Real Estate Snippets

Vacant Home Tour

Dayton's Bluff isn't going to let its housing get torn down.   So many others are crying in their beer about the blight and problems that vacant homes create in a neighborhood.  Dayton's Bluff doesn't believe in whining.  They look for solutions.  As a community, Dayton's Bluff has organized a Vacant Homes "Possibilities Tour" for next weekend May 3-4, Saturday from noon to 5 PM and Sunday from 1 to 5 PM.   Note the different spin using the title "Possibilities".  What a great advertising piece. 

It was doubly amusing to me to find this tour advertised as part of last weekend's tour.  Do it yourself-ers or wannabe do it yourself-ers are those checking out the remodeled homes of the Minneapolis St. Paul home tour.  The best home buyers for the vacant buildings are those who can, or dream of, restoring an old home to its former glory.  The fulfillment (and collapse) of that dream has open season in the vacant home tour.  Many of the homes can be purchased for less than market prices compensating the the condition that some will be in.

If you've ever considered doing rehab on an old St. Paul home, this might be a way to check out your options.  The tour starts at 798 East 7th Street in St. Paul with FREE trolley rides to the homes!  The trolley ride alone is an attraction for me!  More info can be obtained at the Dayton's Bluff website.

The Weekend Is Gone!

It's already Monday.  Something happened to my weekend.  As I've aged, it seems the weekends fly by.  It's all part of being "over the hill".  Two things are connected with descending the backside of the age hill:

1.  Time takes less time!  It's a proven fact in my life.  I get less done and it takes longer . . . not to mention the added time needed for recovery!  Of course, that wouldn't have anything to do with trying to pack more into a day than any self respecting day should have to hold!  (Let's see.  Showings to St. Paul home buyers, the Minneapolis St. Paul Home Tour, showing several units in a condominium, working on my current rehab project, Sunday brunch with friends, web work, preparation for today's appointments, walk the dog, and ONE row of crocheting on my afghan!   Maybe I should retract that devaluation of time statement.)

2.  The dollar is worth less, or is that worthless?  Imagine my first job paid 65¢ an hour!  That's $ .65 for those too young to know what a cent sign looks like!  Very few people pick up pennies, nickels or dimes from the ground anymore.  The labor required to bend over is more expensive than the coin is worth!  Back in the dinosaur day, at 65¢ an hour, I could actually buy something including gas!  Every penny was worth saving.  We could buy gas hog cars because gas didn't hog all of our money!  Now every trip to the gas pump slowly creeps over the $50 mark!

Since this is the first time I've been on this side of the age hill, I don't know if these observations are determined by age, unique to me, or a product of society.  It's not like one can slide down the back side of the age hill more than once to find out if these changes are "normal"! 

Minneapolis Saint Paul Home Tour 2008

Tomorrow is the 21st Minneapolis Saint Paul Home Tour.  The home I live in was part of this tour shortly after it was moved to its current location.  The former owner had begun the project that we will finish, but wanted to show to interested parties that old homes can be saved from demolition by moving them to new locations.  The tour is self-guided so one can go at one's own pace.  Homeowners will be available to talk about the projects in their homes.  The tour is a great place to get fresh ideas and see how other solved their remodeling challenges.  Some guided walking tours are available at limited times.  Guides can be obtained at any St. Paul or Minneapolis library or in any of the participating home.  The best part?  Admission is free for an information packed creative two days of ideas and fresh insights by homeowners! 

A Perfect Day

The sun set on my left, a golden orb announcing the end of a perfect day.  The blue gray clouds to my right formed a perfect backdrop for tiny raindrop prisms.  I reflected over the day.  Paper was pushed for hours in the morning.  Appointments were attended in the cleansing warmth of the spring rain.  Calls were completed as I traveled out of St. Paul to "Grandparents' Day" for my grandson.  Road trips are always good times for reflection.  The trip back rewarded me with a full rainbow.  Two pots of gold!  One for family.  One for a productive day.  It doesn't get any better than this.

How Many Houses Does It Take

We've all heard the jokes, "How many (insert people group name) does it take to change a light bulb?".  A similar question is asked by buyers.  "How many houses does it take before we choose one?"  Like everything else in real estate, the answer is that it depends.  Some of the criteria it depends on include:

• How clearly the buyers communicate what they want in their house to their real estate agent.
• How well the real estate agent listens to the buyers.
• Whether all buyers agree on what they want in a house.
• Whether buyers who disagree are capable of compromising and coming to an agreement!
• The number of houses on the market and how that number is perceived by the buyer.
• The buyer's motivation to buy.
• The buyer's price range.
• The buyer's time line.
• The buyer's fear.
• The buyer's pickiness.
• Support of family and friends.
• Undermining of the process by family and friends.
• How closely the buyers' desires in a house match what is offered in their price range.
• Recognition by the buyers when their criteria changes in the shopping process.
• Whether buyers can recognize when their criteria gets overwhelmed by how they "feel" about the house.
• How intimidated buyers are by repairs or cosmetic changes.
• How many family members get a "vote".
• Whether buyers avoid limiting their search on less significant criteria like a fenced yard.

