• 💨 My Home Is Storm Damaged. Now What?

• 🌊 You Have Access to the Flood Map, Free!

• 🎬 The Old Malco Theater’s New Adventure

• 📽️ A Must-Tour, Unique Home in Owensboro!

• 🥾 Outdoor Fun Within 45 Mins of Owensboro

• 💸 Attention: Flea Market Enthusiasts

• 💃🕺 Working Together: Husband/Wife Team

• 🧗‍♀️ A New Indoor Play Place For Kids!

• 💭 Final Thoughts

• 📝 Survey Time!

💨 My Home Is Storm Damaged. Now What?

What a wild weekend we just went through. I’m so thankful that I’ve not heard of any loss of life from this storm locally. That’s something to be thankful about.

It’s been a couple days now since the wind/hail storm ravaged through our community. Many of you have begun the steps of getting your property taken care of while others have not yet had a chance to get anything done. Here are some things I want you to keep in mind:

⚠️ The storm chasing companies will be all over our area. A lot of homeowners were taken advantage of in 2016 by “contractors” from out of the area who did terrible work. If a company isn’t local, please make sure to do your homework before hiring them. ESPECIALLY for roof repair/replacement. There were so many people who paid for a new roof…who had to pay for another roof shortly after, after the last big hail storm. ALSO…do NOT pay a contractor before the work is done. Some will make a lot of money off of deposits and never do any of the work. Don’t become that victim.‼️(Important to note: There are also some LOCAL untrustworthy people calling themselves contractors all of a sudden and have bad intentions. Do your research on EVERY company before making a decision to hire.)

⚠️ If your roof is leaking, tarp it…or have a roofer tarp it for you. Then wait until a trusted local roofer can fix it for you. Please do not fall prey to a “contractor” who can do it right now because your local contractor can’t get to it for a few weeks. I promise you…it’s not worth it. I urge you to heed this advice especially 👉 Do NOT hire a contractor who knocks on your door and offers to do the work. Just don’t. Please check on your elder neighbors who may be easy targets for these kinds of “contractors”. We must look out for one another.

⚠️ Do NOT allow a contractor to “handle the insurance claim” for you. The insurance company should only talk to the insured person. Some of these scamming “contractors” try to pull a quick one.

⚠️ If your home is currently on the market for sale in an area that got hit with hail (whether it’s pending or not), call your insurance company. You want to get on the adjusters list to come out and assess damage. Your buyer WILL want all of that evaluated to protect themselves before closing so go ahead and get the ball rolling to try to decrease your chances of a delayed closing.

⚠️ There were a lot of homes sold from 2017-2019 that had damage from the 2016 hail storm, but the homeowner wasn’t aware of the damage…and the insurance company didn’t cover the damage later (but buyers wanted it fixed) so it’s a good idea to call your insurance company to assess even if you don’t think you incurred damage.

⚠️ If you are buying a home in the impacted areas & you have already gotten a home inspection, send your inspector back out before you close on a home. (Even if you have to delay closing.) Yes it’ll cost you a couple hundred dollars, but it could save you tens of thousands of dollars.

Can’t stress this part enough…

Be kind. The contractors’ and insurance agents’ phones are gong to be blowing up. They will spend the next several days being talked very ugly to by very stressed people. Please don’t add to it. 🙏🏼

🌊 You Have Access to the Flood Map, Free!

If you’ve followed me any amount of time, you know I’m big on educating the public. And when the flood maps were going to change, I was LOUD about it because I knew that not everyone would hear about it…until after the change happened.

I was right. A lot of homeowners were shocked when they received a letter in the mail from their mortgage company requiring them to purchase flood insurance on their home. That’s NOT news anyone wants to be surprised with.

I want you to have even more knowledge at your fingertips. I don’t mind to look up addresses for you on the FEMA flood map to see if they require flood insurance. BUT you have access to it too.

Here’s the link directly to the flood map. Just plug in the address you want to look up in the top left corner. And shazam…now you know! 😉

🎬 The Old Malco Theater’s New Adventure

The building that housed the old Malco movie theater is now home to Kentucky Sound Stage!

Here’s what the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation had to say, “Kentucky Sound Stage is proud to announce the grand opening of its state-of-the-art film and television sound stage studio in Owensboro, Kentucky. Designed to serve as a premier hub for Hollywood studios and streamers, independent filmmakers, musicians and content creators, this cutting-edge facility is set to transform the region into a dynamic production destination to welcome productions of every scale and type.”

Now open for bookings, Kentucky Sound Stage offers flexible spaces ideal for a range of projects, from independent films to large-scale productions.

For more information or to schedule a tour, call 502-377-5139.

What do you think about this?! Love that Owensboro now offers something like this? Or do you think this is something that won’t be used much? I’d love to know!

📽️ A Must-Tour, Unique Home in Owensboro!

Located in the highly sought-after Owensboro neighborhood of Spring Bank, you are going to love this home at 4128 Stafford Court.

What makes Spring Bank so special? One entry in and out of the neighborhood so it feels incredibly safe and secure. Gently rolling hills. Thick, mature trees helping to create a park-like setting. Walking trails through neighborhood. All homes are large and unique. Their exterior is unique and the layouts are too. HOA is only $75/year.

💙 4 Bedrooms
💙 3.5 Bathrooms
💙 3000+ sq ft
💙 6 Patio doors
💙 Multiple fireplaces
💙 XL Garage
💙 Multiple entertaining areas

This particular Daviess County home on a cul-de-sac has so much to offer. You'll have to tour it to really appreciate all of it, but let me help give you a snippet of just some of what makes this place so great.

