lexington

911-What is your real estate emergency?

by John Rice

Like Tom Petty said…..The waiting is the hardest part.

That is what I am doing today.  So is my buyer.

We finally found the perfect house for her late last night.  It is everything I want for her and she is in love with it.  She is doing an FHA loan, so I have to be more mindful of things like peeling paint, painted shut windows, loose handrails and all.  This house had none of those issues since the roof, windows and HVAC have all recently been replaced.  It really is everything I could hope to have found for her.

The house had just come on the market.  In fact, there was another agent standing at the front door the whole time waiting to show it.

Sometimes being a realtor in a hot market is like responding to a 911 call.

I had been out all day.  I had just come from showing another client a house.  I hadn’t eaten anything since lunch and it was now close to 8:PM.  That’s a long time for a fat guy.

I rushed to my office (okay, the room over my garage) and fired up the computer.  Ran the comps.  Sent them to the buyer.  Suggested an offer strategy.

Ran downstairs and shoveled down some of the City BBQ my wife had brought home for dinner.  Back up stairs.  Buyers says to pull the trigger.  Tell the listing agent an offer is on it’s way.  Write the offer.  Buyer signs the offer.  Tell the listing agent offer has been sent.

Then I tell the buyer the offer has been sent and I will let her know when I get a response.  Since she is a first time buyer, I detailed what the rest of the process should look like.  I told her it is customary for clients to name a son after me since most people are so thankful for getting a chance to work with me.  I forgot to tell her that if she ever has a girl, LEXperta would be okay too.

Then I ran back downstairs.  Made a cup of decaf.  Watched Designated Survivor with my wife and went to bed.

We should know today about 5ish if we got the house.

My fingers are crossed for my buyer.  She is a super nice person and I have enjoyed working with her and her boyfriend, and I am thankful for the mutual friend that sent her my way!

Best First-Time Buyer advice ever

by John Rice

A lot of my first-time buyers from 2008-2011 are beginning to sell their houses.

Most of them probably remember me telling them that I wanted to find a house that would be easy to sell regardless of the market when that time comes.  I would tell them that right now, they are just thinking about finding a house they like.  While I wanted that too, I’d tell them I was also thinking about their exit plan.  I would tell them that one day they may have some big life changing event that requires them to move.  I didn’t want the sale of their house to stand in the way of their plans……picking a house that would be easy to sell again and not paying too much for it would set them up for their next move.

See, back then I would see sellers who paid too much and would have to bring money to the closing just to get out of their house.  Since they didn’t have any equity, they ended up renting rather than buying when they moved.  I would see people turn down job opportunities because they couldn’t afford to sit on a vacant house while it was on the market.  I would see a couple where one stayed in their old house while on the market and the other was renting a small apartment in another state for a new job.

Real estate can be a real blessing to your life or a noose around your neck.

Right now we are back to the frenzy of the early 2000s where everybody is all rainbows and unicorns.  Buyers feel lucky to get any house these days.  It doesn’t matter if it has a steep driveway and backs to a loading dock.

But you know what I am saying to my first-time buyers today?  I tell them that I want to find a house that will be easy to sell regardless of the market when that time comes.  I tell them that right now, they are just thinking about finding a house they like.  While I want that too, I tell them I am also thinking about their exit plan.  I tell them that one day they may have some big life changing event that requires them to move.  I don’t want the sale of their house to stand in the way of their plans……picking a house that will be easy to sell again and not paying too much for it will set them up for their next move.

And this advice is all the more important in a seller’s market.

 

 

 

Why I think 3-D tours are a bad idea

by John Rice

3dmovies

 

Yep.  I really said that.  Those Google earth type tours where you click arrows to navigate around the entire house are a bad idea.

I know they are cool.  On trend, just like Pokemon Go was last summer.  Soon, they will be as flat as the last sip of a soft drink.

Why do I think they are a bad idea?  It all boils down to the point of showing a listing online.  The goal is NOT to sell the house.  The goal of marketing a listing is to sell a SHOWING.

Pause and let that sink in.

I think we can all agree that buyers are looking at listings right now on their phone.  What are they doing?  They are deciding if they like the house enough to come see it in person.  You know what happens when they see something they don’t like?  They don’t come see it in person….I guess these 3-D tours are good for a buyer.  Saves them a lot of time when they decide not to come see a house because they saw all of it and didn’t like something.  If you are the seller, does this make you feel good?  Wouldn’t you rather have a buyer come see your house in person before ruling it out based on an unflattering angle they saw on their phone?

The cold, hard truth is that these tours are the latest thing in a long line of products designed to be sold to realtors with the promise that it will help them get listings.  In the 12 years I have been a realtor, I have seen several trends come and go:  The number on the sign you call for a recorded message about the house, the Virtual Tours (which were the same pictures, just zooming in and out with music) and QR codes.  All of those were gimmicky, but did not potentially prevent a buyer from coming to see your house.

