The Direct Approach No landlord — especially in Minnesota — wants to deal with a vacancy when it’s 10° degrees outside (or -20° below). How do you prevent that? At least one property manager I know explicitly writes that into their rental lease. If the rental begins any time other than December, January, or February, the...Read More
Twin Cities Rush Hour Drivers: “%#!&!#$!” How bad is rush hour (or any hour) traffic in the vicinity of Highway 100 road construction in St. Louis Park these days? Bad enough to evoke the existential play, “No Exit” — and to seriously steam me and doubtless thousands of other Twin Cities drivers. 0-for-5 Trying to...Read More
Until last week, I was under the impression that when trees grew too close to a power line, the homeowner needed to call the utility company to have the line dropped, so that a private tree contractor could safely remove the tree(s). True — as long as the power line is between the home and...Read More
What do you call a beverage you grab to drink in the car, on the way to an appointment? “Route beer.” Makes sense to me . . . P.S.: That would be my 10 year-old daughter’s term (and preferred spelling in a post-it note, instructing me to bring a snack and drink with when I...Read More
Target Turns Checkout Conveyor Belts Into Star Wars Ad In a world where there are now ads over men’s urinals (at many restaurants, movie theatres, etc.), you wouldn’t think that there’d be any new frontiers for new advertising venues.** Sadly, you’d be wrong. Inspired . . . and Not At least Target’s new advertising medium has...Read More
Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder Buyer When should a listing agent (representing the Seller) explicitly market that a home “needs cosmetic updates” (or the equivalent)? Less often than you might guess. Here are my three reasons why: One. The pictures tell the story. Most MLS’s allow 18 photos; websites like EdinaRealty.com effectively allow...Read More