4 bedrooms (or 3 bedrooms & a great exercise room). 3.5 bathrooms. More than 3100 sq ft. SIX patio doors leading to different entertaining or oasis-like spots of the patio or multi-level deck. Walkout basement. Oversized 2 car attached garage. Detached carport. 3 living/sitting rooms. Gigantic laundry room. 2 fireplaces. Updated kitchen with stainless steel appliances, quartz counters, double wall oven, gas cooktop & loads of cabinetry. BRAND NEW furnace, AC unit and tankless water heater in 2023. New roof in 2022. Separate storage area for yard equipment/tools.

And this home has immediate/direct access to the walking trail. I'm talking...it's one single step from the property line. Can't get any closer than that!

Click the image below to watch the video tour.

🥾 Outdoor Fun Within 45 Mins of Owensboro

If you are the adventuring kind, you should replicate our weekend, last weekend. It was SO fun!

It was “mommy and daddy'“ time on Saturday, then on Sunday…we took the “kids”. 🐕‍🦺

Saturday we explored Audubon Park for the first time in Henderson. I’ve never seen so many turtles sunbathing! 😍 Such a neat place. The Welcome Center building as well as the museum are architecturally stunning.

Sunday (after church) was spent at one of our favorite places…Hemlock Cliffs! If you’ve not been, you really need to go. Gorgeous trail. Waterfalls, large & small. Caves of all sizes. Large rocks everywhere. You can stay on the trail or you can go climb & explore the caves. So fun! Hemlock Cliffs is located north of I-64 in Crawford County (just north of Perry County where I grew up!)

This adventurous weekend was 10/10. Five stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎥 Here’s a little snippet. 👇

💸 Attention: Flea Market Enthusiasts

Now is your time to shine!

Did you know that there is going to be a HUGE flea market at the Owensboro Convention Center at the end of this month?!

Now you do! (I gotchu!) 😉

It’s called (you will never believe it) Owensboro Flea Market.

Seriously though, I’m definitely going to swing by. The Grand Opening is March 28th. It’s a 3-day event! The hours are as follows:

Friday 2-6pm, Saturday 10-6p & Sunday 10-4p

The entry seems to be $2/per person each day of the event. Sounds pretty reasonable to me!

I hear that this flea market is actually going to be held 4 times a year, every year!

I gotta know. You going?!

💃🕺 Working Together: Husband/Wife Team

Many of you have asked how things are going now that Steve is licensed to help clients buy and sell real estate too.

It’s been FABULOUS!

I know it’s only been a little over a month, but we already knew we’d make a great team. When you have the same kind of work ethic and the same moral compass, it’s not really that hard to work together. Or at least, that’s our experience.

He obviously isn’t yet fully trained. To be honest, he’s not even a quarter of the way trained yet. And it’s because…we compliment each other so well. I’m not a “handyman”, but he’s super handy. We’ve had a handful of upcoming sellers who have needed some help getting their home “show ready” for one reason or another. Our sellers are more than welcome to hire contractors, but they all seem to really trust him and want to hire him instead. It’s been a huge blessing because we know the work is going to be done right and we don’t have to worry about whether or not a contractor is going to show up or do the work correctly. That’s what Steve has spent much of his time doing the last couple of weeks.

Steve has shown homes to our clients and I’ve received messages from those clients talking about how much they appreciate his honesty and straight-forwardness. (Makes me even more proud to be his wife!) I knew he’d be in alignment with the way I do business and the way I feel our clients deserve to be treated. There was no doubt. I mean…he does live with me and has heard all about real estate everyday for the last 10 years. 😉 So he’s truly had a head start over other newer agents.

For the record, we’ll never be the “team” who sells the most homes in our community. That’s not our goal. Although this isn’t measured in any way officially, I feel confident that there’s no other team that takes care of their clients better than we do. The level of thought that goes into the sale of each home, the level of care that goes into explaining every step of the process, the high level of communication during every stage of the buy/sell transaction & the investment of money and effort that we put into the marketing of every single home that we are trusted to sell so our sellers get the most money…I truly feel confident that there’s no other agent/team who does it better. 🥰

For those of you wondering, it’s going well. I think we’re going to make it. 🤣

🧗‍♀️ A New Indoor Play Place For Kids!

If you have a child under 8 years old, you NEED to know about this place!

From their website…

They have designed their space for kids under 8 years old in mind, including a separate play area for guests under 2 years old. Parents, guardians & siblings under 6 months are always welcome free of charge. All guests on the playroom floor (including adults) must wear socks for safety and hygiene reasons.

Here’s a breakdown of the packages.

Who are the owners, you ask? I’m so glad you asked! Meet the Rexing family! 👇

They are located at 410 Southtown Boulevard in Owensboro, Kentucky. Check out their facebook page here or their website here!

💭 Final Thoughts

I hope all of you are okay after this storm we all experienced. Even if you weren’t personally negatively impacted, those you love undoubtedly are. One thing I love about living in Owensboro is that we all take care of each other when it’s time to step up. I’ve witnessed a lot of it already since the storm.

Many of you have storm damage. If you skipped over the storm damage section above, I highly recommend you scroll back up to read it. Don’t get taken advantage of. And don’t miss out out on the window of opportunity to get your home evaluated even if you don’t think you have damage. Many times, it’s hard to spot hail damage from the ground. You may have damage and not know it.

Take care. Until next time,

❤️ Sam

“OBKY News” is brought to you by Sam Ray’s real estate team Vega Group proudly brokered by Real Broker.

We would be honored to be your chosen real estate expert when you are ready to make a move. ❤️ 

We know that it can be fun to tour homes even if you’re not ready to make a move. So we’ve put together a list of the upcoming Open Houses just in case you’d like to tour them. 👇

** This is a “live” link which means it’ll update as Open Houses are added or removed. Be sure to check back closer to the weekend!

📝 Survey Time!