Family and Friends

Some of us went golfing last month and we decided to take our floating, off road, out of bounds, findable and expendable golf balls with us.  It did not help!  Great course, great fun, and great friends.

TRAVELS

Barb and I made a Road Trip with 11 best friends to Eastern Iowa to surprise and watch another of our common friends play in a Rock and Roll reunion band.  Lots of ice cream and bathroom stops.  The music and energy of this 60’s band really brought back memories.  The next week we went to Barb’s 50^th class reunion.  Mine had occurred 30 days before.  Bunch of older people – than us.

ON THE MOVE

Since our last newsletter it has been moving madness:  Son Andy sold, moved and bought a new home, Jim moved states with his family (to Kansas), John sold, lived with Sarah, bought and moved (to KS) this weekend.  Oh, Rachel married and is now in their home in Independence, Tony moved in and out, Chris moved out and into an apartment, and Nick and Angie are eyeing a new loft. Barb and I are settled in our townhouse and love maintenance free living. We took over the family condo in Iowa from Barb’s mom’s estate this summer.  A gracious and thankful family gesture to Barb for caring for her mom the last 4 years.

ROMANCE

Rachel’s wedding was in June and our new son-in-law Zach is a great guy for Rachel.  Son Chris announced his engagement (June 15, 2013). Chris’s finance’ Tempest has been like another family member and comes from a strong multi-generational family in central KS via Platte City.

BLESSINGS

Team Snyder grew by one grandchild – Julia – number 17.  She is acting totally bored next to me as I write this (and sleepy) – beautiful!

On top these events, our Real Estate year has been very busy and rewarding.  We love serving both the new generation of homeowners and our many friends and associates as you participate in the American Dream.

It is clear to me that more newsletters with less history are in order.

If you remember our grandson Michael who had the cancer challenge over a yr. ago – God has blessed him.  He signed a Division I letter of intent to play soccer for Creighton when he graduates next year. 

Thanks for your prayers and support.

Real Estate – The Best of both in the Real World

Still a historically unprecedented great time for buyers – good interest rates, large inventory and the base sales prices are remarkable.

 Sellers with nicely prepared properties are getting multiple offers and much shorter days on the market.  Yes, prices have not started back up and extensive numbers of distressed properties are entering the market.  Many buyers exist and a positive attitude prevails. 

 If I were a new home buyer or homeowner wanting to change homes, taking action in the next 12 months would be my goal.  Two years from now we may look back and see today’s market as the real “Good Ol’ Days”.

Self Esteem Intact

These days it seems like there is a lot of emphasis on preserving a child's self esteem and self worth.  Sometimes I think we worry a little too much about how our children are dealing with the challenges of growing up.Recently our son over heard his 7 year old daughter improvising a song in her bedroom as she got ready for her first grade class.  It started out rather mournfully, "I am different, I am not like the other kids".  My son was alarmed about how she was viewing her first year in school until she loudly burst out with the refrain to her song, "I AM SPECIAL!  I AM SPECIAL!  No need for him to worry about her self esteem!

New Family Stuff – April 2012

We are new grandparents again!  Matthew, Tricia, and Stella Kate announced the arrival of Viggo Matthew on March 19.  They live in Brooklyn, NY.  Our daughter Laura is expecting grandchild number 17 this summer.  Daughter Rachel is getting married June 23. 

 As many of you know, our home situation became a whirlwind the last 60 days.  We sold our home of 27 years and moved March 5 into our new home, a townhome; always wanted a screened porch.  We think we are way too young for maintenance provided living, but our work and family time are beneficiaries.

 At Easter we had our traditional meal, tablecloths, flowers and all in the garage.  Bigger family events will be in the nice clubhouse available to us and it is located nearby. 

 The acts of parting with Wayne’s chainsaw and Barb’s huge kitchen and dining table were bittersweet; a passage of happy memories, concerns, and obligations.  Kind of like losing a pet; all our pictures of family events seemed to center around that table, that space, yet we have never felt more blessed to have what we have.  New memories await. 

Real Estate- Home Maintenance Tips

Dishwashers Tips

·         Check the manual that came with your dishwasher for the manufacture’s recommendations on water temperature; many have internal heating elements that allow you to set the water heater in your home to a lower temperature (120 F)

·         Scrape, don’t rinse, large food pieces and bones from dishes.  Soaking or prewashing is generally only recommended in cases of burned-on or dried-on food.

