After . . . and Before Where: 2705 France Ave. South What: 3 BR/2 Bath Cape Cod in Minneapolis’ Sunset Gables neighborhood When: listed Nov. 15; off market Jan. 24; closed Feb. 25 How much: List price — $439.9k; sold price — $400k Who: listing agent — Ross Kaplan, Edina Realty; selling agent — Kathy...Read More
Good Bones, But Needs Rehab Age: 20-plus years Square feet: 830,000 Location : Downtown Minneapolis How much: estimated rehab budget of $120 million. Unless your fixer upper happens to host NBA games, don’t expect Mayor R.T. Rybak to propose a “public-private partnership” to help defray your costs. Yet, that’s exactly what’s being contemplated to help...Read More
Surefire Signs How does a Realtor tell if a home they’re listing is primed to sell? (see also, “Listings and Pots of Water“; “Buyer Feedback: ‘Win, Place, or Show'”). The starting point is their own knowledge of the home relative to nearby, competing homes — as well as the Comp’s (“Comparable Sold Properties”). To sell...Read More
Why It’s Smart to Be Nice to Appraisers As I’ve written previously (“Appraisers vs. Realtors vs. Trulia“), Realtors active in an area will often field calls from appraisers trying to establish the value of similar, nearby homes. Whether the bank they’re working for is considering a new mortgage or refinancing an existing one, the questions...Read More
The Acid Test How do you tell if a larger, upper bracket home really is “great for entertaining?” (as many tout that they are). Put 50-plus people in it — as happens every Thursday a.m. at Edina Realty’s weekly Exceptional Properties meeting — and see how well the house accommodates them. When everyone fits comfortably in the...Read More
The Hopkins – Edina School District Tug of War Edina was the first school district in the Twin Cities that I’m aware of to put the brakes on open enrollment, the policy of allowing students outside a district to matriculate. Now, it appears that multiple other local school districts are following suit. Background State school districts...Read More
