City Lakes Posts by Popularity The most popular post (by far) on this blog the last few days? “Realtor April Fool’s Jokes” (so much for my conceit that my Readers are all erudite, knowledge-seeking policy wonks). Runner-up? This post, which originally ran in late December: ‘Chinese Drywall in Minnesota? New Bank Disclaimer.’ The impetus...Read More
Chicago & Privatized Parking In an effort to streamline unethical practices and boost illegal profiteering, Mayor Richard M. Daley announced sweeping new plans Monday to overhaul his city’s “antiquated” system of graft. According to Daley, Chicago’s once-great fraudulent institutions have grown obsolete, and City Hall is no longer bilking taxpayers out of as much money...Read More
The Real Estate Walk-Thru OK, so it’s not as dramatic as the point in the wedding ceremony where the officiating clergy asks the assembled guests to “speak now or forever hold your peace.” But functionally, the walk-thru performed by the Buyer just before closing plays much the same role in a residential real estate deal....Read More
Key to Successful Listing: Attending to Basics This blog’s classification on Technorati not under “Real Estate” but “Football” (“Dear Technorati“) has had me thinking in terms of — you guessed it! — football metaphors. Like this one: just as football games are supposedly won “in the trenches,” with good blocking and tackling, so, too, are...Read More
Waiting for the Next Wave — Part 1 When the economy comes back, where will Twin Cities developers pick up? Most likely, where they left off when the recession and downturn arrived. Here are six now-idled, high profiles sites in the Twin Cities that would appear to have better days ahead of them once credit...Read More
Which City is Most Like the “Mini-Apple?” Notwitstanding a local effort to brand Minneapolis as the “Mini-Apple,” I don’t see much resemblance between Minneapolis and “The Big Apple,” New York City (I’ve lived both places). If I had to come up with a metro area most like the Twin Cities, it would be . ....Read More
