I Thought Realtors Weren’t Supposed to Bring Up Politics Realtors “network” (share in-person and electronically) a variety of things: upcoming listings, Buyer needs, price reductions, etc. They also canvass their colleagues for good, reliable contractors — especially if they need someone ASAP. Which explains this email in my in-box earlier today: In need of an...Read More
Post-Closing Buyer “Surprises” & Other Issues It doesn’t happen often**, but I’d estimate that 99% of the time when a Realtor fields an emergency phone call the day after closing, it’s the Buyer calling their agent — who then calls the listing agent (representing the Seller) — to relate a newly-discovered problem with the home (note: problems that...Read More
What Radon and Polygraph Tests Have in Common If your furnace goes out in January in Minnesota . . . it’s a pretty high priority repair. Ditto for a central a/c compressor that decides to konk out in July. Fortunately, there’s a perfectly good, temporary solution for basements that are discovered — sometimes in the...Read More
It Depends Who You Ask — & How You Define “Conservative” If you asked a home seller, their agent, or the Buyer’s lender, the answer you’d get would be an unequivocal “20%.” Not only does such a Buyer have more “skin in the game” (which the lender likes), they have more equity to withstand a...Read More
“Crying Wolf,” Updated High-tech, 21st century urban dwellers don’t encounter many wolves these days. But that doesn’t mean the expression, “crying wolf,” has gone away. The phrase comes to mind dealing with an especially insistent opposing (and I mean, “opposing”) Realtor on a recent deal. I was responsive the first time he appended “get back...Read More