Paul Campbell

I often have buyers contacting me wanting to get a great deal. Initially they are determined to buy a bank owned home or a short sale home.

The radio and TV ads advertise in such a way that the public think they can just steal a home. Buyers be careful what you steal!

I recently bid on a bank owned home and was lead to believe I had an agreement with the bank. The next day the bank sent me an email stating. "Due to multiple offers we need your highest bid." My first bid was my highest bid. I had done my homework on this house. I do not buy homes to lose money.

A prudent buyer will count the cost before making a bid and will stick to that price. Otherwise you could easily be in the same situation as the previous owner.

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1. Know the market - work with a realtor who has access to all of the sold properties and let him/her really educate you as to what the "real market" value is in particular areas. It takes time but a realtor has the access to and expertise to determine what the "real market" value is.

Real Time Example:
I listed a home in Wilmore and the home sold in 12 days because it was listed at market value. I determined the value using these steps.
1) I searched for properties that sold in the last 3 months that were in the same neighborhood development.. This is exactly what the appraisers will do.
2) I did a comparative market analysis on those homes. That involves comparing age, bedrooms, bathrooms, garage space, etc and adjusting the price accordingly. This is done using monetary values that are standard for the community.
3) I also campared the cost per square foot of the three homes. Note: The average price per square foot of the two houses that have sold is 19 dollars a square foot lower than those that have not sold..
4) I presented these facts to the buyer and let him set the price. He wanted to sell his home and based his price on what had been selling. Not on what he hoped it would sell for, or what a friend told him he should ask, and expecially not on the average price of the other 11 homes in the development that had not sold after being listed more than 180 days It seems many people list their home hoping to sell. Hoping for a lucky day when someone will walk by and fall in love with their home and they will win the "house selling lottery." .

It is my experience in the nine months that I have lived and worked as a realtor in Lexington that homes that are priced according to the real market value sell quickly. I have listed and sold four homes and the average has sold in 59 days. I have worked with buyers who hesitated to make an offer on their "dream home" and it sold immediately afterward.

SO........ If you work with a well prepared realtor he/she will be able to find homes that are priced to sell and you can make an offer before it is too late.

2. Let your realtor look for homes that haven't sold because of other factors. One of those leading factors is that the many homes are overpriced from day one.

On July 5th I did a Comparative Market Analysis of all the homes that sold in area three the previous three months which is roughly the southeast portion of Lexington. I limited the analyis to homes that sold between $390,000 and $815,000. Twenty two of these homes sold in less than a hundred days at an average of 95.6 percent of the original listing price. Seventeen of these homes sold in more than a hundred days at an average of 87.5 percent of the origiinal listing price.

What is most interesting is the homes that sold in less than 100 days sold for an average of $44,000 dollars more than the homes that sold in excess of 100 days. I hope to have time to continue this comparison of selling prices and days on the market in other price ranges and areas of the Lexington housing market.

The price may have been dropped but it is still overpriced. Some of these homes are ripe for the plucking. You will only find out which ones by making an offer. Recently I have helped two people buy homes for an average of 83 percent of the listing price. The percentage would have even been lower if the selling price were compared to the original listing price. I have found that if you do a good job presenting the facts for what the true market value is on the home, you then have empowered the listing agent to present the offer and make it realistic to the seller.

3. Be willing to look at homes that others may skip because of poor pictures on the internet or a very unattractive front yard. It may take only a few dollars to make these "rough looking houses" into a real show place. I am amazed daily by the lack of pictures of a house and the poor quality. Don't let cosmetic issues kill a good deal. In this market the well kept homes priced right sell quickly. Conversely the home with the ugly yard may never even be looked at. So there are diamonds in the rough waiting to get snatched up by a buyer who is able to look under the skin of a house.

Working from Home

I am taking care of my beautiful little granddaughter Caroline this morning while my wife attends her piano lesson and runs errands.

I loved most of the time my children were growing up but there is something different and precious about my grandchildren.

There is something so dear about the time I spend with my grandchildren. As I live out the last half of my life everything is so much more vividly precious.

Every time I walk through the garden I am struck by the beauty of the beans majestically growing up their supports.

I am overwhelmed by the early morning dew drops shouting to me from the broadleafed pumpkin vines.

The sungold tomatoes beckoning me with their grapelike trussets, and the Jimmy Nardello peppers beginning to call out with their organge tint seem sweeter and more delicious with each new summer.

We had zucchini with basil and mushrooms over rice for dinner tonight. What a joy and blessing to be able to pick fresh produce. Kathy is a very good cook but when you give her fresh vegetables and herbs she pleases the pallette perfectly.

My grandson Sam is here this evening bringing an astounding amount of energy. He helps me push the reel mower and so badly wants to do it himself. He continually believes he can do it alone.

Well It Rained, Still a Wonderful Celebration

Just returned from a very soggy 4th of July celebration. Thanks Karen and Phil for inviting us to hang out with your younger friends.

The Bratz were perfectly grilled Phil. The taste of the real charcoal is so much richer than gas grilled.

That apple pie Karen brought back so many good memories of growing up in Idaho. And then the caramel home made ice cream! What a treat.

The best part however was just getting to know you better and getting reaquainted with all the young families in your neighborhood.

You both have such a gift of inviting people into your lives.

What could America become if there was a Phil and Karen Talon on every block? People who love to invite other people into their personal lives.

In Wendell Berry's "The Unsettling of America" he explores the whole notion that when we congregate closely in cities we tend to move to independence and isolation. My good friend Dan Evered says the automatic garage door opener has done more to cause isolation in the suburbs. It is ironic that as we "gain" progress we really make it harder to care about and rely on community.

