“Highest & Best,” Defined One of the more anguished — and fruitless — laments uttered by Buyers who just heard they lost in multiple offers is: “But, I would’ve gone higher!” Then, they should have. The way “highest & best” works is . . . pretty much how you’d think. One round, highest and best...Read More
Runner-Up Buyers “Once bitten, twice shy” may be true in romance, but it definitely does not apply in residential real estate. At least, that seems to be the case in housing markets with scarce inventory and rising prices — true in many parts of the country now, including the Twin Cities. More Aggressive On the contrary, would-be...Read More
Weak Link: Between the Buyer and Title Company [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.] When it comes to housing-related cyber fraud, home Buyers and Sellers are not equally vulnerable to hackers. Buyers are much more exposed....Read More
Multiple Offer Photo Finish If you’re a home seller trying to decide among four virtually identical offers for your home (Yay!!), which one do you choose? At least for one recent Twin Cities seller, the tiebreaker was the Inspection Contingency. Specifically, one of the four offers included a $500 cap on any inspection requests. Painless...Read More
The Upside Down Negotiation Normally, it’s the Buyer who insists on a lower price, and the Seller, a higher one. The exception? When the two parties to the transaction are long-time friends, and the subject matter is a used car (pictured with its new primary driver, my 17 year-old son, above). To get the deal done, my...Read More
Homes That Don’t Measure Up (Literally) Hush, little baby, don’t say a word. Papa’s gonna buy you a mockingbird And if that mockingbird won’t sing, Papa’s gonna buy you a diamond ring And if that diamond ring turns brass, Papa’s gonna buy you a looking glass And if that looking glass gets broke, Papa’s gonna...Read More
