Deafening Silence: When Hours Seem Like Days The inspection was completed, but the Buyer has been uncharacteristically incommunicado. What’s the likeliest explanation? A. The inspection was a disaster, and the Buyer intends to back out. B. The inspection went fine, but the Buyer got cold feet anyways . . . and intends to back out. C. The...Read More
Two-Part Test [Editor’s Note: Seller liability for ice dams and other home issues is case-specific, and affected by local and state law. For legal advice, please contact an attorney.] At least in Minnesota, there is a two-pronged legal standard for Buyers to recover from Sellers for damage caused by an ice dam (or any post-closing...Read More
Assuming Two Risks, Not One [Editor’s Note: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway, or any other entity referenced. If you need legal advice, please consult an attorney.] If Buyers can waive a home inspection altogether (they can), it stands to reason they can...Read More
Three Benefits Listing agents (representing home sellers) are big fans of home warranties. Personally, I love them. That’s because listing agents know — even if their clients don’t — that a home warranty can help smooth over inspection issues, and make a dated home more attractive to first-time home Buyers, especially at lower price points....Read More
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
Dangerous Default Language (at least for Buyers) [Editor’s Note: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway, or any other entity referenced. If you need legal advice, please consult an attorney.] Once upon at time (OK, till 2016), Minnesota home buyers who discovered inspection issues that required...Read More
