The LEXpert tours Fayette Park, Elsmere Park & Hampton Court

by John Rice

It’s been a long time, but I broke out the video camera and did a tour of 3 of the best kept secrets in town for old neighborhoods.  Check out the video, but here are some highlights:

HAMPTON COURT

I am in love with this little street.  What makes it so unique is the arched entry made of stone.  There is nothing else like it in town.  There are about 40 houses and condos on this street.  I’ve always heard that the condo buildings on this street were the first in Lexington.  The condos were build around 1905 and the houses were around that same time, up to about 1920.   You can walk or drive through the big arch on the south side of the street, and there is a pedestrian arch on the north end.   The arches and the big trees really define the vibe of the street.  You almost feel like you are were playing hide-and-seek and stumbled onto a new diminsion.

ELSMERE PARK

There are only 29 houses on this street.  All of them build around 1900.  There is one way in and out.  I think that is what has helped to preserve this street’s identity.  The houses here don’t seemed to be restored to perfection like you see in some older areas.   Let’s call it patina.  The ones I have been in seem to make you realize that you are in a house that was build a long time ago, rather than making you feel like you stepped back into 1900 and everything is brand new.  More of a preservation mentality in my opinion here rather than a renovation vibe……and I say that is a good thing.

FAYETTE PARK

There are only 16 houses on this street.  Most were built in the 1885-1910 range.  This was “THE” place to be back then.   You can tell that these were grand houses when new, which means there was a bigger budget for more of the details that we all like in older houses.

I usually hit on values and school district in these videos, but none of these have sold recent enough to tell you anything accurately….and I figure that nobody is picking these streets for their school district.

Google these streets and check them out for yourself!

 

Welcome to the “Post-Housing Slump Era” (Almost)

by John Rice

I’ve been saying that Lexington is in the “Post-housing slump era” for most of this year.  Yeah, prices have stabilized and buyer’s don’t seem afraid to buy like they did in the past, but I do see one segment of the market that still may have a rough time.  It’s the upscale neighborhoods that are more than 20 years old and aren’t in the absolute best school district in town.  The decline hasn’t stopped, so it shouldn’t be news to anybody except those who currently have their houses on the market and aren’t getting any showings.

I’m thinking of one of my favorite neighborhoods in all of Lexington in particular.  I’ve shown dozens of houses in this area over the past year or so priced from $325k to over $500k.  Most of them are still on the market.  Even after the values dropped significantly over the past few years, this area still is taking a hit.  What gives?

For starters, these houses are all big and most are very outdated.  When you go into a $150k house that is 20 years old, the main thing that looks terribly outdated is all the brass door knobs.  In that price range, there wasn’t a big budget to pimp it out with all that 1991 offered.  When the upscale house was built in that same year, the budget afforded pickled cabinets, gold faucets, and mauve toilets.  The ones from the 1980’s could be the set from Knot’s Landing!  Do you know what it costs to renovate 4000 square feet?    On top of that, most of these lots are big.  Few people these days (at least in Lexington Ky) want to mess with maintaining a big yard.  Everybody I have shown houses to in this area all walk away in awe of the house and neighborhood, but I can tell they are doing math in their head trying to figure out how much they’ll have to spend for updating and upkeeping…..needless to say, all my clients have picked different neighborhood!!

About the only older upscale neighborhoods where I am not seeing this are those in the Rosa Parks Elementary district.  Buyers there seem to be willing to overlook a lot just to get the schools.  I’ve shown a lot of houses in this part of town too, and see a lot of outdated houses.  Unless they are grossly overpriced, have a super steep driveway or are on a main road, they all sell quicker than the rest of the neighborhoods of similar age.

I’ve been watching a house in one of my favorite neighborhoods for about a year now.  It is the only house I have ever been in that double wowed me.  It needs everything but the kitchen updated……a new roof, all new HVAC, and windows too.  I think the current price is just under $400k.  I think it will have to get down to $360k before anybody is willing to take on all that work.

 

Dancing with the Stars? No, Dancing with Realtors (who have two left feet!)

by John Rice

Sometimes I feel like I’m the professional dancer on “Dancing with the Stars” who gets paired with somebody who just can’t dance.  No matter what you do, you’re in a tough spot since you are limited by your partners ability.  It is the same way when working with another realtor as you dance to the closing table together.

I recently had a deal where my buyers made a decent offer on a house.  To sweeten the pot, we decided to check the inspection paragraph that said we had so many days to do a home inspection and would either stay in the contract or give written notice that we wanted out of the contract depending on the inspection results.  We would not ask for any repairs at all.  I like to do this sometimes if the buyer is wanting to get the lowest price possible or if they want to have control of the quality of the repairs and can do them after we close.

I gave the offer to this agent, and told her we had checked what is commonly called “Box 2” for the home inspection.  At that point, the listing agent tells me that the seller will do any major repairs that need done.  (I found that odd……kind of like playing poker and announcing you only have a pair of twos right before the other player places their bet.)

Turns out the house needed a new furnace and the typical laundry list of minor stuff you see on just about any inspection report.  My clients decided not to take the house.  The sellers offered to first pay for half a new furnace, then a whole new one.  My people decided they still didn’t want the house. 

When I called the listing agent to tell her that we wouldn’t be taking the house, she told me she didn’t see how we could get out of the contract.   She said it with a tone like she was a hunter who had just trapped an animal.  Trying to be nice, since you never know when you’ll work with the same agent again, I asked what made her think that?  She told me that since the seller was willing to replace the furnace, we didn’t have a legitimate way to get out of the contract.    I reminded her that we checked “Box 2” for the inspection paragraph on the contract.  She agreed with that.  At this point, I am wondering why we are both using the same part of the contract to justify opposing positions.  Well, that is an easy question to answer.  She has never actually read “Box 2” of the contract.  She told me she thought “Box 2” meant that if the seller agreed to fix anything major, the buyer couldn’t walk away.  I was driving at the time (glad my car has Bluetooth), but I pretty much quoted her what “Box 2” said from memory while merging on the interstate……see, I’ve read the contract.

