What’s in a Name Label? After decades(?) buying Costco’s Kirkland (house) brand — slapped on its milk, eggs, toilet paper and dozens of other items — I’d always assumed Costco had its headquarters in Seattle suburb Kirkland, just north of the city. Unh-unh. Costco’s headquarters (pictured above) is in another suburb, Issaquah, located about 10 miles...Read More
The Art of Comp Selection One of the trickier home features to account for in a Comparative Market Analysis (“CMA”) is a busy street. For a family with little kids, a busy street may very well be a deal breaker — in which case the discount is theoretically infinite. At the other extreme, an investor looking...Read More
What Can Ruffle a Veteran Realtor Just Before Closing Thankfully, the list of things that can rattle a seasoned agent (OK, me) just before closing is mercifully short. Assuming the Buyer can perform financially, and any final walk-thru inspection issues have been addressed . . . there’s not much left. Don’t Panic . . . Yet...Read More
Ounces of Prevention What does the Fall 2017 Parade of Homes ” set to start this Saturday (September 9) in the Twin Cities ” have to do with passing out Realtor business cards? Just this: if a Buyer you’re working with goes through a Parade home and decides to buy it, you may have a “procuring cause” issue...Read More
Talking Your Way Out of $50 I imagine there are a lot of emotional appeals at this parking ramp, exactly 31 minutes (& 37 minutes, & 43 minutes, etc.) after unwitting customers — at least the first time — return to their cars: “But, I got stuck in a long Starbucks line!”; “My kid’s school bus was late!”;...Read More
“Recent surveys suggest that . . . maybe 40 percent of Republicans are what you might call conservative white identitarians. White identitarians are conservative, but their white identity is quite important to them, sometimes even more important than their conservatism.” –David Brooks, “How Trump Kills the GOP” (The New York Times; 8/29/17). At his best,...Read More
