Lifestyle and real estate in Minneapolis. Twin Cities Living.

Realtors used to be the source by which the public learned about houses for sale and the amenities to that property.  That was then this is now.  Today that same buyer goes to the internet to get that information.  When I hold an open house and greet the buyer at the door, I no longer can say wel...

  It is a sunny spring for buyers due to the fact that when they buy now they have the advantage of Price and Terms.  It is not typical for price and terms to be good at the same time.  Terms are the financing available to buyers.  Interest rates are at a 50 year low. A 30 year fixed mortgage for...

   I remember in the mid 80's when phones became mobile.  We called them a brick as they were that large.  At least we no longer walked around with a suit case with a phone in it.  Al of us coveted our cell numbers and would not let the number out.  It was so expensive and we elected as to who wo...

I enjoy people who want to get at a task quickly and not always think all details out.  They appear motivated and excited about life.  Yet, they can get hurt leaping off that cliff without checking the depth of the water.  I have found this to be true recently with some buyers I have met.  I have...

Best Buy, not the store but the theme out there in buying these days.  This morning I went to the sales meeting of my office.  At this meeting the manager discusses sales and general business.  Today he spoke about several sales this week that occurred because the price of the house went down so...

Put that rake down! It is so tempting to rake as the sun gets warmer and the temperature increases, but it is the best way to pull the grass out by it roots.  If you feel you must do something use the bamboo rake and not the metal rake and use a light stroke.  You can get rid of the sand on your...

As kids many of us got an Easter basket.  My basket was nothing special and the grass hid all that candy that I wanted to badly.  I never understood the purpose of the grass as it made the candy harder to find.  There were the standard jelly beans.  No gourmet beans back in those days.  The red a...

Last night I had one of those rare nights where at 8:00 PM I was sitting comfortable in front of the TV letting my mind go to mush.  My husband Charles changes the channel when a commercial comes on.  He's off to see the score on a game, or seeing what some CSI is doing.  It drives me crazy.  He...

Buying a house is a bit like buying a gift for yourself.  A gift is not all about price but it is about giving something that you feel will give pleasure to someone.  A house not only should be a roof over your head but it should give one pleasure.   Right now buying a house is all about price an...

We are told as little people just starting to walk and falling down, to pull ourselves up and try again.  After people have been hurt and are in therapy, they are told to keep putting one foot in front of each other.   The Minnesota Twins looked this evening as if they were going to lose their s...