So, here I was trying to dance with somebody who didn’t even know she had feet.  I totally feel for her clients because how could they have known the terms that they agreed to if their own realtor didn’t??  FYI, that contract is the same one that all 2000+ realtors who are LBAR members use and has been for as long as I can remember, so it isn’t like she has an excuse for never having actually read it.  If you ever have a chance to interview agents, ask if they have read the contract.  If there is ever a problem in a real estate deal, any broker, mediator or judge are going to use the terms everybody agreed to when settling a dispute……so it is pretty important!

How long will it take for my house to sell??

by John Rice

I get asked this question on every listing appointment I’ve ever been on.  I normally don’t reply with an amount of time, but with a sequence of events that needs to happen to attract a buyer.  The honest to goodness truth is that any house should sell pretty quickly if the seller will do everything on the list I give them and price it correctly.  Granted, there are exceptions…..million dollar house?  Will take time since there aren’t many buyers in that price range.  A unique house?  May need a unique buyer.  An overpriced house?  Will usually only sell to an idiot with a careless/stupid Realtor.  A normal house in any neighborhood in Lexington Ky?  If done right, it won’t take long.

I’ve been doing this long enough that I know how it usually goes with a seller.  I see the house.  I ask the sellers if they are willing to do any work that needs done to attract the buyers that are out there right now.  Sometimes they don’t/can’t/won’t do anything.  If they don’t/can’t/won’t, I tell them the price I think their house will sell for just like it is.  Usually though, the seller picks a few items from the list.  We put it on the market.  They get positive feedback for the things they have done.  They get negative feedback for the remaining items on the list.   After awhile, the seller starts to realize that they are going to have to do more items on that list.  They do one more item.  Still doesn’t sell or offers are way below where they should be since the buyer has subtracted about 5 times the cost for the remaining items on the list.  I’ve been on the buyer side of this.  They almost always say something like “If I have to paint this whole house I’m not paying a penny more than $XXX,XXX!!”  or “I would need to replace all the carpet and I like hardwood, so let’s just subtract the cost of hardwood from the asking price and go from there.”  Can’t blame them, after all, it is their market these days.

Eventually, the seller plugs away at my list until it sells (And sometimes being realistic about the asking price has been on the top of that list since day one).  See, there is the sequence of events I mentioned at the beginning of this post.  Now that the house is ready, it is going to sell because it is competitive and will almost always fall on the short list of a buyer.

But what happens to the people who do everything on the list from the beginning and price it correctly?  Their house usually sells in a matter of weeks.  Why?  Because buyers want the best house for their money.  Make your house THAT house, and start packing.

Realtors & Car Sales……Here’s Hoping for a Difference Someday!

by John Rice

I’ve been out car shopping this week.  The whole process reminds me of why people hate most realtors.  Let’s face it, nobody likes to be “Sold” anything whether it is a car, a house, or some wacky extended warranty you get hit up with while checking out of Best Buy.

I went to one lot and got the usual pushy guy.  He was talking like it was just a given that I was buying his car and I couldn’t do it soon enough to make him happy.  He called me twice a day.  Then when he got nowhere, he started emailing me.  I replied that I was thinking about going with another car….to which he replied with all the “Special” things his dealership does that I won’t find anywhere else……even though every dealer I have ever been to that sells decent used cars does the same thing.  For some reason, being pushy always makes the person think that the buyer is an idiot.  After deciding a 350Z was too small for my needs, I switched my search to a Mustang Convertible……got to have a backseat or it becomes a big paperweight in the garage.  To get this guy off my back, I told him that I now wanted a Mustang GT Convertible, thanked him for his time, and did the old “Don’t call me-I’ll call you” routine.  He then told me that he had 2 Mustangs on the lot.  I checked, and neither were convertibles.  Which was to be expected, since his goal was to sell me a car and it didn’t matter if it was one I actually wanted.

I went to another lot to look at a Mustang.  This one looked nice on the computer.  Once I got there, it was all scratched up and had worn tires.  I was told that the car was priced under book value.  I was nice to the guy, but I told him that since I was a realtor, I know how value works.  It would have sold by now if it really was such a deal.  The reason it didn’t sell is because I found out that there are much nicer ones with better tires for the same money.  I wasn’t going to pay the same amount for a scratched up one needing new tires as one with new/newer tires and in better shape!

At the end of the day, I decided to have one shipped to a local dealer from up north.  If it looks nice, I’ll take it.  If not, I won’t.  You’ll know if my next video blog is out of a red Mustang convertible.

The whole process reminded me of why so many realtors can’t make it in this business.  See, they act too much like these car sales people-always wanting the consumer to do what they want to see happen rather than wanting the best for them.  People just aren’t into that!  I’ve said it before, one day I am going to write a book on how to be a great realtor.  I’ve also said that nobody would buy it because most realtors don’t want to be great, they want to make easy money.  I must have a lot of saying because I’ve also said personal success comes AFTER you’ve done something for the sole reason that it benefits your customer or client.  The public is looking for somebody they can trust and who has the guts to give them the advice/guidance they need even if it means creating more work and/or less money for the realtor.

I only wish there was a car lot out there that subscribes to my business paradigm.

(FYI-I have a 4 door sedan too…..Don’t want you thinking that if you call me, you’ll have to ride in the Mustang….unless you want to!)