Sorry, but I Cannot Drop Everything to Show You a Home

Wednesday morning I was contacted by another real estate company letting me know they had a buyer lead for one of my listings. I thought it strange that they would be sending a buyer my way, without helping the gentlemen themselves. After some questioning, I discovered that they will only show buyers homes that enter

Negotiate the Deal, Unless the Agent Kills It

I cannot believe I haven't written a post since Thursday....no, it couldn't be that long. Wow, time really does fly. Unfortunately, it wasn't all fun, more work than anything.Over the weekend, an offer came in on one of my listings. No big surprise but it was a low-ball offer. Needless to say, the sellers were

Ignore the Headlines!

My broker was kind to leave a copy of an article from Time magazine in my mailbox, titled "Ignore the Headlines". It pretty much backs up what I have been telling people about our current housing market, and why now is a good time to buy. This has nothing to do with the market bottoming

Yeah, I have Real Estate Niches, but…

...that doesn't mean I snub my nose as anyone else looking to buy something other than a high end home or a historic home. I have niches so I can know extreme information about those areas or types of home, but it doesn't mean I am not knowledgeable about the rest of the Minneapolis market.I

Why Now is the Best Year to Buy, Part 2

One thing that I did not get to talk about a few days ago regarding the best time to buy, mainly because illness stopped me from writing, was that for only some people this is true. While I am limited by my title on Blogger, it would probably be better to say that some people

Why Now is the Best Year to Buy

The last few months, I have read differing opinions on whether now is a good time to buy. Some say it is the perfect time, while others are telling people to wait. Some even go so far as to say the real estate industry is feeding the public false information in order to booster our

Certified Residential Specialist

For the last three years I have been working toward obtaining one of the most prestigious real estate designations available, that of the Certified Residential Specialist (CRS). This week it finally happened and I got confirmation just today that I am being awarded the CRS designation.It's not an easy one to be awarded. For one,

Beware the Following Statement

If you ever read or have some one tell you "You don't need an agent to view this home", your best course of action should be to run directly TO your agent.Today, I received a card on our door by a local lender who was advertising an open house for a home being sold without

There’s More to Fear than Toys

The media has been creating a lot of scared parents as of late with the various recalls on toys made in China. Seems the Q & A divisions of these companies in China have been dropping the ball and contaminating the toys with lead paint. But toys, in general, could be the least of parental

RESPA Requirements

Many people have never heard or RESPA, especially when they are completing a real estate transaction, but it is very important to know what your rights are under it. It is a federal law so states, and cities, like Minneapolis, are not exempt from its rules.The Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act was enacted by