Analog vs. Digital Parking Meters The bad news about parking at the Minneapolis Farmer’s Market? (open since late April, if you weren’t aware): you’ll have to pay for it. The good news: you won’t have to pay very much, at least on a Sunday in late May. I was about to dump additional quarters in...Read More
High Washout Rate [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.] One of the last things that can come up before would-be home sellers officially hire an agent is what Realtors call an exclusion (or sometimes protected) list. In...Read More
Guilty Until Proven Innocent? How do you know a would-be home seller has just suffered a rash of cancellations and no-shows? Their agent (known as the listing agent) grills the next couple Buyer’s agents trying to show the property. That can be by email, voicemail, text or even by requiring a “chaperoned showing”: that is,...Read More
Telling Buyers Why the Owner is Selling You see it all the time on MLS: a listing agent who trumpets that a home is “only available due to Seller relocation.” Such verbiage is: A. Smart marketing, because it lets prospective Buyers know why the property is available. B. Neither a marketing plus nor minus. C. A violation of...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
Why Buyers Can Walk When the Home Doesn’t Appraise “Buyer agrees to pay in the following manner: 1) Cash of _____ percent (%) of the sale price, or more in Buyer’s sole discretion . . . “ –Excerpt, standard Minnesota Purchase Agreement (emphasis added). [Editor’s Note: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan,...Read More
