FICO!   It's the most popular score used by lenders to determine your risk to them.   When a lender orders a FICO score, they can order it from any of the three agencies that maintain credit reports.  The FICO is calculated at that given time, bas... 09/09/2009

3 Bedrooms on first floor (all new paint, carpet and window treatments). Master bedroom on the ground floor with attached bath (Both bathrooms have marble flooring). 2 Full Baths. Hardwood Floors in Dining and hall and master bedroom. Stainless Steel appliances. Washer and Dryer hookups. Ceilings. Large Backyard with room for pets and kids to play..potential for a pool. New Deck. 4 Car Car Port. To directly access this property, use this shortcut: http://www.fizber.com/kansas-buy-single-family-home-11648298.html 08/29/2009

You have saved your money, planned, made a list of all you want, and had plans drawn up. The new home you have always dreamed of is now ready to be built. Next task is finding a builder. Do your research throughly. The best way to find a builder is through referrals. Find other people who have built with them and ask questions. If you already have found a good Realtor, get them to help. It can not be stressed enough the importance of finding a good and reputable builder. There are good builders and bad ones. The one constant is that they are in it for a profit and are looking out first for their own best interest. Sure they may do quality work, maybe even be honest and ethical, but the fact remains that in their minds they come first. When times are good every one and his brother wants ... 07/24/2009

Wichita was just rated the #2 metro area out of the top 90 in the U.S. for the least commute time for residents and least traffic delays. McConnell AFB has added 15 air refueling tankers to the 31 tankers already based in Wichita.  By October, 48 tankers will be based in the "Air Capital".  With the additional people, and projects being completed to support the new planes there will be a $500 million dollar a year impact for the metro area. The KC-135 tankers arrived from bases in North Dakota, California and Georgia.  Wichita is now home to one of the largest tanker bases in the USAF. Cessna has formally cancelled the Columbus Wide Body Business jet.  They are paying back $10 million in bonds already given to them by the city and the county.  Cessna will revisit the concept once the Bu... 07/10/2009

April, 2009Peter Greenberg, the travel editor for "Today's show" and the Newsmax Magazine, based in Florida, has named Wichita, KS the Number 1 city for Best American Values. Wichita ranked high in the following areas: Family friendliness, culture, wholesomeness, devotion to religion and community activities. Hospitality and friendly businesses came in next. We were rated lowest in scenic beauty (it is very flat here) and education (the new $300 million dollar bond issue) should help here.Kansas City and Edmond, OK were the only other Midwest cities rated.Investors are starting to re-enter the Wichita real estate market as they choose where to invest and ant a more stable market than stocks. Our team has defiantly seen this over the last two months as we sold 8 twin homes, 2 office buil... 04/29/2009

My mother, Myrna Haas, who is also a REALTOR in Wichita, KS is also a breeder of Bichon Frise dogs (we jokingly and lovingly refer to them as bitchin' frizzies).  She's been breeding them for roughly 20 years and has some really fantastic dogs that are treated like a part of the family. If you ever know of anyone who is looking for a reputable breeder, this is one!  She's had her dogs go all over the United States to new, loving owners. 03/27/2009

Find yourself sitting around thinking I'll never be able to purchase a New Home? Don't feel alone. With the 24/7 broadcasting of doom and gloom about the Credit Crunch is enough to make all of us want to crawl into bed and hide under the covers. First thing you need to do is get a clear assessment of where you are. Knowledge is power and I want to help you gain that power back. Maybe you have a few late pays, collections, you're buried in credit card debt, or you have never established credit. You CAN and WILL overcome all of these if you're willing to do the work, but you need to work smart. Make an appointment today 316.729.3736. Together with the help of a Loan Officer we will go over your concerns and layout a game plan to help make you successful. Sometimes all it takes is a few sh... 03/11/2009

After a long wait we have our Playground. This was installed a few weeks ago but I haven't been able to get a picture of it without all the neighborhood kids all over it. Some days there are so many kids playing they look like ants on a pile of sugar. If you're looking for a New Home and a place for your kids to burn off some energy stop by Trinity Point. www.TrinityPointHomes.com 03/06/2009

What To Expect From Kirk Short When Selling Your Home in the Wichita, KS Metro Area   Are you thinking of selling your home in the Wichita Kansas area?  There is much work to do and things to consider before hammering the real estate sign in your front yard.  The first step being preparing your home to put on the market.  Once your home is ready, it's time to interview prospective realtors.  Most people don't know how to properly interview a realtor, and what questions to ask to point you to the realtor who is most qualified and likely to sell your home in the fastest time possible for the best price possible. Nearly all realtors will put a sign in your yard and submit your listing to the Springfield MLS.  They might even hold an open house and place an ad in the local newspaper.  What ... 03/03/2009

How's my market doing? Take a quick peek by using Home Smart's Market Reports!  They rate markets on an A-F scale - remember school??  A is good, F is baaaaaaaad. You can plug in your zip code and get a fairly quick idea how stable your market has been lately.  For example, here's a couple in the Wichita market area.  From this one you can tell that 67212 is doing good and is a low risk market! Zip 67203 here in Wichita has gotten a little bit worse since last year and is now a C rated risk.  How's your zip code doing? Check it out, or let me help you find your next home or investment in our marketplace!  We'll discuss what you are looking for as well as its potential growth in value and potential resale! Sheree Wilkerson Search for your next home at: www.KansasHomeBuzz.com   316.461.05... 01/30/2009

Wichita Homes for Sale-Bargain Hunters Market! Have you heard the expression "Buy Low, Sell High"?   Well now is the time in the Wichita Home Buyers Market to Buy Low, hold onto your real estate for a few years and Sell High!   If you are looking for Wichita Homes for sale there are many bargains to be found.   Interest rates are currently at 5% and below!  and Wichita homes for sale are abundant so there are lots of choices, making this a Buyer's Market. While some loan programs are no longer available, FHA loans still are and they are not just for First Time Wichita Homebuyers-any Homebuyer can qualify.  FHA loans require little down payment and you can use funds that are given to you as a downpayment(possibly from a parent?)   There is another loan program for Rural properties that ... 01/20/2009