When “Sold” Doesn’t Mean “Sold” At least in Minnesota, when you see a “Sold” rider above a “For Sale” sign in front of a house, it doesn’t mean “Sold” — it means “Pending.” Huh? The (admittedly confusing) convention is to pronounce a home that’s under contract and past Inspection — but not yet closed — as “Sold,” even though...Read More
Compare With “the Zero-Second Showing”** My first thought when I heard a colleague say that she recently had a 16-second showing on one of her listings was, “how on earth did she know that??” My knee-jerk assumption was that she’d downloaded the log from the electronic lockbox on the front door, and noted that exactly...Read More
Is There REALLY Other Buyer Interest? The Buyer’s agent submitted a request to show a home to their client, and — along with the confirmation — received the “heads up” (above) about the home’s status from the listing agent (representing the Seller). How do you know whether: a) it’s a bluff — that is, there’s...Read More
“What Did the Seller Know, and When Did They Know It?” [Editor’s Note: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway, or any other entity referenced. If you need legal advice, please consult an attorney.] At least in Minnesota, Realtors have an independent duty to...Read More
Listing Agent Retort: “I’ll Tell You Right After You Tell Me How High the Buyer is Willing to Go” You (almost) never hear a listing agent (representing a Seller) say to a Buyer’s agent at the outset of negotiations: “let’s cut to the chase; what’s the most your Buyer will pay for my client’s property?”...Read More
Passing on Overpriced Listings Everyone knows this famous passage from The Serenity Prayer: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference. –Reinhold Niebuhr Here’s my version for listing agents (Realtors representing home sellers): God, grant me...Read More
