April Deals Bring May (& June) Closings If you assume that mid-April is the peak of the Spring housing market (correct most years), and that the average lead time to close a home purchase is six weeks (true), that makes the peak for closings . . . right now. In fact, when the last day of the...Read More
Realtor — and Title Company — Trade Secrets; or, “What’s That Toaster Oven Doing Next to the Copy Machine??” Home Buyers associate fresh-baked cookies with open houses. The smell creates a nice “homey” vibe, and puts prospective Buyers in the emotional mood . . . to buy. But, I’d never encountered fresh-baked cookies at closing before....Read More
Pre-Closing Checklist Test your mastery of real estate minutiae, and answer the following multiple choice question: What’s the last (if not most important) pre-closing detail to get right? A. The client’s net number on the HUD-1. B. Still-needed signature(s) on any last-minute Purchase Agreement Amendments. C. The listing agent’s sign riders from the “For Sale” sign (once the...Read More
Being There — Literally — For Clients I suppose there are Realtors who miss their clients’ closings. But, I’m not one of them. Would you miss a kid’s graduation? A family member’s birthday party? OK, so a real estate closing may not be quite so momentous. But, after working side by side with someone closely...Read More
Location of Closing I paid for that mike! –Ronald Reagan, 1984 Presidential debate You’d think that the home seller — who’s invariably footing most of the closing bill, starting with the Realtors’ commissions — would get to choose where to hold the closing. But by convention, it’s the Buyer’s call. Why’s that? I’d guess it’s...Read More
It’s not exactly like the home team batting second in baseball, but there is something analogous to “home field advantage” in residential real estate. Namely, by convention, the Buyer gets to choose the location of closing (typically, at the office of the title company they’re using). That fact was . . . uhhh, driven home...Read More
