Month: January 2015

Frosty fun

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun. This weekend is going to be fun with Red Bull Crashed ice in town and the Saint Paul winter carnival events. I stand outside even when there are -20 windchills to watch the parade and I attended both Crashed Ice events in St. Paul.

It is all going to be strange this year because I won’t need to wear the long johns, heavy pants and wind pants or the long underwear, the turtle neck sweater and hoodie under my goose down 3/4 length coat with the balaclava and the bomber hat over it and scarves and gloves and mittens and two pair of socks, leg warmers and my boots that each weigh several pounds but are good to 40 below zero. Yup I can stay outside for hours standing in snow or on ice if needed.

There will be plenty of beer this weekend in and around downtown in tents and other venues with heat and music. It almost makes me wish I liked beer.

If you have never been to any Saint Paul winter carnival events you are missing out. Chances are your neighbors will be there too and this  See the complete schedule on the winter carnival website.  The Grand day parade starts Saturday January 24th at 2:00 PM at West 7th street and Smith avenue and travels east to Rice Park in downtown St. Paul.

collage - winter fun
Winter Carnival & crashed Ice collage – click to enlarge

Oh and if your home is on the market but no one is coming to see it on Saturday it is because of the Winter Carnival.

 

Crashed ice
Crashed ice 2015

Tiny house or condo

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

tiny houseI am obsessed with the idea of living in a tiny house. I live in a small one now but not a tiny house. Last week I looked at a 370 square foot condo in downtown St. Paul. For some reason the designer put in a full sized kitchen otherwise the place would be just about perfect. There are a few units on the market right now that are less than 500 square feet.

There isn’t really an agreed upon definition for a tiny house.  Some call houses less than 1000 square feet tiny houses. When I think of them I think of homes that are less than 500 square feet and have found many that are less than 300 or even 200 square feet of finished living space.

These dwellings are much less expensive than a more standard size house. The idea is to spend less on housing and have fewer belongings and more time to spend doing something besides working for money and accumulating stuff that requires space. They also cost less to heat and cool and to insure. They require less maintenance and less furniture.

On average people who own tiny houses have money in the bank and many of the have no mortgage.

Today is isn’t at all unusual for first time home buyers to be looking for at least 2000 square feet and the averages for new construction, at least in the burbs is closer to 2400 square feet. They don’t have enough stuff to fill it up so they start acquiring and accumulating.

Some studies have suggested that families who live in tighter quarters get along better because they spend more time together. Yet the most common reason for wanting a bigger house is to have room for children.

Many of the tiny houses are mobile and can be moved to a lot. Of course in the city you mostly can’t do that but in some parts of the country the demand for tiny houses is changing local zoning laws.

I think there is a market for tiny condos in downtown St. Paul. There are spaces that are less than 500 square feet. They are never marketed as tiny condos but they should be. Most have full sized kitchens which really seems like a waste of space. Why not have a galley kitchen? I like the idea of a murphy bed too or a sleeper sofa that can double as a place to sit.

There are numerous websites dedicated to tiny houses and they can be built from kits that can be ordered online but there aren’t any kits for tiny condos. 🙂 We are not seeing micro apartments yet but they are sure to travel from the coasts and make it inland in the next decade or so and eventually maybe we will be able to put some tiny houses on city lots.

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Part time agent vs. full time

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

smallclockI know some part time real estate agents who do a fantastic job and some full time agents who do a crummy job. Some folks would be surprised to learn that those agents who have a lot of listings are not always the agents who do the best job. In fact there was a study done that indicated that agents who take on too many listings end up getting less money for the homes they list and they stay on the market longer.

Last spring I got an earful when I worked with a client and asked about her last real estate agent. I honestly thought this agent was one of the best in the metro area but what I learned is that she rushes and pushes her clients through the process. Yes she built a business by getting referrals from past clients but it doesn’t seem like she has done much for anyone lately.

As a full-time agent myself I see it as a full time job but that is my choice and I took a risk by leaving the corporate world and joining the world of self employment and 100% commissioned sales.  I have been a full time agent for 13 years and I know it isn’t for everyone.

