Designing and Building Mid-Illinois: Realtor segment with 1st Choice Realty Pros

Summary

In this episode of the Realtor Segment, Chris, Kaitlin, Lisa, and Lydia discuss the current dynamics of the real estate market, emphasizing the shift from a seller's frenzy to a more selective buyer's market. They explore the importance of strategic pricing, the need for professional guidance, and the impact of interest rates on buyer behavior. The conversation also highlights the significance of effective marketing and the necessity for sellers to present their homes attractively. Additionally, they provide insights into financing options and the expectations sellers have during the closing process.

Takeaways

• The real estate market has shifted from a seller's frenzy to a selective buyer's market.
• Buyers are more picky now due to higher interest rates and limited inventory.
• Professional real estate agents are essential for navigating the current market.
• Sellers should focus on strategic pricing and effective marketing to attract buyers.
• Interest rates significantly impact buyer decisions and affordability.
• Buyers should consider making extra payments to reduce their mortgage term.
• Sellers need to ensure their homes are presented well to attract buyers.
• The importance of understanding local market dynamics cannot be overstated.
• Buyers should be aware of the total cost of homeownership, including taxes and insurance.
• Communication and transparency between buyers and sellers are crucial for a smooth transaction.

https://1stchoicerealtypros.com/

www.bigdogcc.com

Produced by Big Dog Media group with Big Dog Business Coaching

Transcript

SPEAKER_07 0:00

Welcome to Design and Building Mid-Ellinois, one home at a time with Big Dog Construction.

SPEAKER_05 0:04

The podcast you didn't know you needed.

SPEAKER_07 0:06

It's Chris Hartzuck and Caitlin Morgini. Join us as we explore the stories, expertise, and projects shaping the future right here in Mid-Ellinois.

SPEAKER_05 0:14

Whether you're planning to build, curious about the latest trends, or just love innovative ideas, we've got insights and inspiration coming your way. And some laughs too.

SPEAKER_07 0:23

Let's go.

unknown 0:24

Big dog!

SPEAKER_04 0:25

Hey there. I'm Lisa Miller, managing broker and owner of First Choice Realty Pros. We don't just help you find a house, we help you discover home. My team and I are passionate about taking care of your needs, making the process smooth, and ensuring you get the personalized attention you deserve. Ready for the next step? Call us at 217-825-3999. With First Choice Realty Pros, you've got a team that's got your back.

SPEAKER_07 0:56

Hey, welcome back to Designing Building Mid-Illinois One Home at a Time, the podcast where we're going to talk practical modeling tips and construction insights. But today we're talking about the Realtor segment with our friends at First Choice Realty Pro. Right? We have Lisa Miller and Lydia Emmons with us today, along with our beautiful co-host, Kim.

SPEAKER_05 1:15

Hi. He's back. I'm here. Miss my girls.

SPEAKER_07 1:19

Well, we missed you here last week, right? But you know what? We've got you now, and we're going to be talking all kinds of stuff today, right? The sexy stuff about real estate.

SPEAKER_05 1:30

You sexy? Heck yeah, Ken. It can be whatever you want. Honestly, now it really has become a thing.

SPEAKER_07 1:36

We've got a commercial that's going to be dropping of these ladies, you know, of some property, a sexy video.

SPEAKER_05 1:41

I really thought it was, you know, you guys think HGTV, right?

SPEAKER_07 1:46

Yeah. It looks good. It was good. It was really good. It was really good. And we're we want to tease, right? We want to tease our uh our listeners and stuff about this commercial gonna be dropping out. They may have seen it before this comes out in airs, but we don't know, right? Yeah, we're gonna do it. But it's gonna get out there.

SPEAKER_04 2:00

Gotta keep following us. Hey, I sent it to my kids. They loved it. I said it was kid approved.

SPEAKER_05 2:04

Oh, well then that's all kid approved. Check mark.

SPEAKER_07 2:07

That's right. We're good on the all right. Oh, I love it. Well, hey, Lisa, Lydia, we're gonna turn this over to you today, right? Yeah. So let's let's talk about your the local market, the reality of it. Fill us in, help us, educate. I am I am a real estate illiterate today.

SPEAKER_04 2:25

Okay. Oh, look at him. He's ready. He's ready. I am well, it's not a seller frenzy anymore. Back four years ago, sellers could just put a sign in the yard and bam, those buyers, you know, they were you know, the hawks going around. Now it's a selective market. Inventory is low. So, and I keep saying this every week. You're gonna keep hearing me say this inventory's low, sellers.

SPEAKER_07 2:52

That's right.

SPEAKER_04 2:53

Inventory's low. Why don't I get my house out there when I don't have all this competition? Right.

SPEAKER_07 2:58

You know, so that's a great point. I know.

SPEAKER_04 3:01

So I, you know, you put your house out because your neighbor put their house out, and then the guy across the street puts their house out. Now you've got competition. If you put your house out where there's not any competition, we're gonna have a better chance at getting that higher dog.

SPEAKER_05 3:16

Why, why is it? Why are people not putting their house on the market? Because there's nowhere for them to go. Yes, buy. So it's it's like a like somebody's gotta start it.

SPEAKER_04 3:25

We have sellers who want to sell, but need a place to go. So they're looking for a house and they don't want to build, and they don't want to build right now.

SPEAKER_05 3:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 3:36

And so they're not putting their house be on the market because they don't want to be homeless, you know. Right. No, we don't know. The buyers already. We have buyers. We have lots of buyers. We have buyers and we are looking.

SPEAKER_05 3:49

We are looking. But and that's wild because, and then the think of somebody like me, like, I would love to have a bigger house. There's nothing that I like on the market, and there's also the ones I do like are not in my school. They're not in the middle of the city. That's another thing. Buyers are picky. I feel like right now. I want to make sure I'm in a certain school district. Like I couldn't pick up and move my kids, you know. And it's just like, it sucks. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 4:14

Yeah, it does. So it just sucks, though. It just sucks. So buyers are active sellers. Buyers are active, but they're picky. And that's why the seller has to take the time to do their due diligence on their home and get that. They didn't know.

