Searching for “MLS,” Getting “TheMLSonline.com” One might think that BobMenendez.com would be the Web site of Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. But no. Sharron Angle, the Republican candidate for the Senate in Nevada, has the site, which her campaign uses to bash Democrats. –Marc Lacey, “Clicking Candidate.com,...Read More
Inflated Realtor Claims Does one sale make you an “area specialist”? That’s the claim being made by a Coldwell Banker Burnet agent who just sold a home about a block from where I live near Cedar Lake in Minneapolis. The agent’s flyer, which was just left on my door, trumpets “Just Sold” above a photo...Read More
It’s All About the ***Asterisk***I usually let it pass unremarked, but the latest come-on in my mailbox is too good (bad?) to not pass along. (I won’t reveal the name of the company, but it rhymes with Schmifetime Schmitness.) In big, bold letters at the top of the letter: Rejoin for $0 Enrollment Fee and...Read More
One-Item “Bait & Switch” Bait and switch (noun): 1 : a sales tactic in which a customer is attracted by the advertisement of a low-priced item but is then encouraged to buy a higher-priced one.–Webster’s dictionary Can “bait and switch” ever involve just one item? I’d argue that it can. Normally, of course, there’s the...Read More
The Real Point of Online Photos Real estate photography, as it’s currently practiced, reminds me of the joke about two hikers who encounter a Grizzly in the woods. The first hiker thinks he has to outrun the Grizzly. The second, smarter hiker realizes that his task is to . . . outrun his companion. So,...Read More
Where: 29XX Quentin (St. Louis Park’s Fern Hill neighborhood)What: 3 BR/3BA; *3,937 FSF. Year built: 1936How much: $379,900On Market: 7/23/08 I originally profiled this home way back in July, when it first came on the market (“Too Good To Be True“). The question I posed — “4,000 FSF by Cedar Lake for $380k? Not So...Read More