·         Be sure your dishwasher is full, but not overloaded, when you run it.

·         Avoid using the “rinse & hold” on your machine for just a few soiled dishes.  It uses 3 to 7 gallons of hot water for each load.

·         Let your dishes air dry; if you don’t have any automatic air-dry switch, turn the control knob to off after the final rinse and prop open the door slightly so the dishes will dry faster.

Long Term Savings Tip

·         When shopping for a new dishwasher, look for the Energy Star label to find a dishwasher that uses less water and 41% less energy than required by the federal standards.

What’s on Your “Bucket List”?

For some time now, one of the items on my “bucket list” has been to learn how to kayak. Not down the river rapids, mind you, but paddling around on a serene lake appealed to me.

 As luck would have it, our daughter is dating a young man who teaches kayaking in his spare time so I thought he would be a good resource in getting this goal crossed off my list.

 However, one of our sons decided to take the training recently and found that the first order of business was to learn what to do in case you and the kayak  tip over………….evidently, kayaks are not as stable as I assumed! This strapping young man of ours said it was very difficult to get right-side-up once you tip over.

 With that bit of information in mind, I decided this item on my bucket list is more than I bargained for. Call me “chicken”, but my plan is to scratch it off the list and go on to other pursuits.

 Care to share what’s on your bucket list?

Isn't it amazing how adding just a single word to a sentence can completely change it meaning? I was reminding of fact recently through an encounter with our 3 year old granddaughter.

Our 3 year old granddaughter was visiting when we were just a hour away from dinner. She asked if she could have some ice cream so I sent her into the living room to ask her father knowing full well what the answer would be.

Sure enough- from the living room I could hear him respond firmly "Tell Grandma I said, NO"- She cheerfully skipped back into the kitchen, smiled broadly and said "Daddy says 'No....problem'!"

See, I told you one word can make all the difference!

Food Traditions

With all 12 of our children home for the Christmas holiday, plus 8 spouses, 15 grandchildren and several boyfriends and one fiancé, the cooking and feeding of this crew becomes a monumental task.  For years I insisted on doing it all myself- I suppose in an effort to maintain control of the menu and the “traditions”.

Finally, out of necessity, I relinquished to my daughters and daughters-in-law their repeated offers to contribute to the family meals.  This year we were treated to Laura’s tasty roasted vegetables, Sarah’s savory sausage stuffing, Tricia’s tangy homemade cranberry sauce, Kristen’s yummy beer bread and dip, and Amber’s delectable crab dip.  I should have given them the all carte blanche rein over the menu years ago.  Recipes anyone?

Real Estate- Top 10 Predictions for 2012

     1.     Low interest rates will continue.

2.     Stable house price movement – Slightly lower early, and then up.

3.     Increased overall sales of homes.

4.     Rising inventory of homes for sale – mostly due to foreclosures.

5.     50% of sales will be distressed property.

6.     We will see a better short sale process from lenders.

7.     Home ownership will be lower, rentals up.

8.     25% of buyers will be investors.

9.     More reliance on REALTORS.

10.    Use of mobile technology and social media to increase.  DAVE LINIGER, RE/MAX

The momentum of buyer numbers is growing.  Great time to buy, Great time to sell if you need to.

Real Estate – Impact of low interest rates

With all this domestic stuff, business is good considering the holidays and standard time back.  Your referrals keep coming in and we deeply appreciate them. 

Interest rates continue to hover around the 4% level for 30 year fixed loans – less for 15 yr. loans.  For every $100,000 loan amount @ 4%, 30 year amortization, that translates to $477.42 per month payments.  Taxes and Insurance can add $200+/month to the total.

What this means is that your home is now more affordable to more buyers and it’s a great time to make a move.

 That exactly what’s happening! The market is quite active.

“It’s going to be the last warm day!”

With that forecast, I set aside yard work and other urgent events; sold my spouse on the idea, and ventured onto the golf course – it has worked about 6 times this fall!

Barb was hosted by our daughters to a trip to Florida in early November – worth 2 more “last warm days”. 

