This 2nd Publication is Packed Full!

Welcome to our 2nd publication! If you didn’t see the first one (which was full of great info to know!), you can find it at obkynews.com in the archive section. Be sure to check your spam/junk folder to make sure this newsletter isn’t marked as “spam” so you’ll receive all future publications straight to your inbox. I have so much to share with you! 👇

• 💰 FREE Money Starting March 3rd!

• ⬇️ Is the Kentucky Income Tax Decreasing?

• 💸 The Homestead & Disability Exemptions

• ❌ Walgreens on 54 is Closing!

• 🔎 Story Time: Inspection Edition

• 🙌 Medical Debt to Vanish from Credit Reports

• ✂️ Will the Fed Cut Rates as Expected?

• 🛍️ The Future of Wesleyan Park Plaza

• 🐈‍⬛ Saving Mr. Bigs

• 🥳 5th Annual Private Client Event at Elite Air!

💰 FREE Money Starting March 3rd!

Homebuyers! It is your time to SHINE!! I know this market is tough on you...but here is some GREAT news!!!

The Welcome Home Grant is back! What exactly is that?! Read the details in the graphic below. 👇

The funds are available starting March 3, 2025. Once the funds run out, that's it. So this grant program is going to benefit buyers who are ready to purchase shortly after.

After reading the details, if you want to know the income limits in the county (in Kentucky) that you are interested in, I can hook you up. 🤝

Just reply to this email and let me know which county you are interested in purchasing in and I’ll let you know what the income limit is to be eligible for this grant.

⬇️ Is the Kentucky Income Tax Decreasing?

Could your individual income tax be reduced soon?! It’s highly possible!

House Bill 1 (legislation reducing individual income tax from 4% to 3.5%) is expected to receive final passage when the legislature returns on February 4th. The House passed the bill 90-7 on January 8th.

Kentucky has had ongoing efforts to gradually eliminate the individual income tax. Yes, elimination is the goal. Over the last 2 years, it’s been reduced from 5% to 4%. They are projecting it to be 0 by 2028.

Representative Steven Doan says, “States like Texas, Tennessee & Florida have no individual income tax, which has been a significant draw for businesses and entrepreneurs seeking to minimalize their tax burden. By aligning with these states, Kentucky will be poised to see an influx of new businesses and residents, stimulating economic growth.”

Of course, anytime you eliminate tax dollars, there’s something that takes a hit. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out. What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear!

💸 The Homestead & Disability Exemptions

Homestead Exemption

This exemption is for property owners who are 65 years old & older. You must…

• Prove your age via drivers license, social security card, birth certificate, etc.

• Be the recorded owner of the property

• Reside at the property on the application

Only one exemption is allowed per property. You only have to file for it once as long as you remain the owner of that property and it remains your residence. If you move, you will need to file an application to receive the exemption on your new property.

Exemption for Totally Disabled Persons

This exemption is for property owners who are 100% totally disabled. You must…

• Present appropriate documentation from an authorized program that confirms the 100% total disability classification of the applicant

• Be the recorded owner of the property

• Reside at the property on the application

If you qualify for both exemptions, there may only be one exemption per property.

How Much of a Savings Could it Be?

I think you’re going to be surprised how much it could save you every year. I did the calculation so you can see for yourself. 👇

In this example, the property’s assessed value is $250,000 and the property is located in the city tax district. Look 👀 at this difference!

That’s a whopping $674.86 PER YEAR in savings!

If you are unsure if you currently have one of these exemptions or if you want to apply for one of them, contact the PVA office. For Daviess County, the PVA Office is at 212 Saint Ann Street - Room 102, Owensboro, KY 42303. Or give them a call at 270-685-8474.

❌ Walgreens on 54 is Closing!

Wednesday, February 19th is the day. If you have your favorite items you enjoy buying from Walgreens on 54 or your favorite employees you enjoy seeing when you visit, be sure to swing by before Feb 19th!

If you get your prescriptions there, the store will automatically send them to the Frederica location when they close. CBRE out of Louisville is the real estate brokerage that has the property listed for sale. It’s on the market for $1,895,000.

Are you surprised that this location is closing? I was surprised, but I’ve always felt that it wasn’t easy to access this location as it requires customers to drive by it on Fairview then circle back around…and there’s no direct access to it from 54. Its competitor directly across 54 from it (CVS) is easy to access via Fairview and has direct access to the parking lot from 54.

What business do you think will open in its place?

🔎 Story Time: Inspection Edition

Once upon a time… 👇

I represented the sellers in this particular sale. There were a couple things that happened prior to inspection time that made me realize that I was going to be doing some hand-holding (of the buyers’ agent) and possibly even some “bossing around” to make sure my sellers successfully made it to the closing table.

