How Realtors Grade Clients Clients may have a select few words for their Realtors, but Realtors also have some favorite words for their clients. No, not “%!%#!” Rather, how “cooperative” they are. What do I mean by that? For Sellers, client cooperation boils down to these three things: 1. Pricing. A cooperative client picks a...Read More
Sons of Norway Building (b. 1962; d. 2018) No, it wasn’t historically designated, or otherwise especially memorable. But, for long-time Twin Cities residents (I qualify), the six(?) story Sons of Norway building at Lake and Humboldt still qualified as a local landmark going back . . . as long as I can remember. In my own case, I...Read More
(Sub)Divide & Conquer So, how do you make an already dramatic lake view (in this case, overlooking Plymouth’s Medicine Lake) even more dramatic? By splitting it in two. Specifically, by adding a floor — ceiling if you’re on the lower level — that merges the newly created upper level with the Kitchen/living area on the...Read More
“Animal/Insect/Pest Infestation? Check ‘Yes’ or ‘No'” Do a cursory search online for “animal control,” “bat removal,” or similar, and you’ll find at least a dozen Twin Cities contractors advertising their services. Meanwhile, something like 35,000 Twin Cities homes sell each year. Even if bats inhabit less than 1% of Twin Cities homes, there should be...Read More
“Would You Like Some Fries With That Ketchup?” — Housing Edition $1.5M Mediterranean villa on the Mississippi is car lover’s dream home. —Star Tribune (June 25, 2018). It turns out that a five-car garage — like the one featured in today’s Star Tribune — is hardly the Twin Cities’ biggest. Perusing MLS transactions the last 3...Read More
Pluses & Minuses (2 Apiece) At least in my experience, for every long-time homeowner who’s (overly) invested in their home, psychologically-speaking, and can only see it through rose-colored glasses, there are another 3 (or 10!) hoping their home is a teardown, especially if it’s located in a hot area. Ditto for the listing agent waiting in...Read More
