Lifestyle and real estate in Minneapolis. Twin Cities Living.

Last week I was contacted by a writer at a national magazine to discuss with them if there is a trend for buyers to purchase smaller houses.  I had a yes/no answer.   I do find that buyers 50+ are interested in buying smaller and houses with more quality. Perhaps they have lived in the larger pro...

The media yesterday had stories about housing sales in the past month being up.  This is true, but read on.  The sales they are referring to once again were bank owned properties.  We continue to see sales when properties have below market pricing on them.   I am carrying listings ,and I know my ...

I just read an article in which Realtors were ranked with other professionals.  As a profession we came in dead last.  I can tell you why we do. 1)Brokers want large numbers of sales people and they will take almost anyone into their sales' force. 2)In Minnesota it does take some time and money t...

It's back!  Those of us who have lived for years in Minnesota forget about the January thaw.  We get a few days of 30 degrees, and we start believing winter is over.  My dog this morning ran to the door and then put on his brakes.  He looked at me as to say, "You are not serious about me going ou...

A hand shake.  It is a simple act of reaching out to someone and welcoming then into your space.  It is also a closure to our time together.  Men have been shaking hands for years. Men for centuries have shook hands to close a business deal.  From a hand shake men could tell if a man was honest, ...

Yesterday Edina Realty, my broker, had an Expo for all the Realtors and employees of Edina Realty.  It is a meeting sharing where the market has been and where we are going.  We are given skills to position ourselves in the market so as Realtors we can perform better and so can our properties.   ...

A NEW BEGINNING   New Beginnings seems to lift all of us up. I think that is why we like the first of the year. We get a new calendar and it is like we get to start all over. A birthday means a new year and new opportunities for us. Babies are seen as new life and perhaps the baby will be that pe...

It is Sunday, so naturally my mind goes to open houses. I don't know what many of you do between noon and five on Sundays, but I sit in my listings and meet prospective buyers.  I always ask buyers how they found the house.  I do not advertize in newspapers, so that choice is out.  The greatest m...

  About 15 years ago I had my first car with seat warmers.  It was late fall and I was showing a buyer houses.  She was in her mid-50's from Detroit and she thought our area was freezing.  I wanted to make her like our city, so without her knowledge I turned on her seat warmer.  Within a few minu...

  Today is my daughter's birthday.  It is always blasted cold on her birthday.  The day she was born it was -3o not counting a wind chill.  No one would come see us in the hospital it was so cold.  When she was little and we had birthday parties for her, parents would call to see if we were reall...