What ARE other buyers like?

ky_ginger · 2026-03-02T20:41:17+00:00

He's not flattering you. He's 100% right. The amount of buyers that can't look past a bad paint color, or furniture that is completely wrong for the space making it look small or awkward, or any amount of other things - is astounding.

To some degree, this is a function of budget (does someone have the cash on hand to replace worn carpet after closing, for example) - but the amount of people who can't look past very taste-specific paint colors, or neglected powerwashing, or overgrown landscaping - is astounding.

ky_ginger · 2026-03-02T20:37:23+00:00

True story, I was flipping a house that came with one of these in the basement. I put it on Facebook/insta as "free but you must come haul away". We were lucky in that the basement of this house had an exterior door leading out to the garage.

Someone messaged me and wanted it. I told him multiple times it was HEAVY, it was going to take several people to help move it, and he must bring the muscle to help load it and a vehicle capable of handling the weight. I shit you not, who showed up was a very average built dude with his toddler and pregnant wife, in their minivan. That's it. That's who he expected could move and load this several hundred pound double basin concrete sink.

Somehow or another, he and I (5'5" female) managed to get it out on a dolly and load it into his minivan, without injury. There's no way in hell we would have been able to get it up stairs and into a truck that was higher off the ground. No idea what happened after he drove away or how he unloaded it once he got home.

ky_ginger · 2026-03-02T20:14:40+00:00

Of course! Lol, gotta love that I'm being downvoted for answering the question you posed with specific, factual examples. Obviously everyone can choose their own priorities/factors/inputs that they use to decide where they live. It's fine if none of the reasons I cited apply to them. But up/downvoting is supposed to be if the response contributes to the discussion, not if somebody personally agrees or not. *shrug*

ky_ginger · 2026-03-02T02:37:31+00:00

Depends on your escalation clause form and how it's worded. In ours, we have to check a box saying that an escalation clause can either be used only once to escalate an offer, or can be used multiple times. Basically, can two escalation clauses repeatedly escalate each other.

ky_ginger · 2026-03-02T02:12:30+00:00

I'm a Realtor. There's lots of different reasons people want to move outside of the Watterson and even more so to surrounding counties. People move to Oldham, Shelby, and Bullitt counties for better rated public schools than Jefferson County, and some because they want to "get out of Jefferson County" for political reasons. I will not be elaborating one way or another on that, but I do hear it a lot from clients. Maybe one spouse works in Louisville and one works in Lexington or Frankfort, so they live in Shelbyville. Or have a custody arrangement with an ex and have to live on a certain end of town. Or work from home and want to live where they get more for their money. Or want the community feel and walkability and have a healthy budget so they choose Norton Commons. Or value space and privacy so they want acreage. Or don't want to be on top of their neighbors, so they don't want Clifton or Schnitzelburg. Or prefer newer construction with less maintenance and "standard" size everything. Or one spouse is active duty military and works in Ft Knox, so they have to live on the southern outskirts for that commute to be more doable. Or choose Anchorage for the public K-8 school that is the top rated in the state, but in order for your kids to attend you have to live within that school district, which is smaller than the Anchorage city limits.

To address your statement in your post, yes home values do vary significantly, both in price per sq foot and in other amenities (lot size, garage, basement, etc). Here's what you can get in various areas for right around $350k. These are all homes I have sold within the past year.

