“Taking Back Our Content” From Third-Party Aggregators Want to book a flight on Southwest Airlines? You won’t find Southwest’s flights for sale on Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz, Kayak or any number of so-called third-party aggregators “serving” the travel industry. That’s because Southwest Airlines understands — correctly — that these companies are ultimately competitors, and threaten its business model....Read More
Why do Realtors go to estate sales? To get deals, of course (a big “Thanks!” to the stranger who helped me pick two James Michener novels earlier this morning, for $2 apiece). But also to stay on top of the local real estate market. So, look for a new, $1 million-plus home at 3433 St. Paul...Read More
Test your knowledge of today’s real estate market, and answer the following question: Does dangling a fatter commission to the Buyer’s agent — what Realtors call the “listing payout” — result in a faster sale, for more money? A. No. B. Yes. C. Sometimes D. It depends on how much. Answer: “D.” (credit also given for...Read More
Customer Service Blunders: Exhibit A Want to provoke a customer’s ire (and some negative exposure on a certain blog)? Ignore their email’s and phone calls in the aftermath of a glitch — in this case, painting my new shed the wrong color. Total ignored messages over a two week period now? Four (two voicemails and and two...Read More
Hanging Sheet Rock for $90k a Year Is North Dakota’s energy-driven economic boom creating ripple effects in the Twin Cities? Specifically, in the Twin Cities labor market? It would appear that way. Anecdotally, I’m now hearing of Twin Cities contractors whose labor force is depleted because of the siren call coming from western North Dakota....Read More
More Hot Air From the White House Is the White House finally getting serious about helping underwater homeowners refinance their mortgages? Not judging by the bond market. Yesterday, mortgage-backed securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac jumped in price. Given how refinancing affects these bonds — borrowers who re-finance pay off their expensive loans, reducing investors’ return —...Read More
