What Can Ruffle a Veteran Realtor Just Before Closing Thankfully, the list of things that can rattle a seasoned agent (OK, me) just before closing is mercifully short. Assuming the Buyer can perform financially, and any final walk-thru inspection issues have been addressed . . . there’s not much left. Don’t Panic . . . Yet...Read More
Just One Surprise My choice of parking spot (above) indicates how confident I was that my client’s closing (in Minnetonka earlier this week) would go smoothly. In fact, the actual closing took less than 15 minutes (vs. the usual hour or so). That’s possible when it’s a cash deal, and the Seller (my client) had...Read More
But First . . . a Brief History Lesson I don’t know about other states — I’m only licensed to sell real estate in Minnesota — but here, residential property taxes are due twice a year: May 15 and October 15. Those non-randomly chosen dates stretch back to when Minnesota’s economy — like practically every...Read More
Buyer’s Walk-Thru Inspection Multiple Choice Which of the following is an acceptable reason for the Seller to leave their home in (much) less than pristine condition for the new owner: A. Their Seller left the home a mess for them when they bought (call it, “the anti-Golden Rule”). B. They ran out of time. C....Read More
When One Word (“PROPOSED House”) Looms Large Test your knowledge of encroachment issues, and see if you can detect a problem in the photo above. Give up? The northeast corner of the home on the pie-shaped lot clearly encroaches on the lot immediately to the east. Make that, the lot underneath the Minnetonka home my...Read More
Dual Agency Dilemma #17 Never having represented both the Buyer and Seller in the same transaction (I consider it a classic conflict of interest), one of the questions I have for agents who do act as dual agents is, “how do you navigate things like the Buyer’s walk-thru inspection? Provided for in the standard Minnesota Purchase...Read More