And you know what, they aren’t even really 3-D.

 

The 3rd real estate word I created

by John Rice

One of the toughest things about being a realtor is when you make friends with somebody who buys a house from you, then they move out of town.

Phil and his wife were referred to me from their agent when they moved to Lexington.  He had taken a job here and commuting from out of state was not an option.

I had a really good time looking at houses with them.  They were a lot of fun.  We laughed.  It didn’t even feel like work to me.  It was like hanging out with old friends.

Several times a year, Phil and I try to find the best Chinese buffet in town.  We haven’t really found an amazing buffet, but we sure can tell you where not to go for lunch.

Well, Phil is just too good at what he does and now it is time to move on to bigger and better things that are not in Lexington.  Time to sell their house.

I went over to check it out earlier this week.  It was good to see what all they have done to the place.  I had forgotten a lot of details about the house, but I quickly saw why they picked it.  Back then, he had a choice of many houses in that price range.  Today, there might be 20 houses on that side of town in this price range.  I always like to make sure my people get a house that will be a buyer’s top choice even in a bad market.  We won’t have any trouble selling it.

Anyway, as I was looking at their hall bathroom, I said that the tile floor was “Decade Neutral.”  He got a good laugh, said that would make a good blog post, and here we are.

Decade Neutral I guess is my new term for those finishes that are hard to tell when they were done.  His house had 12 by 12 beige tile with a light but not white grout.  Who knows when it was installed.  It could have been the 70s.  Could have been the 80s.  Could have been last week?  It is decade……neutral!

When people ask me about updating their house, I usually suggest things like this.  It is no fun to rip out trendy tile once there is a new trend.  His tile is like a pair of jeans or khaki pants.  It goes with everything and is timeless.

Some other things that are Decade Neutral are:

  1. Hardwood floors.  Not the prefinished kind.  The kind that gets stained and polyed on site.  The Goldilocks kind because it is not too wide and not too narrow. It is just right.  The kind you see in houses from every decade since houses have been built.
  2.  Crown molding.  I’ve never had anybody tell me that they would have to update crown molding.
  3. Recessed lighting.  The beauty of recessed lighting is, well, that you DON’T SEE IT.  (Ok, I guess they did make some a long time ago that had a mirrored gold ring around it…but you can buy covers for THAT kind now.)
  4. Chrome faucets.  While they are more minivan than “Sexy Black Dress”, they get the job done and nobody is appalled to see them in a house.
  5.  Tall ceilings.  Sure, the 2 story foyer isn’t as popular any more, but nobody has ever said they wished the ceiling in the family room was shorter.

That is all I have for now.  I’m gonna miss Phil, but I sure wish him all the success he in due in his new job.  He’ll do great!

Oh, and the other real estate terms I created are “Move out ready” and “Reach-in closet.”  Move out ready is when a vacant house looks like the seller left in a hurry.  It has crumbs in the fridge, you can see the impression on the carpet where the couch was, and there are nail holes in every wall.  A “Reach-in closet” is any closet that isn’t a walk-in.

My dream place to live when I was 12

by John Rice

woodland-village-lexington-ky-primary-photo

I rarely go through campus any more, but I found myself stopped at a red light on the corner of Woodland and Euclid this week.  While I was there, I decided to look around rather than checking my phone since I had just done that at the last light.

I found myself staring at this apartment complex.  Back in the early 80s, I was sure I was going to go to UK and live in one of these super cool apartments.  It would be great.  All my friends would come over.  We would do all the things a 12 year old kid thinks college is all about.  It would be Porky’s or Fast Times at Ridgemont High 2.0.  (Google that if you’re younger than 35.)

As a grown up, it made me realize that living there now would be torture.  No way I would want to be on a busy corner with all those students around me.  As the light changed to green, I thought there has to be a blog post in there somewhere.

I kept thinking about the potential post.  As I was waiting to turn left onto Walton Avenue, it dawned on me.  The post should be about how you should always look a little into your future when making real estate decisions.

When I was 18, these 1 bedroom 1 bath apartments would have met every need I had at the time.

When I got married and needed more space than these one car garage sized apartments had, a 2 bedroom apartment met all my needs.

When kids came, I needed a house with a yard.

When we outgrew that, we needed more space and storage.

Now that I am close to being an empty nester, I realize I have too much house.  But I am not moving.  Why?  I am looking ahead.  I’ve had empty nester clients buy a much smaller house than they use to have, only to discover that once grandkids came along, their little ranch was too small.  Their grown children who lived out of town would come visit for a holiday and there was no room for everybody.

Always look ahead to the next phase of life to make sure whatever house you pick will work……unless you want to keep buying and selling for each stage of life.  Which is really okay with me since that is how I make a living.