Welcome to Becca!
This week’s guest writer is none other than my friend and real estate agent, Becca Hageman. Becca is full of wisdom, grace, and kindness.
She didn’t make this one of her Five Things, but I will share a thought of hers that has really stuck with me since she said it. One time we were talking about this newsletter, and little side-hustle Instagrams, and she said, “it’s really not that hard to get an e-mail or follow an account.” I think sometimes in my effort to de-clutter my life I forget that it’s really not that hard to follow an instagram account of a local business or my cousin’s calligraphy or whatever. Like if it’s a tough hang, you can mute it, or move the email to your promotions folder. It means almost nothing to me, but maybe a lot to the person on the other end. Just some food for thought.
Becca and her husband, Nick, are good people. I think saying “good people” is very Midwestern of me, but if you live no where near an ocean, you know what I mean. Good people. And I am so glad to have her guest writing today.
You can get in touch with her via her Instagram, or leave a comment on this here post.
Ok, next week is subscribers only, so sign up below, and then the week after is summer sides round up. Keep sending those my way.
This sentence now has links to the my instagram, and old issues of the newsletter. Also I’m bringing back the Outdoor Voices link because I have given up looking for my exercise dress and want to buy a new one.
Becca, introduce yourself
Hi! I'm Becca! I am originally from Oklahoma, but transplanted to Kansas City about five years ago and love calling Kansas City home! I have been married for two years now as of last week and my husband & I adopted our dog Otie as a result of quarantine last march! I went to the University of Arkansas & will gladly call the hogs with all my fellow Arkansans out there. I am a Realtor and specialize in single family homes & condos! I met Katherine for the first time when she was recording her Lizzie McGuire podcast and knew immediately I wanted to be friends.
Number One: Pocket Parks
Have you ever heard of a pocket park? If not, you're not alone. Living in Brookside, we don't have homes with very large backyards. On a walk a couple of months ago, we noticed a HUGE backyard when we were walking by a house, there was a nice lady on the porch and I said "Wow you have the largest backyard I have ever seen in Brookside" she then tells me that it is a public park and I am welcome to go back there with my dog. A pocket park is essentially a mini park or open space. This particular one backs up to multiple backyards and has a large open space in the middle. This is now Oties favorite spot to get some energy out and play fetch. Every time we get close to the park he is ready to get off the leash and go for a run! If you have a pocket park in your neighborhood, check it out! Google Maps usually has them labeled!
Number Two: Best Drink You’ve Ever Had
I've found myself saying this more than once this month. One was in Savannah, Georgia and the bar had a Mean Girls themed menu in which the " You Go Glen Coco" took the slot for my #1 new favorite drink. You Go Glen Coco was essentially a coconut mojito but dang was it refreshing and good!
Coming in at a close second is a drink I had this week at Novel! If you have not been to Novel, it is a must try in downtown KC. Also a must try at Novel is the Coke & Dagger cocktail. Coke & Dagger is made up of red sangria, pisco, strawberry, black pepper, cola, and citrus. I couldn't decide if I was going to love or hate this drink but when it was served in an old glass coke bottle and poured over a cup of ice in my wine glass, I was all in! This was the weirdest, most delicious drink combo I have ever had. 10/10 for taste & creativity. If you've had it, I know you will agree!
Number Three: Is the housing market going to crash?
Since I am a Realtor I have to touch on this one because I am hearing people ask about it on the daily. I am with Better Homes & Gardens, Kansas City Homes and In our sales meeting this week our broker Steve presented 6 reasons the market is indeed not going to crash. I will give a brief summary of his presentation:
Inventories are at a record low.
Builders can't build quickly enough to meet demand.
Mortgage rates remain at historic lows.
Demographic trends are creating new buyers, ie. millennials in their prime buying years.
Lending standards remain strict.
Foreclosure activity is muted, pushing foreclosures to record lows in 2020. This information and other research confirms the security of today's buyers which can give you confidence and ease when pushing forward in the home buying process.
Number Four: A Good HGTV Watch
My husband and I are big HGTV Fans, it is pretty lame of us, we know. We have recently been hooked on Bargain Mansions, it’s a little extra fun to watch because it’s based in Kansas City! We love getting to watch homes in our own city get transformed. If you’ve seen it, you will know what I mean when I say Tamara Days' taste is a little out there, but hey, there’s nothing wrong with a little color, tile, or crazy wallpaper! (Definitely worth a watch!)
On another HGTV note, does finding your dream home look like an episode of House Hunters? Look at three homes, pick your favorite, get $$$ knocked off the asking price, and BAM you’re home! If only the process were as seamless as HGTV presents, we all might want to embark on the journey! Although the process doesn't look the same as an episode of House Hunters, home buying is for almost everyone! For a little more realistic look at the Kansas City Market, feel free to check out my instagram: @athomekc.
Number Five: Neighborhood Associations
My neighborhood is called OMG, which stands for Oak Meyer Gardens, we have always wondered how active the neighborhood associations are in which we pay a whopping $80/ a year for. When we moved to the neighborhood a year and a half ago a neighbor brought us a candle to welcome us to the neighborhood, like they do for all new people moving to OMG. I see the lady on walks occasionally and told her over a year ago that I would be interested in learning more about the association sometime. Fast forward a year and half and I have never heard a thing about the association. My husband received an email with a few ladies mentioning that they would like to meet on Tuesday to discuss the neighborhood picnic, I immediately thought, oh she must've meant to send that to me! I decided to show up at the meeting because I didn't want to miss the one thing that I had been invited to. I quickly realized that the email was for sure an accident that didn't mean to get sent to my husband or me. Everyone at the meeting was on the board and knew everything that was going on in our neighborhood. Apparently last year, I missed a dog parade, where everyone dressed up as their dog & walked down the street, I was pretty upset about that one! Anyways, the whole meeting we discussed the OMG annual picnic and to be covid friendly we decided on food trucks instead of potluck. We talked in circles for over an hour of different ideas, where to park it, what trucks to call, etc. it was a good time to say the least and my neighborhood duties should be good for a while. if anyone knows of any good food trucks, hit me up so I can have some brownie points with the association members.
Becca, thank you for being a wonderful friend and guest-writer! Now lets go find me a house!!
Here is Becca and my other Real Estate friend, Makenzie, at an open house a couple weeks back. If like me, you like opening cabinets in other people’s homes, and always want to know where the hot water heater is, Open Houses are FOR YOU, highly recommend.
And here is her dog Otie when I accidentally put his harness on backwards: