real estate agent

I’ll pick choice #2

by John Rice

I’m sort of in the market for a car to replace one I’ve got. Truth be told, I’m always “Sort of” in the market for a car. I am always wanting to get a new one or get rid of one I have.

I test drove a car a few weeks ago in Cincinnati.

It was one of the worst experiences ever. It was extremely clear that the sales person had no interest in anything beyond getting me to do exactly whatever he wanted. Wouldn’t answer any of my questions. Just wanted to get whatever information out of me that would serve his purposes. He would say one thing and contradict himself minutes later. I left feeling more like a victim. (I’ve worked with a few sales people often enough that I have become friends with them. I really wish one of them had the car I am looking for. Two of them are still in the business and one of them is a teacher now. These guys were great to work with and made car shopping fun!)

This experience got me thinking about how I operate compared to the sales person at that dealership in Northern Cincinnati. I work for my clients. I am their advocate. I have a fiduciary duty to look out for their best interests. I should know enough about houses, neighborhoods, construction, market conditions, values of homes and pretty much anything that could help a client of mine make a wise, informed decision for one of the largest purchases they will ever make……even if this means doing so doesn’t serve my own best interest. I don’t want my clients to buy any house. I want them to buy the right house for them.

I showed a house early this morning to some first time buyers. Having lived in Lexington since 1986 and being a realtor since 2005, I was able to give them a lot of information they needed.

I’ve sold several houses in this neighborhood so I was able to tell them what my clients liked and disliked about it. Having listed several there, I was also able to tell them what feedback prospective buyers have given after showings.

There is an elementary school just down the road from this house. I was able to tell them exactly how far the pick up line will be from the house we were in. I have been on this street many times when school is dismissing.

I was able to tell them about a large annual event that a church up the street has and how it would impact the neighborhood one week a year.

The house we saw was one that is being flipped. I always look for signs of hidden issues. This house had cracking in the brick veneer. I didn’t see any signs of damage or repairs on the inside of the house so my hunch is that a home inspector would consider it on the moderate end of normal. While I am no home inspector, I’ve owned about 20 houses and of course, have been on hundreds of home inspections. The last thing I want to happen is for my people to buy a house, then have it fall apart after a home inspection (The sale fall apart, lol, not the house!) It is heartbreaking and expensive for them when that happens. I try to help them out by doing as much of an amateur home inspection as I can.

I wish that sales person I endured would realize that you have two choices when working in commissioned sales:

  1. Be selfish. Get what you want. Take, take, take. Make it all about you. Get your check.
  2. Put others first. Find out what others want. Give, give, give. Make it all about them. Then get your check.

By picking choice #2, you still make the same living, only you go to bed at night with a deep satisfaction from knowing you really helped somebody.

What’s 2024 Going to be Like?

by John Rice

I do these type of posts every year. Not to brag, but I am usually spot on. Why is that? I think it is because I don’t concern myself with short term knee jerk reactions to market fluxuation like the media does. I don’t view “Demand” like most people. I think there is always demand because everybody loves real estate and everybody ultimately wants to own their home. How many people are out there buying at this exact moment can vary, but there is always demand.

I think 2024 will be a better year for buyers and a still great year for sellers. We have all been on a roller coaster the past few years:

2020-We thought we were all going to catch COVID and die, or didn’t think it existed at all. We were too busy fighting over everything early on to bother with buying or selling houses….until later in the year when rates got so low.

2021-We partied like it was 1999. We chatted daily about how much our crypto went up. We got a better house, an airbnb or refinanced what we already had like crazy.

2022-We continued to party like it was 1999 but we knew the ball was about to drop. Just like inflation was eroding our purchasing power, we could no longer afford the cost to maintain our enthusiasm.

2023-Was like “Will there be a recession?”, “Are we IN a recession?” and “These rates are crazy high right now!” It felt like when somebody thinks they saw a shark and everybody jumps out of the water. Was there a shark? Who knows, but nobody wants to be the first one to get back in the water.

2024 is looking like the economy has stabilized, rates are going to drop to a level that is historically average, and all those people who are on the fence will come out….just like the opening scene of Bambi. Affordability will remain an issue. Prices will at least stay stable. We will read later in the year that rent prices are dropping but that data is skewed. All the new giant apartment complexes will be competing for the same tenants. Prices for apartments will go down for sure. The single family rental market will remain strong since there are not enough single family houses for anybody in any market.

Ultimately, I think this will be the most normal market we have seen since Covid.

And I welcome it. Bring on 2024!

Time for the Santa Suit, Shorts & Sandals

by John Rice

I forget how many years it’s been since I accidentally started this tradition.

I had been doing Christmas cards for a few years. I really enjoyed them. I remember going to stores and trying to find funny ones.

Being known as the realtor that wore shorts and sandals year round had sort of become my trademark. I thought it would be fun to dress up as Santa since I was a pretty round shaped guy back then. Of course I had to have the shorts and sandals.