SPEAKER_07 4:34

Their first due diligence is contacting you guys at First Choice Really Pros, right?

SPEAKER_04 4:39

Right.

SPEAKER_07 4:39

That's their first due diligence because then, like we talked last week, you're gonna have the checklist for them. Yes, the checklist. Right? Yeah, awesome.

SPEAKER_05 4:47

Remember the checklist and the double checklist and the third checklist. When you make Santa Claus look really bad, he's checking it twice. Lisa's checking it three times. I am, I'm checking it three times. Yeah. If not, is there sleeping? I don't sleep. So no, no, I really don't. Do you feel like like people are more picky now than they were? Absolutely. I wonder why that is. Well, I think number one interest rates interest rate. Interest rates. I was almost thinking that too. That's why I was wondering. It could be, you know.

SPEAKER_03 5:19

But you always think you need the best.

SPEAKER_07 5:21

So Liddy says interest rates. Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 5:23

I mean, that's a big chunk of your house payment. And they're picky with it. I mean, you're paying a lot of money towards interest rates. What are they in the six now? Six and three. And we'll talk about that later.

SPEAKER_08 5:34

Perfect.

SPEAKER_04 5:35

But but that two percent is gone. Is gone.

SPEAKER_08 5:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 5:41

And so people were buying, you could get a bigger house, and they were like, I need to have all this square footage. Yeah. And I don't really care that there's this or that wrong with it. Well, now I've got to pay that bigger mortgage payment. They add in the escrow, all of that. Now my mortgage payment is higher than what I thought.

SPEAKER_05 6:01

And the property tax is terrible.

SPEAKER_04 6:02

So I need to make sure that everything is working like it's supposed to. Right. You know, no house is perfect.

SPEAKER_07 6:11

What?

SPEAKER_04 6:12

I'm sorry to tell you that.

SPEAKER_07 6:13

No house is perfect.

SPEAKER_04 6:14

There is not the perfect cat. Even new builds. I say get an instruction.

SPEAKER_07 6:18

Amen, sister. Amen. Amen.

SPEAKER_04 6:20

We just talked about it the other day. I heard that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 6:23

We did.

SPEAKER_04 6:24

Yeah. Yeah. So you have to, you have to be a little more picky. And they are. So this is what's going on. This is why you need a professional real estate to get you to in the know. What's going on? What about roofs? You know, insurance companies. What are they asking for right now? 15 years?

SPEAKER_03 6:48

That's a big one that people don't know with insurance companies. That if your roof is 25 years old and you don't want to replace it, insurance isn't going to cover for the buyers until that roof is replaced. They're going to prorate that.

SPEAKER_04 7:00

Right. Yeah. And so now the the vendor says, well, okay, well, we got to find where it's going to be completely insured. There's things there. And then, you know, you got a leaky basement. Why is it leaking? Does it is it just something we need to add some gutter extensions on?

SPEAKER_07 7:16

Right.

SPEAKER_04 7:16

Let's add that five foot of gutter and stick extension.

SPEAKER_07 7:19

Yeah, stop the water.

SPEAKER_04 7:20

Stop the water, you know. So that's the type of stuff that we can help those sellers to grab those buyers.

SPEAKER_05 7:27

Right. And like I'm glad you brought up the roof thing because there's so people would have no clue.

SPEAKER_04 7:33

No. And they need to because is the roof doing the job that it was made to do? I don't have water coming in on my head. I don't have any leaks. So is the roof working? Absolutely. It's all about insurance coverage now. And so, you know, what what we're being told by insurance companies when our buyers are checking that out for the lender, hey, I can't get insurance because, or they want to prorate it and it makes a big difference. So we're not in a hot market and we're not in a slow market. We're in a smart market. So a smart market.

SPEAKER_07 8:12

Okay. Okay. Elaborate a little bit about the smart market.

SPEAKER_04 8:16

Well, when when you are fast moving and you're just, I want to write that contract and I want to do this and I'm not going to worry about anything. I don't think that's a smart market. I don't think that's a smart purchase. I think you should be cautious. I think you should slow your role. Really know where your money's going. So that's me. The smart market, I think, is the best market.

SPEAKER_05 8:38

Well, I think that that just flat out right there says that you really care about what you're doing. Like it's not, I mean, I know we we like we all say we all need a paycheck.

SPEAKER_04 8:49

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 8:50

But there's a real difference with you to sit there and say that and not be like, let me see if I can get as many contracts as I can. No, you're gonna spend tons of time to do the best job you can and educate.

SPEAKER_04 9:01

I never wanted to be so busy that I couldn't give 100% of my time to that client and make sure that they understand what's going on.

SPEAKER_07 9:13

So when you get to that point, because this is the whole thing about scaling your business. So we're talking about your agency, right? When you get to that point, that's when you were like, hey, we have an opportunity for another great agent to add to grow our business. You're still maintaining the quality to your clients that you promised to give them. But then that's when you bring on another Lydia, another Lydia, another Lydia, right?

SPEAKER_04 9:36

Right.

SPEAKER_07 9:36

We're gonna put Lydia through the cloning machine.

SPEAKER_04 9:38

Hey, I would do that.

SPEAKER_07 9:41

Yeah, I do have one in the back. I would love it to do that. It's on the fritz right now. I sorry, otherwise I'd be cloning a lot of our guys.

SPEAKER_04 9:47

Yeah. But I want I want them to care about the client and their needs, whether you're a seller or a buyer. We want to care about your needs so that we can. Our job is to care so that we help the market. Right. We can help that. We can help the sales go quicker, which will change that market if we prepare those sellers correctly. Do you think that? Yeah, I like that. That's a whole big plan. That's a plan. That's my plan.

SPEAKER_07 10:17

I like it. I like that. I like the smart market. I love I love your take on the market and how you're approaching it. Because I feel it's different than what other agents and agencies are doing out there.

SPEAKER_05 10:26

I do too.

SPEAKER_07 10:27

Do you feel you're on the cutting edge of doing because you're in the no with all the other realtors in the area?

