Feeding Frenzy Aftermath: Broken Deals Broken lines, broken strings,Broken threads, broken springs,Broken idols, broken heads,People sleeping in broken beds.Ain’t no use jivingAin’t no use jokingEverything is broken. –lyrics, “Everything is Broken” (Bob Dylan) Lo and behold, four to six weeks after some of the wildest bidding wars for foreclosure properties this Spring and early Summer,...Read More
Market Snapshot: Case-Shiller vs. Ross Kaplan According to the just-released S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index, Minneapolis home prices rose 1% in May. If you like raw statistics, the May number was 109.77, vs. 108.51 in April. Notwithstanding the “scientific” ring of such precise numbers, my Realtor’s, “boots-on-the-ground” take is that things are much more amorphous. Here’s what...Read More
Submit Your Offer . . . Then Wait (and Wait)Where: 29xx Ewing Ave. South, in Minneapolis’ Sunset Gables neighborhood (just southwest of of Cedar Lake)What: 1932 Tudor with 4 BR/4BA and 3,400 FSFHow much: $425k list priceTax assessed value: $547.5kWhen: went pending 7/21/09 Yes, the Kitchen was a bit dated and the home had some...Read More
Want Your Own Private Skyway?*Where: 96xx Oak Ridge Trail in MinnetonkaWhat: 5 BR/4 Bath, 3,800 FSF contemporary on .5 acre lotHow much: $325,900 (asking price)Tax value: $710,700 This sprawling, bank-owned contemporary (read, foreclosure) in Oak Ridge Trails seems like a screaming bargain. Until you go in. While it appears (to me) to be structurally sound,...Read More
Latest Chapter in Fern Hill Foreclosure Where: 26xx Kipling Ave. South (St. Louis Park’s Fern Hill Neighborhood) What: 3 BR/3 Bath; almost 2,800 FSF home How much: $429,900 (Pending) Market time: 2 weeks This home caught my eye because: 1) it just went pending; and 2) I didn’t recognize it — and I know the...Read More
Alternative to “All or Nothing”? Banks should not be sending demands for larger and larger sums from homeowners in arrears on their mortgage. Instead the bank should offer to lower the monthly payments in return for part-ownership. –Nassim Nicholas Taleb Hmm, there’s an idea. Instead of the bank foreclosing on your home if you can’t...Read More
