What’s the Catch? (Hint: There’s 2) Where: 31xx East Calhoun Parkway in South Minneapolis What: 5 BR/4 BA with 4,500 FSF on .29 acre lot How Much: originally listed for $925k on 9/21; just dropped to $825k yesterday Who: Broker – Edina Realty; Agent – James Keane Even in a soft market for upper bracket...Read More
It’s All Relative One of the things you have to remember doing open houses around the City Lakes is how much the housing costs, relatively speaking — not to mention the property taxes that come with. Normally, a $10,000 annual property tax bill isn’t a selling point. However, I had three parties come through my...Read More
Gov’t. Financial Squeeze = Homeowner Squeeze? The mortgage-interest deduction has been a political no-go zone for decades. The same for local property-tax write-offs. But with billowing deficits and the need to raise trillions to help pay for health-care reform and the economic stimulus bills, somewhere, somehow, Congress is going to be pressed to raise revenue....Read More
‘Shrunk to Fit’: Tax Values in a Declining Market Homeowners across the country are challenging their property tax bills in droves as the value of their homes drop, threatening local governments with another big drain on their budgets –Jack Healy, “Tax Bill Appeals Take Rising Toll on Governments“; The New York Times (7/4/09). Which would...Read More
State Tax Deductions for Housing: Endangered Species? Is now a good time to make upper bracket housing in Minnesota (or anywhere else) more expensive? The Minnesota state legislature — or at least the House — seems to thinks so. On Saturday, it passed a bill that would make mortgage interest and property taxes non-deductible in...Read More
Title Traps Can BiteForeclosure BuyersThe potential traps that lurk for Buyers procuring title work, especially for foreclosures, reminds me of a favorite attorney joke (I’m allowed to tell them because I am one, albeit non-practicing). When a neighbor charges that the attorney’s dog bit him, the attorney first denies it. When he’s shown photos of...Read More
