Doubling Down on DIY (“Do It Yourself”), or, “If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again” “First law of holes”: ‘if you find yourself in a hole . . . stop digging.'” –Adage. One of the more interesting inspections I’ve handled recently involved a Minnetonka home Seller (I represented the Buyer) who clearly was...Read More
Recognize This House? Me, Neither Scarcely six months after I sold 2521 Kipling in St. Louis Park’s Fern Hill neighborhood last Spring . . . the home is a veritable construction site. Which explains why the Buyer’s inspection went so smoothly: my recollection is that the Buyer raised few (if any) issues, and quickly removed their Inspection...Read More
The Waiting (In Between the Buyer’s Inspection and Their Follow-up) “If Buyer does not cancel this Purchase Agreement before the end of the Inspection Period, then this Inspection Contingency shall be removed and this Purchase Agreement shall be in full force and effect.” –Minnesota Purchase Agreement, lines 189. – 191. Anxious Sellers fretting about what...Read More
Calculating the Risk that a Low Appraisal Will Scuttle a Deal In a market with lots of first-time Buyers (like today’s), it’s a question I’ve been fielding a lot this Spring: ‘when should I give notice to my landlord?” The (usually) safe answer: ‘once the Inspection Contingency has been removed.’ That is, after the Buyer’s...Read More
