Some Properties Are Bought, Some Are Sold True or false: what Realtors call “the selling agent” once a deal closes represents the Seller (no, this isn’t another “Grant’s Tomb” question). Answer: false. The agent who represents the owner/seller is called “the listing agent”; post-closing, the Buyer’s agent is referred to as “the selling agent.” Nomenclature...Read More
English, Please! To be fair to the listing agent (representing the Seller), the sentence above was in the “Agent Remarks” field on MLS, not the “Public Remarks” section. But, for the benefit of Buyers whose agents print out the unabridged, “Agent Full” report (I do for my clients), here’s the translation: “This 1925 Linden Hills...Read More
Good Thing No One Saw It. Not. My take on the meth disclosure on the standard Minnesota Seller Disclosure is the same as my view of accused murderers on the witness stand: if you’re potentially capable of murder, you’re certainly capable of (and motivated to) lie about it under oath. In the same vein, someone...Read More
I’m Pretty Sure the Old Survey Isn’t Stored on a Flash Drive I’m handling an Edina home sale now where the owner needs to get an updated survey. My client asked if I had any names (I do), but then it occurred to them to see who did the now 72(!) year-old survey, from 1942....Read More
Buy/Sell Now or Wait? With the November election finally(!) on the horizon, at least some Buyers and Sellers are trying to decide whether market conditions — and by market conditions, most observers mean interest rates — will be more or less favorable once U.S. voters have spoken. The dilemma: whether to act now or wait....Read More
“Not a Drive-By!” “Must See!” Yada, Yada, Yada One of my favorite Mad magazine cartoons (circa 1970) shows a vendor in front of a food stand with the following sign: “turkey burgers,” “chicken burgers,” “buffalo burgers,” “tuna burgers,” “veggie burgers,” etc. etc. The caption: ‘we have some with ham, too, but we don’t know what...Read More
