The Kindness — and Evil — of Strangers Coyote: “I don’t like leaving people behind. I don’t like people dying in the desert. So I choose people who won’t die. Migrant: “I have no intention of dying.” Coyote: “No one intends to die.” Migrant: “Yes, but I intend not to die.” –“American Dirt”; p. 281. What...Read More
Novice Realtors Rush In Where Pro’s Fear to Tread “Never negotiate furniture.” “Never negotiate furniture.” “Never negotiate furniture.” “Never negotiate furniture.” Realtors who don’t know the above rule ” or forget it ” soon get the opportunity to (re)learn it. That’s because negotiating the sale of personal property, particularly furniture, can be more challenging than...Read More
I don’t know if Realtors suffer disproportionately from Attention Deficit Disorder.** But, I did just hear a story at a continuing ed class, about an agent who got this t-shirt from his spouse for his birthday: “My wife thinks I have ADHD. I don’t think so. Hey, look! A chicken!” **Getting emails, texts, and phone...Read More
Avoiding the “Contingency Premium” “We may be small, but we’re slow.” —Cal Tech football team slogan. If you were a home seller, how much extra would you want in order to assume the risk that your Buyer could successfully sell their current home in a timely fashion ” the standard Contingency is 60-90 days ”...Read More
The most important date in a residential real estate deal? Easy ” closing. So, what’s the second most important date? At least in Minnesota, the date that the Buyer’s Written Statement is due. See, ““You mean, there’s no deal AND they get their earnest money back?!?”.” Significance Up until that date, all the home Seller...Read More
Home Price as a Moving Target “Those who know, don’t talk; and those who talk, don’t know.” —Stock market saying. What’s true in the stock market is also true in real estate. Namely, the value of what Realtors call a “Comparative Market Analysis” (“CMA”) that can be had for free is . . . about what...Read More
