The Gothic style of architecture dates back to Europe in the 1200′s.   This home would be an example of Gothic Revival, popular in the U.S. during the mid 1800′s.

With Gothic style  windows with distinctive pointed arches; exposed framing timbers; and steep, vaulted roofs with cross-gables. Extravagant features may include towers and verandas. Ornate wooden detailing is generously applied as gable, window, and door trim.

The home pictured is located on the 600 block of Summit avenue, is one of my favorites.  Gothic style homes can be almost overwhelming they are so ornate, but this one is a bit simpler and has examples of  all of the details that can be found in elaborate Gothic style homes of the same period.

Pawlenty proposes legislation to Strengthen mortgage regulation in Minnesota

• Mortgage originator licensee to be a Minnesota corporation or other business entity and meet minimum net worth or bond requirements.

• Mortgage fraud would become a specific crime in Minnesota law.

• Authorize the Department of Commerce to periodically examine mortgage companies

• Loan officers would be required to take 16 hours of educational training.

"The new proposals support the Guidelines on Nontraditional Mortgage Products that were sent to all licensed mortgage originators by the Minnesota Department of Commerce in December of 2006. The guidelines encourage lenders to make more meaningful disclosures and more careful underwriting to protect consumers from mortgage products they cannot afford."

I am not sure about the guidelines that "encourage" lenders to protect consumers from mortgage products they can not afford.  – - what exactly does encourage mean?

Currently the mortgage industry is not very closely regulated.  Just about anyone can get a mortgage brokers license.  It doesn’t  cost much or take long.  Some of the standards in the proposed legislation are the same that are currently applied to the real estate and insurance industries.

**** Read More update from the Minnesota Association of Realtors **********

I can’t write this post without including language on what agency is.  The five kinds of agency relationships in real estate recognized by the state of Minnesota:

1. Seller’s Agent: representing and acting for the seller only. May be a listing agent, or any REALTOR® licensed to the listing broker, or a selling subagent.
2. Subagent: a broker or salesperson who is working with a buyer, but represents the seller.
3. Buyer’s Agent: representing and acting for the buyer only. As with a listing contract with sellers, an agreement for buyer representation must be in writing.
4. Dual Agent: one licensee representing both the seller and the buyer as clients in one transaction, or two agents licensed to the same broker, one of whom represents the seller and one of whom represents the buyer in one transaction. This requires  full disclosure and informed consent of both parties. Dual agents have a limited role, must not advocate or negotiate for either party, and must not act to the detriment of either party.
5. Facilitator: a real estate licensee who works for a buyer, a seller or both in a transaction but does not represent either in a fiduciary capacity as a Buyer’s Broker, Seller’s Broker or Dual Agent. Facilitators may perform services for consumers, but do not represent them. Facilitators are bound by license law and common law, but owe only the fiduciary duty of confidentiality unless other fiduciary duties are agreed to between licensee and consumer.

Buyers and sellers both like to ask me if I am a buyers agent, or a sellers agent.  Some of these conversations have revealed some mis-information about dual agency.   Dual agency happens only when an agent, or the agents broker, or more than one of the brokers agents  are working on behalf of that broker and representing both parties in the same transaction.

I am both a buyers agent and a sellers agent.  I do encounter situations where I am asked to do both.  I prefer not to, but I can and under some circumstances I have.  When I do both buyer and seller get to listen to my dual agency speech.  In general when I am acting as a sellers agent or listing agent I represent the sellers and when I am working as a buyers I am representing the buyers.

As an agent I find that having both experiences on a regular basis is an asset.  When it comes to negotiating an offer no matter which side I am representing I have a clear understanding of what the other party might want, or how they might be feeling about it all. 

Real estate is about people and buying or selling property is a large and important transaction, and there are always emotions involved.  Having experience with sellers helps me advise buyers and having experience with buyers helps me advise sellers and understand how to market their home.  I can see the home through the buyers eyes, just as I can see the buyers offer from the sellers point of view.

If I were choosing an agent I would not consider it an advantage to work with an agent that only represents buyers or one who only represents sellers.  I would consider it an advantage to have my own agent representing my best interests instead of an agent who is operating in the dual agency roll and representing both parties.  Like it says above:  

"Dual agents have a limited role, must not advocate or negotiate for either party, and must not act to the detriment of either party."

Buyers who go from open house to open house or the agent listed on each sign, to see each home,  run the risk of working with an agent in a dual roll.  Get your own agent.

Spring is so beautiful here in Minnesota that it is hard to stay inside and write blog posts.

St. Paul, Minnesota is a River town

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By Erik Hare

Of all the neighborhoods in Saint Paul, the most interesting one of all is gearing up for their big party of the year – Cinco de Mayo.

The District del Sol is well known as the predominantly Mexican part of the West Side. It has mercados, cambinos and restaurantes that offer sights and smells and delicious eats not known in many other neighborhoods. It’s not just a marketing gimmick, but the fabric of a community with a long history.

Immigrants have always arrived to the West Side, lured by affordable housing just across the bridges from Downtown. The first groups were German and Irish, but gradually everyone came to the West Side. The Mexican population of the West Side dates back to the 1920s. By the end of World War II, they had come to be the largest of the many ethnic groups. The institutions, from St. Mark’s Church to Humboldt High to the stores, gradually came to have a distinctly Hispanic flavor.

Like any other ethnic group, the Mexicans had little when they arrived. Poverty and other social issues were met with a strong community spirit that built up as each generation achieved a bigger piece of the American Dream. In the 1980s the Riverview Economic Development Association (REDA) was formed.

REDA operates like a neighborhood sized  Chamber of Commerce. They are tireless promoters of businesses in the district, and use their heritage as both the glue that holds everyone together and a sales pitch. Their efforts are what make the neighborhood not just unique in character, but very much in charge of their own destiny. Each year they put on the Cinco de Mayo celebration.

What will make this celebration so special is it is the 25^th annual Cinco de Mayo. It’s a great time to celebrate the faith of the past and the promise of the future. To District del Sol, these are both bound up in the brave immigrant spirit that makes them both unique and strong.

The 2007 Cinco de Mayo Fiesta – Minnesota’s Spiciest Celebration – will take place on Friday, May 4 from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and on Saturday, May 5 from 9:00 a.m to 5:30 p.m. in the District del Sol on Saint Paul’s West Side, Robert and Cesar Chavez.

Today’s church is located at 793 Armstrong Avenue in St. Paul, MN 55102 and is for sale.  Built in 1906, 5080, square feet for Listed for $650,000.  See Details