buy

Why say NO to a perfect house?

by John Rice

I showed a house to a family yesterday. It was a perfect house. It was in move in ready condition. Had character. Even a salt water pool. It was on 5 glorious acres in a great location in Woodford County. It was even priced really good.

The buyer didn’t like it.

And that was okay. It wasn’t as good of a fit for he and his family as he had hoped.

He realized that having a primary bedroom on the main level was very important to him. He also realized he didn’t want to maintain that many acres.

It was a good day because we learned something. We narrowed down what he wants in a house. The simple fact is that the more houses you see, the more you learn about what you want/don’t want in your next house.

Often Buyers will apologize to me for wasting my time to show them a house they aren’t interested in buying. I always tell them that finding the right one is a process. It’s really not even about the houses. It’s about self discovery…..learning what’s most important. This Buyer now wants a big yard, but not acreage and a house with a primary bedroom on the main level. Had we not see this fabulous house yesterday, neither of us would have known this.

We are one step closer to finding HIS perfect home.

Know what I like about this market?

by John Rice

If you just want the answer but don’t care to know why, it is because this market is LOGICAL.

If you want to know what I mean, here we go:

Other than the past few years, the real estate market has always been logical. The best houses sold for the most money and sold the quickest within their price range. The second choice houses sold for less than the more desirable houses. Location mattered. The lot the house was on mattered.

For a few years there, nothing mattered. Any house was selling for more than it should have and it didn’t matter if one house was in a second choice neighborhood or had a terrible lot. It was tough being a realtor back then. You could look at recently sold comparable homes and determine what a house should be worth, but it always sold for more, sometimes waaaaaay more than that. I would tell my sellers “Here is what your house is really worth but here is what it could sell for…..expect anything to happen!” I would tell my buyers “Here is what the house you are bidding on is worth, but here is how much of a convenience fee you may have to pay just to end your misery of losing in multiple offers.”

Today’s market is about logic again and I am glad. If two identical houses come on the market on the same street and on the same day and one of them backs to the interstate and the other doesn’t, the one with the better lot will sell for more. If a house is overpriced, it won’t sell at all.

Why is this? It is because today’s buyer has choices. Yesterday’s buyer had one shot at the only active listing in their price range. Having a little inventory makes a difference. It is still a good market. It is an even better market if you have one of the better houses in your price range. This has always been true. I remember back in 2009. The market sucked yet I was getting multiple offers the first day on the market for some of my listings. Buyers will always pick the very best house that is available and take a pass on those that aren’t. That’s just the way logic works.

Two deals: BuyerZilla & One of the best sellers ever

by John Rice

I have always said that during a real estate transaction, you either see people at their best or their worst.

It is a stressful thing to do. So many details. Such a big change in the lives of both the buyer and seller. It is something most people do 4-5 times in their life so it isn’t like this is anything anybody will ever get used to doing.

I’ve got two deals right now where I am seeing somebody at their best and at their worst.

I have a listing where the buyer is clearly at their worst. They are making things a little difficult for their own realtor, the seller and me as the listing realtor. The funny thing is that I don’t know why? Due to the slowdown in the market last fall, there were not enough comparable sales for this higher priced home in a small town outside of Lexington. The house appraised for $14k less than the contract price. My seller agreed to lower their price. Then the buyer hit us with a pretty big repair list. We agreed to all but one item which happened to be the easiest one on the whole list. They threw a fit. One of the items was to repair a roof leak around the chimney. This was perfectly acceptable to ask for and the seller committed to getting it done. My seller turned it into his insurance. While the insurance company rejected the claim, they did agree to replace the whole roof at a cost of over $24k. He has to pay out of pocket for the chimney repair however. We asked the buyer to chip in a little bit towards the new roof (which my seller had no obligation to do) and they threatened to walk away from the sale. While they were under no obligation to help, one would have thought that having gotten the house for $14k less than the price they offered AND getting a whole brand new roof worth $24k would have made any buyer feel like they had won the lottery. It appears this buyer somehow feels like it was all owed to them.

