Dan Sells the Lake

When it comes to selling your house at the Lake of the Ozarks , having great curb appeal is a must. "Curb appeal" refers to the level of appeal your home has for a driver who is passing by your home. Many prospective buyers will look up your home online and drive past it on their own before ever contacting a Lake of the Ozarks real estate agent for a showing.  If you are planning to sell your house this spring or summer, it's never too soon to start working on your curb appeal. There are a lot of different things you can do, from repainting your front door to refinishing your porch or driveway. Enhancing your landscaping can also be a great strategy. Here are a few simple tips to get your creative juices flowing. 1. Add Some Color Bright colors add interest and excitement to a home. Look for ways to make your home more colorful from afar, such as adding a fresh coat of paint to the home or potting brightly colored flowers on your porch. If you don't want to ...

"Flipping houses" refers to the practice of buying a home, fixing it up, and selling it for a profit. In theory, it sounds like a relatively easy way to bring in some extra income. In reality, flipping houses can be a lucrative venture, but there are several important factors that should be closely considered. Here are a few tips for any of you thinking about flipping houses at the Lake of the Ozarks . Tip #1:  Know Your Budget Before you even begin shopping for potential homes, take a close look at your financial situation. What is the total amount you can afford to spend out of pocket? This total amount should cover both the cost of the home itself and ensuing repairs. Once you have this number, you can begin breaking it down into how much you want to dedicate towards repairs and how much you want to allocate towards the down payment and closing costs for the property itself. This will help you find homes that are actually in your price range. Tip #2:  Know The Mark...

Buying a house is a rather involved process, and first-time buyers (or repeat buyers, for that matter) can't be expect to know everything about the process ahead of time. Working with a real estate agent at the Lake of the Ozarks can be a great way to get ahead of the game and educate yourself on every important aspect of the process. Here are are a few things you may not have known about buying a house at the Lake of the Ozarks . 1. It's Not As Hard As You Think Believe it or not, finding the right house is a relatively easy process. I work with my buyers to get an in-depth understanding of what they're looking for in their new homes, and then I scour the MLS to find properties that match their descriptions. We then visit each one in person until we stumble across the right home, at which point we submit an offer. My assistance does not stop there; I will continue to work with you as we negotiate with the sellers. 2. You Should Talk To A Lender  Before  You Begin Sh...

Owning a home at the Lake of the Ozarks allows you to take part in lots of incredible annual events around the area. This Saturday is jam-packed with tons of fun, starting with multiple St. Patrick's weekend celebrations, and the rest of March is looking pretty exciting too. Here are a few of the wonderful things that you can take part in this month.   Saturday, March 12 Lake Ozark St. Patrick's Day Parade This year marks the 32nd annual St. Pat's parade on the Bagnell Dam Strip . The parade begins at 1 pm with the route starting at the Tomahawk Motel  and traveling across the strip to Bagnell Dam. This year's Grand Marshalls are the Lake Area Emergency Services teams.   St. Patrick's Water Parade The St. Pat's parade on the water is celebrating its 25th year. Boaters decorate their vessels and cruise for a fun day trip on the lake. It all starts at Captain Ron's in Sunrise Beach on the 34.5 MM with a breakfast buffet at 8 am and the parade b...

Last January I wrote a blog about 5 Things Every Homeowner Should Know . Today I've decided to add 5 more to that list. Owning a home is an ongoing learning process. Generally, you don't even realize these are things you need to know until a problem arises and forces you to find a solution. The following homeowner tips are simple things that could end up saving you money. Fixing these problems yourself saves you the cost of hiring someone, and basic know-how can keep you from making a problem worse before it gets better.  Secure a loose screw. Occasionally, screws will become loose. This happens often with door hinges. Should this happen to you , it can be fixed without replacing an entire door frame. The best way to do this is to fill the whole with a piece of a small wooden dowel rod. Make the hole a bit bigger if needed to fit the rod inside. Secure it with carpenter's glue. Once the glue is dry, drill a new hole the correct size for the screw.  Locate a w...

There never seems to be enough time in a day to accomplish all of the tasks that you would like to get done. Well, this year we're all in luck, because the fact that it's a leap year means we get one whole extra day to work with. If you are looking to buy a house at the Lake of the Ozarks , you've got 24 bonus hours to house-hunt, go over contracts, or whatever other tasks that you have been trying to find the time to finish.  Leap Year Facts Have you ever wondered why we add an extra day to the calendar? Apparently, it takes slightly longer than 365 days to make a full orbit around the sun. Actually, it takes closer to 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, & 45 seconds to make that trip. Adding a leap day nearly every 4 years lets our calendar compensate for the extra time. The first leap year happened around 46 B.C. because Julius Caesar ordered his astrologer to simplify their calendar. It had 355 days a year with an extra 22-day month added every 2 years. T...

When you decide to buy a home , there are a few things that you can do before getting into the home loan process to increase your chances of getting the loan that you want. These are simple steps that only require a bit of preparation. A good real estate agent at the Lake of the Ozarks will point you in the right direction to get started.  Here is a great way to get the ball rolling.      Check your credit scores. You should get a good look at your credit scores before the bank begins looking into them.  Federal law allows you to receive a free copy of your credit report once a year from each of the three credit reporting companies:  Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax.  This allows you to check it for any inaccuracies that need to be corrected. Mistakes do happen, and you will want to give yourself 3-6 months before applying for a home loan to file a dispute and correct any problems you may find.   You will want to have at leas...