Explaining the Ghost “For Sale” Sign (Online, at least) Thanks to quirky (at least to me) MLS rules, home photos can’t include broker names or any other marketing information. Usually that’s not a problem, because the Realtor-ordered photos are taken before the “For Sale” sign is installed. Ahh, but when that’s not the case, to...Read More
“The More Things Change” Department Once upon a time, when I started selling real estate in 2002, the worksheet that Buyers and Sellers signed at closing was simply known as . . . “the settlement statement” (or just the closing worksheet, to avoid any jargon). Then it became the “HUD-1” (HUD stands for “Housing and...Read More
“The More Things Change” Department Once upon a time, when I started selling real estate in 2002, the worksheet that Buyers and Sellers signed at closing was simply known as . . . “the settlement statement” (or just the closing worksheet, to avoid any jargon). Then it became the “HUD-1” (HUD stands for “Housing and Urban...Read More
Realtor Email Etiquette: “Do’s and “Don’ts How do you effectively double the already large number of emails between two Realtors working on a transaction together? Have one explicitly request that the other acknowledge receipt of each and every email they send. Yup, I’ve run into agents who subscribe to that annoying practice. Which is why...Read More
Four Ways to Tell In the history of mankind, no first-time Mother has ever under-dressed their newborn in the winter.” —Manhattan Pediatrician So which pediatrician uttered the above line? Mine (and my wife’s). What prompted that comment were the 3 layers of clothing my wife had already put on our newborn son (a long time...Read More
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
