When To Apply a Cost-Benefit Criterion — and When Not To Clients frequently ask me if it’s possible to open up a wall, do an addition, add a dormer, etc. My answer is always “yes” — because anything is possible to do, for enough money. However, whether it makes economic sense to do something — that...Read More
In general, I’m a HUGE fan of bay windows: there’s no better way to open up a room, admit light, and punch up a home’s curb appeal. But, it has to be the right home. I don’t know for sure, but I’ve got a hunch that the bay window in this 1924 South Minneapolis home...Read More
‘Vúja de’: the strange feeling that somehow, this has never happened before. –George Carlin I suppose the flip side of stumbling across a new listing you instantly recognize is, seeing one that you know looks familiar, but can’t quite place. Or, driving past such a house. In the case of this Fern Hill home (above),...Read More
Listing Math, Cont. I viewed a non-MLS listing last week in Minnetonka that is quietly being marketed at $1.7 million. The owner bought the 5,000-plus square foot home a year ago for $1.050 million; did $500k of (very smart) updating; and is leaving another $200k of likely updating for the next owner (the upper level hasn’t been remodeled...Read More
The Timing Factor More than people would like to admit, there’s an element of luck involved in real estate. The variables include: •Whether your buying and/or selling coincides with housing market peaks or troughs (if you’re doing both, it matters much less). •What prevailing interest rates are — and what they’re doing just before you...Read More
Back in Fashion: Ramblers “People want to remodel their homes so they can age in place. They’re adding main-floor Bathrooms and Laundry Rooms, zero-curb showers that could accommodate a wheelchair, and Family Room additions that could easily convert to main-floor Bedrooms.” –Kim Palmer, “Remodeling on Rebound”; Star Tribune (5/5/2013) Along with the housing market, remodeling...Read More
