Listing agents (representing home sellers) are big fans of home warranties. Personally, I love them. Test your knowledge of residential real estate today, and see if you know why: A. Realtors don’t pay the premium (Sellers typically do). B. Realtors get a commission for each home warranty policy they sell. C. Listing agents know that...Read More
“Just Say “No'” ” or,”Tomorrow Works Much Better” As a rule, the more accessible a home is to prospective Buyers . . . the easier it is to sell. But, that doesn’t mean Sellers can never say “no” ” either to a showing request, or, to a Buyer (and their agent) literally standing in their...Read More
“Just Say “No!'” (or, “Tomorrow Works Much Better”) As a rule, the more accessible a home is to prospective Buyers . . . the easier it is to sell. But, that doesn’t mean Sellers can never say “no” ” either to a showing request, or, to a Buyer (and their agent) literally standing in their...Read More
Target Market: Realtors “Get Met. It Pays.” –Advertising slogan of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. It turns out that companies selling home warranties — increasingly, a feature of many home sales — market their policies the same way other insurance companies do. Namely, by touting how many claims they pay. The difference is that the...Read More
Cost-Effective Repair or Merely Desirable One? Just because every house problem (save for location*) can be fixed, doesn’t mean it will be. That’s often true for poorly conceived floor plans; functional obsolescence (one hall Bath serving four upstairs Bedrooms); and underwhelming curb appeal. In each case, the fix can easily run into six figures — money that...Read More
Rules of Thumb Veteran Realtors know that $1 in deferred maintenance subtracts much more than that from a home’s sales price. The ratio can be 3:1, 4:1 or even higher. While the exact amount is house and buyer-specific, at least anecdotally, there seem to be two factors that widen the discount. One. Price Point. First-time Buyers are notoriously...Read More
