Spanish Revival Style

Minneapolis Spanish House Styles

It’s Minna again, and this time I am blogging about my absolute favorite style of house–Spanish Mission.  Well, to be more precise, I will be blogging about the Spanish Revival Style as we do not have many Missions in Minnesota.  Spanish Missions are mainly in California, but we do have some impressive Spanish Colonials and Mediterraneans in Minneapolis.

Common Characteristics of Spanish Style Houses

How do you recognize a Spanish-flavored house?  First of all, the red clay roof is a dead giveaway.  Sometimes the roof is blue or another color, but it is most often a distinctive red.  The Spanish Colonial is an ornate house that has the structure of a Colonial with arched doorways and windows, wrought-iron railings on balconies that overlook the Mediter–er, Lake Harriet, and stately columns that may support an arched entryway.

The Mediterranean, on the other hand, is much less ostentatious, but similarly evocative of romance and European je ne sais quois.  A Mediterranean sports the ubiquitous red clay roof and also incorporates wrought-iron railings, but in a more elegant manner.  Both may have a bell tower or a suggestion of a bell tower as well.

Visit Houses Of Minneapolis .com

If you would like to learn more about the Spanish Revival Style, visit www.HousesofMinneapolis.com where there is plenty of information about this style as well as other character styles.  Hope to see you there.

Are You Ready to Buy a Home?

Factors to Consider Before Purchasing a Minneapolis Home

There are many factors in determining where or when you buy your first home, but first ask yourself these questions:

Do you have a steady source of income (usually a job)?

Have you been employed on a regular basis for the last 2-3 years?

Is your current income reliable?

Do you have a good record of paying your bills on time?

Do you have few outstanding long-term debts, like car payments?

Do you have money saved up for a down payment?

Do you have the ability to pay a mortgage every month, along with taxes, insurance, and utilities?

If you can answer “YES” to these questions, you are probably ready to buy your own home.

Carbon Monoxide Detectors Required

Carbon Monoxide Detector Placement

Did you know that Minnesota Law Stat. 299.51 now requires carbon monoxide detectors within 10 feet of legal bedroom in existing homes? This law was passed last year and required CO detectors in new construction houses last year. But it also put into effect the same requirements for existing houses effective this year.

As of Aug 1, 2008, all existing houses are now required to have CO detectors within 10 feet of legally defined sleeping room, aka bedrooms. This is great as the CO detectors can save lives. But what bothers me is that most hallways in houses I’ve been in don’t have outlets.

These $50 devices can save lives. At my parents’ house, one night it went off. The next day I checked it out and the water heater vent pipe came loose. Apparently the installer only used 1 screw to attach the vent pipe. A couple of years later, the vent pipe came loose and was spilling CO into the house.

Little Touchups that Mean Alot

Research Before Buying a House

Hi, it’s Minna again, and I am back!  This time, I am blogging about how to sell your house in this tough market.  Many people think they have to totally rehaul their house in order to sell it, but that’s not true.  All it takes is a little bit of ingenuity to make your home stand out from the rest. 

Let me give you a hypothetical.  Let’s pretend that I am a first-time homebuyer looking for a house in the Powderhorn area.  What is the first thing I’m going to do?  Most likely, I am going to go online and research the area.  How?  Why, I’d go to www.StevenHong.com, of course, and use his search engine.  I’d put in the price range and other specs I had in mind (such as year of house built, number of bedrooms/bathrooms, etc.), and I’d see what I came up with.

Once I got my results, I would immediately discard any listing without pictures or a description of the house.  With this being a buyer’s market, I can afford to be even pickier than I normally would be.  Then, I would look through the pics of the remaining houses and see what immediately catches my eye.  Anything that didn’t elicit a, “That’s cute” or, “I like that one” or even an, “Interesting” gets deleted.  I would go from there.

How to Make Your Minneapolis Home More Attractive

This brings me to my point.  When I look at pictures of houses, the first thing I notice is color.  Maybe I’m unique in that, but I don’t want rooms that are all white or all monochromatic.  A maroon room or a sage-green room alone would be enough to get a second look, if not a third.  Empty rooms are not inviting, either.  A little bit of staging with, say, a vase of fresh gladiola immediately perks up an otherwise arid room. 

The changes don’t need to be overarching and on a grand scale.  A few little touches here and there can increase your house’s saleability, and they are a lot easier on your wallet, too.

Frank Lloyd Wright….Service Station?

Hi, I’m Minna, and I’ll be your guest blogger for the day–I hope you enjoy your stay. 

Today’s topic is Frank Lloyd Wright’s service station, also called the Lindholm Service Station because it was built for the Lindholm Oil Co., in Cloquet because it’s celebrating its 50^th anniversary, and I heard it being discussed on MPR on the way to work. 

It seems funny to be talking about a Frank Lloyd Wright service station as a gas station doesn’t seem compatible with the man who invented the Prairie School Style of architecture.  I mean, what would such a structure look like?  Actually, the service station does have typical Prairie School features such as a cantilevered roof, lots of windows, and projecting eaves.  It was Wright’s vision of Utopia and what he dreamed America could one day be.

