Month

August 2016

The Single Best Negotiating Strategy For Home Buyers

Caution:  Only Use if True Want to know the single most compelling pitch a Buyer can make to a prospective home Seller, especially if negotiations are at an impasse? This one: “I’d love to buy your home for $___ .  If that’s acceptable, please let me know by [time].  Otherwise, I plan to make an...
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Explaining High Turnover on a Busy Street (The OTHER Reason)

Dream Home?  Maybe Not, But Dream Price Everyone in real estate (and many outside of it) knows the phenomenon:  homes on busy streets turn over more often. The explanation is self-evident, right?  The occupants get tired of the traffic and move on. That may certainly be true, but as a Realtor, I see another, economics-based...
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“HSA,” “HMS” . . . OMG(!!)

Buyer’s Agent Pre-Closing Freakout, or “The 30 Minute Home Warranty Policy” What do you do as a Buyer’s agent (OK, me) when — proofing the closing worksheet just before closing** — you catch that the Purchase Agreement includes a Seller-paid home warranty from HSA . . . and you can’t confirm that one’s been ordered?...
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Time to Pivot Away From the Word “Pivot”

From Flailing to Flourishing, With No Pain or Sacrifice “GE Capital Chief to Retire After Pivoting GE’s Finance Arm” –headline, The Wall Street Journal (8/30/2016) Once upon a time, corporations, sports teams, and election campaigns(!) that were flailing underperforming got restructured, overhauled, or otherwise remade (presumably, into something more focused, efficient, and — hopefully —...
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Wall Oven Woes

New Oven:  $500.  New Wall:  $3,000 One of the stealth issues for prospective home Buyers is the old-but-still functioning wall oven — often times, two of them. The risk, which rises with the oven’s age:  that the model has been discontinued, and there’s not a same-size replacement. When that’s the case, the fix isn’t just a new...
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True or False: Realtors Can Prevent Homeowners From Committing Fraud on Their Seller’s Disclosure

“What Did the Seller Know, and When Did They Know It?” [Editor’s Note:  The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway, or any other entity referenced.  If you need legal advice, please consult an attorney.] At least in Minnesota, Realtors have an independent duty to...
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