“The Only Color That Matters in Real Estate is Green” “Steer-ing”: the discriminatory practice by a real estate agent of maneuvering a client from a minority group away from considering a home in a white neighborhood. —Dictionary.com Realtors quickly learn that there are taboo words in real estate. Like, anything relating to creed or color; socioeconomic status; or even directive behavior such as “steering.” Nouns vs. Verbs Which, of course, is all as it should be. But,...Read More
Real Estate Acronyms 101 Thrown by an unfamiliar acronym, I just got off the phone with Northstar MLS, who helpfully cleared things up. It turns out that “C-SOAP” stands for “Contingent on the Sale of Another Property.” The status isn’t new, just the acronym (in the last month, in fact). MLS Status So, “C-SOAP” refers...Read More
“Long-Term Greedy”* . . . Minus the “Long-Term” “Our employees shouldn’t expect the firm to pay for their defense when they steal from us.” –Goldman Sachs spokesman, explaining the company’s refusal to pay the legal fees of software programmer (and former Goldman Sachs Vice President) Sergey Aleynikov; “At Goldman Sachs, Even the Legal Fees are Different”;...Read More
Business Days vs. Holidays vs. Weekend Days Scenario #1: The Buyer and Seller finalize their Purchase Agreement tomorrow (July 3). The Inspection Addendum gives the Buyer 5 days to begin the Inspection. What’s the deadline? Scenario #2: The Buyer and Seller have executed a Contingent Purchase Agreement. The Seller gives the Buyer written notice today (July 2)...Read More
When Less is More The usual definition of “TMI” is when someone divulges something overly personal, that you wish you didn’t know. By contrast, the Realtor version of TMI is literally too much information. As in, the Realtor’s “For Sale” sign, business card, or bus bench is so cluttery you can’t make out anything on it,...Read More
