Diminishing Returns? Is a two-year home warranty better than one year? If you weren’t aware, home warranties are fast on their way to becoming a standard feature of residential real estate transactions, at least in Minnesota. The standard Minnesota Purchase Agreement now includes “opt-out” language, making it much more likely that the parties to the transaction will...Read More
Victims Turning Away From — Not Towards — Politics One of the puzzles — at least to me — is why millions of people who’ve been the most harmed by the housing bust haven’t created more of a groundswell for political reform. Or just plain accountability. Yes, I’m aware of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street...Read More
Buyer’s Temperament — and Timetable Are you a good candidate to buy a foreclosure? To find out, ask yourself these five questions: One. Will you be willing to sign the bank’s “As Is” Addendum and various waivers? That comes with the territory. Which means . . . you’d better have your arms around the property’s condition. Depending on how...Read More
Asking Price: $475,000 (“Yeah, Right!”) I’ve previously documented examples of FSBO (“For Sale by Owner”) mistakes. See, “FSBO Mistake #4“; “FSBO Mistake #37.” So, what’s FSBO mistake #1 (and #2 and #3)? Mispricing (want to guess which direction?). Latest Example Exhibit A would be this 1 1/2 story home a few blocks east of Lake...Read More
How to Make Sure Contractors Will Love You What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. In previous posts, I’ve discussed what constitutes “model behavior” for contractors. See, “Contractor Etiquette“; “Giving Good Invoice.” So, it only seems fair to spell out the equivalent standards for being a good client. Do the following (or...Read More
How About Calling it a “Wine Shelter?” A colleague of mine has an upcoming listing with . . . yup, a bomb shelter, and is wrestling with how — or whether — to market that to prospective Buyers. Just out of curiosity, I did a quick search on MLS to see how many Twin Cities listings...Read More
