Home Buyer — and Buyer’s Agent — Beware According to reliable sources (as they say), it’s officially now happened at least twice in the Twin Cities: a homeowner with electronic monitoring eavesdropped on Buyers viewing their home during a showing — and what they overheard influenced their selling decision. Surprisingly, the overheard comments cut both...Read More
Why Hand Online Cranks a Megaphone?? “In the architecture of online media, comment sections are the septic tanks.” –“Still Kickin”; Mpls St. Paul Magazine (April 2016) I don’t know about other agents, but there’s not much doubt in my mind about whether or not to allow online consumer comments for a listing. In case it’s unclear,...Read More
Realtors’ Investment? Skill, Time, & Marketing $$$ How long should a listing contract be? The short answer: Long enough to sell the property being listed. How long that is — assuming that the home is well-priced, staged, and marketed — is typically a function of price. Under $200k in the Twin Cities today, you’d estimate...Read More
Q: What Do You Call That? A: “A Good Investment” When it does it make sense to plunk down $1,000 on cleaning windows? When you own a large, upper bracket home — in the Twin Cities, generally above $1 million — and it’s been sitting for months on the market without showings, let alone an...Read More
How Much is Too Much Time on the Market? In most walks of life, qualities like patience and persistence are virtues. So when are they vices? In the housing market — at least one that’s not strongly appreciating.* That’s because homes that sit, unsold, for too long become shopworn. Buyers naturally start to wonder why...Read More
Unforced Errors Given that home sellers typically want (need) to maximize what they net on the sale of their home, you’d think that they’d do everything in their power to increase the odds of that happening. But they don’t. On the contrary, they often shoot themselves in the foot not one but multiple ways. Here’s...Read More