So I want to challenge all of us here in Lexington to really make an effort somehow to connect to our communities. Throw a party, plant a garden together, invite neighbors to take a walk together, share a meal.

Happy Birthday America!

Phil Tallon invited us to the Fourth of July celebration in Wilmore. “It’s a real sweet parade,” he said. “It just feels like the idealized version of America.” So we agreed to meet his family and Andy, Hannah and Sam in Wilmore. The parade was scheduled to start at 10 am.

We brought our lawn chairs. Andy laughed when we asked if there would be opportunity to set them up. “There will be plenty of room.” We arrived at 9:40 and spotted Sam playing on the equipment behind the Methodist Church, although Sam was more interested in watching the antics of the big boys playing than in actually playing himself. Nevertheless, he had his own fun with a stick, digging in the dirt and flinging bits of gravel around.

We set our chairs beside some lovely white haired ladies who I’m sure have seen many a parade! Before the parade started Sam was entranced by a cascade of patriotic balloons affixed to a light pole. “Do you want to go see the balloons?” That is Sam’s code for communicating, “I want to see the balloons.” So we walked across the street so that Sam could bat the balloons. I walked down the street past women selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts as a missions fund-raiser. I went into “Solomon’s Porch” where I bought iced tea for Kathy and me. I spent $3.00 and got 12 oz of iced tea as well as refill privileges.

Phil, Karen and their friends joined us. Between them and their friends there were four little pre-school girls who crowded together on a blanket at the curbside. And the parade began.

The humidity was high, but it was overcast – much more of a Seattle-like day than a summer day in Kentucky! Sam sat on Mommy’s lap. He watched the parade entrants solemnly – the row of firetrucks, the horses, the John Deere tractors. Sometimes people threw candy to the kids. The highlight of the parade (at least to a little boy who loves lawn mowers) was the Lawn Mower Brigade – men wearing shirts, shorts and ties who marched behind puttering mowers. Occasionally they would execute choreographed movements, twirling their mowers in circles or flapping their arms. “Bye-bye, lawn mowers,” Sam said.

After the parade was over we folded up our lawn chairs, deposited them in the car’s trunk, visited Solomon’s Porch for an iced tea refill, and walked down the street to the city park for more celebration. There were some local craftsmen selling handmade items, and hot dogs for sale: 25 cents each. I stood in line and bought 14 hot dogs for our families. “How many hot dogs do you sell on the Fourth of July?” I asked. The vendor sighed, “I don’t know. A lot.”

Meanwhile the leader of the band began their music by praying a thanks for American freedoms. They played The Star Spangled Banner and then My Old Kentucky Home. Sam was transfixed by the drummer and watched a while. “Man playing the drum.” Then he began dancing to the music and finally looked at his daddy. “Where are the drumsticks?” Andy scoured the ground for two sticks and Sam happily beat on a picnic table bench to accompany the band.

Before leaving Wilmore we went back to Solomon’s Porch and ordered a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for Sam (peanut butter must be at least as all American as hot dogs!) and more iced tea.

A sweet parade, a community celebration, and knowledge that sometimes the best memories are not ones that cost $79.95 via Disneyworld. The best memories can be iced tea, two sticks and lawn mowers. We are thankful for all of it. Happy Birthday, America!

soil preparation Yesterday I wrote about planning your garden and specifically where to plant on your lot. Today I am beginning to write about preparing the soil.

The Humorist Dave Barry once said,

"Your first job is to prepare the soil. The best tool for this is your neighbor's garden tiller. If your neighbor does not own a garden tiller, suggest that he buy one."

AVOID TILLING IF AT ALL POSSIBLE

The fact is if you can turn your soil without tilling you will have a much healthier garden. Borrow a good shovel or spading fork but DO NOT borrow a tiller.

Last fall when the leaves started falling I would rake them and pile them on the grass. After a few weeks the leaves had killed the grass and then I began turning the soil with a shovel. I was very careful to make sure the sod was turned all of the way under.

I remember when my dad used to plow the field with a tractor. The grass would be turned under and the soil exposed. Then he used a harrow to break up the soil further. The whole process was so much more gentle than tilling. Tillers break the soil up so rapidly and violently killing the worms and microorganisms

They also compact the soil. A few years of tilling and you will have hardpan under your fluffy wormless soil. Yes, it looks really good and if you use enough fertilizer and compost you can make it grow a good garden. However you will have spent money on gas, your back will hurt worse than if you used a spade and you will have polluted the air. Rototillers, lawnmowers ect. all are much greater polluters than cars.

Even commercial farmers are getting away from tilling the soil. There is equipment that will prepare the soil with much less negative impact. I have seen the Tortella works. It digs deeper with a bunch of spades lifting the soil and therefore also is much healthier for the worms and microorganisms. If your garden is less than a 1500 square feet you can spade it in just a few hours in the evenings or on Saturdays. The key to not wrecking your back is to work in small chuncks of time and stretch often.

Just a little side tracking here. I have been an aerobic gardener for the past 30 years. One really can get a workout in the garden. When I work up a sweat I am filled with joy to see the results of my work. It is very painful for me to work out and not see some tangible results. If you want to learn more about this take a look at the web site Get Fit Through Gardening.

Putting leaves and other organic matter into your soil is the key to getting your soil to be a happy home for your plants. The plants you see in these pictures were grown in soil that had just a few months of preparation with leaves and some home grown composts.

If you don't have leaves then you may need to get some compost from a garden center or make your own. Here are several web sites that can teach you everything you ever wanted to know about composting.

In a future blog entry I will write about adding organic fertilizers to the soil. These are the nutrients that really do work like magic in your garden.