New Searcy Country Club Website

The Searcy Country Club now has a wonderful new website available! You can find out all you need to know including menus, upcoming events, membership information and more!

I'm proud to be currently serving on the SCC Board of Directors, where we diligently work to make it a wonderful place for our members to enjoy! If you love golf, the course is one of the best in the state, taken care of by Scott White, our Grounds Superintendent. Bruce Baxley is our Head Golf Pro and is an extremely important asset to our club, as he gives hundreds of lessons every year and loves what he does. We appreciate both of these guys...Miguel and Candy keep the clubhouse rolling and there is always something going on at the SCC! Check it out today...the perfect swimming and golf weather is upon us!

Searcy Country Club Website

A Whole New Beginning...

We want to let you about some exciting changes in our real estate company! First off, as some of you may already know, Stuart Dalrymple has purchased our company back, with Sherry Conley staying on as an Executive Broker, along with myself! We are so excited to announce our name change and new owner, I especially, as I worked for Stuart originally when I became licensed as a Sales Associate back in 2002. We are moving in a new direction as an independent brokerage and the reason why this was our decision as a team is simple!

Back in the mid 1990’s, the internet was on fire, but out of reach for small offices and companies, which spawned a real estate franchise boom! Corporate franchises could offer them an internet presence that they couldn’t afford on their own. It worked wonderfully for years, but as the internet has become more and more accessible to everyone, a lot of us have come to realize that we are paying way too much in franchise fees, but not receiving the attention from the corporate world like they do in major metropolitan cities. We were paying the same fees as they were, but not receiving the benefits. Nationally, trends in real estate offices are heading back to independent brokerages, just like we have chosen to do. What does that mean for you as a potential seller? It gives us more revenue to spend on our local advertising, which will help us assist YOU in meeting the goal of getting your property SOLD! It will also help us gain more of the market share and a much broader internet audience! We are the only branded company in Searcy, Arkansas on Realtor.com, who accounts for 85% of all real estate searches!

We are also pleased to announce that Terri Milligan is now affiliated with us here at Dalrymple Residential! Terri comes to us from Exit Natural State in Searcy, where she has been licensed since 2006. Terri is a lifelong resident of Searcy, has been married to Mike for 21 years and has 3 children, Katie, Reed and Marshall. She has a Bachelor of Art’s degree from UALR and has done design work since 2001. She is a Life Member with the Junior Auxiliary of Searcy and also a member of the First United Methodist Church. Terri currently serves as the Secretary on the Searcy Board of Realtors. She is a recipient of the ARA Silver Award, a member of the National Association of Realtors and has earned the E-Pro and GRI designations. We are also excited to let you know that we will be co-listing agents on all of our listings! We feel like the experience, the contacts and the involvement in the community will be an asset to all of our clients. We will both continue to work with buyers as well, so if you know anyone looking to list or sell, be rest assured, we will take great care of them in that area as well! Please note the changes to our email addresses kelly@searcyhomes.com and terri@searcyhomes.com and send us your updated info, as we are establishing a shared database to keep you informed of changes in our real estate market. Call or email us at anytime…we are here for you and Dalrymple Residential is on the right track to make a difference in our community!

Downtown Searcy Property...

Check out the new post over at my other blog about the new business venture coming to downtown Searcy!

From Our House to Yours...

...we would love to wish you and your family peace, love, happiness and good health in 2009!

I will admit that I have been very lax in posting to this blog and for that I apologize! I have spent alot of time building my other blog, kellyvanhook Original Art Design, dedicated to promoting my art, modern design and life, that I've neglected a subject I love...

...and that is helping people get into or out of and into another home! I promise to do better in the upcoming year...there has been alot of changes in Searcy in 2008, changes in the mortgage system and then of course, there is our economy, so there is plenty to talk about! I hope you have a safe holiday and remember, if you ever have any questions regarding the local real estate market, please post them here or you can email me any time at kelly@cbcompleterealty.com! Happy New Year!!!

220 Shiloh Road...A Beautiful Place to Call Home

This beautiful home has been reduced to $299,900! Come and take a look today!

