Criterion: “Context, Context, Context” (and Consistency) One of the biggest decisions would-be Sellers have to make — besides choosing a Realtor and a list price 🙂 — involves what to spend money on getting their home ready for sale . . . and what not to. The trick to making that decision is applying the right criteria....Read More
New Oven: $500. New Wall: $3,000 One of the stealth issues for prospective home Buyers is the old-but-still functioning wall oven — often times, two of them. The risk, which rises with the oven’s age: that the model has been discontinued, and there’s not a same-size replacement. When that’s the case, the fix isn’t just a new...Read More
Playing Offense vs. Defense About a dozen Twin Cities municipalities have them: a city-required home inspection that must be completed before homeowners can transfer title to a Buyer at closing. Leaving aside the merits of such inspections, when does it make sense for Sellers — and their agents — to market that the home has passed...Read More
Friend vs. . . Foe Not Friend In the Twin Cities, ten municipalities require home sellers to have their home inspected prior to sale (in some cases, prior to listing). Some of those cities (Bloomington, St. Louis Park) have their own city inspectors; others, like Minneapolis, outsource the job to an approved list of independent...Read More
Compromised Curb Appeal It’s a tough call: do you recommend that a prospective home Seller replace a still-functioning — but aesthetically challenged — capital item? As they say, it all depends: –on the price point; –on the condition of the rest of the home; –on how large the item looms in the home’s marketing and overall...Read More
Thanks to Hopkins City Inspector Colleen Rybak, who emailed me a copy of the city’s inspection report late last night. As in, “Sunday night” — after she’d been out-of-town for the weekend. I needed the report first thing this am, to go with my new listing at 738 Drillane Circle, and would have had to...Read More
