Property Tax Assessed Value vs. Fair Market Value Hard as it might be to imagine, there’s actually one scenario where a home’s property tax value can be too low: when it’s about to go on the market. While the assessed value isn’t something that Realtors and Appraisers take into account to determine market value —...Read More
“Why Couldn’t OUR Car Have Been Totalled?!?” In the wake of our minivan getting totalled in a storm two weeks ago, besides concern for our safety (we weren’t in it) followed by sympathy, the next most common reaction we’ve gotten is . . . envy. Yes, envy. As in, “too bad a tree didn’t total...Read More
(Mis)Reading the Signs Pricing real estate is fundamentally precedent-driven. In other words, if you want to establish an estimated fair market value for “Property H,” you first need to determine what Properties E, F, and G sold for. In Realtor (and Appraiser) lingo, E, F, and G are called Comp’s (“Comparable Sold Properties”), and the compare-and-contrast process...Read More
Shooting the Messenger Listing Agent I think the prospective client to whom I made a listing presentation the other week is hiring someone else. Or, at least, I think he is; he never returned my phone calls after the meeting. Setback — Or Not? Five years ago — 60 or 70 deals back, in Realtor vernacular — I would...Read More
Then: $11.5 Million Now: $5.5 Million No, that’s not a typo: this Orono home is now listed for $5.5 million, a whopping $6 million below its original (2010) list price of $11.5 million (serious change in the Midwest — or anywhere else for that matter). Is it well-priced now? I have no idea — I...Read More
“How Long Was the Home on the Market?” vs. “How Much Exposure Did the Home Get?” With multiple offers making a comeback in parts of the Twin Cities — I’ve been involved in three in just the last six weeks — it seems appropriate to ask, “Did that just-listed home sell TOO fast?” It’s certainly...Read More
