Strategic Default . . . Minus the Consequences Imagine you bought a house 4 years ago for $540,000, putting in a (very) modest 2% down payment, or $11,000, and borrowed the other $529,000. Today, your home was worth $180,000 (no, not a typo), yet you were still faced with making payments on the original $529,000...Read More
Bullish on the Light Rail Corridor Just because I don’t make market calls (“How Clear Are Realtors’ Crystal Balls?“) doesn’t mean that I don’t give clients input — and lots of it — regarding neighborhood trends, prospective development, and the like. A good example of that is St. Louis Park and the light rail corridor....Read More
New Bank Disclaimer Chinese drywall may not have made its way to Minnesota yet — but Chinese dry wall disclosures have. I’m currently representing a Buyer interested in a bank-owned property where, in addition to the usual “As Is” disclaimers, there’s a separate disclaimer addressing Chinese drywall. If you didn’t know, tainted Chinese drywall has...Read More
Buy the Lot, Get the Home for Free Beautiful property with west views of Highland Lake! Premier lot close to Interlachen golf course! Home is not available for showing. –per MLS “Home for sale, home not available for showing.” Huh?? It turns out that what’s really for sale here is the land: according to Hennepin...Read More
Retail Roll Out Continues As the West End in St. Louis Park nears completion, the grand openings of various tenants are proceeding on a staggered schedule. The development, formally called “The Shops at West End,” is being marketed as a “lifestyle center” — think, one-stop shopping — and is located just southwest of 394 and...Read More
Pendulum Swings Towards Rentals [Editor’s note: this piece was originally posted last weekend. I’m “popping” to the top of the list because it was lightly read before being buried by subsequent posts. If you read it then, please just skip.] It’s time to accept that home ownership is not a realistic goal for many people...Read More
