“Sold, Subject to Inspection” Why would an agent show Buyers a home that’s already under contract? Because the clients are (just) learning the market, and their agent is showing them the home for illustrative purposes only — that is, to educate the Buyer about how much/what kind of house can be had at a specific...Read More
Labor + Capital + Raw Materials = Finished Goods I spent four years learning economics at Stanford. I’ve spent (going on) the last forty years unlearning it. It’s not that Stanford failed me. It turns out that the entire field of modern economics was built upon not one but two outmoded ideas, if not conceptual...Read More
“The Curb Cut Clue” — and the Clincher It’s not always the case. But, +90% of the time, when there’s a curb cut (and possibly driveway) in front of a home that leads nowhere . . . the owner (or a previous one) converted what had been a 1-car garage into finished square feet....Read More
Legal Concept of “Ripeness” Even though it’s been decades since I practiced corporate law, I use the training practically daily. To pick just one example, I consciously apply the legal doctrine of “ripeness” to prioritize decision-making — mine and my client’s. In the legal world, “ripeness” means that courts will not consider an issue until it’s “ripe”...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
Seasoned vs. Green Buyers; The Role of Pre-List Networking It’s accepted wisdom amongst veteran Realtors — which I happen to agree with — that “the first Buyer is (often) the best Buyer.” Why’s that? The explanation has to do with the nature of the pool of home Buyers at any given moment, plus Buyer behavior...Read More
