“I Know What You Meant” Department: Contingent Offer Confusion Residential real estate is full of confusing, non-intuitive (if not counter-intuitive) terms. Like, the Realtor that the industry calls “the Selling agent,” once a deal closes, actually represents the Buyer (the agent representing the Seller is known as “the listing agent”). See, “Quick! Who Does the...Read More
Barring the Door . . . to Everyone; 2 Pro’s — & (at Least) 1 Big Con Once upon a time, homes that were under contract, but not yet past inspection, were flagged on MLS with the suffix, “Sold, subject to inspection” (“SSI” for short). Then, that got truncated to just “i” — as in...Read More
Appraisal Reconsideration “True”or “False” Consider the following scenario, then answer “Yes” or “No”: An appraisal on a recent home sale comes in low. The next week, a (very) similar home that had been “Pending” at the time the appraisal was done subsequently closes . . . . for well above asking price. Can the closed...Read More
Best Advice to Home Sellers: “Tell What You Know” Homeowners can be forgiven for not knowing the difference between a special assessment that’s “pending,” vs. one’s that “levied” — as opposed to one that is assessed and currently payable. Realtors have trouble keeping those terms straight as well. The best advice to give prospective home...Read More
Stale vs. Fresh Data in a Fast-Moving Market Test your knowledge of residential real estate, and field this question: What is the best way to quickly find out the status of a “For Sale” home? A. Check Zillow or Trulia; B. Look on MLS (assuming you’re a Realtor); C. Look on Realtor.com; D. Request a...Read More
“Now You See It . . . Now You Don’t” Once a “For Sale” home is under contract, the usual convention is to switch its MLS status from “Active” to “A,i” for “Sold, subject to inspection.”* That lets all other prospective Buyers know that there’s somebody ahead of them. So, what happens if the Buyer’s...Read More
