real estate – Page 5 – Stuff on my mind that you can read.

Mortgage points are a sales pitch, not a strategy

Discount points sound like an investment, but the breakeven math rarely works for typical buyers. Here’s why most should decline them.

April 11, 2026

Home maintenance is more expensive than expected

First-time homeowners routinely underestimate maintenance by half. The 1% rule is a starting point, not a ceiling — and certain houses break the math entirely.

April 11, 2026

The MLS shouldn’t exist anymore

The Multiple Listing Service made sense in the fax-machine era. In a world of Zillow and Redfin, it mostly props up commission structures that hurt consumers.

April 7, 2026

Real Estate Doesn’t Always Go Up

Home prices feel like a one-way bet, but the long-term data on housing returns is far less impressive than most owners assume.

April 4, 2026

Open houses are for the agent, not the buyer

Open houses look like buyer outreach, but the real audience is future seller leads. Here’s what’s actually happening at the Sunday afternoon walk-through.

April 3, 2026

Pre-approval letters are mostly theater

A mortgage pre-approval letter looks like commitment. It mostly isn’t. Buyers who treat the letter as a guarantee learn the difference at the worst possible moment.

April 1, 2026

Cash Buyers Don’t Always Win

All-cash offers carry a reputation for unbeatable strength in real estate. The reality is more nuanced — and several types of buyers regularly outcompete them.

March 30, 2026

Home Inspections Don’t Catch Everything

A clean home inspection feels like a green light. The categories inspectors don’t access — and the issues they explicitly disclaim — are where surprises happen.

March 29, 2026

No HOA Doesn’t Mean No Problems

‘No HOA’ is a real-estate selling point — but the alternatives can be worse. Without rules, neighbors can do almost anything next door.

March 29, 2026

Overbidding Can Lead to Regret

In a hot housing market, overbidding feels necessary. Years later, the buyers who stretched the most are usually the ones with the most regret.

March 29, 2026

Tag: real estate