The “I Decline to Initial” Buyer’s Initial Form: “Agency Relationships in Real Estate Transactions” Date signed by Buyer: June 22, 2017 Form: Purchase Agreement Date signed by Buyer: June 22, 2017 What’s wrong with this picture? It runs afoul of Minnesota Department of Commerce guidelines, which provide that prospective Buyers’ agents are supposed to discuss...Read More
“Turtles All the Way Down” Realtors who don’t want to run afoul of the Minnesota Department of Commerce take care to have prospective clients sign and initial — (very) early in the relationship** — a state-required form called “Agency Relationships in Real Estate Transactions.” So early, in fact, that the would-be client may not yet be...Read More
Listing Agent Retort: “I’ll Tell You Right After You Tell Me How High the Buyer is Willing to Go” You (almost) never hear a listing agent (representing a Seller) say to a Buyer’s agent at the outset of negotiations: “let’s cut to the chase; what’s the most your Buyer will pay for my client’s property?”...Read More
Ala Carte Disclosure vs. “All or Nothing” Unlike, say, Minnesota’s mandatory Seller Disclosure, home sellers in multiple offers have complete discretion over whom they tell. To be sure, the default is telling everyone: the more Buyers competing for a home, the higher the price (at least usually). That’s why Edina Realty’s standard listing contract states...Read More
Home Buyer — and Buyer’s Agent — Beware According to reliable sources (as they say), it’s officially now happened at least twice in the Twin Cities: a homeowner with electronic monitoring eavesdropped on Buyers viewing their home during a showing — and what they overheard influenced their selling decision. Surprisingly, the overheard comments cut both...Read More
Challenge: Defining “First Substantive Contact” [Editor’s Note: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway, or any other entity referenced.] In an online, hyper-connected 24/7 world, when do Minnesota Realtors trip the threshold for delivering a required state disclosure to consumers? Called “Agency Relationships” and...Read More
