(Partial) Realtor Job Description 2020: Multiple Choice Test your knowledge of modern residential real estate practice, and answer the following multiple choice question: Q: Who should the listing agent (representing the Seller) meet at the home? A. The appraiser working for the Buyer’s lender; B. The home inspector doing the city Truth-in-Sale-of-Housing (“TISH”) inspection; C. The...Read More
Advice to Would-Be Home Sellers on Dual Agency: “Don’t” [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.] If your prospective Realtor won’t agree to adding the clause above to...Read More
Thinking Outside the Box Inside the Circle I definitely prefer walking around Lake Calhoun in the summer-time. For one thing, the people watching is better ” there are more of them about, and, minus the bulky winter clothing, you can actually tell the genders apart. For another, you don’t have to worry about below zero...Read More
“The More Things Change” Department Once upon a time, when I started selling real estate in 2002, the worksheet that Buyers and Sellers signed at closing was simply known as . . . the settlement statement (or just the closing worksheet, to avoid any jargon). Then it became the “HUD-1” (HUD stands for “Housing and Urban Development,” the federal...Read More
A Rose Penthouse by Any Other Name “Who are you going to believe, me or your own lying eyes?” — Caption, New Yorker cartoon. Quick! Guess how tall the hotel pictured above is (located in Cancun, my wife and I recently celebrated our 21st(!) anniversary there). According to the resort’s owner and its marketing literature...Read More
