Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder Buyer When should a listing agent (representing the Seller) explicitly acknowledge in their marketing that a home “needs cosmetic updates” (or the equivalent)? Less often than you might guess. Here are my three reasons why: One. The pictures tell the story. For years, websites like EdinaRealty.com have allowed...Read More
1 Picture = 1,000 Words Not every garage billed as a three car garage on MLS comfortably accommodates three cars. Perhaps to dispel any Buyer skepticism, the listing agent included the photo above. Certainly looks like a 3-car garage to me ” with some extra overhead storage, to boot! See also, “That Garage is HOW...Read More
Pre-List Networking Trial Balloon I’ve been in real estate sales for 18 years, and I still have no idea what a “$500-ish” price is. $520k, perhaps? Maybe $485k? In truth, I can imagine a “$500-ish” price falling anywhere between $480k to $530k or even higher. Buyer Trap? Which is no doubt precisely the point, especially...Read More
Question #2: Is That Different Than “Large?” Original hardwood floors have just been re-done, four oversize bedrooms, tremendous woodwork & period fixtures.” —-“Public Remarks,” MLS. “Oversized” is one of those imprecise adjectives that you occasionally run into in real estate: its certainly sounds good, but, on closer inspection, doesn’t convey much if any information. Sort...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
Home Measurements & Real Estate Conventions Real estate marketing is all about “putting your best foot forward”: accentuating (but not lying) about a home’s strengths, while defusing any negatives (one of the best ways: tackle them head on, to get them out of the way). That applies to a home’s measurements, too. So, Realtors will...Read More
