How Can You Keep Water Out of Your Home This Winter?

Most people leave their hoses attached through the winter. You shouldn’t do that. Here’s what you should do instead.

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While most people don’t think having water in your basement is an issue in the winter, there is something they should be aware of when it comes to their spigots and hoses.

A lot of people leave their hoses attached year-round, and in the winter, the water left in there can freeze. This could cause your spigot valve to bust on the inside, which will cause water to leak into your basement when you turn it back on. Here’s what you should do to prevent it:

1. Make sure to disconnect your hose.

2. Invest in a spigot insulator. They only cost a few dollars, but they will protect your spigot against the elements and prevent it from freezing.

This problem is easily preventable.

As we take a look at the inside of the home in the video above, you’ll see that the spigot valve keeps the pipes from getting cold and bursting. You don’t want water shooting around in your house when you turn it back on. Cover that spigot and you won’t have to replace anything.

If you have any questions about how to do this or any other questions about real estate, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you.

A Quick Press Conference

Today, I’m answering three client questions from the Kansas City Royals press room. 

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Today I’m in the Kansas City Royals press room to answer a few quick questions I often get from clients.

First of all, what’s happening with interest rates? I expect that interest rates will remain relatively low for the rest of the year. In fact, they will most likely stay low through next spring as well.

Next, do we really give away season tickets to our clients? The answer is yes! We love to give away tickets to the Kansas City Royals to our clients. It’s just one way for us to say thank you, so keep an eye on your emails and check out our video blog to get your tickets.

Keep an eye out for a chance to get tickets to a Royals game!

Finally, can we help your friends and family achieve their real estate goals? Absolutely. We are never too busy for your referrals, so send your family and friends our way.

If you need any real estate help, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

Do You Know Someone Looking for a Job in Real Estate?

We are looking for a new member to join our team. If you know anyone who fits this job description, we would love to hear from you.

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We are reaching out today to ask for your help. We are currently looking for a full-time real estate professional with six months of experience or more to join our team. We want to train this person on the way we do business, which is by putting the client first and letting everything else work itself out.

If you know anyone in real estate who might be interested in our team, let us know. Maybe it’s a new agent looking for a place to take their career to the next level, or maybe it’s an agent who is looking for more support from their team.

If you know anyone, reach out to us.

Whatever the situation, if you have somebody in mind, give us a call or send an email directly to adam@adambutlerteam.com. Of course, any conversation we have will be confidential. We really appreciate your help on this and we look forward to hearing from you soon!

A Big Thanks to All My Wonderful Clients

I wanted to take this opportunity once again to say thank you to all my amazing clients who I've had the pleasure of working with.

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Today I'm pleased to be joining you from a client appreciation event for all the wonderful people I've had the chance to work with. We've got photos happening, as well as grilling, popcorn, cotton candy, and all the fun stuff you can think of.

We're here at Louisburg Cider Mill where they have a really cool corn maze, and it's a really fun place to bring my clients out to and get the chance to see them again, say hello, and watch their kids grow. It's amazing how old I am these days! Seeing clients' kids grow from babies all the way up to teenagers really makes you feel old–in a good way!

We're always here to help.

So I just wanted to thank everybody for coming out and saying hi, as well as all of you that helped out with the event. If you couldn't make it this time, join us next year! We look forward to seeing you again and staying in touch with your family.

As always, if you have any property needs or questions about real estate in Kansas City, I'm always here to help. Give me a call or send me an email anytime.

How Does It Feel to Be Debt-Free?

We’re celebrating my friend and teammate Nick Wagner’s freedom from debt today at Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University.

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I’m joining you today from Nashville, Tennessee at Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. I’m here to celebrate my friends and teammate, Nick Wagner, who is now doing a debt-free scream today.

Watch Nick and his family celebrate their freedom from debt.

Check out the video above to watch Nick and his family celebrate their freedom from debt.

As always, if you have any questions about buying or selling Kansas City real estate, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to help you!

Join Our 5th Annual Fantasy Football League This Fall

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This year, we will have our 5th Annual Adam Butler Team Fantasy Football League! If you haven’t joined us before, we sponsor the league, host draft nights with beer and pizza, and offer prizes.

It’s a lot of fun and it is just our way of saying thank you to our clients. We want to thank you for your business, have a great time, and get to know you even better.