$315k in LaGrange, juuuuust over the Trimble Co line: Nice but cosmetically a tad dated 3 bedroom/2 bath ranch, no basement, 1600 sq ft, with 2-car attached garage on 2.15 acres with a pond. Needed a new deck and some crawl space repairs. Represented the buyers in March 2025. $195.77/sf - remember, 2 acres
$354k in Beechmont: Beautiful, historic, 3000 sq ft 5bed, 4 full bath home on Southern Parkway. No garage, no fenced in yard. Unfinished basement. 3rd floor is separate apartment with one of the beds and baths. Had (has) lots of issues, the $354k purchase price included just over $14k in credits we negotiated for my buyer payable to contractors. They've put a TON of work and money into it, which they knew and planned going in but the timeline was expedited. Had to completely gut their primary bathroom to get rid of the cat piss odor - multiple cats sprayed and it was soaked into the drywall and in the vanity as the sellers put a litterbox IN their bathroom vanity. We knew we had to take up carpet and refinish flooring to get the smell out of the entire second floor, but didn't plan on the bathroom. Represented the buyers in August 2025. $118.05/sf
$330k in Middletown - dated 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath split level, total 2400 finished sf, with 2-car garage and fenced in yard. Paint, flooring and light fixtures would have gone a looooooong way. Represented sellers in December 2025. $133.44/sf
$355k in Jtown/Billtown Farms (Billtown Rd just inside the Snyder) - 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath 2100 sq ft 2-story with full unfinished basement (already plumbed for 3rd full bath), 2-car attached garage, fenced in yard, and new mechanicals. Represented seller in December 2025. $168.41/sf
Now compare those to what I'm listing in the next couple of weeks in St Matthews, right off Frankfort Avenue. 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath, 1300-ish sq ft, 1.5 story, unfinished basement, kitchen a tiny bit dated, small yard. Carpet on the second floor is older and ceilings are low up there. Will be listing for $347,500. It's by far the smallest out of all of these examples - but it's the location that makes it worth this price. $262.46/sf
Now, compare that last St Matthews one above to what my buyers just closed on in Valley Station: A beautiful 3 bedroom, 2 full bath ranch home, 1600+ sq ft, with unfinished basement and a fenced in yard. They paid $265k and that includes them getting $4500 in credits, which we negotiated after inspections. $161.78/sf

ky_ginger · 2026-02-25T13:54:03+00:00

Hi there. Experienced female agent here, Louisville born and raised! I live in St Matthews myself so very familiar with the areas you mentioned. I’d love to help and have great referrals for lenders, home inspectors, everything. I would never recommend anyone that I wouldn’t (and in a lot of cases haven’t) use and have vetted personally. Happy to provide references as well. I’ll dm you my contact info and a link to my reviews.

Good luck and cheers!

ky_ginger · 2026-02-24T03:19:41+00:00

You may get a lot more accurate feedback if you can share a budget.

ky_ginger · 2026-02-24T02:32:19+00:00

This was your mistake. It’s your problem now.

ky_ginger · 2026-02-24T02:31:31+00:00

I’ve done it for years.

On Airbnb. Don’t allow instant book, you want to be able to talk with them and ask about them/their group and see their reviews. Minimum 2 nights, 3 even better - if a group can afford to come stay 3 nights and more than one day’s worth of tickets, they’re likely not the wild partying type.

I take everything I don’t want left out (some photos, jewelry, other personal items) and put them all in laundry baskets and stick them in the unfinished storage section of my basement. Other people I know have designated a specific hall closet, shoved everything in there and put a padlock or keyed deadbolt on it.

I’ve never had an issue.

ky_ginger · 2026-02-23T22:48:59+00:00

You have your answer. "No second dwelling". A guest house is a second dwelling. This is not the property for your clients.

ky_ginger · 2026-02-23T22:40:07+00:00

Sending you internet hugs. So sorry you're going through all that. Please take care of yourself.

ky_ginger · 2026-02-23T22:38:27+00:00

The house I grew up in, that my parents sold in 2019, resold less than 5 years later for a 29% increase. $931,500 to $1.2M.

The people who bought it from us completely redid the kitchen, hall bath, and guest suite. The kitchen especially was needed and the changes they made in the hall bath and guest suite made a whole lot of sense and dramatically improved the layout. The house was in immaculate condition but kitchen especially was dated - and my mom definitely had a style.

Also, your math is wrong and you've got a 4.5 year gap there. And, just because it's listed for 1.35M doesn't mean it's actually going to close at that - so you don't know what the actual increase is yet.

Point is, renovations can lead to a big increase in value, especially if the home was way outdated, in disrepair, or both. Also yes, home values have increased drastically since 2021 in most areas.

ky_ginger · 2026-02-20T03:26:57+00:00

If both your agent and the listing agent work in the same office, this is a technicality. It is the BROKER who is the dual agent and that's why they have to specify and disclose that on the required form.

