About Me

I lost $10,000 and feel good about it

by John Rice

I blame my dad. I grew up hearing things like “Do the right thing. Period.” “Finish what you start.” “Keep your word.”

So when a For Sale by Owner seller backed out of his promise to pay me a commission if my clients bought his house, I had no choice but to finish the transaction for free.

Here is the background:

Seller says he will pay me. I come view the house with the buyers. We write an offer. Seller wants somebody to review the contract and the document promising to pay me the commission. He then says my people should pay me instead of him.

I could not make my commission turn into a problem that slows down getting the seller’s signatures on the contract. The house was for sale. Somebody else could have come along and bought it. I had to put my people’s interest in buying this place before my interest in making a living. No time to negotiate over it or come up with a backup plan. I also couldn’t ask my people to pay retail for the house and then pay me when that was never the plan from the beginning.

I told the seller to sign the contract and I will take care of my people for free. I had already started the transaction and would not have been able to sleep well if I had walked away just because I was not getting paid. I made a commitment to my people. I have to finish it.

So, I found myself using this story the next morning to tell my two sons things like “Do the right thing. Period.” “Finish what you start.” “Keep your word.”

I only wish the seller’s dad would have told him these things.

Negotiation Strategy……Waiting??

by John Rice

I wrote a very good offer on a great house yesterday. I haven’t got a reply yet from the listing agent. See, it has been on the market for 4 days. They wanted to wait to see if any of the 3 showings they have today want to make an offer. I hate being in this position. If I push the listing agent, then she might not want to work with me if there are multiple offers. I decided to wait.

I try to think things though. Right now, the seller is feeling really confident with all the showings. If they counter right now, it would probably be for full price. If there is another offer today, I’ll be in the same place. So I wait.

One thing I have learned about real estate deals is how fast the balance of power in negotiations can change. One minute you are calling the shots, then something changes and you are at the mercy of the other side. That is why I always try to be cordial when I have the upper hand. Never burn a bridge that you might need to cross later.

One thing I thought of that this seller and agent didn’t…..the fact that I will have the upper hand if none of these 3 buyers want to make an offer today.

And that is another reason I chose to wait.

No Day-Light Savings postcards from me

by John Rice

I never wanted to do things like most agents do. I never wanted to send people postcards reminding them of Day-Light savings. I never wanted to send people bags of seed or basketball schedules, or give out a card to everybody I met. I wanted to be a realtor. To me, that meant being into real estate and filling my days doing real estate things rather than licking stamps trying to remind people I was a realtor. They told me it was a numbers game and you had to do stuff like that to remind your past clients that you were there. I told them if I did such a lousy job that my clients don’t want to use me again without having to be reminded, then I don’t deserve their business.

It’s been 8 years since I made the choice to not wear my friends, family, and clients out with reminders of who I am. I ordered a box of 1000 business cards in 2009 when I switched to RE/MAX. I think I still have close to 900 of them. They are on a shelf in my garage. I don’t even stick them in my Christmas cards. It is just not who I am.

I’ve always got some repeat work and almost all my clients enthusiastically have said they’d use me again. I always hoped they would, but moving is not something most people do all that often. So, it has taken until now to see that my style has paid off. I’ll be closing my 41st sale of the year this Friday. Of those 41 deals, 25 of them have been past clients or referrals from past clients. That is pretty rare for agents. I know because one of my favorite past times is to look at the history of a fresh sale to see if the listing agent was the buyer’s agent when the house last sold. I don’t see that it goes down that way often. I have only had 4 clients not use me again. Two were because they did a short sale and another was because their daughter got her real estate license. I know because I just looked though all of my sales to see if any of my buyers have listed their house since I sold it to them.

So, I am happy to say that it is possible to build a good real estate business exclusively on being a good realtor and wanting the best for my clients. I’ve had a wonderful career so far. Better than I ever imagined it could be…..but what makes me the proudest is that so many people have, on their own initiative, used more again or told their friends about me. And while I am here, I have to give a shout out to JD and Kristi who have used me 6 times and would have used me a 7th time this year had the house they wanted had a better foundation.

I think I had a post similar to this a few months ago, but it has been on my mind a lot lately.

Natural light in a house….or not

by John Rice

Me:  I LOOOOOOOOOOOVE this house.

My friend:  It is nice, but too dark for me.

 

So, I am showing a friend a new listing I have.  It is one of the two listings I’ve had that I wanted to buy myself.  I expected my friend to dig it just as much, but he didn’t.  That got me thinking about the whole light verses dark houses thing.

