Robert Guthridge's Blog

I’ve got a hunch how — at least in some people’s minds — “tray” ceiling became “trey”: “très” is French for “very” (as in “very beautiful”). From there, it’s just a small step (and single letter) to “trey.” Of course, that’s also how the word sounds phonetically. However, the correct adjective for a recessed ceiling — often directly over a bed or Dining Room table, and marked with dramatic, custom moldings — is “tray.” As in , it resembles an inverted tray. from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230700 https://ift.tt/2R1PUjo via IFTTT

RPR is excited to unveil its new webshow “The Wow Factor”. Each monthly episode will feature real estate industry guest interviews, RPR tips and tricks to help build REALTOR® businesses, a look at what’s new and what’s next in the RPR world, and more. from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230700 https://ift.tt/2UQNqWn via IFTTT

I do not have any short-term or Airbnb rentals. However, a lot of people have asked me to write about them because they have become so popular lately. I do not have short term-rentals because I don’t have the time to manage them or have a property manager that wants to manage them either. There ... Read more The post Are Short-Term Rentals (Airbnb) a Good Investment? appeared first on InvestFourMore . from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230700 https://ift.tt/2QYBqkp via IFTTT

Real estate farming, aka geographical prospecting, is a proven method of marketing your real estate business. This thorough guide will show you, step-by-step, how to define an area, market your brand, capture leads, earn referrals and gain listings. You’ll also learn how to use RPR’s maps to mine neighborhood activity data, how to generate mailing labels, CSV mailing exports and reports that will spark homeowner interest. from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230700 https://ift.tt/2vYls2o via IFTTT

“Can I Please Speak to Myra Mains?” Courtesy of retired Edina Realty office manager Josh Kaplan, here is a classic April Fool’s joke for — make that  on  — Realtors, especially “newbie” Realtors. The front desk leaves a voicemail for the intended Realtor-victim (plural, ideally), telling them that they have a lead for them. The prospect’s name is “Myra Mains”; her number is 612-927-****. Here’s what happens next: Realtor : ‘This is Jane Doe at Edina Realty. Can I please speak to Myra Mains?” Other line : . . . . ‘click’  (sometimes preceded by a “Ha! Ha! Very funny!”). It’s funniest when the Realtor persists and re-dials a couple of times before catching on. The phone number, of course, belongs to a local funeral home . . . from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230700 https://ift.tt/2wL5NE4 via IFTTT

Minnesota may be far north — but it’s not “above-the-Arctic Circle north.” And, it’s still only late March, not June 21, when the local sunrise is 5:27 a.m. (vs. 7 a.m. now). All of which is why the Star Tribune may want to consider substituting a “moon” image for a “sun” in their overnight weather forecast (above) . . .   from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230700 https://ift.tt/2xAWiqV via IFTTT

Air Travel and the Coronavirus (The OTHER “Cancel Culture”) Early birds famously get the worm, as the saying goes. But, late birds get a full refund for cancelled air travel. At least, that’s the case if the airline cancels your flight before you do — and you (OK, me ) decline their offer to be rescheduled. By contrast, all those early-to-cancel travelers (my wife included) had to navigate a confusing welter of waived airline change fees, credit(s) for future travel, and long online wait times for assistance . . . from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230700 https://ift.tt/3dBqYZO via IFTTT

What Realtors Routinely Get Wrong; or, “How Come There’s No Such Thing as a 2-Season Porch??” If Realtors routinely confuse the various types of porches . . . I don’t know what chance a layman has. Perhaps that’s why, as a public service for Twin Cities Realtors, the local MLS has a post describing the differences — and critically, addressing when to include an enclosed porch in a home’s finished square feet. According to the Northstar MLS Rules & Regs Department, here are the distinctions: 4-Season Porch/Sunroom “A 4-season porch is a room that functions as an interior room, but allows you to take in the views of the outdoors year-round. It has permanent heat and is included in the finished square footage of the home.” 3-Season Porch “A 3-season porch has windows with integrated screen systems and can be used for long periods throughout the year. They can shield you from outdoor elements such as rain, wind, sun and insects, but 3-season porches are not heated. Therefore, ...

