Pluses & Minuses (2 Apiece) At least in my experience, for every long-time homeowner who’s (overly) invested in their home, psychologically-speaking, and can only see it through rose-colored glasses, there are another 3 (or 10!) hoping their home is a teardown, especially if it’s located in a hot area. Ditto for the listing agent waiting in...Read More
Dual Agency Dilemma #17 Never having represented both the Buyer and Seller in the same transaction (I consider it a classic conflict of interest), one of the questions I have for agents who do act as dual agents is, “how do you navigate things like the Buyer’s walk-thru inspection? Provided for in the standard Minnesota Purchase...Read More
Post-Inspection, But Pre-Walk Thru [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.] There are plenty of instances, especially in the later stages of a deal, when the Buyer legitimately...Read More
The Case For — and Against In a microcosm, the considerations for doing an open house over Memorial Day weekend are the same as for deciding whether to list a home during a traditionally slow time of the year (like around the holidays). Here’s how the arguments shape up: Pros: –Not much competition from other open...Read More
Ironically, the better Realtors get at helping clients buy and sell real estate . . . the worse they can get at certain related tasks. Here are three areas where it’s easy for agents to let their skills atrophy — or never acquire expertise in the first place: One. Market reports/updates. Show me a listing...Read More
Seller Semantics “As I am smoking . . . I don’t expect to be thanked.” —What John Hurt’s character ” in “Love and Death on Long Island” (1997) ” says to the cab driver, when the latter points to the cab’s “Thank You For Not Smoking” sign, and asks Hurt to extinguish his cigarette. Shortly after showing their client a new-on-the...Read More