Without excuse over the Thanksgiving holiday, we cleared the garage – simple job you know; moved boxes for 6 hours, oh, that bedroom stuff we found for upstairs needs painting: dresser, end tables, headboards; took a load to the Riverside trash dumpster(thanks Chris), gave away shirts, sweats, hoodies to 3 kids (two big bags for the thrift store), found some real treasures for Barb and me – carried those back into the house - spent 1 hour looking at interesting stuff in Sarah’s cedar chest – with Sarah – swept the floor – admired our work – moved the car in – admired our work.   Looks like some “last warm days” weather next week!

Real Estate- Calculating Absorption Rates

There are only a certain number of houses that will sell in any market in any given period of time. Would you like to see the odds of your house being one of them?

If 12 homes sold in the last 12 months in a given market that means that the market will absorb 1 house per month on average.  If there are 10 homes currently on the market there is a 10 month supply.  A 6 month supply is a balanced market, less is a seller’s market and more is a buyer’s market.  We can calculate the absorption rates for your specific home and market and provide price and staging parameters. 

Thanks to all of you for your many referrals!   Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Birth Weeks

Ever heard of Birth Weeks?  That is a birthday celebrated by spreading the parties over 7 days! I swear our girls have this down to a science.  Last week was another one or should I say one and counting; friends, family, work, siblings only, best friends, boyfriend, etc.

The first volley was our family gathering after the Chief’s game.  Oh, yes, Sarah was it this time.  We were blessed to be joined by Tom Skorupa who is staying with us through mid December.  With grandkids playing in a large leaf pile, great food by special birthday request and a song of joy, the birthday tradition of our household was repeated.

We know each of you have family birthday traditions; we would like to hear from you.  Send your experiences to b@barbarasnyder.com or our mailing address with a note.  We will share some of those with you after the first of the year.

Barbara’s brother lost 75 pounds on Slim 4 Life so we decided we could do this.  Barbara enrolled and I mimicked her (Actually the menu changed and I complied).  So far between us – down 50 pounds.  You will be seeing less of us.  God’s gifts keep coming in surprising ways.

I mentioned Tom living with us now.  He is a faith filled individual who works tirelessly for St. Therese Church on Faith Formation and many other critical functions.  Tom is moving to Albuquerque, NM where Jan is already working.  We look forward to the brief daily interactions with Tom before he begins each marathon day.  We wish him the very best.

Real Estate- Buyer Activiy & Home Marketing

Buyer activity in the market this fall has been as strong as we have seen it all year.  In three weeks, 5 of our listings sold –we need more.  The referral cards in our mailings have been effective to communicate the value of referrals – thank you!

Key Elements for Home Marketing – Home staging –cleanliness – front door impressions – high return upgrade investments – marketing flyers and pictures – attention to detail in marketing – buyer interaction – good market comparables – and a plan.

A feature coming soon in our mailings (we hope) – “Meet the Nerdbots”

Thanks for your friendship.

Virginia

For the past four years our family undertook the responsibility of caring for my elderly mother who suffered from dementia.  At times it was an arduous and humbling experience.  The daily needs were sometimes overwhelming.  Looking back we understand the great blessing it was to be close to Mom in her waning years- to appreciate and honor all she had given to her family and guide her through the confusion of the last few years.  Family was the core of her being and she poured out her life for us in many ways. As we pass through the many transitions in life, the basic values of faith, family, and friends become more and more central to our lives. 

Mom passed away October 3^rd to be reunited with her husband and all her family who had gone before her.  Rest in peace, Mom. 

Barb’s words on her mom’s passing leads me to reflect on the blessing she brought to our house.  I often did not recognize the gift.  Saint Faustina in her book “Diary” discussed her weaknesses and one was that when presented with a vessel of grace she was often distracted with the vessel, Virginia was a vessel of grace to us. 

As you know by now, family events consume our free time.  With Barb’s mom no longer sharing our daily lives, we have just begun to realize the grandkid trip to Omaha or Hannibal areas can be done in a day. 

We saw the most interesting state park Halloween theme “horror” night sponsored by wonderful campers near Hannibal last week.  Miles of night lighted trails and competing attention grabbing goodie stations were a thrill for young and old alike; something new for us and the grandkids. 

