One could argue that I don’t know what I am talking about (I see a few nods of agreement). After all, I give Realtors® plenty of advice without having walked in your shoes. So this once, I am not going to tell you anything: instead, I am asking for your help. The loss of a family member gave rise for my need to hire a broker in southern California…
Read On
Q. A property owner called an agent and asked for a CMA. The agent, figuring she'd get the listing, agreed. When the agent presented the owner with the copy of the CMA, the owner asked the agent to include a handwritten sentence stating that she performed the CMA to the best of her ability. The owner asked the agent to sign the statement!
Read On
This, or something like it, is a frequently heard refrain. You hear it when you tell a listing agent that your buyer’s offer is forthcoming. Is it true? Does it have to be true? When it is not true, do you have recourse? These are questions we hear on the Hotline and they are questions addressed in malpractice claims pursued against listing and buyer agents…
Read On
Facts. The certificate of resale issued by a homeowners association gave notice that an assessment would be issued to all unit owners requiring the payment of $5,000 to cover a particular item of repair or improvement (the exact purpose of the assessment is not important to this question). The buyer was surprised to learn of this assessment and clearly did not want to have to pay the amount when it became due after settlement…
Read On
Median sale price increases in third quarter 2016 ENOLA, PA (October 13, 2016) – The number of residential housing units sold in south-central Pennsylvania increased 4.9 percent in the third quarter (July – September) of 2016. According to the Greater Harrisburg Association of REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service, 2,755 units were sold, up from 2,625 units sold in the third quarter of 2015…
Read On
Facts. Broker A received a letter from a “cooperating” salesperson stating that no one from Broker A’s office could show her listing. This letter was not signed by Broker B, the cooperating agent’s broker. As it turns out, there is a history between the non‐cooperating agent and Broker A. The agent was formerly affiliated with the Broker A and apparently their relationship ended badly…
Read On
I presume it is now commonplace to tender a buyer’s deposit within so many days of execution of the agreement of sale. While deposits once accompanied offers, the practice is no longer practicable given the electronic transmission of offers. And while it is perfectly legal for a buyer to tender a deposit days after the agreement has been executed…
Read On
Here’s one for you big city brokers. Best of the Hotline Facts. I am planning to move my office to an office building that permits no exterior signs. Also, signs are not permitted in the first floor lobby where one might expect to see a marquis showing the names and locations of the tenants…
Read On
Strongest Second Quarter In 11 Years ENOLA, PA (July 11, 2016) – The number of residential housing units sold in south central Pennsylvania increased 13.7 percent in the second quarter (April – June) of 2016. According to the Greater Harrisburg Association of REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service, 2,825 units were sold, up from 2,484 units sold in the second quarter of 2015…
Read On
Imagine that you meet with a buyer client for whom you are about to draft an offer. The client seems somewhat distracted and his occasional winces suggest that he is in some physical distress. During the meeting he says to you that he is experiencing a burning sensation in his chest. He confides that while he believes it is indigestion…
Read On