Let me be clear…I don’t mind to be bossy towards the agent representing the other side if it means that my clients have a better experience. However, I don’t enjoy doing it. I much prefer it when the agent I get to work with on the other side of the transaction represents their clients well, is professional and respects the contract timelines. Thankfully, we have A LOT of great real estate agents in our area. 🙌

The screenshot below was taken from the buyers’ home inspection report. The buyer requested that the seller hire a licensed electrician to correct this deficiency that their inspector flagged. NOTE: The agent got the repair request to me after the contract deadline to do so. Which means…my sellers didn’t have to agree to it and the buyers would be legally liable to purchase anyway. Although my clients were made aware of this fact, they are really awesome people (I absolutely love working with such big-hearted people), they agreed to do it anyway.

The work was completed as requested. I made my folks aware that the buyers’ agent would likely ask for proof of a paid invoice from the licensed electrician who performed the work prior to closing. I also let them know to be prepared that the buyers would likely want to do a final walk-thru right before closing to ensure the repair work was completed, but also to be sure that the house was in the condition it should be in.

Not only did the agent NOT ask for proof that the work was completed, but there was also no request for a final walk-thru prior to closing.

The next time you buy a home, PLEASE lean in… 👂

If you ask the seller to make repairs (if it’s something that you can’t easily tell was done correctly during a tour afterwards), get proof that the work was done by a qualified and/or licensed contractor. If something goes wrong with the repair later, you have an invoice with the contractor’s name and will know who to contact.

AND…

DO A FINAL WALK-THRU BEFORE CLOSING.

I didn’t mean to scream that. But I cannot tell you how many times I’ve represented the seller and the buyer does NOT do a final walk-thru. Honestly, it makes me sad. Granted, I understand that maybe sometimes the buyer’s agent asks the buyer if they want to do a walk-thru and maybe they say no. (I’ve had that happen, but when it has…I go on their behalf without them because I just have to know the house is in good shape.)

But listen. There are so many things that could be wrong. Here’s just a tiny list:

• Plumbing leak

• Furnace/AC no longer works

• Roof is leaking

• Finished basement is flooded

• There’s a huge tree limb on the roof

• Water was shut off & the pipes are frozen

• A window is busted

• Someone has vandalized the vacant home

I’ve seen so many things. My advice is to do a final walk-thru on your way to closing. But I give my buyers their 2 options and explain the pros and cons of which one they choose.

1. Do a walk-thru a few days before closing. This gives the seller time to correct whatever issues may be found before closing…giving the buyer time to do another walk-thru before closing without delaying closing. The con to this? You may walk through 3 days before and all is well. But between then and closing time when it officially becomes your home, the roof has started leaking (or any number of things) and now it’s your problem because you’ve signed on the dotted line.

2. Do a walk-thru on your way to closing. If you get immediate possession, you’ll know the exact condition of your home when you sign on that dotted line at the attorney’s office. The con? If something is wrong and you’re uncomfortable closing until it’s addressed, there’s a high likelihood that you won’t be closing that day and that closing will need to be postponed.

If your real estate agent takes their fiduciary responsibilities seriously and are truly looking out for your best interests, they will inform you of your right to a final walk-thru and encourage you to do one.

I’d love to know…were you made aware that you can/should do a final walk-thru before you purchased your home? If you did one, did you find anything wrong with the house?

🙌 Medical Debt to Vanish from Credit Reports

My friend, Samantha Brown (who is a local mortgage lender here in Owensboro) shared information about this news. It’s such a BIG deal that I wanted to be sure you heard about it too. Medical debt has negatively impacted so many people when it comes to getting approved for a mortgage loan. This new rule goes into effect VERY soon!

Because Samantha was the one to make me aware of this news, I want to be sure you have her contact information should you desire to talk to a mortgage loan officer to see how this may impact you. 👇

✂️ Will the Fed Cut Rates as Expected?

According to Business Insider, mortgage rates are supposed to trend down this year.

But didn’t we hear something similar for 2024? (I’ll answer for you. We did!)

Mortgage rates trending downward will hinge on inflation continuing to slow so the Federal Reserve can lower the federal funds rate. Fed officials expressed some uncertainty around whether they could get inflation back down to their 2% target, especially with the incoming Trump administration promising big changes to the economy.

Here’s how the 15-year & 30-year mortgage rates have trended over the last 5 years. 👇

My personal opinion…I don’t think we’ll see rates in the 5’s in 2025. I could be wrong, but I just don’t see it happening.

Remember - If you’re a home buyer “on the fence” due to the rates, when rates come down, demand goes up which means the prices homes sell for will also increase. Remember when we had the “multiple offer situation” on just about every home sold when rates were below 5 percent?

The best time to make a move is when it makes sense for you.

🛍️ The Future of Wesleyan Park Plaza

Owensboro Times reported that the Hocker family is exploring the option of selling the Wesleyan Park Plaza in Owensboro.

This project was (late) David Hocker’s first commercial development. They broke ground in 1962 and it’s been in the Hocker family ever since. They expanded in the 1970’s.