SPEAKER_04 10:32

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 10:33

But it's okay to say this is your second.

SPEAKER_04 10:36

I get along with them so well. And they're they're really good. And most of them, most of them are thoughtful. They are thoughtful about their clients. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 10:49

I would definitely say the ones here in Carl. Yeah, I would think.

SPEAKER_07 10:52

But do you but would they think it's a smart market?

SPEAKER_04 10:54

Yeah, I think so. Well, they might know that too. You know, some of them might go, this is a dumb market. I'm not busy. You know.

SPEAKER_07 11:00

So And that's what I'm saying. That's where I was trying to get to the point that you guys are you are first choice reality pros. I mean, you you are on the cutting edge of everything you're doing. I mean, that's going to be. Yeah. And that's that's we're always trying to learn.

SPEAKER_04 11:15

We're always trying, you know, we're listening and we're trying to be. Here we are today doing a podcast. We're trying to go with the trends and trying to get that information out there. Trend set up.

SPEAKER_07 11:25

Complacent.

SPEAKER_04 11:25

Right. Yes.

SPEAKER_07 11:26

And that's where a lot of agents become complacent. Oh, I've sold 10 homes this year. I'm good. I'm met where I'm I'm one over where I did last year, right? Whatever that number is, that's complacency. What complacency does is shortchanges our sellers, shortchanges our buyers.

SPEAKER_04 11:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 11:42

And that's when it becomes a dumb market for them.

SPEAKER_04 11:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 11:46

The smart market is what you guys are doing is continually pushing that envelope, striving to be different. What's it look like to be different in our in our vertical that we're doing here, right? Service above selling. All the that's awesome. That is awesome.

SPEAKER_04 11:59

That's that's what we're trying to do. So buyers are being selective, sellers need to be strategic and then call us.

SPEAKER_07 12:08

Definitely.

SPEAKER_05 12:09

I mean, if they could just listen, just from the the past couple times, it's simple. The curb appeal, the simple inspections, making sure everything works. Obviously, calling you. I mean, guys, get the checklist. Check it once. Fun story. That is exactly right.

SPEAKER_07 12:26

If you're if you're not calling 217-8-25-3999, you're calling the wrong number.

SPEAKER_05 12:30

$39.99.

SPEAKER_07 12:32

That's right. That's right.

SPEAKER_05 12:33

I love pulling up next to your cartoning by the I want to bring that up.

SPEAKER_07 12:36

Yeah, let's bring it up.

SPEAKER_05 12:38

You know, it in the back of her cart, it has a realtor. Hashtag. Hashtag, sorry. Hashtag realtor. And then your little magnet on the side. I love it. I think so. Look, you're you're advertising, no matter what. Her face is on that.

SPEAKER_04 12:52

My face is everywhere. When people say your face is everywhere, what's everywhere my car goes?

SPEAKER_05 12:57

You just got beautiful skin.

SPEAKER_04 12:58

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_07 12:59

You need to take and put your face on the window of your car. Have you seen those where it's it's like the perforated, perforated, like on my back of my glass and my face? You do the perforated view in that, so people see you driving down the road. Like this.

SPEAKER_04 13:12

Yeah. Oh my god, that would be the best. Could you imagine commercial? Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_07 13:17

Why not? Let's do it.

SPEAKER_04 13:18

I'll be having a son-in-law and a son, police officers. I'll be getting a ticket. That's right.

SPEAKER_05 13:25

I forgot they were.

SPEAKER_07 13:27

Be the trendsetter. It's all good.

SPEAKER_05 13:28

No, but I like that I think that you go the extra step in everything.

SPEAKER_04 13:34

Well, I'll be at Walmart and then somebody will see my car and they'll say, Are you a realtor? Yeah. No, I need one.

SPEAKER_07 13:40

Hashtag duh.

SPEAKER_04 13:42

Hashtag, yeah. I need one. And I'm like, well, I'm your girl, you know. So let's talk. And I give them my card and then we move on.

SPEAKER_07 13:49

I love it. I love it. Ah, awesome. What do you got next for us? Well, educate me.

SPEAKER_04 13:54

Going on in the market. What's what's the median price that's going on in McCupin County right now, Lydia? About $150. I would say. That's what I'm gonna guess then. Yeah. Good guess.

SPEAKER_07 14:05

Buy lottery tickets. No, I'm kidding.

SPEAKER_04 14:08

That is, that is the average, the average home is right around $134. And then the median price is is $150. That's that's the good, you know, area that people they're getting pre-approved for. It seems like that's right, right.

SPEAKER_07 14:23

And that's that's really your first time homebuyers tour in that range, right? And that is that would be fair assessment.

SPEAKER_04 14:28

Yeah, it I'd say anywhere from 60 to up, you know, something like that. But um days on the market. What do you have for days on the market?

SPEAKER_07 14:37

I'd love this trivia game.

SPEAKER_03 14:39

Well, it depends. If it does. If your house is listed at the right price and you have a good agent, it's not gonna be on the market long. Days. I mean, usually you see the houses that are listed right and they're worth it. You're gonna be on the market for a few days and you're gonna have a contract.

SPEAKER_07 14:56

Three to five.

SPEAKER_03 14:56

Five to seven, three to five. Five to seven. Five to seven. That's your most important days. Yes.

SPEAKER_07 15:01

So five. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 15:04

Yes. Um, right.

SPEAKER_07 15:05

It's cool.

SPEAKER_03 15:06

Yeah. But typically about 70 is what about 70. Yeah. 77 days. Yeah. 77 is the number that, but yeah, 70 days. 70 estimate.

SPEAKER_04 15:15

Yeah. Well, what's funny is you'll go in and you'll do you, you've done all your stuff. You've got your CMA. Yeah. Yep. All right.

SPEAKER_07 15:23

Which educate our clients on that, our followers.

