Out of plain old curiosity, I decided to do some quick searching on the MLS to get an idea of how many listings in the Twin Cities are either bank owned or potentially on their way to foreclosure. The results were staggering! Out of 33764 active Residential listings in the 13 county metro area, 3009 (8.9%) came up in the results when searching with the following terms in agent remarks using our MLS software, MLXchange: bank owned short sale bank approval lender approval 3rd party … [Read more...]
Sign Pollution – SPAM for the Real World
October 22, 2007 by 2 Comments
There's a few agents in town that have a tendency to go nuts with open house signs... I know one that puts up signs on busy interesections a mile away, another puts 2 signs on 2 corners, and a third will put up 15+ signs. I've also seen an agent that put up directional arrows for houses that have sold. How do I know this? Because the arrow has "sold" on it! I would love to show you examples, but that would single out agents... Now I know that some agents are desperate to get people through open houses … [Read more...]
Minneapolis/St. Paul #1 for Business
September 24, 2007 by Leave a Comment
According to a recent article from Marketwatch, the Minneapolis/St. Paul area is the best place for businesses. LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Forget the bone-chilling winters, the Buick-sized summer mosquitoes and the "Minnesota Nice" demeanor mocked in the film "Fargo." Minneapolis-St. Paul is where it's at when it comes to business, much more so than any other of the nation's major urban areas. The Twin Cities ranked at the top of a MarketWatch study on the nation's best metro centers for business, … [Read more...]
Golden Valley's Hidden 13.1 Million Dollar Tax
September 3, 2007 by Leave a Comment
Golden Valley shares the same problem as 45 other communities in the Twin Cities: during rainfall events, Golden Valley discharges a significantly higher amount of sewage than it is allowed to due to excessive inflow and infiltration (I/I). In essence, the city is being fined nearly $400,000 per year by the Metropolitan Council for excess I/I flow and has until 2013 to eliminate the excess I/I and be credited for every dollar spent on repairs to reduce the annual fine. Any excess I/I beginning in 2013 … [Read more...]
We All Share The Trail System
May 28, 2007 by 3 Comments
This is a little bit of a tangent from my normal commentary but I think it is important to say so I hope you will humor me... I'm an avid user of the trails in Plymouth between Medicine Lake and Parker's Lake, which then connects to the Luce Line that seems to go on forever. I'm on them frequently this time of year in preparation for the MS150, a two day, 150 mile bike ride to raise funds for Multiple Sclerosis. Occassionally I see some things that people do that drive me nuts: Loose dogs. This is my #1 … [Read more...]