The list could go on and on.  Each list item could be a blog post in itself.  My current home buyer records range between 1 house and 120 houses.  Both record holders have purchased more than one house using my services.  The one that made me the most nervous was the home buyer who only saw one St. Paul house.  It was too fast for even me!  The clients on the other end of the spectrum ended up buying the first house to meet her criteria and the second to meet his!  Theirs was a demonstration that compromise comes in many forms to home buyers!

National Real Estate Statistics 2008

First American Core Logic, a leader in residential analytics of mortgage data, released new national statistics on April 22.   Using their LoanPerformance Home Price Index criteria, 36 states experienced a housing price decline over the last 3 months ending with February 2008, but only 28 states saw a year over year price decline.   According to this latest press release, the Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington Core Based Statistical Area experienced a 3 month decline of 4.6% and an annual decline in house prices of 8.98%.  The full press release and how St. Paul compares to other CBSAs can be found here.

To confuse the public and contribute to differing opinions around the water cooler, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (Oh, man, that's a mouthful!)  also published a press release on April 22.  The OFHEO's monthly House Price Index is calculated from home purchases using Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac funding for their mortgages.  As a result, this HPI is based on homes that cost no more than $417,000.  According to OFHEO, national home prices fell 2.4% as of February, 2008.  The complete press release from OFHEO is here.

If nothing else, these different stats show how important it is to know what criteria is used in collecting data.  Some of the differences in the two reports are based purely in the source of each organization's statistical data.  Again, knowing your local market is terribly important, because your local market could be holding strong whereas the county next door could be declining swiftly.  Call your Saint Paul real estate agent (that's me!) to find out what is true for your specific neighborhood.

 

Pregnant Lilacs

The lilacs in St. Paul are about to give birth!

Agency Disclosure

Corralling some of today's buyers long enough to go through the agency disclosure isn't always the easiest task.  Many times I've been told, "Just show me where to sign."  Early in my career it became apparent that agency had to be explained in less than 5 minutes or the task would become troublesome.  Some buyers tune out; some politely listen; some pretend to understand and show they don't later in the transaction. 

Why do real estate agents bother to explain agency then?  If it's such a boring topic and no one seems to be listening, why do it?   The easy answer:  because it's the law.  The first words on the Minnesota agency disclosure that is used in St. Paul are "MINNESOTA LAW REQUIRES".  The capital letters, underlining, and bold are in the form used to disclose agency. 

The next few words in the Minnesota agency disclosure define when to go over agency with a prospective client:  "early in any relationship".  Debates are conducted over what "early in any relationship" means.  Is it before you hold hands and kiss?  Oh, I forgot!  That's not the relationship we're discussing here.  When the agent is conducting an open house, does the agent have to explain agency to every looky-lou that comes through the door?  What about when someone calls on the agent's own listing.  Do they have to explain agency when they show their St. Paul listing to a prospective buyer?  When a relocation customer comes into town, should the agent have sent the agency disclosure to the prospective client ahead of time?  When IS "early in any relationship"?

For me, early is the first time I meet a prospective client.  If it's in my own listing, I explain to the prospective buyer that I represent the seller and any information they share with me will be shared with the seller.  My agency disclosure in that situation is a warning to keep anything that they want private to themselves.  Some home sellers have asked why other agents they interviewed did not go through the agency disclosure with them like I did.   That question has to be asked of the other agents.  Maybe their definition of "early" is different from mine.

The best definition of "early" was shared with me by a colleague.  Her definition of "early" is any time when either home price, motivation, or terms are discussed with the prospective client.  In meeting with a prospective home buyer, one of the first questions asked is usually, "Have you been pre-qualified for a mortgage and how much do you want to spend for your house?"  Ooops, there's that price question.  When meeting with a prospective home seller the first time, the seller always wants to discuss how much their home is worth.  There's that price question again.  Motivation is often discussed at a first meeting.  Terms are often the topic of conversation as well. 

Because so much information that impacts the transaction is shared in the first meeting with a home seller or home buyer, it's been my policy to go over the agency disclosure at that first meeting.  Once the prospective  clients understand their choices in agency representation, their housing needs can be discussed openly.

More information about agency is available here.

Rozieasaurus

Rozieasaurus, the Diggin' Dino created for the Rozie Angell Parish family by Jennifer Englin-Gillings, spent the summer of 2007 at the Children's Hospital St. Paul Garden.  If Rozieasaurus was anything like the real Rozie, I think I would have liked her.  Dare I say the dinosaur shows a woman who loved life, flowers, bugs, and was maybe, just a bit eccentric?  I think it's the hat that made me think that.  The real Rozie Parish, a native east sider, was St. Paul's first Miss Grand Avenue and graduated from Johnson High School in 1964.  Rozieasaurus still stands by the parking lot of St. Paul's Children Hospital.

Click on the picture for larger detail.

Venetian Carousel at the Maplewood Mall in Minnesota

The Venetian Carousel located in the Maplewood Mall in Maplewood, Minnesota, provides entertainment and a brief respite from shopping for a nominal fee.  Children are drawn to the music and 2000 lights, as are some of us older children as well.  Lighted stairs lead to the second level.  Graceful horses with real tails spin about rising up and down in the circle.  There's even a black horse for good luck.  Murals by Venetian artists Grazia and Leno grace the revolving surfaces.  The carousel was shipped here from Venice in thousands of pieces over 100 years ago and reassembled in its permanent home in Maplewood.  It's the perfect place for fairy tales and enchantment.