Passing on Unsaleable Listings Want a good Realtor to list (and ideally, sell) your home? In a Twin Cities market full of fussy Buyers and lots of inventory (with notable exceptions), you’d better meet the following three criteria. One. Be motivated. No, “motivated” doesn’t mean “desperate.” To a Realtor, a “motivated seller” is someone who’s willing...Read More
Whodunnit? “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac!” Never have so many owed so much to so few. –Winston Churchill If Winston Churchill had been alive to witness The Crash of ’08 and the events leading up to it, I think he would have offered an updated version of his famous observation about the Royal Air Force pilots who defended...Read More
Aftermath of 2″ Rain Friday Night If you didn’t get water in your basement after early Saturday morning’s 2 inch deluge in much of the Twin Cities — you’re probably immune. Unfortunately, I ‘m getting lots of reports that many homeowners weren’t so lucky. That includes the home I showed in Edina yesterday, where yours truly...Read More
Open House 1 to 3 p.m. Today Where: 4200 Basswood Road, just west of Cedar Lake in St. Louis Park’s Fern Hill neighborhood. What: 6 BR/4 Bath walkout rambler with over 6,000(!) square feet on .39 acre lot with in-ground pool (sixth BR is non-conforming). How much: $699,900 When: on the market since May 6 (market time =...Read More
No More Minnesota McMansions John Murphy Reports has a nice post about which builders are putting up the most new residential construction in Minnesota these days. What caught my eye: –The list is (still) dominated by big, national developers like Lennar, Pulte/Centex, and D.R. Horton (#1, #2, and #3, respectively). Mattamy (#5) is Canadian. –The...Read More
“Preapproved Short Sale” (and Other White Lies) If your parents don’t have kids, you won’t either. What’s that line got to do with real estate? Put it this way: if your listing doesn’t get showings . . . it ain’t going to get offers (or a Buyer), either. In a nutshell, that seems to describe...Read More
