We Tell it Like It Is

Thought I'd tell you what's been going on in the daily life of real estate today. I've had a lot of trials and tribulations with work these past few weeks. Definitely working hard for my money.

I finally sold a listing in Maplewood that I've had since the summer. It was a home owned by 5 siblings; it was given to them by their mom who had purchased it years ago w/their step dad. It was a tough job from the beginning as some of the siblings did not get along and every time a decision had to be made, I had to call all 5 kids separately and try and get everyone to agree. Luckily, it could've been worse and we got through that part without too much damage. The tough part came when we sold the home and we were getting ready to close. Our title company found out that the mom & step dad were not registered as joint tenants, but instead, tenants in common. This meant that if one owner dies, the other does not automatically get that share of the property. It must instead go to probate. This never occurred and so the mom only owned 50% of the home and did not have the legal right to pass title onto her children. Talk about a mess to clean up. 2 months worth of legal work is ahead...we were still able to close, but the net proceeds are being held until the clear title can be passed. In other words, my sellers will not get their money until they can give a clean title to the buyers.

In other news...after some pretty grueling negotiations, my buyers finally got this house they wanted. Really nice tutor style home with beautiful hardwood floors, finished basement, 3 bathrooms (one with heated marble floors). Would've sold for $350k a few yrs ago. Got it for $245k. We were supposed to close on it today...but the appraisal came back at $226. Unbelievable. There's no way that house is worth so little, but the appraiser is God in this situation and either the sellers must agree to sell at this appraised value or the deal is dead. Well, the deal died. This market of foreclosures has brought the values down on nice homes and appraisers can't find comps that support anything above a certain value in certain areas.

Lastly, I was out w/buyers this wkend looking for townhomes. Hit the JACKPOT. Wow. Hugo is a haven for good deals right now I realized. Brand new townhomes -- never been lived in-- for under $150,000. Granite countertops, stainless appliances...not talking cheap construction. They are a dime a dozen right now and such easy access to St. Paul and its suburbs. Single family homes are also selling for next to nothing up there too...but you have to tolerate the "cookie cutter" neighborhoods.

One last note...I had offers on 2 of my listings this past week. Both were good offers. One of my sellers decided to turn down the offer and cancel the listing--fearful of the job market and making any changes right now. The other seller decided to work with the offer we received by counteroffering at a price $6,000 over what it was listed for. Convinced the list price was what it should sell for and not willing to go much below that. In 12 days, that listing expires and you will see the smoke behind me due to the rate of my speed as I let that one go.