What Are They Really Worth? Put it this way: the picture of toilet paper should give you a hint. First, some background. In Minnesota, the first things that typically lead off any offer to purchase residential real estate are the Buyer’s earnest money check, and a pre-approval letter from a lender (unless the Buyer is...Read More
“Pick Your (Housing) Partner” Swing your partner “round and “round,And turn your corner upside down.And turn your corner like swingin’ on a gate,And meet your partner fora grand chain eight,And hurry up boys and don’t be late. –Square dancing lyrics What does the upcoming Fall housing market have to do with square dancing? It’s when...Read More
“Brittle” vs. “Supple” Deals He who negotiates least, negotiates best. –saying OK, so that’s not how it goes (the original version substituted “government” and “governing”). But it’s still accurate. There are 3 reasons why that’s so, at least that I can think of. One. While some people actually like to negotiate — Realtors often do,...Read More
Mastering the Rental Market Want to know which way the (real estate) wind is blowing? Here’s what’s on the agenda for this year’s Minnesota Association of Realtors forms course: New this year are lease contracts, exclusive representation for consumers looking to rent, and lease listing forms. Detect a theme? In a market with more rental...Read More
Under the Tax Credit Deadline (Just!) Communities large and small traditionally attach a lot of fanfare to the first birth of the new year. So, the proud parents of little Susie or Tommy, who arrived at 12:03 a.m. on New Year’s Day, typically rate a mention in the paper or news (and often a free...Read More
Multiple Offer “Rules of Engagement”:Highest (Offer) & Best (Terms) Careful readers of MLS listings these days will notice more references to the phrase “highest and best” — as in “highest and best offers due by noon, Tuesday.” What exactly is the listing agent talking about? Two things. First, multiple offers have been received for the...Read More
