Well 2009 is here Kansas City. We know that the new year, especially January, is sure to bring with it several more snow storms. That means kids out of school, many office closings (not mine) and many shoppers heading to malls - after the roads have been cleared of course. If you're in town and looking for something to do, consider spending a day on the ski slopes at Snow Creek in Weston Missouri. At Snow Creek they "create" their own snow so every day in the winter is a good day to get out there. Although the most difficult trails compare to the easiest trails in the Rocky Mountains, I've really enjoyed my trips to Snow Creek.  

I've found the best time to go is when temperatures are in the low 30's and the snow isn't melting and turning into ice. Many however will argue that tubing down ice is even better. I can't speak to snow boarding as I've never tried it. For the skier, Snow Creek has more than 10 ski trails and for the snowboarder, there's Rattlesnake Park with jumps and bends. For the more laid back tubers out there, there's the Tornado Alley slope. The last time I visited, daily passes cost around $40 and lessons were available too. Snow Creek is probably a 20-40 minute drive for most, depending on where you're at in Kansas City.

For those who don't care to ski or brave the cold, the fun in Weston Missouri doesn't end with Snow Creek. Weston is better known to many for it's shopping, four star dining, fun, live music, antique shops and multiple hotels - including bed and breakfasts. An entire day in Weston can be spent visiting the historic sites, old tobacco bars, orchards, an old distillery and the popular new brewery. More than 20 blocks of the city of Weston are on the National Register of Historic Places. Many of these buildings were built prior to the 1800's Civil War when St. Louis was the only larger port town west of the Mississippi.

Weston is a true historic treasure, weathering the devastation of the Civil War, a great flood in the 1880's that changed the course of the Missouri (and removed Weston as a port town) and a huge fire that damaged much of the downtown area later in the 1800's. It took more than a half decade, but Weston started a comeback in the 1960's that gained momentum in the 1970's when residents decided to restore many of the areas homes and buildings. For those into camping and the outdoors, Weston also boasts a 1,000 acre state park located on the Missouri river.

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Happy New Year 2009!
  

 

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The difficulties in the coastal condo markets has affected the condo market here in the Kansas City area as well. This is especially true on newly constructed condos where Fannie Mae lending guidelines have become much more stringent. Fannie Mae has indicated they have no interest in backing condo loans if the new home community is not nearing completion. So we're faced with the chicken and the egg dilemma of  how do you complete the majority of the sales in a condo community if no will lend on the condos until a majority of the condos are completed?  

This dilemma has left many condo developers and homebuyers in a difficult situation. When a borrower is unable to get their condo loan in place, the borrower risks losing their earnest deposit (which is typically non-refundable on new home construction in Kansas City). They also risk losing any deposit they put up front on upgrades they chose.  Developers face the obvious task of now trying to locate a new buyer for the property. I recently had three newly constructed condo listings go under contract and it was quite a process to get them closed. These new condos were categorized as "non-warrantable" by Fannie Mae, meaning a lender making the loans would likely encounter difficulty if trying to sell the mortgage loans off to another investor (now or later). Keep in mind that a majority of lenders ultimately do sell their loans off.

Of course a buyer could pay cash for the condo, but how many buyers can do that? The developer of a community could finance the buyers, but I don't know any developers capable and willing to get into the lending business. So to deal with these non-warrantable condo listings, I'd have to go to the thinking chair... I decided that I was going to interview as many local lenders as possible and ask the lender (1) if they can provide a mortgage loan on a non-warrantable condo to a qualified buyer with good credit and a sizable down payment, (2) if they offer a 30-year fixed rate loan on condos, (3) can they do the condo loan at a competitive interest rate, and (4) can they do all the above at reasonable loan costs.

I put together a list of 32 lenders I hoped could help and I was off and running. Like Forest Gump, I kept running and running. My initial question to each lender only addressed the first question above, of whether they could provide a loan on a non-warrantable condo. After several days of follow up, five of the lenders never called me back. 22 of the 27 lenders who did respond said take a hike. I told them "I think I will, the weather here's sweet" (reference to Peyton Manning's response to the San Diego hotel maid who tells him to go "take a hike"). So this left five lenders who said they were capable of providing a non-warrantable condo loan (assuming the borrowers were credit worthy). Things were looking brighter and it was on to question two on whether they can offer a 30 year fixed rate loan on a non-warrantable condo. Well two of the five lenders only offered 5-year ARMS. If you're not up on ARMS these days, the rates are horrid to begin with and you also get the fun adjustable interest rate down the road as well. So those lenders we're nixed off the list and I was down to three. One of the remaining three who could offer a 30-year fixed rate had the highest rates I'd ever seen - yes, ever.

This is where things finally took a turn for the better. Both remaining lenders had 30 year loan products with solid rates and fees. Both were responsive but one simply responded a little quicker than the other and things moved swiftly thereafter. One of the deals closed  in less than two weeks, and I was as impressed with that as anything else. I should note that all of the buyers had solid credit and at least a 5% down payment. It was great to see the deals close and although I didn't represent the buyers in these transactions, it was very rewarding to see them  smiling at the closing table.  It certainly would have been easy to throw in the towel early in the process but this was a case where persistence paid off - times 3.

  

 

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We're nearing the end of the holiday season and the new year is nearly upon us. Yet we're still a couple of months away from the blooming flowers and the  crack of the baseball bats. If you're looking for something to get out of the home and do this winter, consider heading downtown to Crown Center. The shopping and restaurants are reason enough for many to head down but there's also the appeal of an outdoor ice skating rink, youth activities, fountains and various shows too.  For years Crown Center has been a premier shopping district with three levels of shops. In fact there are currently 50+ shops and restaurants. Adding to the allure is multiple movie theaters, including The American Heartland Theater's Broadway style productions, The Coterie Theater's youth productions and the cutting edge Off Center Theater.

Coming in late January, Crown Center will exhibit "70 Years of OZ", where kids can meet the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion. If you're looking to stay the night in the Crown Center area, visitors can choose from the 45-story Hyatt Regency Crown Center hotel and the Westin Crown Center hotel. Last weekend, my family became part of the more than five million visitors that are expected to visit Crown Center this year. We enjoyed eating at Fritz's Railroad Restaurant and I received slightly less enjoyment out of watching my wife shop. Watching the fountains helped pass the time, but I really wish I had dressed the boys warmer so I could have taken them over to the ice skating rink. My wife probably wishes the same as it would have allowed her more time to shop.

 

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