The other deal is a property some long time good friends are buying. We were set to close today after waiting for the seller to get a new hvac part installed. It got installed and we all thought things were good. The person who installed this part went back yesterday to check on it and turns out that the gas furnace is now producing too much carbon monoxide. When faced with the choice of not telling us and closing today as planned or disclosing this, they chose to let the us know. Their HVAC person’s solution was to install a new furnace. They seller offered to split the cost with the buyers, who immediately said yes because who wouldn’t want a brand new furnace for half price, right? We decided to postpone the closing until the new furnace is installed and the carbon monoxide level is checked again. Had this seller chose the option of not letting us know, it would have cost my buyers more money and could have cost them even more since they would be sleeping in a house with high carbon monoxide levels. This seller did the right thing. I told the seller’s realtor how much I appreciated their honesty and that I was definitely seeing the sellers at their very best.

I am always inspired when I see a buyer or seller at their best, I just wish it happened every time.

My advice to First Time Buyers

by John Rice

I was you once. I had no idea how any of this works. All I knew was that I was ready to buy a house and I had to borrow money to do it.

I had been saving a little. I was self employed running my lawn care business. I had a busy spring and had fallen behind on billing. I totaled up the invoices I had just sent out and to my surprise, I had suddenly had a 5% down payment for a very modest home.

I started working with the only realtor I knew at that time. I got preapproved with the bank that I had my checking account with. After seeing a lot of houses, we decided on one and bought it. There is of course more to that story, but this is really about what I learned as a first time buyer and now many years later a realtor that might help you.

I always think the first step is to find a realtor. A realtor can explain the whole process and prevent a lot of mistakes. When picking a realtor, you want somebody that sells enough houses in your price range to be able to tell you if a certain house is a good one to buy or not. Keep in mind that while it is great to love the house you buy, odds are you won’t be there forever. It is the first step on a path to getting in the house you ultimately want, can’t afford now and that you will be in long term. You want a house that will be easy to sell in any market. Always keep in mind that one day you will sell it because your needs have changed. You will love the next house that suits your needs better and this one can help you get it or ruin your chances. This means don’t use your neighbor’s babysitter who just quit her job at Subway and got her license. Don’t use your best friend who just got their license. Having some experience will benefit you more than you will ever understand. A lot of first time buyers assume they have to pay for their realtor and will try to go at it alone. The commission your realtor gets is offered from the Listing Realtor. The Listing Realtor has an agreement for the Seller to pay them a commission to sell their house. That Listing Agent has offered to split it with your realtor. That means having your own realtor is totally free to you. (Caveat-some realtors do charge what is called an ABC fee of $175-250. I do not do that since I think it is stupid and just a way of getting a little more money.)

The next step I would take if I were you is to find a good lender. A good lender is not necessarily the one with the rock bottom interest rate and closing cost. The best lender is one with a competitive rate that can smoothly and efficiently get you to the closing table with the least drama or delay. Pro Tip here…….this lender is typically NOT the bank with your car loan or your checking account. Your realtor probably knows a couple of good lenders.

Then I would start looking at houses. I’d look at a bunch of stuff in your price range all over town. This is a process. I can tell you that few buyers I have worked with ended up with exactly what they told me they wanted. I’ll have people say they want a specific neighborhood and fall in love with a house outside that neighborhood. I’ve had people tell me they wanted an old house end up buying a much newer one. They often apologize to me for the change of plans. I always tell them it is a process to get the right house. Changing plans just means you are more clearly discovering what you really want. The more houses you see, the more you know what you want. The worst thing about the crazy hot market of the last few years is that no buyer in any price range has had a chance to look at more than a handful of houses.

How do you know when you’ve found the right one? Most people leave a house they don’t like pretty fast…..NEXT! People that like a house stay at the house for a long time and keep walking around. Sometimes buyers stay for a while because they love certain features and not others. If you find yourself saying “If only this were different, it would be perfect,” then it probably isn’t the one. If you begin arranging your furniture in the house and are worried about losing the house as you leave it, then it is probably the one. When I say worry about losing it, I mean losing the house. The past few years the market has moved so fast that people have started worrying about losing the opportunity to make an offer. That is a fear of missing out. That has nothing to do with the house. That just means you like it enough to be anxious about losing it while you decide if you want it. If you are worried about losing the house and not just the opportunity, then you know. Also, you’ve been so focused on finding the right place that odds are you are sort of caught off guard when you do find the house. Don’t worry about that. It is common. Often a first time buyer needs to wrap their head around the fact that they are about to take the giant step they have been working towards. I try to give my first time buyers a little space. You need to get past the shock and be ready to sign the offer.

