Sellers’ Four Big Sins: Music, Mirrors, and Masking Scents & Paint It’s been a long time since Richard Nixon and Watergate, but it remains true — at least in real estate — that “the cover-up is worse than the crime.” In that vein, here are four things that home Sellers misguidedly do to throw Buyers (and...Read More
Flying (& Mountain Climbing) Metaphors Pilots in turbulent weather will frequently announce to their passengers that they’re “climbing to 40,000 feet” or “descending to 30,000 feet” in search of a smoother ride. As a Buyer’s agent, I will point out to clients if moving up (or down) a rung in price makes sense (cents?). That...Read More
Spying on the Buyer, or “Electronic Chaperones?” Every breath you take Every move you make Every vase you break* Every step you take I’ll be watching you –Sting; lyrics, “Every Breath You Take” Frankly, I’m surprised that it took until late 2011 to hear about it: a (creeped-out) colleague reporting that the home she just showed...Read More
Role Reversal [Editor’s Note: Thanks to Edina Realty colleague Kathy Dick for her contribution to the following post.] Wait a second — don’t Realtors try to get home sellers to reduce their price? And don’t most home sellers stubbornly resist, no matter how compelling the Realtor’s market data (or underwhelming Buyers’ interest)? Well . . ....Read More
Subliminal Seller Messages Yes, it’s a tough market for Home Sellers. And it’s good staging technique to create clusters of three over fireplace mantles and other focal points. Still, I’m not sure that the listing agent — or their client — fully appreciated the (subliminal?) message they appear to be sending in the photo above.Read More
Are More Sellers Staging Today? It sure seems that way. No doubt, that’s because every $1 spent on staging can easily add $3 (or $10) to the value of a home. And because, in a Buyer’s market, there are lots of competing homes for sale, and to attract a Buyer homes have to look their...Read More
