Ok, so there are only three zeroes attached — or sometimes just two (vs. Wall Street’s five or six), but more and more MLS listings these days are dangling bonuses in front of the Buyer’s agent (called the “Selling Agent” once the deal has closed). Unlike a fatter commission payout, which the Buyer’s agent has to split with...Read More
Genius: one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. –Thomas Edison You might say the same thing for great real estate marketing — though I might tweak the ratio to 10%/90%. In this case, how long would it have taken to clear the built-in buffet (pictured above)? Ten seconds? Thirty? Not a lot to add a...Read More
The Blindfold Test, or, “Buyer Due Diligence” Want an old-fashioned way to tell if a given “For Sale” home is a value? Skip the complicated CMA (“Comparative Market Analysis”), detailed spreadsheets, etc. Instead, follow this two-step approach: One. Get up to speed in the area you’re interested in, familiarizing yourself with prevailing prices. Two. When you tour a...Read More
Call That the Really Old-Fashioned Kind There are hardcover dictionaries (just like always). There are online dictionaries, including the now-ubiquitous Wikipedia (more of an encyclopedia, actually — not that there’s much difference anymore). And then there’s what I’ll call “the Daddy Dictionary.” After my 9 year-old asked me — for the umpteenth time — to...Read More