It’s just our little way of saying thanks!

I’ll send more details about dates and times in late August to do the draft. It’s going to be a great time! I look forward to seeing you there!

How to Save the Trees in Your Yard

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Pruning your trees is very important if you want to avoid unnecessary diseases. There’s nothing worse than having to cut down trees on your property, as you lose some of the natural beauty they provide, and it can cost up to $2,000.

Using an electric chainsaw is the best way to prune the trees in your yard. In order to keep your trees healthy and looking nice, go out and look for dead limbs on your trees and cut them down! Pruning is a great way to make sure you can avoid some serious problems with the tree in your yard.

If you’re not comfortable pruning your trees yourself, we do a lot of work with a great company called Arbor Masters. They’ll come out to your property and take care of your trees for you!

If you have any questions about how to take care of the trees on your property, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to hear from you!

Why Can’t You Trust Zillow to Find Your Home’s Value?

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The idea behind Zillow’s Zestimate feature is to give you an estimate of your home’s value. While we truly believe that Zillow is generally a great real estate resource, we recommend being careful about the Zestimate feature in particular.

The Zestimate gives you a very vague idea of what your home is actually worth. In most areas, they are only within 10% of the actual value 50% of the time. So, if you have a $500,000 house, half the time Zillow will tell you it’s worth somewhere between $450,000 and $550,000. That’s a huge range, and half the time Zillow will not even put your home value inside it!

If you want an accurate idea of how much your home is worth, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to provide you with a free market analysis so you can get a clear picture of what your home is really worth! Give us a call or shoot us an email at any time. We would love to hear from you!

How to Keep Your Foundation from Cracking

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Today I’m relaxing poolside at one of my client’s houses that we’ve sold, and not worrying about the foundation at all - no different than what most people are doing during the summertime. Worrying about things like water infiltration and keeping the proper grading around your foundation so it doesn’t seep in is something people usually do in the springtime. I will tell you, however, that this is a mistake.

What I mean by that is if it’s a really dry summer and the soil around your foundation doesn’t get the proper moisture, it will shrink. When the dirt shrinks, small gaps in the ground can emerge that can move your foundation and generate cracks and other damage that can be expensive to repair.

Just because it’s summer and there’s not a lot of water doesn’t mean that you don’t have anything to be worried about. It only takes a teeny bit of shrinkage for a foundation to move and give way to a hairline fracture. Make sure the soil around your house stays moist. If we get two or three weeks without rain, put your sprinklers on the ground and drag the hose around. Adding a little water to the dirt so your foundation can't move will be money well spent.

To prevent cracks in the foundation, make sure the soil around it stays moist.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I would be happy to help you!

Now Is a Great Time to Buy in Kansas City

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Interest rates are down, and they have been for a while. Everyone was expecting rates to go up, but they actually dipped further the other day in the wake of the Brexit! What does that mean for you?

It’s a great time to buy a home. Even though the market is still pretty hot, it has started to slow down a bit, and you won’t see rates this low again for a long time. If you’re trying to get into your first house, buy an investment property, or upgrade, it's a great time to lock down these low rates.

Typically, rates tend to jump up after elections. They should remain low for the next couple of months, but by next year we will definitely see rates in the 4% range. Now you can still get a home with a 3.5% interest rate. You can even get an investment property to generate a little passive income each month.

If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

How We Helped Aberum by Working Well in a Competitive Market!

    "Working with them, I was very satisfied with my results. We ended up purchasing a house that I just left the mortgage office for, because we were closing. So I'm very happy.

Me and my wife were in a hurry to try and get a place before our baby came. We worked with Nick Wagner, and he was constantly shooting emails, sending houses our way to look at. Once he got an idea of what we wanted, he started recommending really good homes for us to choose from.

When we put the offer in on the house, he went above and beyond. He put in a lot of legwork to make sure that we did get the house in this competitive market. I really appreciate that from not only the Adam Butler Team, but Nick specifically."

    -Aberum Wiltfong, Home Buyer

How We Helped Monte by Always Being Available!

    "I worked with Nick Wagner, and I first came across him when I went to look at a house that he was representing. I had him start sending us different homes. It was a good experience.

Nick got us on an automated email list that sent us the MLS listings every day. He stayed in touch with us throughout the six-month process, at least, from the time we were looking to the time we were ready to buy. We were very pleased with it.

