Stutsman Realty, Inc Blog | Minneapolis & Wisconsin Real Estate News

Understand Agency Relationships

March 3rd 2012 | Purchasing a Home, Real Estate News, Resources to Hire Professionals, Selling a Home

The following is reprinted with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

It’s important to understand what legal responsibilities your real estate salesperson has to you and to other parties in the transaction. Ask what type of agency relationship your agent has with you:

Seller’s representative (also known as a listing agent or seller’s agent)

A seller’s agent is hired by and represents the seller. All fiduciary duties are owed to the seller. The agency relationship usually is created by a listing contract.

Preparing Your Home for the Spring Market

February 8th 2012 | Home Maintenance, Real Estate News, Selling a Home

Below are five steps that you can take before putting your home on the market.

Have a pre-sale home inspection. Be proactive by arranging for a pre-sale home inspection. An inspector will be able to give you a good indication of the trouble areas that will stand out to potential buyers, and you’ll be able to make repairs before open houses begin.

Organize and clean. Pare down clutter and pack up your least-used items, such as large blenders and other ki...

Why You Should Work With a REALTOR®

January 10th 2012 | Purchasing a Home, Real Estate News, Resources to Hire Professionals, Selling a Home

Not all real estate practitioners are REALTORS®. The term REALTOR® is a registered trademark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION of REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. Here are five reasons why it pays to work with a REALTOR®.

1. You’ll have an expert to guide you through the process. Buying or selling a home usually requires disclosure forms, inspection reports, mortgage documents, insurance policies, deeds, and multi-page settlement statements. A knowle...

Holiday Safety Tips

December 6th 2011 | Home Maintenance, Safety

The holidays are an exciting time of year for both children and adults. It is also a time to be aware of general safety in your home. The following tips are published with permission from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP, 2011).

Whatever your heritage and traditions, have a very happy and safe holiday season!

Trees

When purchasing an artificial tree, look for the label “Fire Resistant.” When purchasing a live tree, check for freshness. A fresh tree is green, needles are hard to pull from branches and w...

What You Can Do to Improve Your Credit

November 15th 2011 | Financial, Purchasing a Home

What You Can Do to Improve Your Credit

Credit scores, along with your overall income and debt, are big factors in determining whether you’ll qualify for a loan and what your loan terms will be. So keep your credit score high by doing the following:

Check for and correct any errors in your credit report. Mistakes happen, and you could be paying for someone else’s poor financial management.
Pay down credit card bills. If possible, pay off the entire balance every month. Transfe...

Halloween Safety Tips

October 3rd 2011 | Community Events, Safety

The following safety tips are provided by the St. Louis Park Police Department.

Halloween Safety Tips

1) Be sure that children are accompanied by a TRUSTED ADULT when “trick or treating.” Have older kids go out with friends in groups (safety in numbers)

2) Accompany children to every door they approach and make sure you are familiar with the homes you are going to.

3) Teach children to N...

Fall Ladder Safety

September 10th 2011 | Home Maintenance, Safety

Fall is on the way. In fact, it’s less than two weeks away, so get out while you can and enjoy these warmer temperatures! As you prepare your home for the upcoming winter months, you may find yourself on a ladder cleaning gutters, looking at your roof, or attending to windows. Every year there are over 164,000 emergency room visits in the US relating to ladders (Ross, 2011). There are over 300 ladder related fatalities every year (American Ladder Institute, 2011). Do not take shortcuts. Below are a few tips from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (2011) to h...

Why Hire a Certified Water Damage Cleanup Specialist?

August 13th 2011 | Resources to Hire Professionals

The following submission was created by Mike Collins at ICC Restoration & Cleaning Services, a resource listed for you in our business directory.

Water damage is a leading cause of property damage. Between 2007 and 2009, water caused approximately $9.1 billion in annual homeowner policy property losses. In fact, according to the American Insurance Association, water damage claims are the leading claim of homeowners insurance (www.leakdefensesystem.com/Water...

Summer Safety

June 16th 2011 | Safety

Summers in Minnesota are precious in length. It is a wonderful time to get out and enjoy all of our fabulous parks and lakes, and to reconnect with individuals in your area. It is also a time to take simple steps to address safety – both for your home, yourself and your loved ones.

The following is submitted with permission from the St. Louis Park Police Department.

For media questions ONLY – please contact:
Jamie Zwilling, City of St. Louis Park
952-924-2632 office
952-292-1659 cell
...

Questions to ask when Choosing a REALTOR®

May 3rd 2011 | Purchasing a Home, Real Estate News, Resources to Hire Professionals, Selling a Home

Home ownership is a significant investment for most. It is very important to obtain sound and professional advice in any real estate transaction. Below is a list of questions to help guide you in chosing your own real estate professional.

1. How long have you been in residential real estate sales? Is it your full-time job? While experience is no guarantee of skill, real estate — like many other professions — is mostly learned on the job.

2. How many homes did ...

Seller’s representative (also known as a listing agent or seller’s agent)

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