"Be Sure to Find a Us a Nice, New Neighbor"

Requests From Neighbors

That's the news from Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.

--Garrison Keillor

The number one request I get from neighbors when I'm selling a home on their block?

"Be sure to sell to someone nice, who'll be good for the neighborhood."

For the record, I have never sold a home to someone who wasn't (nice, good for the neighborhood).

And neither has any other Realtor. :)

(Actually, in Minnesota, that's not hard to do.)

Victory over Winter ("VOW") Day

Vanquishing Winter (Again)

There is something inherently sobering about the realization that Mother Nature is trying to kill you.

--Garrison Keillor

If you're under 30 years old -- make that under 60 -- you likely have no clue what "VE" or "VJ" Day stand for ("Victory over Europe" and "Victory over Japan," respectively).

Instead, how about celebrating a perennial holiday that every Minnesotan can relate to: Victory over Winter ("VOW") Day.

Sure, winter may have inflicted casualties before retreating in earnest (the ice dam over the dining room ceiling; your waistline).

And to be sure, not everyone made it (for example, the 25 year-old forced air furnace that konked out).

But if you're in Minnesota in March -- and have spent the last six months or so here -- there's a palpable sense not just of renewal and Spring fever -- but triumph.

Winter truly is a deadly adversary, and it's finally been vanquished.

For now . . . .

(And no, the date can't be put on a calendar -- you just know when it's arrived.)

Firing Offenses & Cardinal Sins

Realtors & Clients Parting Ways

You can't take it anymore.

Close to the edge for quite awhile, they finally did something that crossed the line.

So, you fire them.

Clients axing their Realtor?

Try, Realtors firing their clients.

Irreconcilable Differences

No, I don't believe it happens that much, because most clients' expectations and conduct are reasonable, they appreciate their Realtors' hard work -- and their Realtors do a good job (at least that's what all my clients think of me!).

Call it the "Garrison Keillor-esque" view of how real estate works.

But Realtors do in fact fire clients -- or decline to work for them at all.

In my almost-nine years in the business, I've "fired" clients twice; both times, it was after they did something that risked getting themselves -- and me -- sued.

Unnh-unh.

I'm allergic to lawsuits -- and clients who risk them.

Client Cardinal Sins

As a former attorney, I know that lawsuits typically produce losers all around, draining everyone's time, energy, and money (especially, money).

As a Realtor, I know that it's one thing to walk away from a deal empty-handed; it's quite another to be entangled with someone who jeopardizes your reputation.

Sometimes, it's not the money you make . . . it's the money (and time) you don't lose.

In contrast to firing a client, the one instance where I'll decline to work with a Seller at the outset is when they insist on an asking price that far exceeds what my research and experience tells me is fair market value for their home.

Yes, they can always reduce their asking price later, but by then your marketing efforts (and budget) have been squandered, and re-attracting prospective Buyers is twice as hard.

Real estate's a tough enough business already . . . .