SPEAKER_04 15:25

What is it? Cost market analysis. Okay. She calls it a cost market analysis, a comparable market analysis. Anyway, we have that. We say, hey, this is what's sold in the past. This is what your competition is. This is you know what I think you should price your house at. And the the seller says, but I really think my house is worth it. And you know, you have that and you say, This is why you hired a professional because this is I've shown you all this stuff, but we'll go ahead. But that first five to seven days, this is really important. Okay. So oh so we'll see. So we go ahead and we do it what they have said, and it end up selling at the price that we said only 68 days later. Right.

SPEAKER_05 16:04

Okay. So that that makes a difference. I I see that I can think that too. So, like, what's the longest you've had a house listed just because maybe a client wouldn't take your advice?

SPEAKER_04 16:18

Well, our contracts go for at least nine months. Okay. Yeah, yeah. And so sometimes they'll say, Yeah, we're gonna do something different or you whatever. And and we're okay with that because if they're not moving, if they're not gonna listen. Yeah, if they're not gonna listen, then I can't help you help me help you. Right. And I mean, wait a minute.

SPEAKER_07 16:36

Help me, help you, help me, help you.

SPEAKER_05 16:38

It'll help. It's all helpful. Yeah, it's all helpful. But you think people would realize when the house is sitting there for that long.

SPEAKER_07 16:45

There's a reason.

SPEAKER_04 16:46

The real in the heart is if you wouldn't change the price with us, and then you list with somebody else, and the first thing you did was change the price. And then it sells, it's like, you know, because a realtor only gets paid when we sell something. That's right. So we have invested, we invested time, we invested money in pictures and and advertising, marketing, all of that stuff. So we're we're investing in you before you've ever invested in us. Right.

SPEAKER_07 17:15

You don't get invested in until closing table.

SPEAKER_04 17:17

Until the closing table. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 17:19

Right.

SPEAKER_04 17:20

And and that's why it's so important to stay hands-on while we're doing all of this so that we're in it with them.

SPEAKER_07 17:28

Right.

SPEAKER_04 17:28

But we don't get that paycheck unless we sell something. So that's very important.

SPEAKER_07 17:32

Working that money.

SPEAKER_04 17:33

So if invo an inventory exists out there, people are going to it, this is another, I'm gonna go back to it again. This is why your house has to look good. Because if if these buyers in this market are scrolling and your house looks like not good, dog poo.

SPEAKER_08 17:55

Dog poo.

SPEAKER_04 17:56

Well, I was gonna say garbage, but you know, anyway, it needs to look good, or they're gonna just scroll by. And they don't they're not gonna want to look at it.

SPEAKER_05 18:02

And I don't like you're not gonna pull in your driveway. People really need to get better with these pictures. And and I'm not saying you guys, but like just if I'm like on Zillow or something, I'm like, because I'm nosy, okay? I and I and I also don't like zooming in. What is that? Well, when I see a listing and there's no pictures of the inside, ooh, it makes me so mad. But I I know because I want to know, but maybe the inside is so bad that they're like can we draw you in from the outside and then shock your receiver socks off on the inside.

SPEAKER_04 18:33

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 18:34

Yeah, that's it.

SPEAKER_05 18:34

Yeah, no, but you're right, people will keep scrolling. And I feel like the first picture, maybe it's not, it doesn't have to be of the outside. Maybe it's of the most beautiful kitchen you've ever seen. That's to me to get the stop. But you're right, people need to listen. Yeah, they do looking good. They do.

SPEAKER_04 18:51

So bidding wars are rare right now. I said this last week that realtors we got a little spoiled with those bidding wars.

SPEAKER_03 19:00

I do think what you were talking about in today's market that the biggest thing is strategic pricing and intentional marketing, like marketing to sell, uh, like you were saying earlier.

SPEAKER_07 19:13

Target marketing.

SPEAKER_03 19:14

Yes, you can't just post it and hope that you're gonna get people interested in it.

SPEAKER_07 19:18

Right.

SPEAKER_03 19:19

I like that. Well, yeah, Lydia.

SPEAKER_04 19:20

So you have for sale by owners out there that put it out to sell, they put it on Facebook or whatever. But what we can bring to it, it'll be on 13 or 14 other websites. Right. Right. Holmes.com, realtor.com, Zilla.

SPEAKER_07 19:35

Plus probably on other realtors' sites, right? Maybe that cross listing or no? Doesn't happen that way.

SPEAKER_04 19:42

Unless we can ask and they could say yes, but then that shows they're marketing themselves. So everybody kind of keeps in their own lane, Chris.

SPEAKER_07 19:50

No, your lane. So I got the Chris, Chris.

SPEAKER_05 19:53

I that made my entire day.

SPEAKER_07 19:55

Chris. Wow, I'm gonna fit here and that up now. Please educate.

SPEAKER_03 19:59

Whenever I call my Chris, Chris, he knows.

SPEAKER_07 20:02

I better listen.

SPEAKER_03 20:03

No, see, mine is whenever I get called Lydia by Connor, because it's Lyd every time Lyd. And when he says Lydia, I'm like, oh no, what did I do? What did I do? No, he didn't do anything wrong.

SPEAKER_04 20:12

No, we just kind of stay in our own lane. Yeah, but but we can bring uh more exposure to those houses. It'll be on the multiple listing service, okay? And we will add it to multiple, multiple listing services to have it in different areas. So not just over a thousand. We will go over maybe to 3,000 realtors seeing that house in front of them every day in their database. So for clarity, that's us.

SPEAKER_07 20:43

I know earlier you're talking about the market in McCupin County. Uh-huh. But you guys are beyond McCoopin County.

SPEAKER_04 20:49

McCoopin, Montgomery, Jersey. Yep.

SPEAKER_07 20:52

Yep, in the segment.

SPEAKER_04 20:53

Yeah, I was gonna say, yeah, yeah. Yeah. I got one coming.

SPEAKER_07 20:56

I just want I just want our listeners and followers to understand that, you know, that if you're outside of the area, because again, we cover mid-Illinois and beyond.

SPEAKER_05 21:04

So if there's people that want to come to this area, we can contact you guys at first facility perfectly. They could be coming from Oklahoma.

