Included By Whom?? “A Home Protection/Warranty Plan will be obtained by __ Buyer __ Seller.” –Standard Minnesota Purchase Agreement, line 238. One of my favorite 1960’s-era cartoons shows a gas station with a big sign in front promising “Free Mug with Fill.” Down the street, the attendant (another anachronism) is chasing after a car that...Read More
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
Victims of Success? How do Realtors get good at listing presentations? (job interviews for agents to represent a home seller). By doing lots of ’em. New agents have no choice: with no clients, track record, or reputation to speak of, that’s how they land business. Trappings of Success – Literally Now fast forward 5 —...Read More
Rising Rates Deter Home Buying & Selling, Right? Not Necessarily (and, who says they’re rising??) “Now that interest rates have begun to turn up from their historic lows, the housing market may face a problem called “the lock-in” effect, where homeowners are reluctant to move, since moving might entail taking out a new mortgage at...Read More
Bedroom Sizes: “Small,” “Medium,” and “(Extra) Extra Large” You certainly can call a 36′ x 13′ room in the basement of a home a “Bedroom,” as a certain listed Golden Valley home does now. But, that doesn’t make it so. That’s true even if the room technically meets the criteria for a legal Bedroom: it...Read More
Putting Clients at Ease (Just Not Too Much) My guess is, if you’ve worked with a Realtor (or any salesperson) lately, what you were ultimately asked to sign wasn’t referred to as a “legal contract.” It was called “paperwork” (sample agent-to-client dialogue: “if you’re comfortable with everything we discussed, let’s get the paperwork taken care...Read More
