Permission to Lowball . . . Denied As a listing agent (representing Sellers), I sure seem to be parrying a lot more of what I’ll call “verbal probing” these days. The gist of all the questions being lobbed by Buyers’ agents: “would the Seller consider an offer significantly below the current asking price?” Thrust — and...Read More
What Should the Runners-Up Agents Say to the Listing Agent? Assuming that the listing agent (representing the Seller) conducted multiple offers openly, fairly, was communicative throughout, etc. — vs. selling the home to their own Buyer* at midnight for $20k less than the highest offer — what is appropriate for the runners-up agents to say...Read More
The “A” is for “Advertising” (see, “Unpaid Invoice”) Once upon a time — like in 17th century Massachusetts — adulterers had to wear a scarlet letter. Fast forward to today. Now, a vendor who buys advertising from Angie’s List and doesn’t pay for it has their Angie’s List profile slapped with this very high profile alert: NOTICE: Non-payment of...Read More
How do appraisers account for a bowling alley in the basement? Or some other unusual feature, like a helicopter landing pad, 10,000 gallon aquarium, basement basketball court, or dozens of other unusual — and therefore hard to estimate — home features? They don’t. Huh?? Self-Cancelling Features If it’s possible, the preferred strategy in such situations...Read More
One of the highlights of my new listing at 5116 29th Ave. South in Minneapolis is the terrific location: just two blocks to Lake Nokomis, 3 to Minnehaha Parkway, and close to light rail, the airport, and Highland Park. Even closer: Nokomis Beach Coffee (pictured above), in between the home and the lake. Although it looks...Read More
From Dozens of Questions . . . to Just One After all the market analysis, Comp’s, showing feedback, etc., once a Buyer shows up with an offer, there’s really just one question Sellers (and their Realtors) have to contemplate. Namely: ‘Is this offer the best (or close to it) that I can expect to get...Read More