If you and your family are looking for an immaculate home on a quiet, peaceful setting, then this new listing would be perfect! Once you enter the large foyer, you will see on one side a very nice formal dining area on your right and a fabulous guest room fit for a queen to your left that has it's own bathroom. The living room is large and features a gas log fireplace and room for oversized furniture, great for easy entertaining! There is access from here to the quiet, covered back porch which boasts a wonderful view of the trees and landscaping.

The kitchen is the heart of this home and features well crafted stained cabinetry. There is a breakfast area for having coffee or just slide up to the bar! Appliances include a free-standing range, dishwasher and built-in microwave. The huge laundry room is right off of the kitchen and has a pantry, sink and extra built-ins. It also features a walk-in closet for extra storage.

The master bedroom is big enough for large furniture pieces and includes 2 walk-in closets, a private bath with whirlpool tub, separate shower and double vanities. The master is conveniently located off of the living room.

Upstairs of this extremely well taken care of home you will find two large bedrooms with walk-in closets in each, a sitting area or office, and a bonus room that is currently a gameroom for the kids but could easily be converted to a fifth bedroom if needed. If you are a Razorback fan, you will love the hand painting done on the ceiling of this room. If you're not a fan, you should be!

The other items you will find and love about this home is the 3+ acres that it sits on. Mineral rights owned by the seller will convey to the new buyer and the corners of the property are marked. There is a basketball court for practicing your shots, an 18x36 in-ground pool with a covered eating area and storage and changing room. It is surrounded by rod-iron fencing for security. This listing also comes with a wired shop for all of your hobbies you may have that need a place to be stored.

This home could be yours! It is located just south of Searcy and its less than a 10 minute drive to town. This 4BR/3BA home is priced right at $314,900. Call me today at 501-230-4567 for your private showing!

Relay For Life Fundraiser

My fantastic team of Realtors in my Coldwell Banker Complete Realty office work together to help ALL of our customers and clients at all times. We also get together and do things to make our community a better place and to help in any way we can. We have participated in the Relay For Life the last few years after losing our dear friend and broker, Richard Conley to cancer. We still miss him dreadfully to this day and there is not a day that goes by that when I pass his office door, I expect to see him. With that being said, his wife Sherry, who has been our broker ever since, came up with the idea to do an office cookbook. We thought it was a fabulous idea because most of us really enjoy cooking. The theme for this year's Relay was The 80's, so we picked the song"Love Shack", which we thought very appropriate since we sell homes. Sherry came to me and asked if I would do the cover for the cookbook. I was extremely nervous to do it because I wanted to include Richard in it since he is still the "driving" force in our office - I wanted it to look great in the short amount of time I had to get it done! I did a mixed media collage painting and of course, added Richard driving the Chrysler! They turned out great and I know that he got a great big laugh watching us put them together. We seem to have a good time no matter what we are doing. It was a memorable diversion from our daily routine when we had time to cut, bind or whatever needed doing to get the cookbooks done on time. We are proud to do our part and the sales on the cookbook are going great! If you happen to need one, they are $15 and if you need one mailed to you, email me and I'll figure shipping to get it to you! You can contact me at kelly@cbcompleterealty.com!

Having trouble finding the right closing or housewarming gift?

Well, look no further! It's sometimes a very hard thing to do! I always get my fabulous buyers a closing gift, usually a gift card of some sort. There are usually items needed for their new home, whether it's paint, light fixtures or a updating project that they would like to do, but sometimes you just want to get them something fun and unique! Same thing goes when I am getting someone a housewarming gift. When I am not working with buyers and sellers, my full-time career I love, I am painting...I found the CafePress store online because I wanted to be able to use the designs I created for more than just a sale on an original. You can put the designs on almost anything and I especially love the items for the home. There is fantastic stationary as well that you can personalize for thank you cards, etc... or just leave blank and use for any occasion! Check it out at http://cafepress.com/kellyvanhook - there are thousands of products at great prices and not just in my store but others as well!!! I've pictured a few samples in this post!

