Lifestyle and real estate in Minneapolis. Twin Cities Living.

  We need more rain.  Here in the metro area we are dry. The lawns are crisp, the trees are in distressed, gardens have to be watered daily, and the creek in front of my house is dry.  Minnehaha Creek travels from Lake Minnetonka down to the river.  In the summer it might get lower, but this summ...

 In this strong buyer's market one wonders if the list price on a property means anything.  It is a little like when you are strolling on the beach in Mexico.  You come upon this  guy selling bracelets and he tells you how much the piece costs. You really like it but feel the price is wrong.  Yo...

I remember years ago when Darrin Nelson was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings how he complained how there was so little to do in the Twin Cities.  He had come from San Francisco and thought this was the hicks.  I don't think he had experienced life here, but was going by what the West Coast think...

Yesterday I got three offers on three different listings I have.  None of the offers were full price or even 3% off list.  They all were in the seller's minds "low ball offers."  I have to ask the question back "Is there such a thing in this market?"  One house has been on the market since last D...

  The golf course look for a private lawn is going out.  We are being quilted into feeling that a sprawling, green lawn, free of weeds, and manicured to perfection is not being "green."  What is to come?  Thinking green means less grass and more gardens, natural prairie look, vegetable gardens, a...

  To me there is nothing better in the evening than a thunder storm.  I never want anyone or anything to get hurt, but the power of a storm does something to me.  The power of the storm also does something to my gardens.  I have been told that the energy given off by lightening helps plants grow....

I will be looking on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for properties for my buyers.  I always take a look at the photos as they tell me so much about the property.  Here is a list of some of the pictures I see and ask myself "why?" 1) The toilet in the bathroom 2) The driveway with two cars par...

What does the selling of houses and shopping bags have to do with one another? Lots. If consumes have confidence in the economy and their jobs, they will go out and buy.  They will buy the sweater they don't really need but the color is lovely.  They will purchase a pair of shoes even though the...

Radon is something most of us do not know about or do not want to talk about.  I hear more misconceptions about radon than about anything else in real estate.  Here are a few:  1) If someone lives in the house and windows are open, then I don't need to worry about it. 2) If the neighbors do not h...

I was speaking with one of my clients last week to help him get his property ready to go to market.  I told him that he would not believe how demanding buyers and their agents are today.  You cannot leave anything to chance.  I said though it is a group effort to take a house to closing, each par...