State-of-the-Art HVAC & Mechanicals. Or Not. Even with a maximum of 24 photos allowed on MLS now, you typically don’t see pictures of electric service panels (above). That’s because people buy homes emotionally, and — let’s face it — electric service panels don’t inspire much emotion (at least for most people). The exception(s) to not...Read More
“Can I Please Speak to Myra Mains?” [Editor’s Note: if you’re a regular reader, you may recall this post from previous years. Normally, I re-run it close to April 1. However, given that Google and other search engines already seem to be finding it early, I’m moving up the timing this year.] Courtesy of now-retired...Read More
Standard Amenities: “Baggage Claim,” “Courtesy Phone” . . . “Bike Assembly Area” (?!?) Test your knowledge of regional quirks, and guess which major U.S. airport provides a “Bike Assembly Area” for arriving passengers (last line of sign, above): A. Chicago O’Hare B. Dallas-Fort Worth C. Portland, OR D. Atlanta (Hartsfield) Correct answer: “C.” Not that...Read More
WSJ: $25 Billion Just in U.S. Almost a year and a half ago, I speculated that’s Volkswagen’s liability stemming from its emissions cheating scandal was likely to be far above consensus estimates at the time. See, “Calculating VW’s Financial & Legal Hit From Emissions Scandal.” My ballpark estimate: $35 billion. So, how close did I...Read More
“But, I Didn’t . . . .” Yes, You Did. I took a terrific continuing ed course recently where the instructor devised a game to make Realtors aware of just how egocentric they/we can be — and to cut it out. Instead, the focus should always be on the client. The game: for the class...Read More
(Too) Affordable Monthly Payments One of the best ways to deal with (financial) objections is to whittle them down to size. As salespeople know, there’s no better way to make a big(ger) number seem smaller than to shrink it into monthly payments. So, that extra $10,000 you might have to pay to get a house now...Read More
