Excerpted from the San Jose Mercury News Column “Market Wise” 7/18/08
Q: We are having a frustrating time buying a certain house. Our agent says this is the sloppiest sale he’s had in his 20-plus-year career. Evidently, the listing agency is really a loan brokerage, but one would never know it from the wording on the […]

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Excerpted from the San Jose Mercury News, SJMN
Market Wise Column Saturday, 6/21/08

Q: Recently, during the showing of our home, a buyer’s real estate agent broker the key off in the deadbolt. This agent has repeatedly refused to pay the locksmith’s bill. The lock had worked fine for years. Who should pay for the locksmith’s bill?
A: […]

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Excerpted from the San Jose Mercury News, SJMN
Market Wise Column
Saturday, June 21st, 2008
Q: While shopping for a smaller home we have come across numerous real estate agents who seem, to put it bluntly, incompetent. What are they teaching at real estate schools how to be unprepared and ill-mannered?
A: Ouch. While it is true our industry […]

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Q: I thought buyers paid for inspections, why does my listing agent
keep insisting on us paying for seller inspections?
A: Your astute agent knows your home will sell better and faster with
a full disclose package, which includes inspections. Moreover, pre-sale
inspections also tend to keep a seller out of legal disputes.
by Pat Kapowich SiliconValleyBroker.com, owns Kapowich
Real Estate […]

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Excerpted from the San Jose Mercury News, SJMN
Market Wise Column
Saturday, June 21st, 2008

Q: We are trying to view homes when they have an open house. However, in many cases the real estate agent insists that we sign a guest book, often referring us to a note stating the seller requires visitorsot provide personal information. Why […]

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Excerpted from the San Jose Mercury News, SJMN
Market Wise Column
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Q: We sold our home in 2005 and are now being sued by the buyers. We were referred to a real estate attorney. When we told him the name of the attorney representing the buyers, he responded nonchalantly, “Oh, I know him, […]

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Q ~ When the real estate market was hot, properties had disclosure
packages and pictures online. Now that the market has cooled,
many listings have few or no pictures and inspections.
What happened??
A ~ Counter-intuitive, isn’t it? One would think that if sellers and/or
their licensee engaged in the process of selling a home, they
would bring everything […]

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Excerpted from the San Jose Mercury News, SJMN
Market Wise Column
Saturday, June 21st, 2008

Q: We are trying to view homes when they have an open house. However, in many cases the real estate agent insists that we sign a guest book, often referring us to a note stating the seller requires visitorsot provide personal information. Why […]

[Read more →]

Excerpted from the San Jose Mercury News, SJMN
Market Wise Column Saturday, 6/21/08

Q: Recently, during the showing of our home, a buyer’s real estate agent broker the key off in the deadbolt. This agent has repeatedly refused to pay the locksmith’s bill. The lock had worked fine for years. Who should pay for the locksmith’s bill?
A: […]

[Read more →]

Excerpted from the San Jose Mercury News, SJMN
Market Wise Column
Saturday, June 21st, 2008
Q: While shopping for a smaller home we have come across numerous real estate agents who seem, to put it bluntly, incompetent. What are they teaching at real estate schools how to be unprepared and ill-mannered?
A: Ouch. While it is true our industry […]

[Read more →]