list in fall

What I like about a contingency contract

by John Rice

Well, I don’t really like them, but there is a good side to this type of contract if you are the seller.  Guess what it is? The buyer will typically pay you more with a contingency to sell their house first than they would without it.

I see it all the time. A buyer with a house to sell gets really nervous about not knowing where they will be living once they sell their old home. Now, unless the buyer already has a contract on the house they are selling, I always counter back with a kickout clause.  That basically means that IF the seller would like to sell the house to another buyer who does not have a contingency, they give the contingency buyer a certain amount of time to remove the contingency or back out of the deal. 

Another thing I like is that IF the contingency buyer can and does remove their contingency,  you have a back up buyer. Sometimes it helps when negotiating repairs if the buyer knows there is somebody else wanting the house if the deal falls apart!

I don’t really care for this kind of contract though when I am working with a buyer…..for all the same reasons. When I have a buyer who wants to write a contingency offer, I usually try to get them to just wait until we sell their house first. Here is why I don’t think they are a good idea for the buyer who can’t possibly remove the contingency if needed: Any decent realtor is going to counter back with a kickout clause. That means that if another buyer comes along they will lose the house. If no such buyer comes along, that means that the house would still be there when the buyer’s old house eventually sells, and they could probably strike a better deal at that point.

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.

    What 2 things make any house sell fast?

    by John Rice

    We are in a market now that feels like two markets: One where a house gets multiple offers the first day and the other where a house lingers on the market forever.

    Want to know the 2 things that will put you in the better half of this market? Price and Presentation…..If you get those two things right, you don’t need anything else to sell a house. Those are the hardest things to get right though, so most realtors focus on the minor things like open houses, fancy brochures, TikTok videos….you know, you’ve seen it all too. See, if you don’t know what price a buyer will consider fair for a house nor do you know how to make the listing stand out among other similar houses, that’s all you have left.

    I once sold a house for a friend who lives out of the country. He trusts me and knows I know what I am doing. He gave me free reign to get his place sold.

    He had rented it out for a few years, so it was a little rough on the eye. It needed a fresh vibe or we just weren’t going to be able to sell it for anywhere near its potential.

    Soooo, I had the house painted and the carpet cleaned. We replaced the flooring in the kitchen and bathrooms. We then had the main rooms staged with furniture that would appeal to the typical first time buyer.

    Want to know what happened next? Well, we sold it. Yep. Didn’t take long either. Multiple offers too.

    Was  this a special house? Not really. Did we price it too low? Nope. Can this be duplicated? Yes and no. See, what made this such a success was that the seller was willing to do everything I told him to do in order to sell his house. I hate to say this, but what ultimately makes a sale successful is the seller. No amount of advertising or positive thinking makes a house sell. The best realtor can’t sell a place that doesn’t show well. It really takes a good seller who is willing to take the advice of a good realtor.

    Neutral or Character for Resale?

    by John Rice

    I had a chance to catch up with an old friend recently. This guy makes fine furniture and cabinets for a living. He was showing me all the things he has done to his house. It was pretty sweet. Not something you see everyday. Loads of character. Then he says to me that he doesn’t get this going neutral for resale thing. He just does what he likes. He then went on to say that the last house he had, he sold to the first person that saw it for top dollar. I’m usually the one saying go neutral and play it safe, but like so much in life, there are exceptions.

    I think what my friend didn’t realize is that not everybody has such great taste. His house really rocked because all the work he did was so excellent and the house was full of hand-made furniture. Not everybody can pull that off……I know I couldn’t!

    Most buyers are happy to have some common updates when they go looking for a house. It is safe to go neutral because that has the broadest appeal. But, I will say from experience that when a buyer walks into a house that has enough character to be remembered after they leave, they really like it or they really don’t. 

    I sold a place recently that had a lot of character. Hardwood floors, unique lighting, a sunroom, a koi pond, a heavily landscaped backyard. Those sellers had great taste too. Their house really stood out as a winner. I’ve also seen several houses that the seller went with their own sense of style, and that is what made their house difficult to sell. 

    So, if you are going to throw caution to the wind and go with something out of the ordinary, here is my advice: Make the whole house work together. Don’t do one room at a time without regard to how it relates to the rest of the house. No 4 different types of flooring or anything way random like that. The house will come across like you just went to Lowe’s and bought what was on clearance. Remember that a buyer is walking through your whole house and in their mind, they don’t separate the rooms mentally like we all do once we actually live in a house. 

    Well, I hope I’m not contradicting myself too much here. I guess the bottom line is that playing it safe is fine….maybe a little boring, but fine. Character is a gamble. If you are planning on being in your current place for only a few years, go safe. If you want a house with character & will be there for a longer time, go for it. Chances are what you pick will be outdated/worn out by the time you sell, and you’ll get to enjoy it while you live there.