“Never Ask a Barber if You Need a Haircut?” Yes, But . . . If you’re going to pronounce last rites on an expensive-to-replace capital item in a home, far better — at least from the Buyer’s perspective — to do it the day before closing, rather than the day after. Make that, during the...Read More
Getting “Rebound” Listings Ready for Market Contrary to popular perception, not everything in a Seller’s market sells right away — or at all. When that’s the case, it’s common for the owner to either take their home off the market, or, if they’ve already moved out, to rent it (most popular lease term: one year)....Read More
“Busy, Busy” (Late Spring) vs. “Not So Much” (Early January) If you assume that most radon remediation is done pursuant to housing transactions — specifically, the Buyer’s home inspection — it’s easy to predict the peaks and troughs in radon contractors’ workload: Step #1: determine when the most and least housing deals get done. At...Read More
“Nobody Ever Washed a Rental Car” — Home Inspection Edition Normally, the condition of such things as TV satellite dishes, security systems, and water softeners is very important to home Buyers doing their inspection. After all, if they don’t work, post-closing, it’s the Buyer-now-Owner who’s on the hook.* So, what is the one exception to that? When...Read More
Playing Offense vs. Defense About a dozen Twin Cities municipalities have them: a city-required home inspection that must be completed before homeowners can transfer title to a Buyer at closing. Leaving aside the merits of such inspections, when does it make sense for Sellers — and their agents — to market that the home has passed...Read More
Other “Votes”: the Lender, Local Municipality, and Insurer Unbeknownst to the Seller, the Buyer’s inspection uncovered a material problem with their home that the parties agree should be fixed. When that happens, who takes care of it? The short answer: “whomever the parties agree” (at least if no one else has a say — see...Read More
