Shay Rhodes and Associates with Heritage 1st Realty

06/16/2026

Not sure what to do with Dad for Father's Day? Here's a whole list of low-cost and free activities--you're sure to find something he loves or something new!
https://wichitaonthecheap.com/fathers-day-freebies-and-deals-in-wichita/

06/15/2026

The mortgage term nobody explains until you're already at the closing table.

A 2-1 buydown lets you temporarily reduce your interest rate for the first two years of your loan. Year one, your rate is 2% lower than your permanent rate. Year two, it's 1% lower. Year three it settles where it's going to live for the life of the loan.

The part most people don't know is that the seller can pay for it.
In a market where buyers are sensitive to rates and sellers need an edge, offering a 2-1 buydown as a concession can be more effective than a price reduction. The buyer gets relief when they need it most. The seller moves the home without leaving as much money on the table.

If nobody has brought this up in your buying or selling conversation yet, it's worth asking about.

06/13/2026

Burgers or BBQ, which festival do you choose? Head down to Derby tomorrow for the BBQ and Music Fest if that's your jam, or over to Andover for the ICT Burger Battle.

For info on BBQ and Music Fest: https://derbybbq.com/

For info on Burger Battle: https://my.onecause.com/event/organizations/sf-001C000000vxHUDIA2/events/vevt:12c31948-fdaf-4a76-9174-d5ecd508befa/home/

06/11/2026

Heads up everyone.

The center of the U.S. 54/I-135 interchange, as well as several associated ramps, will close beginning 7 p.m. Friday, June 12 and are expected to reopen early Monday, June 15. 🚧

The following ramps will be closed starting 7 p.m. on June 12:
🚗Northbound I-135 to westbound U.S. 54
🚗Southbound I-135 to eastbound U.S. 54
🚗Eastbound U.S. 54 to northbound I-135
🚗Westbound U.S. 54 to southbound I-135
🚗Westbound U.S. 54 to Washington Street
🚗Washington Street to westbound U.S. 54
🚗Washington Street to eastbound U.S. 54
🚗Grove Street to eastbound U.S. 54

Open ramps at the interchange include:
🚗Northbound I-135 to eastbound U.S. 54
🚗Southbound I-135 to westbound U.S. 54
🚗Eastbound U.S. 54 to southbound I-135
🚗Westbound U.S. 54 to northbound I-135

06/11/2026

Most buyers think negotiation happens once. When they write the offer.

It doesn't. There are at least half a dozen moments between offer and closing where a buyer has real leverage and most of them go completely unused because nobody explained they existed.

The inspection period. The appraisal. The closing date. The final walkthrough. Each one is an opportunity if you know what you're looking for and have someone in your corner who knows how to use them.

Buying a home is likely the largest financial transaction of your life. You should be walking into every moment of it knowing exactly where your leverage is.

06/09/2026

The smart home features buyers are asking about at every showing right now.

Not the doorbell. Not the thermostat. Buyers expect those now. They don't even mention them anymore.

What's actually coming up at showings right now is different. EV charging in the garage. Hardwired ethernet. Air quality monitors. Circadian lighting that adjusts color temperature throughout the day. Water filtration systems built into the home, not sitting on the counter.

These are the features buyers are factoring into their decisions, and most sellers have no idea they should be mentioning them in the listing.

If your home has any of these, your agent needs to know. They belong in the description, in the showing conversation, and in the negotiation if it comes to that.

The baseline has shifted. What used to be impressive is now expected, and what buyers actually want has moved way past a smart lock.

06/08/2026

Your front door is called the mouth of chi in feng shui. It's where energy enters the home, and the color you choose either invites opportunity in or pushes it away.

Red is the most well known feng shui door color and for good reason. It signals protection, good luck, and vitality. But it's not right for every home or every direction the door faces.

A south facing door in red amplifies the energy correctly. That same red on a north facing door works against it.

Black on a north facing door is actually the stronger choice. It signals depth, wisdom, and career energy flowing into the home.

Green works for east and southeast facing doors. It represents growth and new beginnings, which is exactly the energy most people want when they're selling a home and a buyer is standing at the threshold deciding how they feel.

Whether you believe in feng shui or not, buyers feel things when they approach a front door. Color is part of that feeling.

06/06/2026

This is not a one time story. This is every spring.

A seller sees what their neighbor got and adds a number on top of it without accounting for condition, updates, or what the market is actually willing to pay right now. It feels logical. It isn't.

Here's the part that stings the most. Every buyer searching up to $300,000 never saw the listing at all. The algorithm filtered it out before they could even consider it. Those are qualified, motivated buyers who were ready to make an offer on the right home at the right price.

Pricing isn't about what you need or what your neighbor got. It's about positioning your home in front of the buyers who are actively looking right now. Price it right from day one and those buyers come to you. Price it too high and you spend weeks chasing them.

06/05/2026

Lighting is the first thing buyers feel and the last thing sellers think about.

Before every listing I walk through the house specifically looking at light. Not the fixtures. The light itself. How it moves through the rooms, where the dark spots are, what the photos are going to look like when the photographer shows up.

The sellers who make these changes before we list consistently show better, photograph better, and get more showings in the first week. None of these are expensive. Most take an afternoon.

If you're getting ready to list this spring this is the walkthrough worth doing before anything else.

06/04/2026

Are you buying the house you love… or the house you bought because it made sense on paper?
The truth is, the best purchase usually sits somewhere in the middle.
Lifestyle matters.
Long-term value matters too.
The key is knowing where your budget should work harder for you.
Comment SMART and I’ll share what I recommend prioritizing in your budget so you get a home you enjoy now and one that holds strong value later.