When “Sold” Doesn’t Mean “Sold” At least in Minnesota, when you see a “Sold” rider above a “For Sale” sign in front of a house, it doesn’t mean “Sold” — it means “Pending.” Huh? The (admittedly confusing) convention is to pronounce a home that’s under contract and past Inspection — but not yet closed — as “Sold,” even though...Read More
I’ve got a hunch how — at least in some people’s minds — “tray” ceiling became “trey”: “très” is French for “very” (as in “very beautiful”). From there, it’s just a small step (and single letter) to “trey.” Of course, that’s also how the word sounds phonetically. However, the correct adjective for a recessed ceiling...Read More
Real Estate 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 condition:...Read More
Quick! Who What Does an Executioner Execute?** If you like Quentin Tarantino’s movies but not all the Tarantino-esque violence and gore, I’ve got an alternative: read the screenplay instead. That’s an option for Tarantino’s latest movie, “The Hateful Eight,” because the movie was adapted from Tarantino’s earlier screenplay. At least on the page, you can...Read More
What’s in a Word? “Imˈ- pound”: seize and take legal custody of something — especially a vehicle, goods, or documents — because of an infringement of a law or regulation. –Dictionary definition Once upon a time, the fees that lenders collected in advance from home buyers for such things as property taxes and home insurance...Read More
Light Fixture as Work of Art If you can capture “beauty” in an algorithm — or otherwise define it (besides simply acknowledging that something is “aesthetically pleasing”**) . . . by all means, let me know. But, I think most people would agree that the stunning light fixture above qualifies. P.S.: after paint and carpeting...Read More