There are part-time agents who do a phenomenal job. There are also some who don’t do much at all and who can never return phone calls  or emails during business hours which can really slow negotiations or closings.

Go ahead and ask the agents you interview if they are full time or part-time. If they are part-time make sure their hours of business are compatible with yours. Experience is important too. Ask the agent how many homes they have sold.

There are a lot of wonderful agents in the metro area. Find one who will do a good job and is easy to work with. Do they answer questions? Do they answer the phone? A part time agent may be the perfect choice if the alternative is an agent with 25 listings and a team to manage.

There are also real estate agents who kind of dabble in real estate thinking they can make an easy buck or two. They might not be the best choice even if they are a cousin or an uncle or an in-law.

Don’t wait for an open house

Posted on by Teresa Boardman
kitchen
Sold in less than a week

I get calls from people who want to see houses and they ask me when the next open house is going to be. Many of the homes on the market never have an open house. There is no evidence that open houses are needed to sell houses. There are two reasons for having an open house:

1.  The homeowner believes that open houses are needed and they see having one as proof that their agent is working to sell their house.

2.  Real estate agents need to do open houses so they can meet prospective home buyers and sellers.

Open houses can be a lot of fun for people who want to go to them and for people who want to have them. Everyone has a story about someone they know who went into an open house and bought the home on the spot. We have no way of knowing if they would have purchased the very same home just because there was an open house or if there was some other reason too.

The internet has really changed the home buying process. Going to open houses can be helpful but we can see pictures of houses for sale without ever leaving our homes. Serious home buyers don’t wait for an open house. They want to see the home as soon as possible and most want a private showing with their own real estate agent. They will go ahead and make an offer on a Wednesday so that by the time there is an open house there is an offer on the home.

Sellers who believe the having open houses is more important than having professional photos might be surprised to learn that thousands of people will view photos of homes for sale and those photos will attract more buyers than having several open houses. Studies show that high quality commercial photography results in higher sale prices whereas open houses result in more clients for the real estate agent holding the open if anyone shows up.

The home in the picture sold in less than a week and the people who bought it went and saw the home in person after it had been on the market for 3 days.

Inquiring minds want to know . . .

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

Often home buyers want to know how much the current owners of a home paid for it and how much they owe on it. That kind of information is easy to find in public records. Sometimes I have to remind both buyers and sellers that the amount paid for a home has no impact on the current value of the home.

If the homeowner bought the home a long time ago or got it for a song buyers think they should be able to buy the home for less. I have even heard homebuyers say that a seller is making too much money.  You don’t know how much money a seller is making on a home sale and even if you did the information does not change the value of the house.

Knowing how much a homeowner still owes on a home might be useful but lets never assume that a seller won’t bring money to the closing if they need to sell the home and the home is still worth the same amount if the current owner owns it free and clear as it would be worth if the sellers till owed 10% more on the home than it’s current value.

I know this all sounds complicated but it is usually best to do some comparative shopping when looking for a home and to ask an expert . . like me for instance to determine how much the home might be worth today and how much to offer for it.

Home sellers need to do some number crunching before they put their home on the market. They at least need to know how much they owe on it and if the home is worth less than that amount they either need to hang onto it until they have more equity as many homeowners do or save up some money to payoff the mortgages if the resale value is less than what is owed.

Rowhouse
Rowhouse

Downtown Ball Park

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

Just the other day someone asked me if I think the new lowertown/downtown ballpark will open on time. I don’t see why it won’t. It looks impressive already. I’ll try to get closer and get some better pictures. I need for it to be sunny and warm enough so that I don’t die trying to get some photos.

ball park
downtown ballpark

For those who do not know the area very well the brick building on the far right side of the photo is the Northern Warehouse building home of the Black Dog Cafe and many fine artists.  The street in the foreground is Broadway between 5th and 6th streets and the new stadium is going up about where the old Gillett building used to be.

Broadway street
Broadway Street

Facing south on Broadway street. The Northern Warehouse building is on the left toward the center. The Farmers market and unition depot are straight ahead just down the street and the brick building on the right is the Market House building. The home of Heartland restaurant and Market House Condos. . . and a lot of vacant retail space that for now I’ll just call the land of opportunity.

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