St. Paul Real Estate Blog - All about St. Paul, Minnesota - By: Teresa Boardman

Time 2020-10-28 11:04:08

Web Name: St. Paul Real Estate Blog - All about St. Paul, Minnesota - By: Teresa Boardman

WebSite: http://www.stpaulrealestateblog.com

ID:97081

Keywords:

Estate,Blog,Real,

Description:

Last year we had the house re-roofed. The roof was 31 years old and repairs were made to it, flashing was added, vents were added but eventually, the roof just wasn t up to the job. When it rained outside it also rained inside.Nothing like a new roof to make a house look nice and tidy and almost newish. That is the thing about old houses, they can be retrofitted and preserved.Roofs are expensive and they aren t as much fun as interior type projects that we can see and appreciate every day. They are essential and protect the house from rain and snow.The first thing I do when I look at a house is look at the roof. My home buyer clients will tell you that I always comment on the roof .Shopping for a roofing contractor is a special kind of hell. The people who do the best work are the worst at returning phone calls or answering emails.Over the years our old house has been updated and retrofitted many times. It was built before there was indoor plumbing. There was an outhouse instead of a bathroom. It now has two bathrooms and a kitchen sink and one in the basement, a washing machine, and a hot water heater.It was built before the telephone was invented and used to have telephones in it. At one time it had cable TV too but I won t go into that. It has had Wifi for many years.The house did not have electricity in it until it was at least 30 years old. It was well over 100 years old when we added central air. It would have been hard to add central air before the house had electricity.Sure there are times when I think that a new house would be wonderful but I know they don t build them like they used to and building a house is very expensive and not as environmentally friendly as recycling and retrofitting.If you like old houses you will love St. Paul, Minnesota!Share this:TwitterLinkedInFacebookLike this:Like Loading... I recently read an article about how home buyers will go over budget for a house with enough space in the right neighborhood.Dormeneighborhood. For most people, part of what makes a house perfect is the location.Spending too much on a house has a long-lasting impact. We call it being house poor and being house poor will color every aspect of your life.Overspending a little happens. Those who overspend by a lot regret it.People who buy more affordable houses have some flexibility and an easier time to get through job losses and life changes.Houses need to be maintained which can be hard to afford when the budget is already stretched.Set a limit when house hunting and stick to it. Your older self will thank you for that. There is no perfect nieghborhood or location or house.Share this:TwitterLinkedInFacebookLike this:Like Loading... In case you haven t heard this is an election year. If you haven t voted yet you can vote tomorrow and in-person if you like.  If you are voting by absentee ballot you can still drop it off in person or it may get there on time if mailed today. The mail isn t as fast as it used to be.My husband and I decided to drop off our absentee ballots in person. There was a line. We handed our ballots to an election worker who checked the envelope to make sure it was filled out correctly and signed.By delivering the ballots we know they were received. I generally trust the mail but I don t want to take any chances.If you are using an absentee ballot read the instructions carefully. The ballot goes into three envelopes and they need to be in the right order. One of the envelopes needs to have a signature and an id number.You can of course vote on election day. The polls will be open from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM and there will be face masks, hand sanitizer, and social distancing.We probably will not know what the results of the election are right away and that is alright. Let s not forget that there is a pandemic and is has inconvenienced many people even to the point of death.Pro tip: If you wear a mask please make sure it covers your nose.VOTEShare this:TwitterLinkedInFacebookLike this:Like Loading... It is Friday and Fridays are for fun. Somehow I must have known it was going to snow this week because last weekend I got out the snow shovels and put the garden tools away and turned off the outdoor water spigots and rolled up the hoses.I put most of the outdoor type chairs and tables away and brought the terracotta flower pots inside after I removed the plants.I even stopped at the dry cleaners and picked up our winter coats. The whole time I was thinking that I am way ahead of schedule this year because it isn t even Halloween yet.Speaking of Halloween I laughed when someone compared this week s snowfall with the Halloween snowstorm of 1991. Not even close. On  Halloween, in 91 we got 28 inches of snow in the metro area and 37 inches in the northern part of the state.The 1991 storm lasted a couple of days and as I recall the snow all melted before we got more. This time around it isn t melting so fast and it fell 11 days earlier but it is 2020 so we can say it is normal. I understand we are going to break some records for cold and snow in the next few days.There are still green leaves on some of the trees and the flowers on my porch are still alive and blooming.Maybe the fall weather will return. Anything is possible, especially this year.Taken on Monday before the snow Upper Landing ParkShare this:TwitterLinkedInFacebookLike this:Like Loading... Panama Flats and Irvine Exchange apartmentsThe best part of my job is when I get to work with first time home buyers and I have worked with many first time homebuyers, probably more than 100.Yesterday a local teacher and client of mine closed on a beautiful loft downtown St. Paul. She turned 30 a few months ago. The average age of first-time homebuyers is around 33 and the median age of home buyers last year was 47. [National Association of Realtors Data].The oldest first time home buyers I ever worked with were women in their late 50 s. One of the women had rented her entire life and decided that she wanted to invest in a place of her own.She loved the apartment she was renting and comparing it with what she could buy at the time set the bar pretty high. We looked for months until she bought a beautiful condo just off Grand Avenue in St. Paul.Another first-time homebuyer was divorced and bought her first home as a single person when she was over 55.  She bought an adorable little rambler that has been recently rehabbed.The youngest first-time homebuyer I ever worked with was 19, I have worked with several who were in their early twenties.The oldest home buyers I ever worked with were 78 years old. They downsized from a house to a townhouse. They weren t first time home buyers but I am including them as an interesting statistic.Working with homebuyers is generally harder work than working with sellers. It is extra challenging because of the seller s market and the pandemic. Working with an experienced REALTOR is more important than ever.Share this:TwitterLinkedInFacebookLike this:Like Loading... One of my clients spent three years getting her house ready to sell. She got rid of decades worth of stuff and decluttered every room.Real estate professionals often talk about decluttering a home before it is put on the market but what is clutter?Here are some examples:We always advise home sellers to clean and declutter before putting a home on the market, but what is clutter? We don t all define clutter the same way. I define it as stuff that distracts potential home buyers.The stuff keeps potential buyers from seeing the beauty of the home. Here are a few items that become clutter once the home is for sale:Family photos.Antique TeapotWall calendars.Refrigerator magnets.Too many house plants, real or fake.Too many booksDoiliesThrow rugs Extra dining room chairsLarge ottomansLarge coffee tablesExtra end tablesCollections of almost anythingThe important thing to remember is that it is alright to use our homes anyway we see fit but when it comes to selling a home it is all about marketing. Women, in particular, react negatively to clutter . Less really is more and when in doubt, leave it out. The general idea is to make the space look larger and a bit more generic.My list is only partial and has the most common items that I ask homeowners to remove from rooms. Homes that are not decluttered sell too. The list is aimed at the homeowners that want to go that extra mile and put some effort into getting the most money for their home in the least amount of time.The longer people have lived in a home the harder it is for them to de-clutter. As a service to my clients, I go through their homes before they put them on the market and make suggestions.Share this:TwitterLinkedInFacebookLike this:Like Loading...

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All about St. Paul, Minnesota - By: Teresa Boardman

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