Included By Whom?? “A Home Protection/Warranty Plan will be obtained by __ Buyer __ Seller.” –Standard Minnesota Purchase Agreement, line 238. One of my favorite 1960’s-era cartoons shows a gas station with a big sign in front promising “Free Mug with Fill.” Down the street, the attendant (another anachronism) is chasing after a car that...Read More
Buyer’s Agent Pre-Closing Freakout, or “The 30 Minute Home Warranty Policy” What do you do as a Buyer’s agent (OK, me) when — proofing the closing worksheet just before closing** — you catch that the Purchase Agreement includes a Seller-paid home warranty from HSA . . . and you can’t confirm that one’s been ordered?...Read More
New Oven: $500. New Wall: $3,000 One of the stealth issues for prospective home Buyers is the old-but-still functioning wall oven — often times, two of them. The risk, which rises with the oven’s age: that the model has been discontinued, and there’s not a same-size replacement. When that’s the case, the fix isn’t just a new...Read More
It’s not uncommon for agents to see homes marketed as a “Grandma’s house.” Less usual: homes marketed as a “Grandpa’s house,” which I’ve now seen twice in just the past week. I’m not sure what the listing agent’s association for each type of home is, but here are mine (and I’m sure, many other Realtors’): Grandma’s House:...Read More
Better Read the Fine Print — and Take Good Notes Along with the proliferation of home warranties in home sales — the option to include such a warranty is now baked into Minnesota’s standard Purchase Agreement — has come (at least to this practitioner) a spike in complexity as well. Here’s just a partial list...Read More
“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
