Wanted: Twin Cities Realtor With Expertise Purchasing Fannie Mae Homes Normally, a Realtor who refers business to another agent collects a referral fee. Depending on the circumstances, such a referral fee can be as much as 33%(!) of the ultimate commission. So, what’s a “reverse referral fee?” When the referring agent has to pay Agent...Read More
Lose the “S” and I’ll Think About it Apparently, if I pay $159, a marketing outfit will sell me a plaque (above) saying that I am one of the “Best Real Estate Agents.” Or, so they keep telling me in the (spam?) emails I’m receiving rather regularly. I’m eligible to buy that plaque based on my...Read More
How Full — or Empty — is the Foreclosure Pipeline? Today’s New York Times includes a story that — at least at first blush — has ominous implications for Minneapolis and the overall Twin Cities housing market: In Minneapolis, lenders are bringing in at least six foreclosed homes for each they sell. –Eric Dash, “Banks...Read More
Dear MLS: ‘Who Moved My Cheese?’ For the record, I was not one of the agents whose “calls, emails, and feedback forms” prompted the local MLS to dramatically overhaul the look and feel of its site. In my — and many other Twin Cities Realtors’ opinion — the old system worked just fine, and the...Read More
Warren Buffett’s Freudian Slip This land is your landThis land is my(?) landFrom California to the New York islandFrom the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream watersThis land was made for you (and me?). –Lyrics, “This Land is Your Land”; Woody Guthrie (tweaked by Ross Kaplan) The first time I read “Pretty Good for...Read More
Defining “Location” One of the ways Twin Cities agents search for properties for their clients — at least until the end of this year — is by “MLS area.” So, “300” roughly corresponds to Lake of the Isles and Lake Calhoun; “391” to St. Louis Park; “309” to Southwest Minneapolis (Kingfield, Linden Hills, etc.); and...Read More