SPEAKER_07 21:10

Well, she's been there, done that, right? I know and sent them to Oklahoma and vice versa. Yeah. Yes. Okay. Yes. Great.

SPEAKER_03 21:17

Yes. I was just going to say, I feel like whenever you were talking about their first sale by owners, when they are listing their homes, they look at the zestimates. They look at Zillow to see what their house is going to list for. They're just going to look at it and it's going to say, oh, zestimate 135. We are going to give them a number that takes them to the closing table. When you look at that zestimate, most of the time it's not always accurate.

SPEAKER_04 21:39

It could be 30,000 off one way or another. Well, that's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_05 21:42

I've seen stuff so lower. Yeah. Oh, yeah. And they could really be screwing themselves over. They could because that's a good point.

SPEAKER_04 21:51

Where are they from? These estimates. Where are they coming from? They're coming from algorithms. They don't know what they're doing.

SPEAKER_03 21:56

No, the online estimates tell you a trend. It just tells you what's going on. Right.

SPEAKER_08 22:00

Yeah. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 22:01

They don't know that they had big dog come in and put thirty thousand dollars worth of windows. Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

SPEAKER_07 22:07

See, nice plug. Thank you. I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_04 22:10

So that takes care of that, Chris.

SPEAKER_07 22:12

She's on it.

SPEAKER_04 22:13

So they don't know that. They don't know that you just uh finished your two bathrooms. They don't know those things. It makes a difference. So 100%. Yeah. 1,000. And so, and they don't know that you haven't done anything since 1970.

SPEAKER_07 22:28

If you want a passionate real estate company.

SPEAKER_04 22:30

It's like the 1970s. So that's the difference.

SPEAKER_07 22:33

You need Lisa at uh at First Choice Realty Pros with Lydia. I mean, passionate. She's slamming, she's hitting, she is on it. She's getting wild with my Italian family here.

SPEAKER_04 22:42

Oh and my hand goes all the time. Yeah. I watch that on my videos and I'm like, my hands.

SPEAKER_05 22:48

But that's very we talk with our goods. You talk with your goods. Could you imagine?

SPEAKER_07 22:52

Oh boy, she just did the.

SPEAKER_05 22:53

I did the mm-mm.

SPEAKER_07 22:54

But she didn't do this.

SPEAKER_05 22:55

If I'm looking at something, like I would trust if I was a buyer, I would trust more to go with a realtor than for sale by owner. And I'm gonna tell you, my house that I bought was for sale by there was never the mom, the her mom getting involved. It wasn't good, is what I'm telling you.

SPEAKER_04 23:16

You need a mediator.

SPEAKER_05 23:17

You need a mediator. Yeah, you need somebody that, and even for the seller's point, they might not know to say, I got my windows from big dog just put in there.

SPEAKER_04 23:28

I just did a for sale by owner. Uh I was working with the buyer, and I called the for sale by owner and said, Hey, would you work with me? And they said sure. And so they did work with me and they were so glad. Now they sign, I'm not their agent, but they were so glad that I helped with the process. Because you were working on it. I was working for the buyer. Okay. Yeah. And so they sign a no agency. Yeah. And we got that done. And she said, she asked me if she could put something out about me. You said I was a great agent. She just said, you just made the process so much better. And that's what listeners need to follow us to do.

SPEAKER_07 24:10

That's why we bring this real little segment to everyone once a week so they can hear this.

SPEAKER_04 24:13

So can a real estate agent work for a for sale by owner or sell a for sale by owner? Answer, please.

SPEAKER_07 24:20

By all means, yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_04 24:21

By all means. We can't. I see that. Okay. So so the youth minister. Yep. I used to say I see your hand. Yes. So it says when I look this up, Montgomery County is one of the strongest performing rural markets right now. Really? Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 24:42

Wow. I love it.

SPEAKER_04 24:43

So that's literally Hillsborough. What else? Well, I think Nicolas. Nicomas, Raymond, okay. Yeah. But all of those areas, that's the rural area. And why? It's closer to the interstate. Closer to St. Louis. It's like an hour, 50-some minutes. People probably work there. And they can commute. Right. Which brings us into the Jersey County. It's also close to St. Louis. And so their median price is a lot higher. It's $192 to $220. So yeah, that price is a lot higher. And their sales activity is increasing. And that's from commuters. You know, they don't want to be in the city. They want to see grass. They want to see trees. They want to come home and not hear honking horns.

SPEAKER_05 25:33

I think Jersey County is a nice county. I really think it is.

SPEAKER_04 25:36

Yeah. It it's growing all the time. And so there's that big demand because of commuters. Ripes. Especially for move-in ready homes.

SPEAKER_05 25:45

What was Montgomery? Is it was that the same medium price? Did you say that? And I didn't know. It was about 152. It was about 142. 142. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 25:52

Yeah. Yeah. Still.

SPEAKER_05 25:54

Those are all. Yeah. Yeah. Jersey County. I mean, it's nice. I think it's nice. And it's close to Grafton. Oh, yeah. There's Grafton in Jersey.

SPEAKER_07 26:02

Grafton's in Jersey County.

SPEAKER_03 26:03

Yeah, it is in Jersey County. Yeah. You're immediately thinking Jerseyville. Jersey. Yeah. Yeah. When you say Jersey, because Brighton, there's part of Brighton that's in Jersey.

SPEAKER_07 26:12

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yes, definitely.

unknown 26:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 26:15

And then another part goes into the Godfrey, which isn't that right.

SPEAKER_07 26:21

It took me a while for Grafton. Grafton's in Jersey. Yeah. Because I thought it was Madison, but it's not. It's some funky lines down there because we own a house in Grafton. It was like, oh, we're in Madison County. No, we're in Jersey County. We're in Jersey County.

SPEAKER_05 26:32

And I'll tell you, Grafton sell a house there.

SPEAKER_07 26:36

Oh, I've been there.

SPEAKER_04 26:38

Yeah. Yeah. I've been there showing houses.