When you are ready to make an offer, please rely on your realtor for advice. I have seen so many buyers just tell their realtor what to put in the terms of the offer and then not get the house should there be multiple offers. In multiple offers, you really only get one change to win the house. Ask your realtor what they think you should do. If you can handle their advice, just do it. Your realtor has done this multiple times in the past month and this is your first time. It is their time to take care of you.

You’re feeling all good now. You’ve found the house. A contract has been signed. Your lender is asking you for a lot of documents. The next step is the home inspection. Not having been though a home inspection, you assume since the house looks good that it is good. As the home inspector you chose starts going over the inspection report, you begin to wonder if you have made the wrong choice. Most home inspection reports I have seen have 20-50 items that the inspector found. Most of these items will be things that are deferred maintenance or things that were not done in the textbook perfect way. This is where a realtor you trust can help you sort through what items are most likely going to be on any home inspection report and which items are specific to this house. I try to break down the items that are most immediate and those that will be the most expensive. Sometimes the house has one or more major items that are deal breakers. Sometimes the sum of all the immediate needs is too much. Most of the time though, 80% of whatever your inspector found at your house will be on the next home inspection report should you walk away from this house and buy another. Why? Because there is no perfect house.

Now we are getting close to the closing. Your realtor tells you that you have to do a “Final Walk Through” of the house right before the closing. All this means is you need to see the house prior to you owning it to make sure any home inspection repairs were done and that the house is in equal or better condition than it was the day you bought it. It can be a fun time too just to get inside the house.

The final step is the closing. Sometimes buyers get anxious about this. They just don’t know what to expect. A closing in my state usually takes about 30-45 minutes. Everybody sits at a table and signs a bunch of documents. You’ll have the most to sign since you’re getting a mortgage. It’s a fairly casual deal. Dress however you want since all anybody cares about is that you brought your Driver’s License and are able to sign your name. You are the star that day. Everybody at the table is there because YOU decided to buy a house.

Now the place is yours. Move in and enjoy building equity!

Connection to this house made this new sale extra special

by John Rice

Yesterday started out like most busy days in real estate. I had to drive to Salvisa for a home inspection. I was negotiating home inspection repairs on two listings. Talking about radon, missing tub stoppers and clogged gutters isn’t especially exciting or fun. About the only real satisfaction in working on home inspection lists is knowing you’re working hard to make things as good as possible for your clients.

I also had an offer out with a 7:PM deadline. I wrote the offer for my Buyer’s on Saturday afternoon so it was a long wait to see if they got the house or not. And they did get it. That always feels great. It is especially exciting and fun to be the one to drop that news to your clients.

This sale was a pretty special one.

It was a house I had sold last summer.

This house was where two friends grew up. I have worked with this family several times. It was time for their mother to move out after having lived there since the mid 60s. It was a great house with a great floor plan in a great neighborhood. It was also in great shape. It was just a little dated. We got something like 20 offers on the place when I had it listed. It got bid up about $40k over the list price. Unbeknownst at the time the offer was accepted, the lady who bought it had gone to school with one of the daughters of the owner so they had a little reunion at the closing.

It felt great to have gotten so much over list price for this family. It felt great to see the daughter and buyer catch up after not seeing each other in decades.

Flash forward about six months, I saw the house was coming on the market. It had been totally renovated and an extra full bathroom had been added. I mentioned it to a young couple who had been referred to me. It was pretty much exactly what they were wanting in a house (short of having a garage.) I knew it would be a great house. As soon as it hit the market, we checked it out. Later that day, an offer was made.

When I first saw the house prior to listing it, my friend and her mother were telling me stories about their family’s history in that house. The one that sticks out the most was her mom cooking breakfast on a wood burning stove in the basement during the ice storm of 2003 while the power was out. I always love getting these details…….and I totally love that I got to sell it again, knowing that my Buyers will be making their own history there that one day they will tell me about when it’s time to sell.