What it Means For Competing Homes As Realtors if not the general public know, the MLS status “TNAS” — short for “Temporarily Not Available For Showing” — has a catch-all status, covering everything from an unexpected home repair, to the Seller having out-of-town company, to someone in the household being sick. Which is why it...Read More
One of the ways you can tell that a product is dated or out-of-fashion — or people think it is — is that it acquires an adjective. So, for awhile, “Coke” became “New Coke.” In the wake of Watergate in the 1970’s, Minnesota’s Republican party became the “Independent – Republican” party (at least until Ronald Reagan...Read More
Plentiful Jobs + Affordable Housing “Minneapolis-St. Paul is awash in economic plenty. The area has added more than 200,000 new jobs since 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The area’s unemployment rate in December was just 3.1 percent (not seasonally adjusted), compared with 4.8 percent nationwide. The median household income is well above the national...Read More
Marketing Practice > Theory At first blush, it seemed like a terrific idea: use the back of your (Realtor’s) business card to showcase an individual listing. My second thought: why didn’t I think of that?? But, on reflecting a little more, I realized why the business card of the Buyer’s agent who showed my listing...Read More
The Limits of Delectable Food I know the about-to-follow sentiments place me in a distinct minority of Realtors, but here goes: If scrumptious refreshments on Broker Tour* actually sold homes, then that nice Contemporary by Cedar Lake should have sold in a heartbeat. Proffered to visiting agents: home-cooked shish-kebab (delicious!), flutes of champagne, and chocolate...Read More
The Opposite of Buying Down Rates Wait a second! Isn’t borrowers’ goal to pay the lowest interest rate they can on their mortgage? Yes, but — especially for first-time home Buyers — there’s the added consideration of closing costs. On a $200,000 home, a typical amount would be 3%, or $6,000. Conserving Cash A popular...Read More
