Realtor Rationalizations Why would a Realtor quote a would-be Seller an unrealistically high list price? Because the agent believes it’s the only way they’ll get hired. The practice — called “buying the listing” — virtually assures that the home will sit, ignored, while it accumulates market time, until eventually the agent broaches the subject of...Read More
“That’s O-N-E . . . L-O-N-G . . . D-O-C-K” When it comes to Minneapolis’ Lake Harriet, there’s no bigger fan than me. There’s a terrific family beach at the southeast corner; the gorgeous Rose Garden is off to the northeast; and to the west is kid-friendly downtown Linden Hills — perfect for coffee and/or...Read More
Fern Hill Colonial Featured in NY Times Real Estate Section It’s always a shock to read a national publication and see a home you recognize — in this case, one that I’ve shown multiple clients and is literally less than a block from where I live (by Minneapolis’ Cedar Lake). As you’d expect, the home photographs...Read More
The “You Know it When You See it” Test While it’s true that every Mid-Century Modern home was built in the 1950’s (or thereabouts), it’s decidedly NOT the case that every home built in the 1950’s is a “Mid-Century Modern.” In fact, in real life, very few are. On MLS, for every home that I...Read More
“You Know What They Meant” Dept. I’ve been involved in lots of estate sales, and have certainly seen plenty listed on MLS. But, I don’t recall ever seeing that rather unfortunate pairing — “estate” and “situation” — on MLS before. What’s going on? Two guesses: 1) it’s a new(er) agent; and 2) the home’s not...Read More
What’s worse than a dark home on a dark day? A dark home on sunny day (note the windows). In particular, the Kitchen (background) appears as dead space, overshadowing (sorry) the very nice Dining Room and hardwood floors (foreground). Too bad: the rest of the (equally) unflattering MLS photos suggest this is actually a very nice...Read More
