Quarter Half-Hearted Marketing Campaign Given that something like 30% of all MLS listings are cancelled or simply expire, unsold, it seems fair to ask, “why didn’t it sell?” My Realtor’s answer is that, it’s usually never just one thing. So, poor (or no) staging; a quarter half-hearted marketing campaign; too few and/or unflattering photos; too...Read More
From Floor to Ceiling Last year, 90% of you were in the top 10% of your class. Today, 90% of you are in the bottom 90% of your class. –Stanford Dean of Admissions Fred Hargadon, to each incoming class at freshmen orientation Five years ago, if a home’s tax assessed value was relevant at all...Read More
Technology Time Capsule Want an x-ray snapshot of where technology is headed? Juxtapose an earlier version of a time-tested product used by millions — in this case, Honda’s best-selling minivan, the Odyssey — and compare it with the new-and-improved version, the just-released 2011 model. Evolutionary, not Revolutionary Faced with an increasingly long list of deferred...Read More
Houses on the Verge (of Foreclosure) As sales pitches go, it’s not quite as lame as the infamous National Lampoon cover at right (“If You Don’t Buy This Magazine, We’ll Kill This Dog”). Still, you wouldn’t exactly label as “enticing” a house that sought to attract Buyers with this hook: “Hurry! Act now before the...Read More
Biting the Bullet BEFORE Listing It’s certainly possible to put a home on the market — like the one I showed clients this weekend — with a roof that’s clearly past its useful life. But I wouldn’t recommend it. There are two reasons why: One. The cost of the new roof is guaranteed to come...Read More
Factor #2: Lots of In-Process Projects The original version of the above quote, of course, is “the cobbler’s kids always go barefoot.” The idea is that they’re so busy attending to their client’s needs that they neglect their own — or their kids.’ But I’ve also observed that a lot of the contractors I know...Read More
