Coming Soon? Maybe (and Define, “Soon”) The Twin Cities’ Southwest Light Rail line sure has traveled a bumpy path. And that’s just the discussion phase — never mind the actual route. The latest, uhh . . speed bump: Whether a stretch of the line in Minneapolis is to traverse Lake of the Isles and Cedar...Read More
Looking to the Lender It’s common for Buyers — especially first-time Buyers, at lower price points — to include seller-paid closing costs as part of their offer. So, instead of offering $200k for a home, the Buyer may offer $206k less $6k in seller-paid’s. See, “Maximum Seller Contribution: Not Just 3% Anymore.” To the Seller,...Read More
Seller Misconceptions “Sunk Cost”: a retrospective (past) cost that has already been incurred and cannot be recovered. –Wikipedia What Sellers paid for their home — and how much they subsequently put into it (for improvements, updates, etc.) — are important psychologically.* And, depending on how much the would-be Seller currently owes on their home, the sum of their cost + improvements...Read More
How Lenders (& Local Governments) Avoid Getting Left Holding the Bag First, a word about real estate’s better known — OK, less obscure — acceleration clause. Also known as a “due on sale” clause, it’s that little paragraph in very fine print at the end of each mortgage that provides if the homeowner transfers title...Read More
Bluffing — or Not — About a Backup Buyer True or false: if a home Seller receives and accepts a more attractive backup offer from another Buyer (“Buyer #2”), they’ll tell Buyer #1 about it. Answer: false (usually). 2+ Birds in Hand In my experience, when the Seller has a more attractive backup offer already in hand,...Read More
Negotiating Secrets & Mantras For anyone who doesn’t have time to read a book — or ten — on real estate negotiation, l can distill what I’ve learned from a decade-plus representing home Sellers (and Buyers!) into two questions, to be asked by would-be Sellers (and their Realtors) at the key juncture(s) of each deal: 1. “What are the...Read More
