Realtor Peer Review Fortunately, the only thing that (possibly) gets hurt in the wake of a real estate “S.W.A.T.” team swooping in is the feelings of the listing agent (representing the Seller) getting all the feedback.* The term refers to the practice of several colleagues helping a fellow Realtor size up a problem listing and...Read More
Establishing — and Testing — Boundaries If you go to the Business section of any bookstore, you’ll see any number of books on negotiation titled, “Getting to Yes!,” “Win-Win Negotiation,” etc. In my experience, however, the key to effective negotiation lies not in getting to “yes,” but getting to ‘no.” Or perhaps more accurately: before you...Read More
Real Estate Terminology 101 “Final acceptance” sounds like something that happens in a hospice, or perhaps what Woody Allen has been seeking in therapy all these years. Fortunately, the real estate version is not so macabre: it’s just a fancy way of saying, “Done Deal!” “Signed, Sealed, & (Constructively) Delivered” Specifically, “Final Acceptance” refers to...Read More
Hire a Realtor, Get a Lawyer for Free! I don’t know about you, but I’d say that anyone who regularly negotiates, drafts, and amends real estate contracts — as every Minnesota Realtor does routinely — is practicing law (and I’m a former corporate attorney!). And yet every state explicitly forbades the unauthorized practice of law, i.e.,...Read More
Closing Checklist . . . for Listing Agents I actually like 8 a.m. closings for a lot of reasons, especially when title companies are swamped (like now). If there’s a hitch with wired funds, there’s plenty of time to correct it; there’s no chance of a glitch in the closing(s) before delaying yours; clients are...Read More
“So, What’s My House Worth??” With the qualifier that I’ve probably been to less than four cocktail parties in my life, there is an odd parallel between the social banter doctors and Realtors invariably engage in with the public (“civilians”? “non-professionals?” “laypeople”??). For doctors, it’s people asking them about their aches and pains — or...Read More
