cash buyer

OK to take a contingency offer?

by John Rice

Well, I don’t really like to do it. Sure, an offer without that type of contingency is better, but there is a good side to this type of contract. Guess what it is? The buyer will typically pay you more with a contingency to sell or close their old house than a regular buyer will without that contingency.

I see it all the time. A buyer with a house to sell or close gets really nervous about not knowing where they will be living. They are desperate to find a house and will pay top dollar for the mental peace of knowing where they are going to land.

The bummer part is if the deal on their old house falls apart, so does your deal. There is an upside though, and it is the home inspection. If the inspection goes okay on the buyer’s old house, it typically means it will too on your house. Short of some catastrophic issue, a buyer will not walk away from your house. Why? There is not enough time to find another house prior to closing their old house…..and remember, they did all this because they do not want to be homeless once they close on their old house.

Is a view worth less if it is not as good?

by John Rice

I was driving through the new Peninsula neighborhood the other day. It is over off Richmond Road and backs to the reservoir. I could see the back of the houses on Dew Court, Rain Court and Coolwater Court. For decades the owners of those house have had a rare and fantastic view of the water and the woods where there are now these new houses.

But that has changed. The water is still there of course. The woods are gone.

Question is this: Are those older houses worth less since the view is not as good?

To those owners who have enjoyed the “Old” view, I am sure it is not as good now. They probably think these new houses have impacted the value of their homes. I totally get that vibe. I dealt with something similar. I used to have a peek-a-boo view of the Greenbrier Golf Course from my last home. Across the fairway was a beautiful hillside full of trees. About 6 months after I moved in, I heard bulldozers clearing the hillside. Now there is a neighborhood there. While I did not like the new view as much as the old one, it was still a view. It just didn’t extend past the golf course now.

And that is exactly what the 1980s houses have. They still have a fabulous water view. I mean, the new houses are going to be extremely desirable being on the water and they have the houses from the 80s on the other side of the water in their view. There is no reason to think that somehow the market is going to like the 1980s houses less because they now have a view of the new houses across the water, right?

Something else to consider. Whenever the 1980s houses come up for sale in the furture, no buyer is going to know that the view was better before the new neighborhood was built. All they will know is what is currently there, which is a very rare water view.

Is it turning to a Buyer’s Market?

by John Rice

Short answer: It depends on the house.

Long answer: I read an article this morning asking this same question. It had all the usual data in any article related to the nationwide real estate market. Average days on market, Average sale price compared to previous years, the number of listings compared to previous years……blah blah blah.

None of that really matters. Why? Because no two houses and no two markets are the same. There is no average house. Average means a composite of all data. It does not look at each house individually. Do you know who does look at each house individually? Buyers do.

A buyer looks at every house within their budget and decides which one they want to buy. Let’s say they look at 10 houses. They are only buying one so they pick the best one. Do you know what else happens? Usually every buyer in that same price range also picks the same best one. That means we have multiple buyers competing for the best houses on the market. Meanwhile, the rest of the houses sit there and dilute all those averages so the media can make illogical conclusions to share with the world.

I have been a realtor for 20 years. It was a Seller’s Market when I started. Then a Buyer’s Market. Then an EXTREME Buyer’s Market. Then a stable market. Then it slowly built into the strongest Seller’s Market ever. Now, more than ever, we sort of have two markets. If you want the best house in the best neighborhood, you better be prepared to go over the list price and be flexible on anything important to the seller. If you are not picky, make a low offer on one of those houses that nobody else has wanted. After 20 years of this, I can tell you that when you go to sell whatever house you decide to buy, picking the best one will always have been the wisest decision. The best houses will always be worth the most, be the easiest to sell, and will have the broadest appeal.

It’s all about trust & credibility

by John Rice

Well, it finally paid off today. In a big way too!

I am all about keeping the trust I work so hard to establish with my clients. I want them to know I am looking out for them. I often look for ways to reinforce that vibe.

Let me give you a little background about this story so you’ll understand how me spending the money for a service call to have an air conditioner looked at turned out to be a fantastic decision.

I have a client who is buying a house. We had it inspected. The inspector said the copper had been cut out of the air conditioner lines. After informing the seller’s realtor about it, they had their HVAC person come out to inspected the unit. Their HVAC person said the lines were there and all was well. 

 Since we had opposing opinions about the lines, I decided to send my HVAC person out. I told my client I had no reason to believe what the seller’s realtor said was untrue, but I wanted to prove it to them. I was really expecting the lines to be there and all to be well. It was really about putting my client’s mind at ease that all was well………..

Only all wasn’t well. Turns out the copper lines were missing. Probably recycled by now and the thief that took them has already spent the money. My HVAC guy said it would be a few thousand dollars to get it working again.

I am so glad I decided to get this checked out myself. Not that I thought there was any deception here. This was just one of those things where the person checking it earlier didn’t investigate all that well and my realtor-friend passed along the info they were told. If anybody is to blame it would be the HVAC person who said it worked just fine. (So, realtor-friend, I am not pointing any fingers at you if you are reading this.)

Can you imagine if my client had closed on the house tomorrow, turned on the air, and it not work? Then find out they needed to spend that much money? Not only would that have been devastating, it would have killed any credibility and trust I had built with them. In the end, it was worth every penny of the service call to guarantee that my client’s wallet wouldn’t be drained, their house to be cool, and to maintain the trusting relationship we have.

What is the 2025 Spring Market Like?

by John Rice

I have no idea what the rest of the year is going to be like in real estate, but the spring 2025 market is super hot in and around Lexington Ky.

I have sold 12 houses in the past 9 weeks. I think that might be a record for me. Five have been cash purchases. Five have been in multiple offers. Two went $60,000 or more over the list price.

If you see a new listing that looks amazing, be prepared to be in multiple offers and view the list price as the starting point for any offer.

Don’t want to get in a bidding war? Well, don’t look at houses that are newly listed. Stick with the inventory of homes that have been on the market for at least a week.

I am going to take a nap now.