The main thing is that Nick was always available. There was never a problem that I can recall where there was something we needed to get done or see a house, but he wasn't there. His flexibility and availability were a few things he went way out of his way for."

    -Monte Clark, Home Buyer

How We Helped Sarah by Going Above and Beyond With Marketing!

    "We had our home under contract in one day, so it was extremely easy. Adam was great to work with, and he was an excellent communicator. We never felt as if we were out of the loop. He also went above and beyond in terms of marketing our property. Everywhere we looked, it seemed like there was a sign advertising our home for sale."

    Sarah Garcia, Home Seller

Is Your Sump Pump Working?

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A couple days ago after the big rainstorm here in Kansas City, quite a few of our clients called us with water problems because their sump pumps failed.

Make sure you check your sump pump. Go down and test it. You never want to have water in your basement, especially if you have a finished basement. That can be a very expensive fix. Even if your basement is unfinished, you will have to disclose that information if you sell your home later on.

More rain is coming, so make sure everything is in order. If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

Avoid Water Damage in Kansas City This Spring

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Today, I want to go over something incredibly important. Spring approaches and we’re expecting a ton of rain in the surrounding Kansas City area.

Many people forget to examine the grading around their foundation. It’s incredibly important to have one inch of fall per foot for six feet. That way, water will run away from your house and hit the ground to saturate itself. You’ll notice a bad example, with a negative slope, is in today’s video. You can bring in bags of dirt and reposition the structure.

Otherwise, rain water can creep into your home if it’s not draining properly away from your property. On a cosmetic note, I’m going to raise up the stone bed on the side of the home to level it out. It looks better leveled than on a slope.

In the second half of the video, you’ll notice the finished product. I was able to raise the grading around the house with new soil I brought in. I created a great, nice slope. I added a splash guard to the discharge pipe. I still need to work on the downspout, but it’s almost done. As you can see, I leveled out the area and made it more visually appealing. Overall, it took me about fifty bags of soil, which costs around $70.

Consider this video as a reminder to please check your home’s grading before the rainy season begins! This can prevent serious and costly water damage later on. Don’t let water into your basement this year. 

If you’re thinking about buying or selling a Kansas City home this spring, give me a call or send me an email! I’d love to serve your local real estate needs.

What Role Does Landscaping Play in Your Home Sale?

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Today I just wanted to talk for a moment about the importance of landscaping. Spring is right around the corner, and if you want to sell your home for top dollar, fresh landscaping makes a world of difference.

A buyer’s first impression is always going to be the outside of your home. You want to make the best first impression possible, so you want to keep that landscaping up-to-date, with fresh mulch added to the areas that need it.

In the video above, I’m using a big military truck to pull out some pesky shrubs. You don’t need to go that far, but if you do have something big you need to get rid of, my truck and I can help. Landscaping is so important to your home’s value, it can not be overstated.


If you have any questions for us, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to speaking with you!

It’s a Great Time To Sell in Kansas City

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Today I want to just give you a quick update on the KC real estate market. Right now, we are in a great seller’s market. Sellers are getting top dollar for their homes, and buyers are chomping (or clucking, as you see in the video above) to get the best homes. 

Many buyers in the KC market are looking to take advantage of low interest rates, leading to an increased demand for homes. If you’ve been thinking about selling sometime in the near future, now might be your best time to do so for quite a while. 


The market is good, rates are down, and we’d love to help you out if you’re thinking of buying or selling this year. If you have any questions, just give us a call or send us an email. We would love to help you out!

Why Is Now a Good Time to Sell?

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I'm in Dallas, Texas today and people are buying homes left and right. I've been trying to help my brother find a place around here, but we've been losing out on some homes. It's a tough market for buyers, but a great one for sellers.

I mention this because our market in Kansas City is very similar. The market is doing very well right now for sellers. If you've been thinking about selling but are planning on waiting until spring, don't.

Inventory is low, and there are a ton of buyers out there looking for the perfect home. If you are ready to get the ball rolling on your home sale, now is the time to do so. The low inventory will drive your sale price up, and you'll be ready to buy when the market floods with listings in the spring. 

If you have any questions for us, or are looking to buy and sell in Kansas City, give me and my team a call or send us an email. Talk to you soon!