Getting You More Money For Your Home & More Home For Your Money After almost 15 years selling homes, I think I finally have come up with a succinct definition of what a good Realtor does: they maximize what you get. The sales side of that equation is straightforward: a good Realtor maximizes the money you get,...Read More
Subjective Tolerance Levels First, the good news: assuming the house is a couple of decades old, the settling is very likely historic. So, for a home that was built in say, 1925, the settling likely occurred (and stopped) by 1928. The bad news? It’s (very) hard to correct. It’s possible to use floor jacks —...Read More
Putting Starbucks to Shame “Starbucks is Expanding Its ‘Reserve’ Brand Amid Super-Premium Coffee War.” –Fortune magazine Starbucks has nothing on Linden Hills’ Coffee & Tea Ltd. While the ubiquitous Seattle-based company plans to roll out a new chain of high-end coffee bars, Coffee & Tea Ltd. has long sold an exotic type of coffee bean,...Read More
“I Don’t Know Anyone; Where Should I Sit??” Taking a tour of Carleton** with my 17 year-old son recently, it didn’t take long to figure out where to sit at lunchtime: we saw the “Eat With a Stranger” sign, and joined Andrew, a gregarious senior from Omaha (pictured above). What to talk about? My son is...Read More
Using MLS “Agent Remarks” to Clear Up Any Confusion “He who represents himself has a fool for a client.” –Proverb At least in Minnesota, listing agents (representing the Seller) have to disclose on MLS if the owner is a licensed Realtor. So, in the field that asks “Is the Owner an Agent?,” the appropriate...Read More
“You Know What They Meant” Department Among the hundreds of “spam” emails intercepted by my email filter each week was one the other day with this subject title: “Contract is singed and we are ready to proceed.” Not recognizing the sender — and having no in-progress deals about to go up in smoke — I...Read More
