Recognize This House? Me, Neither Scarcely six months after I sold 2521 Kipling in St. Louis Park’s Fern Hill neighborhood last Spring . . . the home is a veritable construction site. Which explains why the Buyer’s inspection went so smoothly: my recollection is that the Buyer raised few (if any) issues, and quickly removed their Inspection...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
Housing Market Misnomers One of the biggest misconceptions in residential real estate is that, to be a teardown, a home must first be falling down. Hardly. All “teardown” means is that the home is less valuable than the land underneath it. That can be the case for at least two reasons other than physical...Read More
MLS Shorthand for “Potential Tear-Down” Test your knowledge of today’s housing market, and field this question: How can you determine that a “For Sale” home on MLS is a potential tear-down? A. The MLS photos show a home in decrepit condition — or, there are no photos. B. In the “Seller Terms” field on MLS,...Read More
Hennepin County: “Land Value $164,800; Building Value $9,700” Number of Bedrooms: 0. –MLS Test your knowledge of today’s Twin Cities housing market, and guess how much this Spartan-looking, 400 square foot cabin in South Minneapolis is listed for: A. $89k B. $149k C. $249k D. $299k Before I give the answer, here are a couple...Read More
Location, Location, Location (Again) Normally, when a house has a major foundation issue, standard Realtor advice to Buyers is “run, don’t walk” (to something else). What’s the exception to that? If the home in question is on desirable lot in a hot neighborhood for tear-downs — and the foundation issue translates into a sufficiently hefty discount. Exit...Read More
