Realtors’ Investment? Skill, Time, & Marketing $$$ How long should a listing contract be? The short answer: Long enough to sell the property being listed. How long that is — assuming that the home is well-priced, staged, and marketed — is typically a function of price. Under $200k in the Twin Cities today, you’d estimate...Read More
Out-of-Order Realtors* [Editor’s Note: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway, or any other entity referenced. If you need legal advice, please consult an attorney.] As a former corporate lawyer, no one is more fastidious about “dotting i’s” and “”crossing t’s” in Purchase Agreements. And...Read More
Q: Do the Pages in a Real Estate Contract Have to Be Numbered? I know that some fellow agents — and perhaps an Office Manager or two — may strenuously object. However, it’s my blog, and I am a former corporate attorney. So, here’s the answer: ‘no, they don’t.’ Rationale I’ll go even further: not...Read More
Looking for a Size 47 1/2 How is drafting a real estate contract — or almost any contract, for that matter — like picking a men’s suit? In both cases, the usual starting point is to select the closest-fitting, existing garment — er, legal boilerplate — you can find. Step #2: altering (“customizing”) it to fit...Read More
I’ve certainly committed my share of typo’s and malapropisms — so I’m not going to poke (too) much fun at anyone else’s. But, it’s hard not to get a chuckle out of contract that lists ones of the parties as “Patrician.” P.S.: Can a woman be “patrician?” And if she were, wouldn’t that make her...Read More
Legal Minutiae It’s not unusual in the course of a real estate deal for numerous terms to change — and others to be added. What’s the best way to document that evolution? My personal preference is a one page Counter-Offer Addendum that effectively rides on top of all the preceding documents. Not only does that cleanly...Read More
