Real Estate Reality

Who owns the appraisal, the pest inspection report, the radon report, the whole house inspection report? Buyers and/or homeowners often believe that they do. Ownership would infer that they can then pass on that report to other parties. A homeowner who plans to list her house may have various ins...

When one agent guesses or outright makes up facts for a Broker Price Opinion, somebody down the line has to pay. That somebody may be the homeowner who is trying to arrange a short sale, a loan modification, home equity line of credit, or a refinance. Of course,  a low valuation would harm the ho...

"Based on the information you have provided, I am proud to tell you that I see no reason that we cannot approve your application for a home loan." This loan letter from a real, live loan officer has so many holes in it that it is completely useless. In fact, we cannot even tell if a loan applicat...

At times, the seller will require the buyer's agent to provide a copy of the earnest money check, especially with the purchase of a foreclosure property.  Seems innocent enough, doesn't it? When you email a copy of a check, however, you may not realize that you are putting your client in jeopardy...

Especially on Facebook, I'm seeing lots of daily posts about thankfulness. Some of those posts get a little bit redundant maybe even boring as the people get into the month--yeah, I know that makes me the Grinch of the season. But speaking of seasons I really AM grateful that I live in the part o...

Septic tanks always create special situations, especially when the ground fails a perk test. I had a listing not too long ago that had that very issue. The backyard had been compacted by previous owners as they were attempting to dig a lagoon. That process rendered the backyard completely unusabl...

I am often amazed at how some women are mesmerized by expensive purses and by women's dependence on them. During my teaching years, I relied on the district-issued lesson planner to be my all purpose planner, sometimes with sticky notes or paper-clipped notes added to the pages. Once I became a t...

Question: "I bid today on a Fannie Mae REO property in FL that came on the market 2 days ago just to find out that they had already accepted an offer... I suspect something is shady with this listing. Can you please give me feedback about what I can do? I thought that Fannie Mae properties should...

Karen Anne Stone, AR member extraordinaire, has been struggling since open heart surgery in mid-August. I spoke to her several times prior to her surgery, but I have not heard from her since the surgery. My heart goes out to her, and I ask that all AR members would keep Karen in your thoughts, an...

Dear Patti, I envisioned myself as being on an enclosed, rapidly moving merry-go-round that slowed only a bit, never stopping. Only occasionally did the opportunity to jump off come around, and I had to be ever watchful to spot the fleeting slit, open only for a micro-second and often not aligned...