So much for COVID-19 not having an impact on the housing market. It is mind boggling how some housing bulls are so locked into their delusional world that a global pandemic that is putting billions of people under lockdown somehow seems to be good news for housing or is going to have a minor impact […] from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230700 https://ift.tt/3dCnpT0 via IFTTT

Dow Drops Almost 11,000(!) Points in < 6 Weeks  If — If — the current stock market rally holds, the six weeks just transpired will qualify as history’s shortest — and most harrowing — bear market. Think , “bungee jump,” but with billions of people around the world partaking simultaneously. From its start on February 12, to its conclusion(?) on March 23, the Dow dropped a staggering 11,000(!) points, or 37%. Medical Model Unfortunately, the more apt analogy may be an economic stroke or heart attack. Only once the patient — the global economy — is truly starting to convalesce will it be possible to take stock of the damage. To expedite that, my suggestion is to emulate Stanford University (disclosure: my alma mater), and set up local Recovery Teams or Task Forces to speed the transition back to full economic health, and help mitigate the inevitable suffering. Long-term, these same groups can transition to properly preparing for the next one. Task #1: protecting the first...

Alternative for Would-Be Sellers: Taking a Break “The recipe is cash and balls: Throw in a very low offer and see what sticks. No guts. No glory.” –“As Coronavirus Cases Grew, Some Wealthy Buyers Still Bought Multimillion Dollar Homes”; The Wall Street Journal (3/26/2020). [ Note to Readers : The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway (“Berkshire”), or any other entity referenced. Edina Realty is a subsidiary of Berkshire.] Anyone who’d list their house in a pandemic must be desperate, right? That’s the inescapable conclusion at least a few Buyers (and their agents) may be making right now. And, acting accordingly. Which is why prospective home sellers who aren’t desperate (and don’t have an especially thick skin), might be wise to reconsider listing their home at the moment, and accruing damaging market time. My two cents . . .  P.S.: Sellers who need cash and have equity in their homes should instead...

[ Note to Readers : The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway (“Berkshire”), or any other entity referenced. Edina Realty is a subsidiary of Berkshire.] To limit the risk of coronavirus exposure, Edina Realty (and no doubt other brokers) not in densely-packed cities are introducing “drive-up closings.” According to Edina Realty CEO Greg Mason and Edina Realty Title President Brad Fisher, for Buyers: “The drive-up closing would occur in the closing office parking lot at the appointed time. Buyer will sign all documents in their vehicle and the closer will ensure it is properly executed.” Other closing options include pre-signing (always an option for Sellers), and something being developed called “Remote Online Notary.” See also , “ Dress Code for Home Closings** “; “Will You Be at Closing?” (& Other Silly Questions) “; and “ What’s in a Name? From “Settlement Statement” to “HUD-1” to “ALTA” Back to “Settlem...

From “Father of Our Country” and “The Great Emancipator” to  . . . . “The Pandemic President” [ Note to Readers : The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway (“Berkshire”), or any other entity referenced. Edina Realty is a subsidiary of Berkshire.] It’s more than a little ironic: Donald Trump, that prolific nick-namer (“Crooked Hillary,” “Low Energy Jeb,” “Sleepy Joe Biden,” “Lyin’ Ted Cruz,” “Little Marco Rubio,” etc.), has somehow escaped being tagged with his own nickname. I think that’s about to change. No , I don’t think Trump will go down in history as “President It’s-All-a-Big-Hoax Trump,” “The Deceiver-in-Chief,” or “Donald ‘Perfect Call’ Trump.” My candidate, for better (or more likely) worse: “The Pandemic President.” from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230700 https://ift.tt/2Uk2v3r via IFTTT

High Washout Rate [ Note to Readers : The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway, or any other entity referenced.] One of the last things that can come up before would-be home sellers officially hire an agent is what Realtors call an exclusion (or sometimes protected) list. In plain English, it’s an agreed-upon list of prospects whom the Owner can sell to, without being obliged to pay a commission. As one might imagine, agents frown upon that practice — and are careful not to invest their time or marketing $$$ until the Seller fully commits (which is only fair). However, as long as the time period is limited and the list kept short, exclusions are usually not a problem for most Realtors. That’s because agents know that the vast majority of Seller leads don’t pan out, for one (or more) of these four reasons: One . Far and away the most common reason is that the prospective Buyer(s) haven’t seen the inside of th...

