The Real Estate Advice Caveat
 
May 1, 2005
 
After receiving a few scathing (and some very aloha) communiqués from various Realtors regarding my advice on real estate issues, I am posting the following caveat:
 
My advice is based on my experience and the experience of many other people engaged in buying and selling homes and properties. It is addressing readers who are already knowledgeable in the basics of real estate transactions, and may not be suitable for the folks who buy one or two homes in their lifetimes.
 
To those readers who are interested in learning from the experiences of those of us who have already learned by really blowing it a time or two, I recommend you read all of the material in the book that applies. Some of the criticisms I received are clearly from folks who picked a few statements or recommendations out of context with no reference to the rest of the supporting text.
 
For example, if you get from what you read in the book that it might be OK to buy from a private seller without the assistance of a Realtor, then you also need to read the parts on encroachments, permit problems, setbacks, lava zones, water-supply questions, when to use pin-finders and when to ask for survey, home inspections, termite reports, disclosure statements, title and escrow issues, etc., and how to effectively deal with them.
 
Aloha!
 
Skip Thomsen
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