Avoiding the “Contingency Premium” “We may be small, but we’re slow.” –Cal Tech football team slogan. If you were a home seller, how much extra would you want in order to assume the risk that your Buyer could successfully sell their current home in a timely fashion — the standard Contingency is 60-90 days —...Read More
Good Luck Finding a Comp (“Comparable Sold Property”) Full disclosure: I haven’t shown the unit, have no firsthand knowledge of its features, and don’t know the Seller or their listing agent or broker. But, based solely on MLS photos and stats, I’m hard-pressed to think of another condo in Minneapolis — or anywhere in Minnesota...Read More
Three Variables Homes on busy streets typically fetch a discount. Is there an equivalent discount for homes located across from a school? (which, in a way, is really just a subset of the “busy street” discount). I’ve never seen data on this, but I’d guess “yes.” I’d further speculate that the discount varies depending on...Read More
Normally, you’d expect a home with only a one-car, tuck-under garage to be steeply discounted. Except in this case, the homes that come with the less-than-ideal garages** are the “Painted Ladies” in San Francisco, a series of Victorian Homes in Alamo Square with spectacular views of the downtown skyline (pictured above). Most recent selling price: $3.1...Read More
DIY Home Buyers & Sellers The vast majority of Minnesota home Buyers and Sellers elect to settle any post-closing disputes thru arbitration rather than litigation. The explanation? It’s considered faster and cheaper. The occasional exception: Buyers who are lawyers, are related to lawyers, or otherwise think they can procure the required legal services at a...Read More
It may seem counter-intuitive, but just because two “For Sale” homes share the same block, are listed for the same price, and are the same size (have the same finished square feet), doesn’t necessarily mean they’re direct competitors. In fact, I can think of two scenarios where there’s virtually no overlap in the pool of...Read More