Dream Home?  Maybe Not, But Dream Price Everyone in real estate (and many outside of it) knows the phenomenon:  homes on busy streets turn over more often. The explanation is self-evident, right?  The occupants get tired of the traffic and move on. That may certainly be true, but as a Realtor, I see another, economics-based explanation. Namely, houses on busy streets sell at a discount that is an appealing trade-off to at least some Buyers (and sometimes, builders), but who also have a shorter time horizon. Calculating the Discount In general, the busier the street, the bigger the discount. However, two other factors loom large: One . How pronounced is the noise from inside the home? At one extreme, there are homes set back on deep lots well above (or below) street level. Once you’re in the home, you can hardly tell. It’s also the case that strategic landscaping (including fences) can buffer exposure to a busy street. Finally, a good architect and builder wil...

What Realtors Routinely Get Wrong; or, “How Come There’s No Such Thing as a 2-Season Porch??” If Realtors routinely confuse the various types of porches . . . I don’t know what chance a layman has. Perhaps that’s why, as a public service for Twin Cities Realtors, the local MLS has a post describing the differences — and critically, addressing when to include an enclosed porch in a home’s finished square feet. According to the Northstar MLS Rules & Regs Department, here are the distinctions: 4-Season Porch/Sunroom “A 4-season porch is a room that functions as an interior room, but allows you to take in the views of the outdoors year-round. It has permanent heat and is included in the finished square footage of the home.” 3-Season Porch “A 3-season porch has windows with integrated screen systems and can be used for long periods throughout the year. They can shield you from outdoor elements such as rain, wind, sun and insects, but 3-season porches are not heated. Therefore, ...

The Hyperspeed News Cycle Rip Van Winkle fell asleep for 20 years . In the age of Coronavirus, the news and headlines are coming so fast I feel like Rip Van Winkle after a 2 hour nap (which I’m taking often now) . . . from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230700 https://ift.tt/3aqgeLS via IFTTT

Looks Like They’re > 6′ Feet Apart to Me Of the four major league sports in the U.S. — football, baseball, hockey, and basketball (apologies to soccer) — the one that would seem to pose the fewest health risks now would seem to be baseball. True, those pitcher’s mound conferences would have to practice social distancing. And, first base and third base coaches could no longer huddle with runners; ditto with umpires hovering over catchers. But, otherwise, a sport where ten players (nine for the defensive team, plus the hitter for the at-bat team) are spread out over a three acre, open-air playing field would seem to be tailor-made for an era of social distancing. Who knows — if we’re lucky, the World Series winner in October may even be able to celebrate in the usual fashion on the pitcher’s mound .  . . P.S.: My 20 year-old college sophomore son notes one other factor in professional baseball’s favor: due to the unique dimensions of baseball fields, baseball teams typicall...

Seeing Double — or Quadruple! With MLS now allowing unlimited online photos, some listing agents are going nuts, uploading literally 50, 60, or more photos per listing. While that might make sense for sprawling, upper bracket properties, how many different photos can you take of an average-sized — or small — property?? Question #2: How do you come up with unique captions for all those (very similar) photos? Answer: you don’t. The Bad Kind of Recycling So, the listing agent cum caption-writer either skips captions altogether, or, recycles the same dozen or so captions for multiple online photos. That explains the “For Sale” Minnetonka home I saw recently that had 57 photos, but only about a dozen unique captions . . . . See also , “ Max Number of Photos on MLS Now? “The Sky’s the Limit” .” from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230700 https://ift.tt/3dyfmH9 via IFTTT

