Summer is finally here for owners in Minneapolis Lakes area homes and downtown Minneapolis condos.  For the few months that provide respectable grilling conditions outdoors below is a handy info graphic to review prior to getting into the swing of things.

Easy tips for grilling like a pro! (Infographic)! (Infographic)

Here's a helpful list of the correct equipment you will need to grill outside:

  • A gas or charcoal grill. You can use both, and each one has its advantages. Gas is easy to light, control, and clean. Charcoal is a lot more work, but it gives food a smokiness that gas can never imitate. If you use charcoal, you also need a starter: don't even think about lighter fluid! And of course, whatever grill you use, the grates should be reasonably clean and alway oil before use.
  • A pair of tongs.…

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This is a person who just submitted an offer on a Minneapolis condo   The Minneapolis real estate market is rapidly changing.  We are nearly in the middle of 2013 with a supply of real estate inventory at record lows across most of the twin cities market.  There are more Buyers out prowling the market than Sellers.  Good properties priced right will naturally draw multiple offers from this real estate market scenario.  Buyers looking for an edge need a seasoned realtor but also an edge to win out in multiple offers--here's our collection of sage advice.  

Submit a Large Earnest Money Deposit.

  Pending Minneapolis home sales have been known to fall apart.  Many Sellers are worried that once they commit to an offer, the winning buyers might back out of the transaction or default on the contract after all the other…

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This couple is thinking about selling their Minneapolis condoHere in Minneapolis, there are a few thousand real estate agents who handle residential properties.  Some of these Minneapolis realtors work part-time, some of them full-time, some good, bad and in between. So how do you know which one to hire when you are thinking about selling your Minneapolis condo or Minneapolis home? And how do you know which agent  specializes in the market?  Depending on whether you live in the North Loop, around the lakes area, or somewhere in between? Here are a few tips to consider when choosing that right Minneapolis Realtor to list your home for sale:

  1. Don’t hire someone who is a close friend or family. I'll be brutally honest, (and this is #1 for a reason) you simply can’t mix business and friends/family. Your home is…

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Updated Rules for FHA Loans for Minneapolis Lofts and Condos

    For a fleeting moment in 2011 and even into a good part of this year downtown Minneapolis condos and lofts was in question for a financing standpoint.  That's because so many building's FHA status was expiring. 

  This was forcing the homeowners association boards to resubmit updated highly detailed documentation to FHA regarding the finances of their respective building.  One of the questions asked by FHA as part of the approval process involved the amount of renter to owner units in the building.  Another question referenced the amount of commercial to residential square footage of the building.  Still other questions asked about the balance sheet of the building along with the most…

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During the boom of the market…

IVY Condos Minneapolis Nothing was going to stop the train of development that seemed never ending in downtown Minneapolis in the mid 2000s.  Across the skyline, cranes dotted the urban landscape.  They were a symbol to everyone that something was  happening on that given lot in the city.  

  Enter the IVY Hotel & Condos which began marketing during what some would consider the crest of the wave in Minneapolis urban development during the last decade.  

  Once the project was originally put on the market units were snapped up at record pace.  Rumor on the street was that in a matter of weeks 90% of the units were either reserved or under contract.  Construction on the tower began in earnest.  Then the correction started..

  Suddenly…

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Minneapolis Parking Lot  Throughout the core of downtown Minneapolis there are over 140 surface level parking lots.  The lots range in size and scope--recently the city won a grant from the Met Council to look into the benefits of developing these lots as the next frontier to meet the city's goal of attracting 70,000 residents by 2025.  

  The asphalt is so abundant that a teacher has made a hobby out of snapping photos of the frequently deserted parking lots and posting them on his new blog, "Empty Lots," along with catalogues of other missed opportunities in urban planning.

  Now city planners are considering how to transform the lots into the kind of dense, urban development needed to meet the city's aim of doubling the downtown population over the next decade.

 A…

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Loring Park Neighborhood    When it was created in the 1970's, the Loring Park Development District was the Twin Cities' most comprehensive and significant effort to attract middle- and upper-income residents to the inner city. The area between downtown and Loring Park presented a classic example of the decline of a prestigious neighborhood at the edge of a city's center. In the early 1970's the city's planners and downtown interests produced a series of plans to be followed by development proposals for the area.

  The Metro Center '85 plan, recommended by the Downtown Council and adopted by the Minneapolis Planning Commission in 1973, pointed out the potential for high density residential redevelopment around Loring Park. The previous year the city council had officially…

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  Not too long ago in the mid 2000s when the development boom was in full swing there was plenty of talk about multiple grocers coming to downtown Minneapolis.  In 2006 Lunds eyed a small parcel on 12th and Hennepin with the hopes of putting a multi story grocery in the historic Reno Motor Company which was a car showroom built in the early 1900s.  A developer from out west had aquired the old Jaguar site on Hennepin and Washington with an ambitious plan to erect a tower with a Whole Foods at the base of the building.  There was even talk of a Trader Joe's going into the Mill District.  For a fleeting moment it was all going to happen-until the boom became bust.   

  Fast forward to 2012 and we are seeing glimmers across the downtown real estate…

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ipad for real estate  Each day technology becomes even more impressive as new tools, products and apps are rolled out that truly have a place in our daily life. It can be exciting and exhausting to try to find the ones that will benefit you. As a Minneapolis condo buyer, it can be overwhelming to narrow down all the choices.  

  With that in mind, I’ve made my real estate website tech and mobile friendly in the hope that you will find the results you need in your search, however, when it comes to buying a condo downtown or a home around the Minneapolis lakes area, these apps may be of benefit to you as well.

  Many of these apps are even offered free of charge, although they may request your location information in order to produce the results you desire. If you want…

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  What was the cost of your last fill-up at the pump? It is no secret that gas prices are at a record high across the country. In 2011, the yearly national average for a gallon of gas was $3.513, a whopping 72.6-cents per gallon higher than the national average price for 2010. This translates to the typical American spending $400 more in 2011 than 2010. Commuting is becoming more and more expensive as the summer months near with per-gallon pricing likely to exceed $5 for regular unleaded. 

  While one solution could be to downsize your inefficient truck or SUV to a more economical commuter, relocating closer to your downtown office could end your gas woes permanently. Condo living in the Mill District, North Loop, and downtown Minneapolis areas is…

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