My Latest Listing...

is this adorable 3BR/1BA home with lots of character! It was built in 1955 and has been well taken care of. It sits just a couple of blocks from Harding University and is ready for someone to call it home! It features a new roof and landscaping and in 2005, new heat and air was added along with a stove and hot water heater. The rooms are all good sized, especially the laundry room which has a washer and dryer that comes with the house! The kitchen/dining combo has the vintage metal cabinets and the fridge also will convey to the new owners. The owner has added new mini blinds for privacy and there is a detached 2-car garage! This is just a very pleasant bungalow style home for you to enjoy and is priced at $79,500. MLS#10194472.

Your Own Portfolio

Everyone knows HGTV is a fabulous television channel providing decorating, house hunting and gardening shows, but did you know about the Designer's Portfolio? You can browse more than 1,500 gorgeous indoor and outdoor rooms designed by HGTV's top designers, and get exclusive decorating tips for every part of your house. Find your favorites by searching room type, design style or interior designer. You can then save it to your own portfolio for future reference! Whether you are remodeling, building or just doing one room, there are fabulous photos and how-to's for you to keep in one place. You can even shop around and purchase items you see right there from one place. Check it out....but don't do it unless you have plenty of time to kill...http://www.hgtv.com/!

My Coldwell Banker Complete Realty Family

I just wanted to take a minute to let you know about our team of fantastic and professional Realtors that I consider my CB family! Our beautiful office is very inviting and we love having clients pop in at anytime and know their needs will be taken care of! When I say team, I mean just that. Most offices have individual agents who take care of themselves and are for the most part, very professional. They don't, however, have the available help of numerous other agents to help them with their business because they are afraid they will lose customers, therefore, money in their pocket. We don't operate that way. Each of our clients and customers are not "ours" - they are Coldwell Banker Complete clients and customers. We work together to make sure ALL of our transactions are handled in a professional, but friendly manner, and that you will come back to us to fulfill any needs you may have in the real estate field. We are all close and spend time really talking about each individual party that we are representing - that enables us to either market the property in a more timely manner or find the perfect property for a particular individual or family. Our Principal Broker/Owner is Sherry Conley, our full-time agents are myself, an Executive Broker, Stephanie Dalrymple, Amy Kerr, Janice Wright, Robin Joseph, Rebecca Stone, David Hamilton, David Dale, Doug Carpenter, Gina Richey, Letty Fuller, Kristi Feagin, Ken Russell and Brandon Jones. We also have some great part-time agents that are in the office as much as possible, John Talkington, Tom Worley, Roxanne Miles, Denise Flores, Michelle Moore, Jim Gowen, Joy Sterling and Darian Weaver. We have our own Marketing Director, Wendi McAfee, that takes care of all advertising, marketing materials and is invaluable in aiding us with our needs in selling your property! We also couldn't do without our Office Manager, Janet Fisher! If you walk through that door, rest assured, she will take good care of you as she does all of us on a daily basis and is extremely helpful and friendly. Come see us - you won't be disappointed. That's why our franchise, Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation has been around over 100 years and has millions of satisfied, repeat customers! Become one of them today. We really appreciate you and your business. Thanks to my CB family for making me happy to go work each day!

Spring Cleaning

Well spring has been here awhile in Searcy for sure, but the weather has been putting a damper on doing outside maintenance and spring cleaning as of late! Last night, once again, we had a downpour and tornado warnings.....not to scare you if you are considering a move here, we have very good warning sirens and news coverage. The local stations were on from about 6:00 to 10:00 pm covering the storms. We thankfully had no injuries or damages here and Mother's Day is supposed to be a beautiful one.....back to spring cleaning - some homeowners tend to ignore outside maintenance on their homes, but to keep your property in great condition whether you are getting ready to sell it or not, here are just 3 of the items you need to address and keep in mind:

1) Curb Appeal - if a buyer doesn't like the outside of the home, they tend to not even want to look inside. You may have the most fantastic interior and spent loads of money on it, but it won't matter if the exterior has been ignored. Clean off porches, outside lighting fixtures, wash down siding, keep the lawn mowed, the flower beds and weeded and add fresh mulch. Get rid of any spider webs and bees nests! Make sure there are not alot of items outside and that the property is clutter free. Make sure your doors have a nice coat of paint on them and if you have any rotting trim or peeling paint, get it fixed! This is a requirement when buyers are obtaining an FHA loan. It will save you time and trouble later when you are getting ready to close. Clean your windows as well and have them opened up to let as much light in as possible!