I just moved from a newer house with an open floor plan in a neighborhood with short trees.  Came to an older house with separate rooms, very mature trees, and a natural light robbing covered patio.  Long story short, I knew exactly what he meant.  I totally love a light and bright living space, but I also really love having the big trees and my covered patio too.  Guess I can’t get both 😦

The light issue was the hardest thing for me to get use  to in the new  place.  I do feel like I am walking around in the dark much of the time.  I told myself the trade off was the nearly 40 tall trees that fill my lot.  I enjoy the shade they provide when I am outside as well as the privacy.

I didn’t know if I could get use to this, but I did. Being a realist, I normally can see the good and bad in most everything.  The thing I have come to really like about my house that doesn’t get a lot of natural light is that I feel very “Inside” my house.  I’ve always wanted to be outside, so enjoying this kind of freaked me out at first.  Guess I mean that when I am home, I feel very much like I am in my own world…..the John Rice Space inside and the rest of the world on the outside.

((Still working on the Best Schools and Their Neighborhood series.  Just had this topic on my mind this morning.))

John Rice…the house-whisperer

by John Rice

One of my favorite things to do when I list a house is to write the marketing remarks.  I usually sit down in my office with a cup of coffee and look at the pictures until something pops in my head.  I always want to use my words to describe what is unique about the house.  Every house has something that is unique, whether it is natural light, a good floor plan, location, updating……there is always something.

In the old days when the MLS was something just for realtors, you’d see remarks like:  “3/2 split ranch.  Dining room chandelier does not convey.”  You’d also see showing instructions like which door to use or to not let out the cat.  The marketing remarks section has evolved into something more for the public now.  About 15 years ago the trend was to try to get people to picture themselves in the house, so we had remarks like “Have coffee while you read the morning paper on the sun lit patio.”  or “Picture yourself having a dinner party in the formal dining room with wainscoting.”  I kind of like that better than where we are now, which is just generically describing the house or listing all the features that will be in any other house too.  Like “Great 3 bedroom 2 bath ranch with a nice kitchen in a convenient location.”  Let’s face it, the public can tell how many bedrooms and baths it has because all that info is at the top of the listing.  Why waste their time telling them what they already know?  They assume the kitchen is nice, but are going to look at the pictures to see.  Pictures are what makes people want to see a house today, so there is no need to describe the house when they can see it…..and that is why I like to use the marketing remarks to keep the public’s attention and to tell them what is special about my listing.  Here are a few I’ve done recently:

“No doubt, there are a lot of houses in this price range. The seller’s know. They
looked at all of them too before pulling the trigger on this one. Want to know
why? Well, for starters, the way the Great Room & Kitchen are combined got
them, as did all the natural light it gets. Then, the fact that it backs to some
open space made it nice because it means you don’t have a neighbor behind you
 peeking in your window or making noise….you just look out and see space. Then,
the Master Suite got them. It has a nice walk-in closet and the bath has a
double bowl vanity (Two sinks 🙂 Throw in a fireplace, a front porch, a REAL
laundry room….well, you get the point. Come check it out for yourself.”

“Of all the houses I have ever sold, this one is my favorite. Its not the kitchen
with all the granite and practically new stainless appliances. It’s not even the
 extensive updating & fresh paint it has seen. Its not the large covered
deck. It’s not even all the hardwood flooring, gorgeous landscaping or being 5
minutes to Hamburg, the Interstate, or schools. I think what does it for me with
this house is the relaxed & peaceful feel I get when I am here. I think you
will feel that too. Be sure to check out the pictures, but here are some other
unique features *Fresh paint EVERYWHERE *Updated lighting/fixtures *Stamped
concrete landscape edging *Wood Paneled Executive Home Office *Possible 5th
 bedroom or exercize room *MOVE IN READY. Seller is M-O-T-I-V-A-T-E-D
Call/e-mail/text for more info…..Thx!”

” Ever been on Nelson? It is the street where the Legacy Trail begins. This
street is right where Midland/Walton/Winchester Rd come together. Look this
place up on Google and you’ll see that it is surrounded on 2 sides by the new
Equestrian View neighborhood. Also very close to the new Wm Wells Brown
Elementary School. I think this locations rocks for this price range. This is an
ALL ELECTRIC shotgun style house with many of the windows having been replaced
with vinyl. There is a living room on the front of the house, then you walk
through a bedroom to get to the kitchen. The second bedroom area is on the back
of the house and could be a bonus area or dining room. It has recently rented
for $400 and $450 a month, so the cash flow is there!!!”

