Realtors (or Their Clients) Behaving Badly First, a caveat: the vast majority of Realtors showing my (listing) clients’ homes are punctual, respectful and otherwise professional. In turn, I try to do likewise when I’m showing homes as a Buyer’s agent. Aside from common courtesy, doing all those things is very much in the Buyer’s agent ” and...Read More
Real Estate Jargon 101 What’s the difference between an “accepted” offer and a “fully executed” one? Absolutely nothing. As a former corporate attorney, I actually prefer the latter term, because it’s just a tad more precise, descriptive, etc. However, it can also sound a bit . . . intimidating (especially the “executed” part). Which is...Read More
Three Factors How much do you discount for a one-car garage? The short answer: “it depends.” Specifically, I think that the three most important variables are: One. What is the surrounding housing stock like? In close-in, older Minneapolis neighborhoods, many homes have one car garages (still). Detached, one car garages. When that’s the standard, the...Read More
Getting Your (Realtor) Money’s Worth “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half.” —John Wanamaker. Fortunately for Realtors, it’s actually pretty easy to tell if the money you shell out on a bus bench each month (about $65 in the Twin Cities) is worth it. Here...Read More
Coronavirus Arrives in U.S.: Just “Health Care Workers” & “Civilians” Now [Note to Readers: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway (“Berkshire”), or any other entity referenced. Edina Realty is a subsidiary of Berkshire.] The good news is, we badly needed something to unify...Read More
Passing on Overpriced Listings Everyone knows this famous passage from The Serenity Prayer: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.” —Reinhold Niebuhr Here’s my version for listing agents (Realtors representing home sellers): “God, grant me...Read More
