Today is Earth Day and it looks like we are still here on earth. Part of Earth Day 2024 is advocating for a 60% reduction in the production of all plastics by 2040, in recognition that plastics pose a danger to humans and the natural environment, as well as the future of the climate.
There is a lot of trash in the woods. Plastics are the most common but there is a lot of aluminum, glass and some fabric too.
As it gets warmer out and we spend more time outside there are numerous opportunities to pick up trash and there is plenty to pick and it is always nice to tidy up a bit. People are such pigs.
This is a kind of public service message I write each spring about agency in Minnesota.
Here are some basics: If you list your house with a real estate agent and that agent brings in an offer from a buyer that she is representing you now have dual agency which means that the agent cannot represent the buyer or the seller but instead becomes a facilitator. The agent facilitates the sale and can not do anything to the advantage of one party and the detriment of another.
What most home sellers and buyers do not understand is what a broker is. All real estate agents work under a broker. If the listing agent and the buyers agent both work for the same broker that is dual agency.
There are a couple of large real estate companies in the area that have one broker for a few thousand agents. When they list your home they will tell you all about the networking and how they will market your home to other agents. What they don’t tell you is that if one of those agents brings in a buyer those agents go from being able to advocate for their clients to being facilitators.
Homebuyers need to be aware when they go into an open house or new construction the nice agent who is showing them around is representing the seller and anything they say can be to their detriment later on. Buyers should choose an agent to work with who will work for them as an advocate and not just a facilitator.
Real estate is locally regulated and the law may be different in your state.
According to the IRS: Individual taxpayers spent a total of 897 million hours in FY 2022 just on record-keeping. This is in addition to the 1.15 billion hours spent on tax preparation of individual returns. Business entities spent about 1.14 billion hours and $48.3 billion on tax preparation in FY 2022.
Tax season causes stress all year long. I’ll never forget how when my dad was 90 years old and in hospice care he told me to be sure and file his income tax return. He seemed very concerned.
The truth is that every penny of his income was reported to the IRS and he should not have had to have a tax return prepared at all.
As a business owner I pay $$$$ to have my taxes prepared. I can do them myself but found it too stressful and time consuming.
I especially remember warm sunny April weekends where I had to stay inside and work on my taxes.
I have to keep a lot of records but these days most of my record keeping is automated and I keep records as I go. It takes me about 3 hours to gather my information for the tax preparer. I mostly understand my taxes which helps me make decisions about business expenses.
I do my best to not over pay when I pay quarterly taxes because I don’t want to rely on the IRS to send me a refund. If I am due a refund I roll it over to pay first quarter taxes which are also due on April 15th.
I write some version of this every year. Our housing stock in St. Paul is old. Some folks consider houses built in the 1950’s old, but in St. Paul they are newish. 43% of the houses in St. Paul were built before 1939.
Any house that was built before 1978 could have lead-based paint in it. Since about 80% of the houses in St. Paul were built before 1978 it is safe to assume unless proven otherwise most St. Paul houses have lead-based paint in them.
Lead is harmful to human beings, especially to children and Federal law requires that persons buying or renting a home that was built before 1978 receive a disclosure that states that the home could have lead-based paint in it. Homebuyers can have the paint tested for lead but they almost never do.
Buyers are given a pamphlet about how to protect their families from lead-based paint.
Washing hands and covering chipped or peeling paint is recommended. Having paint tested before removing it is also recommended.
One of my clients had a child who had an elevated level of lead in his system. Lead was found in the finish on an old built-in buffet in a home built in the late 1930s.
We are in a strong seller’s market and In multiple offer situations, sellers are likely to reject the offer in which the buyer plans to have the paint tested for lead.
Unless the homeowner has test results that prove there is no lead-based paint in the home or the home was built after 1978 please assume that there is lead-based paint and take appropriate precautions.
From the EPA
Lead From Paint, Dust, and Soil Can Be Dangerous If Not Managed Properly
FACT: Lead exposure can harm young children and babies even before they are born.
FACT: Even children that seem healthy can have high levels of lead in their bodies.
FACT: People can get lead in their bodies by breathing or swallowing lead dust, or by eating soil or paint chips with lead in them.
FACT: People have many options for reducing lead hazards. In most cases, lead-based paint that is in good condition is not a hazard.
FACT: Removing lead-based paint improperly can increase the danger to your family.
Also, consider that if the exterior of a home is or was wood and it has been scraped and painted there could be lead in the soil, and before unleaded gasoline became the norm there was lead in our gas tanks too and some of it ended up in the air and sold. There is more but I think this is enough for now.
Yes it snowed and now it is cold but we really needed it. It was a wet heavy snow that will add water to the Mississippi river which is running low. The farmer’s need it so that there crops can grow. Most if not all of the state of Minnesota is in some stage of drought.
Snow is a good thing and this time of year it won’t be around long. A few inches of it have already been absorbed. It is going to be a beautiful spring.
I just got my bike back from Lowertown Bike Shop. It needed a tune-up but more importantly it needed a new chain. We have already had a few days that have been warm enough for biking and are likely to get a few more. I am not into winter biking; I bike when temperatures hit 45 degrees or better.
Bikes are a high theft item. They disappear quickly and we never see them again.
The best practice for securing your bike is to lock it in a garage or shed or enclosed area and also lock the the bike. Mine is locked in a shed and I use a U lock to lock it to a beam. I have had the same bike for six years and would like to hang onto it for a few more years. St. Paul is a wonderful place to bike with plenty of trails.
Sure, I have the serial number and could file a police report if the bike is stolen but that isn’t the same as getting the bike back.
Please keep your bike locked up when not in use. Keep it locked up and behind locked doors and if possible, away from any windows and out of sight.