2) Decorating the exterior - If you have a porch, patio or deck, make sure it is clutter free as well, and that it looks inviting and comfortable. There are hundreds of reasonably priced patio sets to choose from and add a few pots of annuals for a spark of color! Potential buyers will see this as an ideal place to entertain family and friends. If you already have these items, make sure they are clean and ready to be used. They may not convey with the property, but homes that are maintained well attract buyers because they know that the home they are thinking of purchasing has been well taken care of.

3) Your Garage or Carport - now you may think this is not a big deal, but I've shown property where you couldn't even walk through the garage and I can tell you this - the men want to look in the attic, so make sure you can pull your access ladder down where they can get up there. Same goes for any storage areas in the garage. If people can't see what they may be purchasing, it's going to be a problem for you. So have a garage sale, donate your unused items or get a storage unit. The neater, the better, the quicker the sale, the more you make!

After posting on this subject, I must now go take care of the items above myself - I am not planning a move by no means, but the more you take care of and maintain your home, the more you'll get back from it in the future and the longer it will last for others to love as much as you do.....

FHA Secure Program

Our Searcy Board of Realtors held a meeting yesterday and included area loan officers, title companies, appraisers, inspectors and others in the local real estate industry. Our goal was to discuss what is going on at this time with our local market and to come together to help our customers achieve their goals. I found the new FHA Secure program to be a very valuable tool for those considering refinancing their homes at this time. The following is excerpts from the fact sheet provided by HUD and I have included the link directly to their site if you would like more information.

The Federal Housing Administration has helped millions of Americans secure their dream of homeownership since 1934. Now we want to keep those dreams alive.
If you have an adjustable rate mortgage coming due or your interest rate is already too high, you owe it to yourself to look at the safe and affordable financing options provided by government-insured mortgages through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). We provide mortgage insurance on loans made by FHA-approved lenders throughout the United States and its territories. FHA insures mortgages on single family, multifamily, manufactured homes and healthcare facilities. It is the largest government backed mortgage insurer.

WHAT IS FHASecure?
FHASecure is a refinancing option that gives homeowners with non-FHA adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs), current or delinquent and regardless of reset status, the ability to refinance into a FHA-insured mortgage. With FHASecure, the lender will not automatically disqualify you because you are delinquent on your loan, and the lender may offer you a second mortgage to make up the difference between the value of your property and what you owe.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
So long as you are current on your mortgage and have sufficient income to make the mortgage payment, you are eligible for an FHASecure refinance. If you are delinquent, the default must have been due to the payment shock of an interest rate reset or, in the case of an Option ARM, the "recasting" of the mortgage to fully amortizing. By refinancing into a FHA-insured mortgage, you can expect to pay lower monthly mortgage payments. FHASecure can improve the quality of life for many communities by helping to reduce the number of mortgage defaults and bringing greater stability to local housing markets.

Get the facts at http://www.hud.gov/!

Learning The Benefits About Owning A Home

I am sure most of you have seen the National Association of Realtors ad campaign on tv and if you haven't, here is a great place for you to find answers about the benefits of owning a home, your investment, financing options, how to prepare to buy or sell, and get valuable insight into many different areas in the world of real estate. Remember, as the ad says, every market is different - every market is local - you can listen to the media all you want to but the best thing to do is to get the facts on the market in your area yourself and through your licensed Realtor. I am proud to be a Realtor and am pleased that NAR has taken on passing along much needed information for you to use in making the best decisions regarding a such an important purchase. We as an industry are proud to have NAR on our side and yours as homebuyers and sellers, backing us up all the way by confirming what we talk to clients about on a daily basis. Check it out at http://housingmarketfacts.com/.