Increasing Market Penetration? Realtors cast around for inspector referrals all the time. (Much) less common: a Buyer’s agent trying to turn up an inspector qualified to inspect a geothermal heating/cooling system (I received the first such email this am via Edina Realty’s “broadcast” feature). Good! First, homeowners have to install such systems, either as retrofits or...Read More
Doing Your Homework Before You Buy What’s “due diligence?” It depends on what you’re buying. If it’s a dozen eggs . . . it’s checking to see that none are cracked. If it’s a multi-billion dollar corporation, it consists of poring over the company’s books, auditing its cash and accounts receivable, scrutinizing the company’s intellectual...Read More
Real Estate Layaway It’s not just flat-panel TV’s and furniture that can be bought now, and paid for later. So can residential real estate. Sort of. Unbeknownst to at least some Buyers, it’s customary for there to be a 6-8 week lag between consummating a deal, and closing (that is, paying for the house and...Read More
Dealing with a Too-Fussy Home Inspector Yes, there is such a thing as a home inspector who’s too lax. But, there are also home inspectors who are too fussy — mostly to protect themselves in the event that the Buyer later wants to pin some problem on them (good luck with that — most inspectors’ contracts...Read More
Cost-Benefit Analysis What is the best predictor that a home will have elevated radon levels? (in the Twin Cities, the threshold for remediation is above 4.0 PicoLiters per million parts). One or more other homes on the block have elevated radon levels. One of the benefits of being a more experienced Realtor is, having done...Read More
Or . . . Maybe They Already Did(??)* How unusual is it for the Buyer to skip a home inspection? After a decade selling homes, I was just involved with my first deal — as a listing agent representing the Seller — where the Buyer waived the Inspection Addendum. For a home that was not in multiple offers. Extenuating...Read More
