Minneapolis Property Tax Disconnect Pop quiz: the annual property taxes on this Kenwood short sale — listed at $349,900 — are . . . A. $3,142 B. $4,475 C. $6,020 D. $13,983 Answer: “D.” Assuming that the eventual Buyer has good credit, is putting down 20%, AND the short sale is approved at the list...Read More
Fed Fall-Out — or, “Trying to Avoid Bubble Baths” Quick, which of the following is currently a bubble? A. Stocks B. Bonds C. Commodities D. Housing E. Commercial real estate F. Precious metals (gold, silver, etc. ) G. All of the above Answer: hell if I know. And judging from what I read these days ....Read More
The Discount for “Stale?” A Lot. It’s only anecdotal, but it sure seems to me — and many other veteran Realtors — that “For Sale” homes today fall into one of two categories: 1) homes that hit the market well-prepped, well-priced, and with a lot of marketing fanfare — and sell in a few weeks; and...Read More
Four Ways to Tell In the history of mankind, no first-time Mother has ever under-dressed their newborn in the winter. –Manhattan Pediatrician So which pediatrician uttered the above line? Mine (and my wife’s). What prompted that comment were the 3 layers of clothing my wife had already put on our newborn son (this was 11...Read More
The Utility of “Negative” Information If the 4 Bedroom, 3 Bath 1945 Colonial three blocks away from you just sold for $650,000, that’s probably a good starting point for pricing your 4 Bedroom, 3 Bath 1945 Colonial. But what if the neighbor’s Colonial was on the market for six months at $650,000, and didn’t sell — perhaps even after dropping in price to $624,900, and...Read More
Buyers Whose Eyes are Bigger Than Their Wallets What is the Buyer counterpart to Sellers who “need” a certain price to consider selling? Buyers whose final (first?) offer is 100% of their budget, and therefore can’t go any higher. So, the Buyer’s agent will typically couch the offer in terms of, “I know this is...Read More