FAMILY
What a great time of year! New Grandchild number 16 has been announced. (Matt and Tricia) A spring arrival I think. What is it that happens one day in our lives where all joy explodes with the new arrival of family? Our oldest grandchild left for college, first time, in Pennsylvania this year. First week’s grades: Earthquake 1, Hurricane 1, Tornados plenty, optimism 100. Tony took a position at Bank of America, Zona Rosa branch. Just loves it.

Barbara and I have started the Slim 4 Life program. You will be seeing less of us. (In a good way)

REFERRALS
Thanks for your efforts! In the future each of our mailings will include a pair of referral support cards. Two thoughts: Your referrals of us reflect your support, and referrals are possible anywhere in the world on any property or land sold. The RE/MAX system has the top agents and market share for residential and commercial property worldwide. Contact us and we will refer agents that will do a professional job for you and your family. Thanks.

Full Circle

Shortly before my husband, Wayne, and I were married almost 45 years ago he gave me a pearl rosary which I highly treasured. A year later when our daughter, Kathryn, was born I took that rosary to the hospital with me. Somehow while I was in the hospital the rosary disappeared. I prefer to think it was “lost” rather than believe someone would steal a rosary! The loss was regrettable and I missed it. I talked about the rosary from time to time, but never replaced it.

Recently out youngest son, Christopher, returned from a trip from Spain bearing gifts- a magnet souvenir for Wayne and for me…a pearl rosary. He was totally unaware of the history of the first pearl rosary, but from the first child to the last, and a span of 45 years, I couldn’t help but believe the rosary had at last come a “full circle”.

I like the idea of....

Some ago when I was attending a bridal shower, the bride-to-be received several kitchen items as shower gifts. One of her long-term friends remarked, “Tricia, I didn’t know you liked to cook!” Without missing a beat the bride replied, “I like the idea of cooking!” We all laughed and the moment passed.

Later as I thought about that exchange, I thought about those things in my life that I like “the idea of”

My list included:
“I like the idea of riding bareback on the seashore”
“I like the idea of kayaking”
“I like the idea of knowing the name of all the flowers, trees, and birds native to our area”
---and the list goes on and on.

In real estate, it seems we run into the same mind set. Often times a home buyer will tell us “a fireplace” is one thing I must have. They like the “idea” of sitting by the fire on a cold winter night sipping hot chocolate. On the other hand, our home sellers often remark about their fireplace, “We hardly ever use it” or “We have never used it.”The same mindset holds true for whirlpool tubs. The buyer love the idea of soaking in a luxurious bubble bath but the sellers tell us “We mostly used it for the grandkids to ‘swim’ in, or “We never use it.”

What is it that keeps us from pursing the activities we “like the idea of”? For me, I would say the lack of physical courage keeps me from riding bareback and kayaking. Activities like sitting by the fire or soaking in a bubble bath seem to fall victim to the lack of time set aside for such moments. For me, I need to be more intentional in making time for life experiences that I am drawn to.

This morning my husband and I walked in the park at dawn---I like the idea of that!

Real Estate- Latest Market Stats- Through January 2011

Average Sales Price – Platte Co
Existing 2010 $172,414
Existing 2011 $163,767
Change- 5.1%

Average Sales Price – Clay/Ray
Existing 2010 $127,784
Existing 2011 $118,447
Change- 7.3%

Supply of Existing Homes- KC Region
Existing 2010 9.1 months
Existing 2011 9.5 months

A Model Teen

Ever since the time of Aristotle, adults have lamented about the inadequacies of the upcoming generation. These young people are characterized as “lazy, incompetent, and disrespectful”. Their music is “distasteful” and their morals “reprehensible”. No doubt in some cases this general prototype holds true. Happily there are many exceptions.

During the past year it has been my honor to be the confirmation sponsor for a young lady who defies the description above. As I learned to know her better, I found she is a young woman with the strength and courage to stand up for her convictions even when peer pressure is leaning, or should I say, pushing in another direction. She is well grounded in her faith and brings that message to others by simply being herself- a joyful and self-confident young lady who has no need to win the approval of others by engaging in questionable behavior.

The formation of this teenager obviously did not occur in a vacuum. My “hats off” to her parents who have brought her to this point with a strong faith and a mature perspective on what is important in life.