The Hebrew School Connection [Editor’s Note: ‘A Serious Man’ isn’t a mystery, so revealing the ending isn’t exactly ruining it. However, if you plan to see it and would rather be surprised . . . stop reading here. Regular blog readers may recall that I ran a post, “Economic Stimulus –Local Version” commenting on the...Read More
Teardown-Lite What do you get when you combine a high-demand, close-in neighborhood, smallish existing housing stock, and small city lots (typically, 120′ x 40′)? Not tear-downs, because of the lot size. And not bump-outs, for the same reason (there’d be no yard left). Give up? Pop-up’s. As in added second stories. One of the areas...Read More
Florida vs. Nevada I was puzzled when my office receptionist asked if I was going on vacation. It took a second to figure out, but it turns out they’d overheard me say I was “going to Florida” to meet my client. As in Florida Avenue South, in St. Louis Park’s 2nd alphabet. I told them...Read More
Pendulum Swings Towards Rentals [Editor’s note: this piece was originally posted last weekend. I’m “popping” to the top of the list because it was lightly read before being buried by subsequent posts. If you read it then, please just skip.] It’s time to accept that home ownership is not a realistic goal for many people...Read More
Inflated FSF: ‘Told You So’ Where: 29xx Quentin Ave. South, in St. Louis Park’s Fern Hill neighborhood What: 3 BR/3BA Cape Cod built in 1936 How much: asking $349.9k When: (re-)listed Mon. (Aug. 3) You’ve probably heard of home expansions. But have you ever heard of home contractions? This one did. When the home pictured...Read More
Jumbo Prices, Jumbo Selection I’m not a big wine drinker, but I’ve always believed that wine prices were characterized by a “law of diminishing returns.” In other words, while an average $8 bottle might be twice as good as an average $4 bottle, a $16 bottle probably isn’t twice as good as $8 — and...Read More
