John Kalo Properties - EXP Realty

John Kalo Properties - EXP Realty As both a Veteran and a Realtor, I know firsthand the VA loan isn’t the problem… bad advice is.

I offer a free, nationwide service connecting Veterans with vetted Realtors and lenders that are actually experienced in VA transactions.

09/25/2026

This costly VA loan mistake doesn't feel like a mistake when you make it.

There's no moment. You just pick someone, the process starts, and everything after that is run through them.

Nobody regrets it on day one. They regret it when an offer gets passed over, and they're not sure why.

Getting that first pick right is most of the job. Reach out before you make it.

09/21/2026

Most Veterans don't find out their team is unfamiliar with VA loans on day one.

They find out at week 4, when something needs to happen fast and the person handling it has never done it before.

Lender, agent, title. All three should understand how transactions like these really work.

That part gets sorted before you're under contract, not during.

Reach out and I'll get you in front of people who have done this.
📲 440-984-1940

09/18/2026

VA appraisals now have a reputation for not keeping up with the rules.

The appraiser is looking at whether the house is safe and livable. Not whether the kitchen is dated.

When someone tells you a VA appraisal will kill the deal, they're often not reading the file. They're repeating something they heard.

If you're using your VA benefit, reach out. I'll tell you what actually gets flagged.
Call or text 440-984-1940

Selling a house from a state you no longer live in is hard enough on its own. This one had already sat unsold for almost...
09/16/2026

Selling a house from a state you no longer live in is hard enough on its own.

This one had already sat unsold for almost five months before I took the listing.

I kept them updated through every step, then got proactive with social posts, flyers, open houses, and then it sold.

Thank you, Cody and Sylvia. We’ll be ready for your next adventure when the time comes.

This meme is another example of the abuse I endured while working at Carvana, but it also provides some context as to ho...
09/12/2026

This meme is another example of the abuse I endured while working at Carvana, but it also provides some context as to how I may have occasionally contributed to the hostile work environment.

The scooter belonged to a mechanic who had broken his leg and used it to get around the inspection center.

Every night, he’d park it next to my desk, grab his crutches and head home.

One Saturday we were working overtime and he wasn’t there.

His scooter was.

So naturally, I gave it to the paint department and asked them to paint it Barbie pink.

For the next 4–6 weeks, a grown man had to cruise around the inspection center on a bright pink scooter.

If I remember correctly, it eventually acquired a basket and pom-poms.

I still maintain the stance that none of this justified the Lollipop Guild meme.

09/10/2026

A lot of Veterans wait to call until they feel ready. Ready to buy, ready to commit, ready to know what they want.

You don't need any of that first. Some calls turn into a real conversation about buying a house. Some are just two people talking for twenty minutes. Both are fine with me.

Calling doesn't obligate you to anything. It's just a conversation, with a goal of clarity.

Roughly six months before I got my real estate license, I resigned from Carvana, after somewhere between four and five y...
09/07/2026

Roughly six months before I got my real estate license, I resigned from Carvana, after somewhere between four and five years there.

I somehow got hired despite being wildly underqualified by somebody who took a chance on me that I probably didn’t deserve. It turned into one of the best professional experiences I’ve ever had.

Mostly because of the people.

While I was out on paternity leave for six weeks, someone printed roughly 30 of these and hung them throughout the entire inspection center. Bathrooms, urinals, walls. Everywhere.

Upon returning, as a victim of workplace bullying, I naturally took immediate action.

I left every single one of them up.

They stayed there for probably another six months, during which employees continued vandalizing them and creating an increasingly hostile work environment.

As you can see in the second photo, even my missing-person posters were not safe.

09/06/2026

Our perspective on the VA Loan is bass ackward.

In almost all situations, including this one the VA Loan is not the problem, it’s the solution.

A conversation I had with a VA client recently made me realize it’s not only us Realtors and LO’s who believe the myths.

It’s us Veterans too.

This particular Veteran went through one of the most difficult transactions I’ve been part of.

There was more than once we were positive it was going to fall through.

A few days before closing when we got word it was clear to close we were chatting.

We were discussing some of the challenges he’d faced and he stated his assumption that - ‘the VA loan was part of what made the transaction difficult.’

To which I responded:
“The VA loan didn’t make the transaction difficult it made the transaction possible (the Loan Officer gets a lot of credit too). It’s why you’re getting into this home”

If you’re looking to use the VA Loan and want me to do the leg work for you to connect you with the right VA Home Buying team at no cost to you. Call/Text/DM
(440) 984-1940

Available nationwide

Feeling ready to buy my first home was pretty much identical to feeling ready to have my first child.Which translates to...
09/05/2026

Feeling ready to buy my first home was pretty much identical to feeling ready to have my first child.

Which translates to: there’s no such thing as feeling ready.

Before kids, it’s always something.

We need a bigger house first.

I need to make more money.

We should have more in savings.

Maybe after this promotion.

Maybe next year.

And then you have a kid and realize there was never going to be some magical moment when you suddenly felt completely prepared for it.

Buying your first home is eerily identical.

There are absolutely times when someone isn’t financially ready to buy a house.

But there are also a whole lot of people who are financially capable of buying one and are still waiting to ‘feel ready’.

Those are two very different things.

You’ll probably never have as much money saved as you’d like.

Your income could always be higher.

The market could always be better.

There will always be another reason why six months from now sounds safer than today.

You don’t need everything to be perfect.

I don’t know what advice to give you, because I never felt ready for a house or a child or a second child.

I could lie and try to come up with some profound epiphany I had but only a Realtor trying to sell homes would do that.

Here are my truths:
Buying my first home accidentally changed my financial life in a drastically positive way.

Having children increased my capacity to love unconditionally and quadrupled the beauty I experience in my life (and double the misery).

But you know what Meatloaf says “4 out of 2 ain’t bad”

09/05/2026

“We’ve got a whole generation of men who are stolen valor coffee drinkers” 😂 Idiot.

Address

1 New Albany Way
New Albany, OH
43054

Telephone

+14409841940

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