A Kansas City Real Estate Blog by Realtor, Sarah Snodgrass

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I had the good fortune to stumble upon some condo buyers recently, and in my quest to find the perfect purchase for them - i stumbled upon a rare thing: an impressive condo complex that was designed (a) to actually be condominiums, and (b) with a designer and an architect. Many of the condos I see in Kansas City are fine, but lots of them are re-purposed office buildings, hotels, or apartments which means that they are generally lacking in some important thing - whether it be parking, washer/dryer hookups, natural light, balcony, storage - you get the idea.

Anyway, the condo complex is called the Atrium on the Plaza, and it is generally located in between Main Street and the Nelson Museum tucked up on a hillside back in that area. It was built in 1980, and it is gets its name from the fact that each unit has a large atrium room - which can be used as a garden room or as an extension of the living room. This atrium opens out onto a very large private deck. These units are very comfortable and extremely spacious. There is ample storage, parking, and even a pool. The complex was designed by world renowned architect, Moshe Safdie, who is currently working on the new West Edge development on the west side of the Country Club Plaza, and also the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. I found a very interesting website which is an excellent source of information on the Atrium on the Plaza with old design sketches and photographs.

There are currently two units for sale, and there have been six sold so far this year (2007) with an average sales price of $263,917.

(Photos: The West Edge and the Performing Arts Center)

As if it isn’t hard enough to sell a home in a slower market, you have to work extra hard in the colder months to get interest and keep your home presentable and attractive. Here are some tips.

1. Keep the walkways clear. Whether it is fallen leaves, or snow and ice - you must make sure the walkway is safe and clear. You don’t want the buyers to be annoyed with your house before they even enter! Don’t forget about the back deck too.
2. Keep it warm and toasty inside. If you are like me, you keep the temperature just warm enough to be bearable just to keep the gas bill down. But before a showing on your home, turn up that thermostat! It’s all about creating comfort. This is a place where they could live and be comfortable, right? And you don’t want them to even begin to worry about the condition of your insulation or your furnace. You want them to be busy falling in love with your home!
3. Decorate! But not too much. Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah or whatever you may be celebrating generally has some great decorations associated with it. Don’t go overboard, but use the decorations to dress up a room, or to add some good curb appeal.
4. No Tacky Yard Art. No plastic Santa Clauses on the roof please. Also, it probably isn’t the best idea to put out your glowing nativity scene either.
5. Clean up the leaves. The trees are shedding their leaves all over our lawns and houses this time of year. Make sure to clean them up and keep that yard and landscaping looking tidy. Also, be sure to clean the leaves and debris out your gutters.
6. Don’t take your house off the market for days at a time. Many times sellers will have holiday gatherings at their home and host overnight guests. Generally they will instruct their Realtor to decline showings during this time. I never got this. Plan ahead - your house is for sale so you should have the holiday parties somewhere else. Not only could you miss out on potential buyers during this time - you’ll probably also need a couple days afterwards to clean up after everybody so you’ll have even more time without showings. Some people tend to think that no buyers will be looking at homes on the holidays, but this is not true! Many buyers are looking on the holidays because that is when they can get off of work (especially those relocating).
7. No political signs. This is true year-round actually, but especially for presidential elections. Never put out election or political signs, national or local, because they can definitely offend and turn-off buyers. I know it’s crazy, but it is true.