Trading Half a Loaf For a Full One (or Possibly None) Starting this January 1, something happened to the Minnesota Seller’s Disclosure that I’d never seen before: it got shorter*. Lopped off the end of the document: the section requiring Sellers to sign (again) as of the date of the Purchase Agreement (“PA”), representing either...Read More
Buyers Who Misunderstand the Scope, Purpose of the Home Inspection Here’s some advice to Buyers tempted to impose requirements like the one above following their home inspection. “Don’t.” There are two reasons for that: 1) it could easily cost the Buyer the home, especially if the Seller has other, serious interest (or even a backup...Read More
Fill Out the Form and Forget it? Not Necessarily OK, there’s no such thing as a “living, breathing document” — with the possible exception of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, etc. What I have in mind, though — at least in the context of residential real estate — are contracts/disclosures where one party...Read More
Pressure on (Flood Insurance) Premiums Wait a second . . . didn’t Hurricane Sandy clobber the East Coast, not the Midwest? And, wasn’t that, like, more than a year ago? Yes, but . . . flood insurance premiums are set nationally. In the wake (literally) of recent mega-storms like Sandy and Katrina, flood insurance premiums...Read More
“True” or “False” Quiz True or false: the purpose of the Minnesota Seller’s Disclosure is for the Seller to tell prospective Buyers everything the Seller believes is relevant for making a purchase decision. Answer: False. Correct answer? For the Seller to tell Buyers everything Buyers deem relevant. Which is why smart Sellers err on the...Read More
“Foundation Size: 2,044” If you don’t know square feet, foundation sizes, etc., let me offer a quick tutorial. A typical 1 1/2 story home with 2,300 or so finished square feet usually has a foundation size around 1,200 square feet; another 700-800 finished square feet on the upper level; and perhaps 400-500 square feet in...Read More