SPEAKER_07 26:41

Yeah. Um yeah. Two years ago the Grafton market was like just boom, boom, boom. The price is just going up and up and up and up.

SPEAKER_04 26:48

And well, and the other thing buyers have to watch when they're looking at homes is the taxes. Right. Because it throws you into a whole different ballpark with your lender.

SPEAKER_08 26:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 26:59

Yeah. You might think, oh, that's I can buy that house for X amount of dollars. Well, now you add in your insurance at escrow. And now it just went over. You can't buy that.

SPEAKER_07 27:10

Then you get into the grafter market and you have flood insurance.

SPEAKER_05 27:12

And then graft it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 27:13

Our flood insurance is the same amount as our house insurance.

SPEAKER_05 27:16

I didn't even think about that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 27:19

We we're about 10 grand wrapped up in flood, house, and if I see on a listing sheet that that crazy it's in a floodplain.

SPEAKER_07 27:26

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_04 27:26

I mean, I have to tell the buyer. Because you know, the buyer's looking at the floor.

SPEAKER_07 27:28

Because you can have floodplains off the river too. Yes.

SPEAKER_04 27:31

Or even by the creeks, I think. Yes.

SPEAKER_07 27:32

Yeah, that's so you know who we have a creek that runs through here that it gets up and out.

SPEAKER_04 27:37

But you have to you have to research that because sometimes it'll say it's in a floodplain because I don't know, they looked at it differently or whatever. 500 years ago. And so and you're looking at it and you're going, well, if that isn't a floodplain, we're all in trouble. Okay.

SPEAKER_07 27:54

We better get Noah back out with the art.

SPEAKER_04 27:56

Yes. We had better get him back with the city.

SPEAKER_07 27:59

Let's go.

SPEAKER_04 28:00

So let's move on to the national rates.

SPEAKER_07 28:03

Perfect. Let's do it. Okay. I'm excited.

SPEAKER_04 28:06

So I talked to the lender last night that we we talked to all the time because I'm not a lender, okay? So I can't just say what they're doing. He just plays well on TV. National bridge. So and I even printed it out, okay? Love it. So factual. 30-year fixed. Conventional. 6.33%.

SPEAKER_07 28:26

I was off three quarters of a point.

SPEAKER_04 28:28

15-year fixed. 5.9. So if you can get it done in 15 years, do it. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 28:35

Save yourself a ton of money.

SPEAKER_04 28:36

You know, youngsters, man, save your money.

SPEAKER_07 28:40

Quick quick math question, though.

SPEAKER_04 28:41

Oh no, I'm not good at math.

SPEAKER_07 28:42

Lydia, just if first home buyers or young buyers or people that are strapped for the monthly payment, right? Wouldn't they be better to shoot for a 30-year, even if the points are a little bit more, but pay at least an extra payment a year. So paying 13 months in a year will cut the loan by like 10 years.

SPEAKER_03 29:02

If you pay $25 extra a month towards your principal, it drops at seven years. Yeah. Seven years right off the beginning.

SPEAKER_07 29:10

So literally, I'm gonna really I've been doing this, I've been doing this forever.

SPEAKER_04 29:14

Nobody tell you that. No, I tell all my buyers, yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_07 29:18

So if you can't, and we even do in in the home repair, someone's doing financing, it's like, oh, I can't afford those $15,000 worth of windows, but I can afford $200 a month. Great. Once you push it out an extra year and make your payment $150 a month, but pay $200 a month and cut it down and save yourself on the long run all that extra money.

SPEAKER_04 29:37

Yep.

SPEAKER_07 29:38

Mortgage is the same thing because there's no early payoff on a mortgage.

SPEAKER_04 29:41

Your life has been changed.

SPEAKER_07 29:44

So I want to make sure we clarified that for yeah, and that's just $25 percent. That's what I'm saying. And it varies on what you and what you I I do I do $150 a month.

SPEAKER_05 29:53

So okay.

SPEAKER_07 29:54

Because my mortgage is more on the property. So that brings that, cuts that down. Yeah. It's crazy when it starts ticking down even faster. You're like, look at that principal go down.

SPEAKER_05 30:04

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 30:04

I love it.

SPEAKER_05 30:05

Oh, me too.

SPEAKER_07 30:08

Yes, exactly.

SPEAKER_05 30:09

Absolutely. I am like really so happy.

SPEAKER_04 30:12

Hey, when you know, when 2% hit, one and a half percent, when it hit, I was telling my kids, hey, refi that house, refi that house. And they didn't listen, they didn't listen, they didn't listen. Okay, it took like 15 years off of their payments.

SPEAKER_08 30:25

Right.

SPEAKER_04 30:25

And they were like, Mom, I said, I try to tell you. I try to tell you, motherfuckers. Mom knows best. Hey, I will always tell my kids they can get mad at me, but you can't say I didn't tell you so. That's right.

SPEAKER_07 30:36

All right, that's right. I love it.

SPEAKER_04 30:38

Keep that one up here now. Yeah, yeah. So all of the national averages, they're out there, but your local lenders might be able to do a little something different for you. Different lenders can. This is why it's so important to keep your credit score up.

SPEAKER_03 30:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 30:54

Credit score. Uh very big play in it.

SPEAKER_07 30:56

But can't you be liquid as well and be able to plop down a chunk of cash for a house?

SPEAKER_04 31:02

Yeah. I mean, you can, but if you can put a big down payment, that's gonna make a big, huge difference in what interest rate. Yes, to your lender, yeah, most definitely.

SPEAKER_07 31:13

If they're not taking all the risk, they're gonna be like, oh, okay, I can it's all a risk factor. Your credit score, yeah, the property, the location, the condition of it, the age of the roof, it's it all goes into this big computer machine. Here's your risk factor. The underwriters are the ones that go into it.

SPEAKER_04 31:29

Yes, the underwriters.

SPEAKER_07 31:31

Yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_04 31:32

When when I talked about the smart market and well, just smart buyers, smart when things were moving so quickly and people were paying cash, you know, 500,000, 600,000 cash for homes, they were taking that out of their retirement. That was scaring me to death for them. You know, my husband always says, you let them worry about them, you know. Okay. That's not me. I'm still worried.

