Benign (and Not So Benign) Explanations The benign explanation for why there’s a “For Sale” sign in front of a home, but it’s not formally listed on MLS, is that there’s a brief timing difference. The sign installation companies typically show up anywhere from 3-5 days after receiving an order, and can be behind schedule...Read More
“Dear Listing Agent: Please Call to Discuss My Client’s Offer” It doesn’t happen often, but once in awhile a Buyer’s agent will shoot an offer to a Listing Agent (representing the Seller) and wait for a response. And wait, and wait, and wait (note to laymen: “Realtor time” is faster than “normal time.” So, a...Read More
Blast From the Past — Like, 2005 More signs that at least some segments of today’s housing market are overheating: I am hearing about — and running into personally — “For Sale” homes . . . that really aren’t. That is, they sell almost immediately after coming on the market, but the listing agent neglects...Read More
Non-Listed Listed Homes One of the side effects of a seller’s market is more homeowners who believe that they can sell their home without a Realtor (called “For Sale by Owner,” or “FSBO”). Here’s another: homes putatively listed by a Realtor, but nowhere to be found on MLS (Multiple Listing Service, the repository for all...Read More
Not Getting What You Don’t Pay For It won’t show up in my 2012 sales statistics (or my bank account), but one of the more protracted deals I was involved with this past year was helping a good friend (and repeat client) buy a $63,000 St. Paul foreclosure. Why no record of the deal? Because I...Read More
What Did Buyer #2 Know? (and When Did They Know It?) The vast majority of inspections go smoothly, resulting in a nominal reduction in the sales price (if that). On the relatively rare occasions when a Buyer’s inspection turns up a major issue (or several), most of the time, the deal still holds together —...Read More