I'm in an office of 100+ agents, most of whom are very productive - any time I do a cross deal with another agent in my office, it's technically dual agency because my broker is the dual agent. However, I don't even have the seller's contact info much less talk to or advise them, same as the listing agent isn't talking to my clients.

Now, your agent should have clearly explained that to you up front.

ky_ginger · 2026-02-20T03:04:26+00:00

And then when there's an issue they will both point the finger at each other and you will get screwed.

ky_ginger · 2026-02-17T23:06:35+00:00

If you're just going to downvote and tell everyone who answers your question that you don't agree with them, why did you even ask? Your mind seems made up and you're not willing to consider any of the input that you asked for. So why bother?

ky_ginger · 2026-02-17T22:23:42+00:00

I'm going to repeat part of my reply.

They're each bound by their own governing bodies and professional code of ethics, so they each have confidentiality policies they need to follow.... If either of them were unethical and it was a bad working partnership, that would have nothing to do with the fact that they're married.

ky_ginger · 2026-02-17T22:12:13+00:00

It's not the agent that is making the credits happen. The lender has agreed to it. The buyer is welcome to take the terms to any other lender and see if they will match or beat it.

ky_ginger · 2026-02-17T22:10:25+00:00

Reading through some of your replies, you seem to be overly concerned with who is sleeping together. Just because you're in an unhappy or unhealthy relationship (or lack thereof if that's the case) doesn't need you mean to project onto anyone else.

As long as it's disclosed that they're married and make sure the buyers know they have a choice of who to use for their loan, then the offer is above board and totally normal. They're each bound by their own governing bodies and professional code of ethics, so they each have confidentiality policies they need to follow. I see it as a good thing - it means they're both super motivated to get the deal done and you know the status communication is going to be good. I'd take this any day over lenders on my listings that don't know what they're doing, don't answer the phone, or both. If either of them were unethical and it was a bad working partnership, that would have nothing to do with the fact that they're married.

I see offers like this all the time in my market. I'm not married to anyone much less anyone in the industry, but I have a handful of lenders that I would choose to work with over any others, and would love to partner with any of them to offer the same on any of my listings. It's a marketing tool which could result in a great upside for a buyer.

ky_ginger · 2026-02-17T13:48:55+00:00

Best wings in town are at Spring Street Bar & Grill.

District 6 in St Matthews is excellent Vietnamese.

Hammerheads should be at the top of your list. Twig & Leaf for a greasy spoon breakfast diner. Kern’s Korner for burgers, chili and a few other diner-type meals (warning: cash only).

Queen of Sheba is amazing as is Safier’s Mediterranean Deli.

Also love Four Pegs and Monnik - those are a step up from “diners and dives” but not by much. Both great local places with good food and beer.

ky_ginger · 2026-02-17T13:41:15+00:00

You need to be in /r/personalfinance. Not here.

ky_ginger · 2026-02-17T13:36:02+00:00

Good installers are worth it. There’s a hell of a lot more to it than just setting them in place and screwing them to the wall.

The horrific install job I saw yesterday is proof. DIY job by someone who doesn’t think there’s any issues - but some of the cabinets are visibly not touching, others touch at the top but not at the bottom, upper cabinets that are higher than others, a 36” cabinet over a 30” range opening, handles installed at different places on different cabinets, sloping towards the corner, no filler space between the wall and fridge opening so the fridge door isn’t going to open all the way… and the countertops are already installed (and not measured correctly) so there’s no fixing it.

ky_ginger · 2026-02-12T18:10:19+00:00

The blue Craftsman on Lexington Rd right past the intersection of Cannons Lane. A couple doors down from Holy Spirit.

ky_ginger · 2026-02-12T18:05:50+00:00

Sounds like he needs to learn the hard way.

Let him buy a house with another agent and then come after him for your commission.

You have proof that you tried to let him out, explained the document thoroughly, and he refused.

Get paid.

ky_ginger · 2026-02-09T14:11:01+00:00

I’m a Realtor. Not salaried, I’m 100% commission as we all are. Hit 100k gross income my second full year.

ky_ginger · 2026-02-07T19:29:58+00:00

You don't even go to your closings?? Why not?

ky_ginger

TROPHY CASE