SPEAKER_07 31:56

That's the mom Lisa coming out.

SPEAKER_04 31:58

Yeah, that's really true. I'm still worried. But you we could see a lot of that. You you'd see a lot of that, that uh people were using their retirement to pay down these houses and buy them up. Lenders didn't like that so much because they weren't being used, but right, right, but it was still moving. It was still moving. So all of that. So keep your credit score where it should be, right? Make those payments, don't miss a payment. If you miss a payment, call your company that you missed that payment with.

SPEAKER_07 32:26

And have them remove.

SPEAKER_04 32:27

And yes, say, hey, can you give me a forgiveness?

SPEAKER_07 32:30

You can usually do that once.

SPEAKER_04 32:31

You can do it once, they'll look at your record. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_07 32:34

How many times they called it asset? Every month. No, sorry, it's dating.

SPEAKER_04 32:37

Yeah, because the lender needs to know that you are worthy of that money. So keep that credit score up. Buyers uh can get a 1% lender credit towards a rate, uh buy down or on their closing costs. Certain lenders will give that. The lender we use, she does that. So she always says, tell them, Lisa, tell them, you know. So um, so questions that these buyers need to be going to their lenders and asking, what are you going to charge me for using your money beside the interest?

SPEAKER_07 33:12

Right, exactly.

SPEAKER_04 33:14

Yes, some banks have huge banking fees, some banks don't have much of anything. And so ask the questions. They're worth it.

SPEAKER_05 33:23

See, I would never even think. Thank God for you guys. I'm serious. Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 33:27

Again, that's why I'm so excited to have them as our 10x partner, right? To educate our listeners and our followers, you know, in mid-Illinois and beyond, right? That's that's cool.

SPEAKER_05 33:36

And it's not only with buying and selling, guys. Like this is stuff that you have to know as far as lenders, uh, your credit score, all this stuff. I mean, look what I just learned, Red Mia.

unknown 33:47

Woo!

SPEAKER_07 33:47

Caitlin's mind's blown. Just I'm still thinking about it. We're sticking brains off the wall.

SPEAKER_04 33:52

So here's what I say.

SPEAKER_07 33:53

Yes, let's hear it.

SPEAKER_04 33:54

Marry the house, date the rate.

SPEAKER_07 33:57

Marry the house and date the rate.

SPEAKER_04 34:00

You can always refi, but if you don't buy at the time that you see that house that made your heart explode, it could be gone. So marry the house, date the rate.

SPEAKER_07 34:13

Okay. Like it.

SPEAKER_04 34:14

She's still sinking in.

SPEAKER_07 34:15

She's going into it. She's digesting it.

SPEAKER_05 34:20

You know, it's good. Then people will remember it, you know. That's right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 34:24

What's marry the house and date the rate? What? Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 34:26

What are the called like a two-line haiku.

SPEAKER_07 34:31

A haiku. Ooh, bless you.

SPEAKER_05 34:33

She's cracking up right now. We're gonna pause for now. Now, what kind of bless you was that, Chris? Was that bless your heart? Bless your pee, little pick and heart.

unknown 34:42

Bless your heart.

SPEAKER_07 34:43

Bless you. She's got the eyes.

SPEAKER_05 34:45

Her eyes are like, she needs to say bless your heart, Chris.

SPEAKER_07 34:48

No, I will cut. No. All right. That's all the time we have today on the realm segment of uh, you know, I'm just kidding.

SPEAKER_04 34:55

All right, back to this.

SPEAKER_07 34:56

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 34:57

Here's what sellers want when a buyer comes.

SPEAKER_07 34:59

What do they want?

SPEAKER_04 35:00

They want certainty of when it'll close.

SPEAKER_07 35:03

Perfect.

SPEAKER_04 35:04

Okay. They want speed. How fast? How fast can we close? And they want simplicity.

SPEAKER_07 35:11

In the process.

SPEAKER_04 35:12

In the process.

SPEAKER_07 35:13

Correct.

SPEAKER_04 35:13

They want all of that. They want uh a fully underwritten pre-approval. I don't blame them. Not just a pre-qual. Pre-qual just says, we've we've dealt with some of your numbers, but we don't know everything. And yes, you can. But if it's uh pre-approval, right, if they've already gone through underwriting, they know that you are worth that. You hand that to the seller, they know. Okay, that's what they're looking for. Right. They're looking for that. They are looking for local agents that they can trust.

SPEAKER_07 35:48

Which they've got them at first choice reality pros.

SPEAKER_04 35:50

Yeah, 100%.

SPEAKER_07 35:51

100%.

SPEAKER_04 35:52

If you the buyer's really wanting to get that house, increase the earnest money. Yes, yes, hey, I'm serious. Yeah, I'm serious. I'm putting $5,000 down because I my very first house I sold.

SPEAKER_07 36:04

She's getting excited again. She's slapping the binder.

SPEAKER_04 36:06

I love the slapping it down. Uh, it was I don't know, $300,000. And the guy says, My wife wants it. It was very quick. And he says, I'll just write you a check right now. And I was like, no, no, no, that's not how this works. And he says, Well, here's $50,000. He wrote a $50,000 check for the earnest money. Handed me in my little hand that I had not ever done that before. Yep. That was so great. So, but they my sellers was like, they're serious.

SPEAKER_07 36:33

Yes, they think, yes.

SPEAKER_04 36:35

They're serious. That's a cool story. Yeah. It was a great, it was a great story. And so um commitment, financial strength, lower fall-through risk. That's what that will provide for us.

SPEAKER_07 36:47

Because a an offer that falls through just starts the clock again. It starts the clock again.

SPEAKER_04 36:53

You start over. People say there's something wrong with the house. Right. No, they didn't agree and the buyer walked away.

SPEAKER_08 37:02

Sure. Okay. Sure.

SPEAKER_04 37:03

The house isn't falling down. It's been there since 1914. Okay. So the house isn't falling down. So there's, you know, buyers will get things in their head. Don't get that in your head.