The family has hired Marcus & Millichap headquartered out of California (who markets themselves the #1 commercial real estate investment brokerage firm in North America) to handle the marketing and potential sale. It sounds like they have a Nashville office that is handling the marketing.

There’s no guarantee the Hocker family will agree to sell. Right now, they are just testing the market to see what offers come in.

BridgePointe Church is my home church, which is located in the Wesleyan Park Plaza. Our pastor and leadership team have been speaking with the Hocker family (including Mr. Hocker) for a few years now about potentially purchasing the space we utilize. When the leadership team shared any news with us about it, one thing stands out to me…they were constantly talking about how absolutely incredible Mr. Hocker is/was. He really believed in the mission of our church and that means the world to me. I wish I could have met him because I’ve heard nothing but great things.

I know there are a lot of people in Owensboro who are unhappy to hear the news of a potential sale. BUT we must remember that it’s not guaranteed that they will sell. But if it does sell, everything happens for a reason. It’s been in the Hocker family for a long time. It may be time to pass the torch. The biggest fear I’ve seen online is that a new owner will raise the price for the current tenants. That could happen, but for me…there’s no reason to spend energy fearing something that may never happen.

🐈‍⬛ Saving Mr. Bigs

I really think the “Cat Distribution System” is a real thing. And somehow…a great number of stray animals somehow find us. We must have “Sucker” written on our foreheads that only animals can see. 🤷‍♀️

My husband and I have 3 dogs & 6 cats. (More than we should!) Out of those 9 animals, we only planned for & chose 1 of the dogs and 2 of the cats. We adopted our Cooper dog from the Hancock County Animal Shelter and the 2 cats we chose were strays that were wandering lost…and we couldn’t help but bring them home.

The rest just kinda happened by surprise. We rescued 6 puppies from a country road in the frigid winter temps. The plan was to vet them & find homes for them quickly. Well…they had parvo. (Of course!) So we took care of them for a couple months until they were all healthy. We fell in love with all of them…and decided to keep two. Thankfully we have a ton of animal-loving friends and were able to find great homes for the other four.

Well…the strays just keep finding us. Listen…we live in the middle of nowhere. So I think one of y’all are finding these animals and dumping them close to our place because you KNOW that we can’t just sit back and do nothing. (I just don’t know which one of you is responsible yet. 🤣)

The morning of our first winter storm (the storm started that evening) this year, a KITTEN was in our tree. If you follow me on social media, you likely saw the story. If you’ve not seen it, you’ve gotta watch this video. 👇

I’m so thankful that we found an INCREDIBLE home for Mr. Bigs (aka Biggie) after 5.5 days with us. Fostering an animal (officially or unofficially) is hard work. The animals who live there don’t understand why there’s a strange animal in their home. It just messes with the peace in the house for a little while. I know how hard it is and I’m forever thankful for all of the foster families who step up for our local animal rescue organizations .They save lives!

The Cat Tower that so Many of you Asked Me About 🐈

After watching the video, I had several messages asking me where I found the cat tower. I purchased it on Amazon. It’s very sturdy, easy to put together & all of the cloth material is removable to make washing it a breeze! We’ve had it for 12 months now and have no regrets.

Our cats’ favorite lounging spot is the round bed. They also love climbing up the rope-wrapped part of it…straight to the top. We keep their food on that top ledge so the dogs can’t get it. If you want a direct link to it, click here.

🥳 5th Annual Private Client Event at Elite Air!

If you’ve been to this client party, you know how much fun we have! The kids and adults alike can be found jumping, bouncing, flipping, climbing & laughing their way through all the fun things to do at Elite Air…which is our local trampoline park!

In addition to the jumping fun, in 2024 we also had pizza, iced brownies, soft drinks & door prize giveaways! I can’t wait to tell you all about the fun in store for this year’s party!

More info will be released later, but for now…if you are a past client, a current client or a VIP (someone who consistently sends us business)…SAVE THE DATE! We’ve rented out the entire facility just for our clients and their families for the evening of Thursday, May 8, 2025!

Has Your Contact Info/Address/Name Changed?

If your info has changed, reply to this email to let me know so we can stay in touch!

Reminder - Our mailing address has changed. If you have our PO Box number, be sure to update your records. Our mailing address is our new office location which is 1413 Triplett Street, Owensboro, KY 42303. Many of you send me holiday cards and I want to be sure I get them! 📭

💭 Final Thoughts

My final thoughts are…”I really enjoy putting this newsletter together…I wonder if the people who see this in their inbox enjoy it too.” That’s so incredibly important to me. I’d love to know if you found value in this publication. And if you have any suggestions, criticisms or praise, I’d love to hear that too!

I hope you and your family fared well during our first winter storm! The 2nd round of snow was nice & fluffy, making it the perfect sledding and snowman-making snow!

See you in your inbox next month!

❤️ Sam

“What’s Happenin’ Owensboro” 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!