Negotiating is a crucial part of any deal, and lays the foundation for a clear, enforceable contract. Haggling is . . . an annoying waste of time. What’s the difference? Exactly two decimals. $10,000 vs. $100 So, a $10,000 item on a $250,000 house is the stuff of negotiation. A $100 item (or less) is haggling. (Note: accountants’...Read More
Not Measuring Up? There’s no harm in touting that a home has an especially nice backyard, sits on a large or impressive piece of land, etc. However, the term “double lot” ” at least to me ” has a specific, defined meaning. Namely, it’s a least twice the size of a standard city lot. In...Read More
“So Done” vs. “Are You Done Yet?” For an unassuming four letter word, “done” sure has a lot of different connotations. I count at least eight (below), including two meanings ” one good, one bad ” popular in residential real estate. One. To perfection. Example: “That house is done. It’s not staged like a spec house.”...Read More
Bonus Question: “What Can You Skip?” I don’t know that there’s a rule of thumb — or a formula — for determining exactly when a home is (very) well-staged. The closest I’ve got is this: “A home is well-staged when all of its unique attributes are identified and optimally showcased, and any Achilles’ Heels have...Read More
It’s not unusual for the same word to have multiple meanings. “Aloha” is Hawaiian for both “hello” and “goodbye.” In Hebrew, “shalom” means “hello” and “goodbye” — and “peace.” But, no single English word I’m aware of has more protean meanings than the word “on.” I catalog no less than 27(!) discrete definitions. Consider: One. Throwing down the gauntlet...Read More
Housing Market Misnomers One of the biggest misconceptions in residential real estate is that, to be a teardown, a home must first be falling down. Hardly. All “teardown” means is that the home is less valuable than the land underneath it. That can be the case for at least two reasons other than physical...Read More