SPEAKER_08 37:13

Right.

SPEAKER_04 37:13

Go look at it. Do your inspections and do it that way. So keep it simple. Yeah. Keep it simple.

SPEAKER_07 37:20

Kiss it. Yep. Keep it simple.

SPEAKER_03 37:23

What do you have, Lydia? What else do you have for us? I do think that the market's not like it was. It's becoming more normal now rather than it's booming and going crazy and people are buying. I think it's normalizing to where it was. And granted, I was not a real estate agent then, but to how it was before COVID. It's right becoming normal again.

SPEAKER_04 37:44

But you were you were a buyer then. I was. So you were in that and you were doing real time. Yeah. Because you were in the mix of it. So you're buying. During during COVID. During Covid.

SPEAKER_03 37:55

Yeah. Okay. Yeah, we had a 2.3. She had a great realtor.

SPEAKER_07 37:58

Wow. I did.

SPEAKER_03 37:58

Oh, she's been my realtor. She was my realtor and then, yep.

SPEAKER_07 38:02

The face that's built for houses.

SPEAKER_03 38:04

Yep. Face the face that's built for houses. I like that. All right. I do like it. I don't know.

SPEAKER_07 38:11

I come up with them all the time, right?

SPEAKER_05 38:13

Because your face is a thing. It's a cute face. Everybody remember it's a nice face. It's a nice face.

SPEAKER_07 38:20

Understand and remember the pro advantage, why it's more important than ever to have a local expert from first choice realty pros rather than trying to navigate these online zestament sites alone, right?

SPEAKER_04 38:32

And we can get more into that in another segment. Perfect. I love that. I like that.

SPEAKER_07 38:37

I love being able to set up to where, hey, stay tuned, right?

SPEAKER_05 38:39

Stay tuned.

SPEAKER_07 38:40

So remember what you heard today is if you're out there selling or wanting to buy a house from Lisa Miller or her team at First Choice Reality Pros, make sure to call them at 217-825-3999 or find them at firstchoicerealtypros.com. That's number one S T choicerealtypros.com, right? That's right. Love it. Love it. Was there something else you want to share with me?

SPEAKER_04 39:03

Well, I just wanted to put out there, I have 18994 Country Club Lane. Ooh. 6100 square feet.

SPEAKER_07 39:11

Wait, wait, wait, wait. That's 6100 square feet, folks.

SPEAKER_04 39:13

It is big. And you're gonna get you're gonna see a teaser soon.

SPEAKER_07 39:17

Lane, right? So it means on the it's out on the country club.

SPEAKER_04 39:20

You can go out in the morning and play golf.

SPEAKER_07 39:22

Holy cow.

SPEAKER_04 39:23

Come go to the backyard and fish in the afternoon. What? Yes.

SPEAKER_07 39:28

I'm ready to move. Stunning. I'm ready.

SPEAKER_04 39:30

Sit on that deck.

SPEAKER_07 39:31

Stunning. Love it.

SPEAKER_04 39:32

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 39:33

And guys, you'll get to see the video of it.

SPEAKER_04 39:37

Awesome. Yeah. Commercial.

SPEAKER_07 39:38

Do we know the price?

SPEAKER_04 39:39

Five beds, six baths.

SPEAKER_07 39:42

Whoa. Usually you don't have more baths than beds, but I love it. It was a labyrinth than that.

SPEAKER_04 39:46

We have. That's $5.95.

SPEAKER_07 39:48

$5.95 to live on the golf course and have water out your backyard. Golf course in the front yard. It's no brainer. Five beds, six baths. Let's go.

SPEAKER_04 39:56

And I have a cute little strawberry home or a downsized home. Okay. 611 Harrington Street. Three beds, two baths, 1,200 square feet. Super cute. Super cute. Love cute houses. Yeah, I do too. Little bungalows. 115,000.

SPEAKER_07 40:12

Holy cow. Let's go all day.

SPEAKER_04 40:14

Let's go. Let's go. So we have nine buyers that I'm working with right now. I think she's got probably about five, six, six buyers she's working with. That's why we need homes. We need those sellers.

SPEAKER_07 40:26

So a little bit of a seller's market right now, a little bit edge into the seller side, right? Yeah. Because you got buyers that are looking.

SPEAKER_04 40:34

We have buyers that are looking, and there's no competition out there.

SPEAKER_07 40:37

Sellers, sellers answer the call right here and make sure you call 217-825-3999 if you're interested in selling your home with first choicerealtypros.com, right?

SPEAKER_04 40:48

That's a wrap.

SPEAKER_07 40:49

I love it. Hey, until next time, remember your home doesn't need perfection. It needs a plan. And that plan would be to call firstchoice realtypros.com at 217-825-3999, right? And if this episode helps you educate you in the real estate market, make sure to tune in next time so that we can get you more valuable information from the lovely ladies at firstchoicerealtypros.com, right? I keep saying calm because I want them to go to your website to find out more about you. So make sure to follow, listen, and you will catch us every Tuesday dropping this realtor segment at Big Dog Designing Building Mid-Illano, one home at a time.

SPEAKER_00 41:31

In the military, there's no such thing as good enough. You either do the job the right way or you don't do it at all. I'm Blake Middleton of Elite Roofing Professionals and Exteriors. I'm a veteran, and I brought the same mission first mindset back to Illinois. While others talk about the way it's always been done, my team focuses on the technical precision of how a roof should be built. We use the best materials, the best technology, and a level of communication you won't find anywhere else. Your home isn't just a job, it's a commitment. Elite roofing, high standards, zero compromise, clear communication.

SPEAKER_02 42:05

Give us a call today.com.

SPEAKER_07 42:50

Until next time, keep designing the building.

SPEAKER_05 42:53

See you soon.

unknown 42:54

Big Dog.

SPEAKER_01 42:55

This episode was produced by Big Dog Media Group, delivering powerful creative for brands and creators everywhere. If you're looking to take your podcast to the next level or just get started, Big Dog Media Group has you covered. Thanks for listening.