New Document Distribution Model: “Come & Get It” “Ransomware Attack Raises Concerns Over Future Assaults” –Headline, The NYT (June 28, 2017). Both professionally (as a Realtor) and as an investor (401k, etc.), it’s apparent to me how big organizations intend to safeguard valuable information from increasingly aggressive and sophisticated hackers. Step #1: lock it up in...Read More
Realtor Pet Peeves: When Less is More Once an editor, always an editor (in my case, heading the venerable St. Louis Park high school newspaper, the Echo, a long time ago). These days, the object of my ire is fellow Realtors and their (occasionally) less than efficient marketing verbiage. In that vein . . ....Read More
Not Just Twin Citians’ Imagination Summer in the Upper Midwest can seem cruelly short, and it’s not just because late June temps can dip into the 40’s overnight (the case now). It’s because the official beginning of Summer (the solstice, on June 21) arrives scarcely two weeks before the traditional mid-point (July 4). In fact, given that...Read More
Schizophrenic Politics, Schizophrenic Language It turns out that it’s not just modern American politics that is increasingly schizophrenic. So is our language. Exhibit A: the two, diametrically opposite meanings of the statement, “That investigation is going nowhere” (as in, the investigation into Russian collusion in the 2016 Presidential election, and whether Trump obstructed it). Definition...Read More
Sleazy Realtor Ads, or, “Sorry, But Not THAT Sorry” According to my Realtor grapevine, at least a few Twin Cities homeowners are being solicited — immediately after the death of a loved one — by, to put it mildly . . . aggressive Realtors seeking their business. The apparent source of the lead? Government death certificates, published...Read More
$50 Gift Card for Buyers’ Agents “If your Buyers visit my open house and mention your name, I’ll give you a $50 gift card to your favorite restaurant.” –email from listing agent promoting a Thursday night Summer open house. OK, so I don’t see it happening for more modestly-priced homes — say, those listed under...Read More