“Three Bedrooms NOT on One Level” Every once in awhile, you see a single family home being touted by the listing agent as a “townhome alternative.” What do they mean? Features At least to this Twin Cities Realtor, it’s shorthand for a detached home with many of the following attributes: –Around 2,000 to 2,500 square feet; –Little or no yard; –Little or no exterior maintenance; –Floor plan with Bedrooms on different floors — sometimes even two floors apart (upper level and basement); –Generous Owner’s Suite that’s nicely updated; –Main Floor (or upper floor) Laundry vs. in basement. Not Just Baby Boomers In the Twin Cities, many townhome Buyers are downsizing from a larger single family home, and want less of the hassle of home ownership while still enjoying some of the benefits. Most common “wish list”:  privacy (no common walls); ability to have pets (small yard, no Association rules forbidding); and a small garden (yard, again). Such Buyers typically either have o...

  Coronavirus! Pandemic! Stock market crash! Healthcare system overload! Nightmare in Italy! Whole cities (NYC) and states (CA) in lockdown! Flatten the curve – NOW!! How chaotic has the last week been been? Sufficiently crazy that an earthquake near Salt Lake City — 5.7, this Wednesday — seemingly couldn’t penetrate the din. If aliens ever wanted to stage a stealth invasion, now would be a good time . . . P.S.: Apparently — thankfully — there were no Utah earthquake injuries, and property damage was minimal. from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230700 https://ift.tt/2WLojGQ via IFTTT

Corporate Lines of Credit: ATM’s for Business [ Note to Readers : The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway (“Berkshire”), or any other entity referenced. Edina Realty is a subsidiary of Berkshire.] To understand the stress on the financial system now, start with millions of people rushing to their ATM’s to stock up on cash. If 100 million households each withdraw $500, that equals $50 billion. $50 Billion vs. $500 Billion Now, imagine 100,000 U.S. businesses each maxing out their lines of credit with the various banks they do business with. If each company has, on average, $5 million in available lines of credit, that comes to a cool $500 billion.  Call it , wholesale vs. retail demand for cash. Can’t quite make sense of it all? Fortunately, the Federal Reserve can — and under Chairman Jerome Powell, appears to be capably responding to the crisis (at least, the financial part) . . . from RSSMix.com ...

I have been a real estate agent, broker, and investor since 2002 and I have seen many crazy things happen in the time. I went through the worst housing crash in the history of the United States, and I have been a part of one of the most prolific housing markets in US history since ... Read more The post How Will the CoronaVirus Impact Real Estate? appeared first on InvestFourMore . from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230700 https://ift.tt/2WNSCgr via IFTTT

Many people ask the question is it better to invest in single-family or multifamily rental properties? A lot of investors assume multifamily properties are the better investment because they are built to produce income for landlords. Many real estate investors also say that multifamily properties are the best, but I think single-family homes can be ... Read more The post Are Single-Family or Multifamily Properties the Better Investment? appeared first on InvestFourMore . from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230700 https://ift.tt/2w9OTi0 via IFTTT

COVID-19 is going to have a significant impact on the housing market.  Global markets are facing significant volatility as we deal with the first major global pandemic that is hitting both developed and developing nations equally.  This virus knows no borders and it is surprising how many people are still posting narrowly that this is […] from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230700 https://ift.tt/39SQt6x via IFTTT

The year was 2008, and I had decided for sure that rental properties were how I was going to invest my money. While I knew I wanted to buy a rental, it would be the end of 2010 before I bought my first. Even though I was in the real estate industry, it took a ... Read more The post How I Bought My First Rental Property: 10 year Update appeared first on InvestFourMore . from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230700 https://ift.tt/39Cvx3K via IFTTT

Hard money loans are typically used to flip houses or for short term financing on other real estate projects. Finding a hard money lender is not a difficult task. A Google search for hard money lenders will turn up about 1,000 results. The tough part is finding a hard money lender that has reasonable rates, ... Read more The post Who are the Best Hard Money Lenders? appeared first on InvestFourMore . from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230700 https://ift.tt/2uQYTwb via IFTTT

RPR reports, such as the popular Neighborhood and Market Activity report, are easy to share to your social media channels such as Facebook. Here we show you how it’s done, step-by-step. from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230700 https://ift.tt/2Thwbht via IFTTT