Each Friday, Russ Anderson, the president and CEO of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty, writes about luxury, trends, business and more in the advertising pages of the Mansion section of The Wall Street Journal. Below is his letter of August 2, 2024.
FROM THE PRESIDENT'S P.O.V.
If you’ve ever bought a home, you’ve seen The Stack — the literal heap of documents, all extremely important, that transfers the ownership of a home from the seller to you. On closing day, The Stack can take a couple of hours to get through and sign.
Before that, you almost certainly saw The Pile. That’s a shorter stack of documents all about the home itself — from what the seller says they know about the house to what the inspector discovered about it. Understanding what’s in The Pile is critical before you get to The Stack.
You don’t want to miss — or misinterpret — a single page of either.
That’s where your real estate advisor comes in. A crucial part of their value is in knowing what’s in all the stacks and piles associated with buying a home — the offer, the disclosure, the closing paperwork — and making sure you understand what you are agreeing to.
The real skill? Reading between the lines. The disclosure report: Is that notation about the roof a big problem or no big deal? Is something on the inspection report a deal-killer or is it solvable? The seller’s counteroffer: Is that a good price — or is it too much?
One person can guide you on all of it. And that person will spend, on average, 120 hours working for you when you’re ready to buy a home, including managing your private showings and formulating and negotiating your offers.
And that’s before you get to The Stack.
Buying a home is a very big deal. Our No. 1 value is in helping make sure you get it right.
Russ Anderson
President and CEO
Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty
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