A Kansas City Real Estate Blog by Realtor, Sarah Snodgrass

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

I’ve heard that Urban Mining and Vintiques are both great places to find cool vintage furniture, textiles and accessories. Both of these stores are little known around town because they have an unusual operating system: they are only open on the first Friday and Saturday of every month and they spend the rest of the time gathering their wears. I like the idea of this type of operation, but it drives me crazy because I always forget to go… The next sale will be April 6, 7, and this time I will remember because I’m going to put it on my calendar. Here are the addresses:

• Urban Mining: 3924 Walnut Street, KCMO
• Vintiques: 614 W. 26th Street, KCMO

Are you a first time home buyer? If so, ask your lender about what special loan programs you might qualify for. Most every lender will have a loan product for first time home buyers, or buyers that fall under a certain income level. These income levels are pretty reasonable and worth looking into even if you think you might not qualify - you’d be surprised. One particular program I know about works like this: If you are a family of 1-2 people making less than $57,000, and you are a first time home buyer, you can qualify for a loan that gives you 3% cash assistance to help with your downpayment! They will just give you the cash! Other programs do things like give you low interest rates, and/or don’t require downpayments or only minimal downpayments. So, it’s definitely worth looking into!

This house is soooo cute. The owners have taken excellent care of it and made many updates including remodeling the baths and kitchen. Everything is just so cute and charming. Part of the charm has to do with the decorating, but it’s still an excellent house with tip-top fixtures. If it has an “open house” I would suggest visiting because the photos just don’t do it justice.
CHECK IT OUT ON PRUKC.COM 

A friend pointed out this article about Zillow to me recently. Zillow is an online real estate site that gives estimates on home values. No real surprises in that it there are certain areas and unusual houses that Zillow can’t compute correctly, but I think it’s a great tool for people out there who are interested in learning about the value of their home or certain areas. Just don’t take those estimates as gold until you’ve done some more research or talked with a real estate agent and gotten them to do a comparative market analysis for you.

This week I’ve decided to highlight a great area of our city, the old Historic Northeast. I have some buyers who are purchasing a home in that area, so I have been spending some quality time there recently. It’s located just a little bit to the east of the River Market area in downtown Kansas City. Just take Independence Avenue (about the equivalent of 5th Street), to the east and you are there. The Kansas City Museum is located here, and you’ll find a great mix of ethnic cultures and businesses. Take a little drive down Gladstone Boulevard and see some beautiful turn of the century homes and mansions, then run into the museum.

Out of the many I saw, I picked this house at 136 S. Kensington because of the awesome price, the excellent condition, and the charm. This 4 Bedroom Shirtwaist has been lovingly restored and it looks gorgeous - it’s totally move-in ready. It’s got a large updated kitchen, a beautiful dining room with cool original architectural ceiling details, three bedrooms on the second floor with laundry facilities, plus a large bedroom on the third floor which would also be great as an office, art studio or a playroom. As a bonus, the previous owners put alot of work into the deck and backyard - it is so pretty and private.

VIEW FULL LISTING HERE

For all you do-it-yourself gardener’s and landscapers out there, there is a great monthly reader in town called The Kansas City Gardener. It’s always fun to read with timely articles, plus it has tons of great tips and advice and upcoming garden-related events. One of my favorite features is a monthly “to-do”, which will tell you things like which month to plant bulbs, or prune bushes, or fertilize roses… those kinds of things. The kinds of things that us amateur gardeners either don’t know or need to be reminded from time to time.

You can pick up an issue at your friendly, local garden center. I always pick mine up at the Soil Service, which is conveniently located close to Brookside/Waldo at 7130 Troost. If you can’t find it anywhere, you can email them at cavsgarden@kc.rr.com

This home on 73rd street in Brookside/Waldo are is fabulous! It’s an older Dible Tudor (see my previous post to learn all about Dibles), and it is in top condition. All the updates are so cute and unique - this is definitely not another one of those boring clones! The kitchen has been renovated in a funky, retro/modern style - but it’s not too overwhelming and it still would appeal to many different people. The baths are great - one has been redone in those tiny subway tiles which are kinda retro, but are starting to be very popular and making a big comeback. It’s got a 3 car garage which is so very rare for a tudor of that age. It’s just so cute - a very impressive home! Learn more about this home here.

Ever been to the River Market Antique Mall? If not, try it sometime. It’s one of my very favorite pastimes- it’s like a 20th century household design museum. This place is huge - four stories of a big ole brick building in the River Market - and it is crammed full of stuff. Pretty much whatever you are looking for, they have (as long as it’s old). Plus, you can find super deals, and every month they run a special with 10% off a certain category such as lamps or chairs (according to their website, February’s special happens to be jewelry). Plus, it’s great for first-time home buyers who need to furnish a house on a budget and want to get creative with it. Happy shopping…

The book, Kansas City Then & Now, is a fascinating collection of historical photographs of Kansas City dating back to the 1860s. The book sets these historical images next to that of the same scene in the year 2000. According to the author, “this book aims to evoke the world of the past and set it in today’s context.”

I have this book myself, and I seem to never tire of it. Every time I pick it up I seem to see something different, even if I have viewed the photo before. I love to look at the photos of downtown Kansas City and try to figure out where it is and what direction it’s facing. Also, there is a striking image of a Brookside intersection that looks so barren - like freshly cleared farmland! It’s hard to imagine my neighborhood before these homes were built.

This is a great coffee table book - it has an attractive cover, and one can sit and flip through the photographs without having to read too much text. It’s an excellent conversation starter.

You can learn more about this book or buy it HERE.

This is a gorgeous restored home in Hyde Park. Every single room awed me. I admit, some had to do with their decorating and furniture, but the wood, the colors, the fixtures are simply fantastic. The bathroom fixtures were so cute - so true to the age, but new and very creative. There’s a little sitting porch upstairs too - and lots of space in the third floor for storage or maybe a studio. This is a perfect restoration with a very modern feel. VIEW LISTING HERE.

Some helpful hints and suggestions for increasing your home’s value. Some are super easy and cheap, like painting your kitchen cabinets to freshen them up, others are somewhat pricey, but good advice overall. READ IT HERE.

Realtor.org has a great guide on their site for learning about all the different architectural styles for residential homes. It’s got great illustrations and if you click on a style, it takes you to a photo of a great example of the style which I found very cool. The photo below is of a Queen Anne style home. CLICK HERE FOR THE ARTICLE