Single Women and Home Buying in Minneapolis

In the 1970s, women were regularly denied loans for houses and even for their own credit cards.  It was assumed that their husbands would be the main breadwinners, or if they didn’t have husbands, they didn’t have enough money for things like buying houses.  Now, some thirty-plus years later, single women are buying houses in droves.  In fact, single women now account for around 20% of all homebuyers.  In other words, many women are not waiting to get married before buying a home.

There are several reasons for this.   More women than ever  are delaying marriage; the divorce rate is high which means many suddenly-single women need housing; more women are graduating from college and making better money earlier.  These are just a few reasons why more single women are buying homes these days.  Read more

Staging Your Home to Sell

There are many things a seller can do to facilitate the sale of his/her home, many of which the savvy seller already knows.  In fact, anyone who has sold a home or is thinking of selling a home can probably list ten right off the top of the head.  Make sure the kids pick up the toys; make sure there are no pervasive odors or visible dirt/grime/clutter; put an apple pie in the kitchen to add a homey aroma; add flowers to the kitchen table to brighten up the room; and so on.  However, there is one thing that many sellers don’t consider, or may not know exists.  What is that, you ask? 

Home staging.  It sounds like a strange idea at first.  Why would you hire someone else to put furniture that isn’t yours in your house?  When you think about what it takes to sell your home, however, it starts to make sense to have an expert see your house through buyers’ eyes.  You have lived in your house and made it a home.  You may not be able to be objective about its assets and its flaws.  Even if you do have an accurate idea of the strengths and weaknesses of your house, you may not know the ideal way to highlight the former and take attention away from the latter.  In addition, it’s a buyer’s market right now with many houses waiting to be sold.  You need to make your house stand out from all the others with similar specs so buyers will be drawn to your house first and foremost.  Read more

Our Summer Garden

One thing I love about living in a South Minneapolis home is that I have green things growing all around it. The trouble is, sometimes, the growing gets a little out of hand, and I don’t always have the time to deal with it. Well, the summer growing season is more than over. Most things in my garden were looking… shall I say… a little past their prime. Time for upper management to do a full analysis of how to deal with the situation. Well, upper management decided to do a full inversion of the company structure (till the garden). But before the tiller rips up the ground, let’s review what grew this summer.

First of all, I must confess. It wasn’t a garden, but more of a jungle. It was on the north side of our house where the mower really didn’t fit. We kind of let it grow, and it kind of got out of hand. Our neighbors were kind enough to say that they enjoyed the “native wildflowers” but most of it wasn’t flowers, and I’m sure most of it wasn’t native.

So, what grew? I’m no plant expert or weed expert, but I could identify some of the hardy plants in this “jungle” of ours. The first were those cute little bell-shaped flowering plants, lily of the valley. We like those plants, but since the rest had to go, so did these. Second to grow was Glechoma hederacea, better known as creeping charlie. This stuff is hard to get rid of. Next in line were several donor trees, mostly maple, but an elm, and an oak as well. Trying to get the roots out was truly a workout. Following this was a very special rhubarb-like plant, except it wasn’t rhubarb. At least, I don’t think it was rhubarb. I managed to dig a 12-inch diameter hole 12 inches deep and didn’t get the entire root out. It was deeper than that, but that’s as far as I could shovel. Another interesting plant was something that grew to be about 5 feet tall. This thing had a pod at the top that made it very top heavy. The plant would then bend over and drop seeds out of the pod. I think it was a kind of thistle.

Well, the rest of the things that grew are probably on the U of MN Extension’s site. They have a Garden page, where you can see common weeds. They list 34, and I think we had all 34 growing. But now, after I tilled the whole area, there’s a bunch of black dirt. We are planning on putting down garden fabric and wood chips. Hopefully not much will grow there.  

Is Home Ownership Right For You?

So you’ve come to the realization that you are not best friends with everyone in your building. What made you realize that? Perhaps it was the incessant bass thumping through the night. Or maybe you got back from a major shopping trip, only to find that the nearest parking spot was 2 blocks away. Time to haul 7 bags, 2 blocks over and up 3 flights of stairs. Great. Or was it the time you asked permission to paint the walls purple, and the only response you received was an uncomprehending stare.
No matter what the reason, homeownership is an option that allows you to have seclusion when you need it, to have your own parking spot, to paint the walls whatever color you want, and so much more. Buying a home can be the best decision you’ve ever made, especially in a time when houses in Minneapolis are to be had at a good price, but first, you need to make sure that all the ducks are in a row.
Ask yourself these questions: Are you a financially responsible person, always paying bills on time? Are you handy at fixing things, or have friends or family that are handy? Do you have steady employment that you can reasonably count on to be there for you? If you answer yes to these questions, you have just taken the first step to fulfilling your dream of owning your own Minneapolis home.