Diminishing Returns? Is a two-year home warranty better than one year? If you weren’t aware, home warranties are fast on their way to becoming a standard feature of residential real estate transactions, at least in Minnesota. The standard Minnesota Purchase Agreement now includes “opt-out” language, making it much more likely that the parties to the transaction will...Read More
Explaining Real Estate Listing Contracts Unlike what I suspect is the vast majority of Realtors, I actually look forward to walking clients through the particulars of a listing contract and the related addenda. It certainly helps that, as a former corporate attorney, I know the history, context, and purpose of the various clauses; too, I know what...Read More
A Bigger Role for Home Warranties No, this isn’t a call about where housing prices are headed next year. Rather, it’s an observation that home warranties are becoming a bigger part of real estate sales. Background Local utility companies have offered home warranties for years now. The basic plan typically covers the home’s heating plant...Read More
When it Rains it Pours? Broken lines broken stringsBroken threads broken springsBroken idolsbroken headsPeople sleeping in broken bedsAin’t no use jivingAin’t no use jokingEverything is broken. –Bob Dylan, “Everything is Broken” lyrics I thought the saying was that things break in groups of three. In the Kaplan household, that was barely half a morning’s worth...Read More
Home Warranties & A/C Coverage I don’t do many “public service” announcements on this blog, but the following — courtesy of the district manager for Edina Realty’s home warranty vendor — seemed especially topical: It’s peak A/C season and we are getting lots of A/C home warranty claims – guess what the main reason for...Read More
Covered by a Home Warranty? Don’t Be So Sure It’s supposed to be the CenterPoint Energy “Service Plus” Plan: a home warranty that covers some (or all) of the appliances in a home, depending on what coverage the homeowner selects (and corresponding monthly premium they pay). However, depending on the age and make of the...Read More
