Guilt By Association When agents see a listing — on February 14, in Minnesota — with leafy trees and a bright, green lawn (like the one above), their knee-jerk response isn’t to say to themselves, “My, what gorgeous landscaping.” It’s to click on “History” on MLS to see how long the home’s been on the market —...Read More
“So, How’s the Market?” People don’t say “How are you?” to Realtors; they say, “How’s the market?” So, it was fun — kind of — to watch TV’s best-known Realtor, Phil Dunphy of sitcom “Modern Family,” field that question in his doctor’s office on a recent episode: Doctor [making small talk while examining Phil]: ‘So,...Read More
Season Confusion Once upon a time, Iowa and New Hampshire held their Presidential primaries in February — and the Twin Cities housing market kicked off after the Super Bowl (or whenever the weather cooperated, whichever came later). Today? Iowa and New Hampshire voters go to the polls in January — and at least some Twin Cities home...Read More
What Did the Seller Know? Newlyweds Scott Strand and KK Thomson were delighted to close last fall on a modest rambler in Edina, where they both grew up and wanted to live after they got married. At the end of the year, though, the young couple got what Strand calls “a New Year’s surprise” —...Read More
“Hand-Crafted Signature Beverages” I get, sort of, such things as artisanal bread, cheese, and beer. But I’m sorry, I draw the line at coffee — and pitches like the one below for a local coffee chain in a recent mailer: “Our hand-crafted lattes begin with double shots of our fresh roasted signature espresso blend, we...Read More
I’ve certainly committed my share of typo’s and malapropisms — so I’m not going to poke (too) much fun at anyone else’s. But, it’s hard not to get a chuckle out of contract that lists ones of the parties as “Patrician.” P.S.: Can a woman be “patrician?” And if she were, wouldn’t that make her...Read More
