“The More Things Change” Department Once upon a time, when I started selling real estate in 2002, the worksheet that Buyers and Sellers signed at closing was simply known as . . . the settlement statement (or just the closing worksheet, to avoid any jargon). Then it became the “HUD-1” (HUD stands for “Housing and Urban Development,” the federal...Read More

Question #2:  Can Stocks Ever Be “Underbought?” “Some investors have expressed concern that popular trades are overbought, making them vulnerable to a sharp pullback.” –“U.S. Stocks Drop as Investors Unwind Popular Trades”; The Wall Street Journal (3/21/17). Here’s a suggestion for financial journalists:  instead of using meaningless, mumbo jumbo phrases like “stocks fell because they...Read More

Listing Agent Retort:  “I’ll Tell You Right After You Tell Me How High the Buyer is Willing to Go” You (almost) never hear a listing agent (representing a Seller) say to a Buyer’s agent at the outset of negotiations:  “let’s cut to the chase; what’s the most your Buyer will pay for my client’s property?”...Read More