‘Vúja de’: the strange feeling that somehow, this has never happened before. –George Carlin I suppose the flip side of stumbling across a new listing you instantly recognize is, seeing one that you know looks familiar, but can’t quite place. Or, driving past such a house. In the case of this Fern Hill home (above),...Read More
Skin Deep Beauty — Real Estate Version I’m working with a prospective Buyer currently who’s (politely) asked me not to show him any more “flips” — that is, homes that have been purchased within the last six months by rehabbers, cleaned up and (selectively) updated, and then put back on the market at a much...Read More
Getting the Warts Out of the Way, aka Setting Buyer Expectations Appropriately “ATTN REHABBERS: THIS NEEDS WORK; NOT FOR THE TIMID. SOLD IN “AS IS” CONDITION.” –excerpt, MLS Listing for 4-plex in Minneapolis’ Wedge neighborhood You can certainly overdo it, but I actually endorse what this listing agent is up to: namely, announcing (literally in...Read More
Plight of “The Kind-of-Dated House” The good is the enemy of the great. –Voltaire When it comes to enticing Buyers, “all new” is good (assuming it’s well-done). “Hopelessly dated” isn’t so good, but when that’s the case, at least it’s usually apparent to everyone (including the owner) — and priced accordingly. Which leaves the big,...Read More
How Many Make a “Meteor Shower?” What’s a “housing market meteorite?” Like the celestial kind, they burst onto the scene in a brilliant flash of light; descend (in price) through the night sky (housing market) quickly; then just as quickly disappear (they’re sold). They often have these three additional attributes: One. They’re top-to-bottom (bottom-to-top?) rehab’s;...Read More
New-and-Improved in Fern Hill The Seller (my client) moved out in July. Guess who moved in? Not the Buyers — their contractors. Six months from now, this 1937 Colonial will have undergone a top-to-bottom renovation costing well into six figures. Take a project like this, multiply by 10 (conservatively) over the last 2-3 years, and...Read More
