Archive for 'General' Category
Star Tribune Prints the Wrong Story
15 March 2008If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!I just read the most recent “the sky is falling” real estate article from the Star Tribune. The Star Tribune profiles a family (the Floyds) that are losing to foreclosure their house in North Minneapolis that they’ve lived in for 23 years. Today [...]
Twin Cities Real Estate Affordability Hits 5 Year High
12 March 2008The Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS released their latest market update this week which shows a Housing Affordability Index number of 157… the highest affordability in 5 years and 14% higher than a year ago!
Though interest rates did tick up some in the last month, median sales price took another dip which more than made up [...]
Kudos to a Friend Across the River
28 February 2008My friend and fellow blogger, Teresa Boardman, was featured in an article in the March issue of REALTOR Magazine. Nice job T!
St. Paul Real Estate - Two Different Stories
18 February 20082007 was a year of opposite experiences for St. Paul… parts of St. Paul saw statistically flat prices or even modest sales price appreciation while other parts saw significant declines.
When you have a 25% difference between your best performing neighborhoods and your worst performing, in the same city and in the same year, there’s a looming crisis [...]
Short Sales & Foreclosures - Home Owner White Collar Crime?
15 February 2008In this difficult housing market, many recent home buyers are either behind in their payments or owe more money on the home than it is worth.
For some homeowners behind in their payments, a job loss or other financial calamity accounts for their inability to pay. For other homeowners, it was that they were sold on a loan with [...]
Bought a New dSLR Camera
31 December 2007I’m quite excited… I recently purchased a new Canon Digital Rebel XTi camera, a 10-20mm lens, a 28-70mm lens, a 70-300mm lens, and a high-powered flash. This was quite an expensive upgrade but so far I am very pleased with the results. I hope that this will further improve the quality of my photographs for my [...]
Tax Rebates on Energy Efficient Upgrades
17 November 2007Through December 31st 2007, if you purchase specific qualifying energy-efficient items for your home, you can save hundreds of dollars via federal tax rebates.
Water heaters 80% efficient or greater (tankless) - $300
Furnaces 95% efficient or greater - $150
Air Conditioners 14 SEER or greater - $300
Insulation - 10% of cost, up to $500
Windows - 10% of [...]
Contracts: Yes, They Mean What They Say
17 November 2007Twice in as many months I’ve had to deal with agents that don’t seem to think that the language in a contract matters much.
In the first situation, my Buyer requested the Seller to clean the furnace and chimney and provide receipts for the work performed 3 days prior to closing. A few days before that I [...]
Minneapolis the “Most Affordable Place to Live Well”
9 November 2007Forbes just named Minneapolis the “Most Affordable Place to Live Well.” What an honor! Those of us who live around here though already knew that we’ve got an awesome place to live, work, and play.
Twin Cities Listings - Overpricing Will Hurt You… Bad!
19 October 2007I just sold a condo that I had listed for about 5 months. The reason it took so long to sell was not the neighborhood (several other very similar units sold in the same development during that time), it wasn’t the marketing (I had at least 10 Open Houses during the time and advertised in print and [...]