That first year it was just a picture of me dressed as such with a studio background. Everybody LOVED it.

I remember renting the costume from a place off of Southland Drive. When I picked it up, the store was very messy inside and smelled like a cat box. I was so happy to get out of there. My friend Shaun took the picture at his studio. I did not expect the costume to also smell like a cat box. Once we took the picture and I returned the costume, I rushed home to take a shower. I also smelled like a cat box.

Since the first year was such a success, I thought we would expand the concept a little. My friend Shaun and I went out in the country looking for just the right spot. The concept was me as Santa again, but this time I would be sitting on the back of the blue Mazda Miata I had back then. It had antlers and a nose on it just like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

While we had the car parked and Shaun was getting his gear ready, an older man in a truck stopped to ask if we needed help. He though the car was broken down. He seems totally unfazed that I was wearing a Santa Suit, shorts and sandals and that my car looked like a reindeer. We said we were fine, thanked him, and he drove off.

After that one, my son Stuart started taking the pictures. Most were car themed after everybody loved the Miata one. Once we ran out of cool cars in the garage, we did one with my Dad’s motorcycle sidecar. My other son and dog were elves in that one.

My son Stuart was majoring in Digital Media at the time. He was really becoming a great photographer and learning a lot of skills in school. He had the idea to photoshop me into backgrounds. That’s the way we have done it ever since. Probably his most famous card was one where I was trapped in a snow globe. Ever since then, I have just told him to do whatever he wanted.

We always say we are going to start working on these sooner so we don’t have the pressure to get them done in time to hit the mailboxes. However we always wait until around the beginning of December. I usually put on the outfit, pose how he tells me to pose, then wait for the finished product.

Each year, we find it is getting harder and harder to come up with something better than the previous year. I think the one this year with the picture of Big Blue in downtown Lexington may be the peak. All I know is that I’ve only got 11 months to come up with something at least equally as good…….wait a minute, I mean my son only has 11 months to do that.

I hope everybody enjoys their Holiday!

I can’t think of a good title but it’s still worth reading

by John Rice

It’s been a good week.

As most of you know, I only work with people who find me in one of 3 ways: I have to know you. You have to have been referred to me by somebody I know. You have to have told me you found this blog. I don’t advertise. I don’t offer my services to anybody else.

That means that my “Job” feels more like I am just getting to see cool people and helping them make good choices.

This past week, I have been working with a buyer and a seller that I know well.

I am listing a really amazing ranch in Versailles for a couple I have known for over 20 years. I think it will sell fast, even this time of the year which is historically slow. It has a great floor plan, great location, a large and flat backyard, a sunroom and great outdoor space.

This couple has recommended me to several people over the years. I will miss them. They knew me before I became The LEXpert. Back then I was just a goofy guy who wore sandals and always had on my favorite yellow shirt.

The buyers I am working with is one of those situations where I have worked with multiple generations of the same family. This one is especially unique because I have worked with the family of both the husband and the wife before they married…..so they are the overlapping part of a Venn Diagram. I have know the husband since he was a little kid. We once went on a vacation with his family back in the same yellow shirt guy days I mentioned above.

The best thing about working with people who find me in one of those three ways is that I already have their trust. That sure makes it much less stressful for my clients.

What makes a good time to buy? It’s not what you think

by John Rice

In my nearly 20 years of being in this business, I have rarely seen anybody think it was a great time to buy a home.

Most of our perception of when was a great time to buy is retrospective.

2008-2010 was a fantastic time to be a buyer. Rates were really low, inventory was up, prices were down. But know what? Every buyer was scared to death to buy back then. Why, because like any time though history, there were reasons that made it scary. There will ALWAYS be reasons that make any moment in the future seem like a scary time to buy: Wars, recessions, politics, interest rates, employment stats, the price of gas. There will never ever be a time when all of those variables align to make you fell like it is the perfect time to buy a home.

Now I’m not just saying this because I’m a realtor. To most realtors, it is always a good time to buy. Interest rates going down? BUY and save money. Interest rates going up? BUY before they go higher. Inventory is up? BUY while you have options. Low inventory? BUY just to get in the market.

Know what I say? Buy when the time is right for you. It doesn’t matter what the market is like. It doesn’t matter what the interest rates are. Buying will always get you ahead because you will be buiding equity with every payment. You are investing in your furture though real estate, all while having a place to live that you can control. How will you know when you’re ready:

  1. When you can afford the payment and to maintain a home.
  2. When you know you will likely be able to stay in the home for at least the next 4-5 years.
  3. When your life is settled enough that the house you can afford will meet your needs for the next 5 years.

If you are at the point when all 3 of those conditions are met, it’s time to start shopping. Like I have been saying for nearly two decades: Buy a house on a decent lot, with a good floor plan, in one of the best neighborhoods in your price range. These three things will make your house desirable in any market when it is your turn to be the seller.

Buying a home will always be risky. Just be smart about it and minimize those risks though planning and good decisions.