Here is a slideshow on MPR of the gas station:

Frank Lloyd Wright Gas Station

For the celebration, anyone driving a classic car will get gas at fifties’ prices, and the attendants will be wearing fifties’ uniforms.  There are a whole array of events which are listed here (HTML rather than PDF):

Frank Lloyd Wright Gala

I wish I had known about this earlier so I could have blogged about it before the day it happened, but if you have a few hours free today, you might want to attend.  Make a comment below if you do go-we’d love to hear about it.

National Night Out Minneapolis

National Night Out is coming up on the first Tuesday in August. It is a great way to get together with neighbors! This year, the organization that heads up NNO (i didn’t even know there was one), is in the headlines with some controversy. Apparently the president of the charitable organization, National Association of Town Watch, is taking a salary that is 33% of the organizations budget.

I’m not sure why that should matter about where or when neighbors get together for a block party. Our block is quite active and we get together 4 or 5 times each year anyway. We would participate in NNO regardless of who is running the organization, or what the day is called.

This year, we’ll meet in the street, with tables and chairs and grills in tow. We’ll have a pot-luck and lots of activities for the kids, and some great conversation.

Green Home Guide

Everybody is talking green, and by green, I don’t mean money. Green is in. It’s the latest thing.

The government has gotten into the act by forming ENERGY STAR, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy.  This program rates different appliances, office equipment, home electronics and more (there are over 50 categories total) to identify the most efficient of them all.  If an item has rated an ENERGY STAR, you can be assured that it has met strict guidelines for energy efficiency. 

For example, an ENERGY STAR dishwater are at least 25% more efficient that contemporary conventional models.  In addition, an ENERGY STAR clothes washer cuts watery and energy consumption by over 40% as well. 

I found these statistics in the RE/MAX-published Green Home Guide which also has useful tips on how to make your home more green, and best of all, it’s free for the asking.  The guide is clear, concise, and full of practical advice that anyone can follow.

This guide includes:

• What is a Green Home?
• 5 Essential Things to Keep in Mind
• Green Return On Investment
• And more….

Just send me an e-mail and I’ll send you a pdf.

Smart Renovator Guide

As your agent, my concern for you does not stop at getting you in the front door.  Once you have bought your dream house, you will likely notice that there are a few things that need touching up or a makeover.  Whether you are interested in reselling your home at some point or in staying there for an indefinate number of years, there is a huge upside to renovating your home.

First, if you are going to sell it, smart renovations can exponentially increase your return.  Remodeling your kitchen or bathroom is always a good choice, but you want to make sure any renovations you do fit with the rest of your house.

There are many things to consider before you tackle a home renovation job, such as should you do it yourself or hire a professional.  To that end, RE/MAX has put together the Smart Renovator Guide, which is free for the asking. I have several hard copies left, as well as a pdf version. Just let me know which you would like to have.

This quick guide includes:

• Return on Renovation Charts
• Renovation Red Alert
• 6 Suggestions for Successful Home Improvements
• And more…

Request your copy today.

Smart Buyer Guide

Many times, searching for the perfect house seems to be a daunting task.  There are so many things to consider, including location, surrounding environs, not to mention features of the house.  With all these thoughts racing through your head, it’s easy to overlook one salient fact or another. 

The first thing to do is make a list of what is absolutely nonnegotiable to you as a buyer, what you are willing to negotiate on, and what doesn’t matter as much to you.  Not only will it give you a clearer picture of what you want in a house, it will make your dream seem more concrete. 

This is just one tip available in the RE/MAX Smart Buyer Guide, which is free for the asking. I have several hard copies left, as well as a pdf version. Just let me know which you would like to have.

There are also other helpful hints such as wearing comfortable clothing and sturdy shoes to go looking at houses.  It seems like common sense once you hear it, but it’s not necessarily something one would think of beforehand.

This short guide includes:

• House Hunting Tips
• 20 Questions for Picking the Perfect Neighborhood
• Mortgage Myths
• 10 Simple Steps to House Buying
• And more….

Request your copy today.

Smart Seller Guide

There is a lot of information available for the first-time buyer, but not so much for the first-time seller.  If you’ve never sold a house before, it may seem as if everyone is speaking a different language.  There seems to be a million things that need to be done, and so little time in which to do them.  You may be flummoxed by what needs to be inspected and what doesn’t, how much your home is really worth, and other such important details.

It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the situation and to wonder if you’ve thought of everything.  ith that in mind, RE/MAX has put together the Smart Seller Guide which has plenty of helpful hints for all sellers, but especially for first-time sellers.  It is a great place to start, and it’s free for the asking. I have several hard copies left, as well as a pdf version. Just let me know which you would like to have.

This short guide includes:

• 30 Questions for First-time Sellers
• Smart Seller Dos and Don’ts
• 6 Suggestions for Successful Home Selling
• And more….

Request your copy today.