” Well…..HERE IT IS! That mid century vibe you’ve been wanting, but without
 the mid century decor that seems to haunt so many houses of this era….but
don’t worry, this one has still has the hardwood floors, cut stone fireplace,
original tile in the baths and that cool retro feel in the kitchen. Be SURE to
see the pics, but here is some more info: *Fresh paint *New Kitchen floor
 *Updated lighting *2 car garage *Corner lot *NEW water heater *1 year old roof
 *Walk-out basement *Desireable school district *Awesome neighborhood so close to
 everything & sooooo worth your time to see it. Call/text for more info :-)”

“I just love Suburban Court. It’s a dead end street with 70 houses between
Cherokee Park & Rosemont Garden. That puts it right in that sweet spot of
being just a bike ride away from downtown or UK, but also just moments from the
Suburban type retail/dining just south on Nicholasville Road…..best of the
new/old really. Plus, if you need a popular school district, you get that too
 with Glendover/Morton/Lafayette. But what about the house? Well, its got that
vibe you want in an old house, meaning original hardwood floors, craftsman style
windows, a brick fireplace, front porch & much of the original
 doors/hardware. Plus a fully fenced yard backing to much more expensive
houses-do a Bird’s Eye view to see how far away the houses behind this one are.
Could this be it? You won’t know until you see it for yourself!
 #yousnoozeyoulose”

“Bet you haven’t seen a house like this one? No joke, $5 says this one is NOTHING
like any other ranch you’ve seen in this price range. Why am I so confident?
 Well, This one has soooo much detail. Coffered ceiling in the kitchen,
 wainscotting in the dining room, built-ins around the travertine tiled
fireplace, oil rubbed bronze hardware on doors/lighting/cabinets, tall
 baseboards. The floor plan is super cool too. The position on the lot gives you
loads of light in the Great Room. Plus, you get a real laundry room-not one in a
 closet in a hall or a pass-thru to the garage….a real one! Throw in squeeky
clean move in ready condition and you’ve got your new place.”

“Wanting something with a little pizzaz? You know, a place that doesn’t just feel
like a bunch of boring boxy rooms joined together? If so, how about taking a
look at this place. Here’s a few things I think you’ll like about it: ** The way
the kitchen sink faces out towards the sun filled breakfast area and family
room. The kitchen has a cool walk-in pantry with custom shelving, tile floor
& cherry cabinets. ** The vaulted ceiling in the large family room and all
 it’s windows. ** The breakfast area has windows on two sides & opens to the
kitchen & family room. ** The dramatic 2 story foyer with tile, a beautiful
 staircase, & a waaaaay upgraded light fixture. ** The sitting area in the
HUGE master bedroom that makes a great home office. ** The custom shelving in
the master walk-in closet right off the spa-like master bath. ** The way the
driveway has been widened with pavers so you can park big vehicles easily. **
The way it looks in pictures….Take a look…then make the call.”

“Let’s talk about your wish list for a moment. Does it have BIG OPEN FLOOR PLAN
on it? What about HUGE MASTER BEDROOM with 2 large walk-in closets? If we’re
good so far, let me tell you a bit more about this place before you look at the
pictures. My fave thing about this house is that it backs to a tree line, which
makes for a very PRIVATE back yard. On the other side of the tree line is
Jacobson Park. Yep. All 216 acres of it right there for you to enjoy all the
time and you don’t have to mow it 😉 Plus it is near the end of the cul-de-sac
and doesn’t have a house on one side. Want to hear more? * LOTS OF FRESH,
NEUTRAL PAINT *Fireplace *9 foot ceilings downstairs *Front Porch * Open Living
Space Upstairs *Close to Hamburg & I-75 *Fenced Yard *Look at the pictures
so you can keep going with this list. Call/text/e-mail agent for more info &
quick response :-)”

“So…You’ve probably noticed that most of the houses in this price range have
teeny tiny yards and are so close to each other that the sun never shines
between them. Right? But you’re also a person of taste who appreciates things
like granite counter tops, stainless appliances, and tile flooring, right? Well,
there is no need to compromise here! It has about a 1/4 acre lot with a
gorgeously flat backyard and is recently updated!! Now, be sure to look at the
pictures, but here is a partial list of what all this house offers: **FABULOUSLY
relaxing screened in patio **Recently updated granite, tile, carpet, fixtures,
 kitchen cabinet uplighting, water heater & stainless appliances ** Large
Upstairs laundry room ** Dunbar School district **This house has bigger living,
dining & secondary bedrooms than you typically see. I think this is an
awesome, relaxing place to be & has a really livable floor plan.
CALL/E-MAIL/TEXT for more info……..THANKS!”