“Realtor” vs. “Real Estate Agent” vs. “Executive Realtor” (Huh?!?) I know the term “Realtor®” — it’s actually a trademarked name that refers to someone who belongs to the National Association of Realtors (“NAR”). Then there are plain-old real estate agents — licensed professionals who don’t belong to NAR. Similarly, the terms “agent,” “sales associate,” “broker”...Read More
Minnesota Realtors Get With the (Post-August 1) Program What’s one of the best signs that the Twin Cities housing market is back at full throttle, post-Labor Day? (and back-to-school). It’s purely anecdotal, but my answer would be that this post, “Sneak Peak: 2017-2018 Minnesota Real Estate Contract Changes,” is getting more play (read, hits) on...Read More
Admittedly, It was easier to get my dyslexic head around the original version: a New Yorker magazine cartoon showing one spouse catching the other “in the act,” as it were. The caption: “Believe me, it’s not what it is.” Now, Bourbon distiller Maker’s Mark — or more accurately, their ad agency — has apparently decided...Read More
Porous, Virtual Political Borders + Tsunami of Outside Money People who decry the outsized influence wielded by sparsely-populated states in the electoral college (think, North & South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Rhode Island) are missing a key point: thanks to porous borders — and lax campaign finance laws — many of the elections in those states are...Read More
Square Pegs into Round Irregular Holes The input field on MLS for room sizes asks for two numbers: the room’s width and its length. Which works great if a room is rectangular. But what if it’s not? If the room has a dormer, is L-shaped, curved, or otherwise defies a standard “width x length” measurement,...Read More
Averaging Apples & Oranges Here’s some no-brainer real estate advice: if you can find a 1,113 square foot Manhattan condo for $200k . . . grab it! Ditto for a 713 square foot condo in San Francisco for $200k. Of course, in real life, those properties would likely fetch 6x – 8X(!) that amount. Lies,...Read More
