Appraisers vs. Realtors vs. Trulia “257-0”. That’s the number of times — including twice just this morning — that I’ve been called by appraisers wanting the “scoop” on a property I’ve sold, vs. the number of times I’ve called an appraiser to find out the same. Which makes sense: as the listing agent, I’m thoroughly acquainted...Read More
(Over)identifying with Home Sellers “Stockholm Syndrome”: a paradoxical psychological phenomenon wherein hostages express adulation and have positive feelings towards their captors that appear irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims, essentially mistaking a lack of abuse from their captors as an act of kindness. –Wikipedia What’s potentially more harmful to...Read More
More Neighborhood Shots? From the long-established 10 photo maximum, MLS has just recently jumped to permitting 16 photos per listing. What will that mean for home sellers and their agents? My guess is that it depends — no surprise — on the property. Case-by-Case So, for a 2 Bedroom, 1 Bath home (or condo) with under...Read More
How About Naming a Few? “Too many special features to list.” –Excerpt, MLS listing I guess I would be more persuaded of that fact if the Listing Agent had used the rest of the allotted space under “Public Remarks” to actually name a few of them. Or had bothered to complete the (empty) “Agent Remarks” field, just above; appended...Read More
Three Signs Contractor reputations tend to change slowly, but their quality and/or level of service (not to mention prices!) can change . . . overnight. Long before the first sour evaluations start to show up on rating services such as Angie’s List, astute observers (like busy, local Realtors) will note that a particular contractor seems to...Read More
The Utility of “Negative” Information If the 4 Bedroom, 3 Bath 1945 Colonial three blocks away from you just sold for $650,000, that’s probably a good starting point for pricing your 4 Bedroom, 3 Bath 1945 Colonial. But what if the neighbor’s Colonial was on the market for six months at $650,000, and didn’t sell — perhaps even after dropping in price to $624,900, and...Read More
