Watch the conversation with Ed Kaiser

Episode 30 of Key Conversations explores what happens when a home purchase or sale raises questions beyond price and timing. CJ and Katy Norman ask Ed Kaiser about seller disclosures, disagreements after closing, arbitration, and the role of legal counsel behind the scenes.

Episode 30 · September 2, 2026 · 59 minutes, 51 seconds · Watch on YouTube

Meet the guest: real estate attorney Ed Kaiser

Ed Kaiser joins CJ and Katy as a real estate attorney and legal counsel at their brokerage. The episode gives buyers and sellers a look at the questions agents bring to counsel and the situations in which a client may need an attorney of their own.

That distinction is central to the conversation: what support happens within a brokerage, when an agent brings in legal guidance, and what a buyer or seller should understand about the help available to them.

What are Minnesota home sellers expected to disclose?

Minnesota’s general disclosure law requires a seller to provide written disclosure of known material facts that could significantly and adversely affect a buyer’s use and enjoyment of a residential property, or an intended use the seller knows about. The disclosure must be made in good faith, based on the seller’s knowledge at the time.

That is the general framework in Minnesota Statutes 513.55; the broader disclosure statutes also address exceptions and waivers. This legal context accompanies the episode’s discussion of what sellers share and what happens when buyers later question the information provided.

The questions behind a disclosure disagreement

A disagreement can involve several different questions: what condition existed, what the seller knew, what the written disclosure said, and what the buyer learned before the sale. Keeping those questions separate helps explain why a problem discovered after closing can lead to a more involved conversation.

For viewers preparing to buy or sell, this part of the episode offers a reason to give the disclosure documents careful attention and ask about anything that needs clarification.

What happens when buyers and sellers disagree?

The episode also covers arbitration, disputes between buyers and sellers, and the ways a disagreement can escalate when the parties cannot reach a resolution. It moves the discussion beyond the initial discovery of a problem to the question of what comes next.

For someone listening with a current transaction in mind, useful questions include what outcome each party wants, which documents describe the agreement, and who can explain the available process. Those details give the conversation a practical purpose beyond knowing that a dispute is possible.

What if someone died in the home?

CJ and Katy also bring up sensitive property-history questions, including a death or murder in a home and whether a seller must disclose what happened. These topics raise a distinction between information a buyer may want to know and information a seller is legally required to provide.

The episode explores why these situations deserve a closer look. Viewers with a particular property in mind can use the discussion to identify the precise question they need answered, rather than assuming every event in a home’s history is treated the same way.

Questions to bring to a buying or selling conversation

The subjects in this episode give buyers and sellers a starting point for more specific conversations about their own plans.

• Which disclosure responses need more explanation before a decision is made?
• Are there reports, repair records, or written agreements that would help clarify a concern?
• If a disagreement develops, who can explain the process described in the signed documents?
• Is the question something the agent can address, or does it call for advice from an attorney representing the client?

A closer look at real estate around Mound and Lake Minnetonka

Key Conversations with CJ and Katy Norman gives buyers, sellers, and homeowners access to discussions with professionals whose work touches the decisions they make about a home. This episode focuses on legal questions that can arise alongside the familiar steps of searching, negotiating, and closing.

CJ and Katy Norman of Norman Homes at Pemberton Real Estate work with clients in Mound, around Lake Minnetonka, and throughout the west suburbs of Minneapolis. Their role includes helping clients ask useful questions, understand the property in front of them, and recognize when a decision needs additional expertise.

More about their local approach is available at Norman Homes, Your Guide to Lake Minnetonka Living.