Appraisal Reconsideration “True”or “False” Consider the following scenario, then answer “Yes” or “No”: An appraisal on a recent home sale comes in low. The next week, a (very) similar home that had been “Pending” at the time the appraisal was done subsequently closes . . . . for well above asking price. Can the closed...Read More
Realtors’ Investment? Skill, Time, & Marketing $$$ How long should a listing contract be? The short answer: Long enough to sell the property being listed. How long that is — assuming that the home is well-priced, staged, and marketed — is typically a function of price. Under $200k in the Twin Cities today, you’d estimate...Read More
Lincoln’s 2nd Inaugural Address: “With Firmness in the Right as God Gives Us to See the Right” “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds,...Read More
Best Advice to Home Sellers: “Tell What You Know” Homeowners can be forgiven for not knowing the difference between a special assessment that’s “pending,” vs. one’s that “levied” — as opposed to one that is assessed and currently payable. Realtors have trouble keeping those terms straight as well. The best advice to give prospective home...Read More
Three Factors How much do you discount for a one-car garage? The short answer: ‘it depends.” Specifically, I think that the three most important variables are: One. What is the surrounding housing stock like? In close-in, older Minneapolis neighborhoods, many homes have one car garages (still). Detached, one car garages. When that’s the standard, the discount...Read More
Why No One’s Rooting For FREE* Ice Cream People in the Twin Cities know that when the thermometer dives, ice cream at local favorite Sebastian Joe’s goes on sale. The discount last night, when the temp was “only” -14º below: a cool (sorry) 25%. *Using Sebastian Joe’s scale, the price when the temp is more than...Read More
