Home Conscious

Hiring a guide.

2012-01-14T06:04:00.000-08:00

Every year I go out on the ice during the holiday break and ice fish. I have the same equipment I've had forever. Occasionally I pick up something new but it is rare and it has more to do with the story behind it than whether or not it actually catches fish. I am also prone to an annual manic moment in the Minong Bait shop. Typically after breakfast at the local and too much coffee. I go there and purchase my out of state license. Then, in a moment of optimism, crappie minnnows abandoned in the bag on the counter, I crash down the lure isle in an effort to buy hope and change.

I have many friends on the ice. It is hard in the winter. In the summer no one walks up and knocks on your boat offering free advice. In the winter, they almost grab the pole out of your hand. Which makes me not a very good listener. Sitting there on a turned over five gallon pale, my mind a million miles away. Breathe, stare, anticipate, wonder. Listening to advice or direction is not on the list.

If the day ever comes when I absolutely have to catch fish, I'll hire a guide. I might stay at work and just send him out. That way, I get it done. Then ... I might go ice fishing.

Real Estate and the Serenity Prayer.

2011-07-25T11:32:00.000-07:00

"... grant me the serenity to ignore the fabulous Pottery Barn ensemble on the main floor ..."

In the home buying process, we often encourage clients to NOT accept the things they cannot change. If you do not like those things then don't accept them - reject the property. It is important for buyers to focus on those things you cannot change when considering a home. Lot, location and architectural style are all things you cannot change economically. Make sure that those fixed factors fit your search first. It is important that you are just as in love with your home five years from now as you are now. Kitchens, fireplaces, bathrooms all can be changed. If you have done a good job of choosing the fixed factors, you and a good contractor can tackle some of the things you have decided to live with for awhile.

Be picky about the things you can't change. Focus on those things first. In a buyers market you can add other qualities to the list but, start there. Ask yourself what are the important fixed factors. Do you mind a busy street? Do you want quick access to the freeway. Do you want a deep neighborhood with lots of social potential? These are great questions.

When I see you falling in love with the mosaic counter top in the upstairs bath, I may perform an intervention and strongly suggest you fearlessly consider the neighbors welding shop. Assessors focus on lot, location, architectural style, bedrooms,bathrooms, above ground square footage, and foundation size. Appraisers do too. It is a good place to start. If you hate something down the road that you can't change, you'll be moving sooner than you may have wanted to.

Carefree Living?

2011-07-24T14:08:00.000-07:00

Everyone has moved on. You just spent three hours working on the house. You have thoughts of a loft on the river that you and Smoochie can lock up and leave without worrying about the yard etc. No need to meet the air conditioner guy on Tuesday at 12:00pm or the tile guy at 2. There you are, walking down the hall, headed to the airport, key in your pocket. Gone.

There is alot of merit to that scenario. We help people do it all the time. I have one piece of advice before you pull the trigger. As much as it is a pain to manage the maintenance of a single family home, it can be equally as painful to be involved in an association dealing with those very issues. You think it's a pain to get your gutters redone? Try coordinating it with 35 others through a long standing president who never liked you and prefers you fax things to him. If you have ever been a part of an organisation that manages through consensus, you know what I am talking about. Nothing will make you feel like the life is being sucked out of you faster than sitting in an association meeting. It will make you wish you were back home listening to the tile guy go on adnauseum about his dog. At least you can walk away from him in a split second purposeful move,finger raised, and still have some level of confidence that the project will happen in this biennium.

There are a few factors we look at when evaluating things. All associations provide documentation regarding the financial health of an association. You can get an idea of the reserves on hand for bigger projects. A home inspector can be a good person to talk to regarding any deferred maintenance issues that would result in major cash outlays down the road. I like to review information about construction. When was it built, by whom, how many units are there, what is the non-owner occupied to owner occupied ratio etc. Exterior issues like the roof, walks, paint, driveways can be an indicator of what is coming down the pike and if they are planning for it. If they are, then off you go. Down the hall to the airport. Key in hand. If they haven't and the people running the association have personality issues as well as management skill deficiencies, lordie lordie... you'll be calling your old painter just to check in.

There are many wonderful, well managed developments. God bless the people that run them. The association fee you pay often times you pay gladly not to have to mess with the hassles of owning. Just know that there is a level of involvement in a townhome or condo development. Research the association as much as the unit. After you do, you may decide to keep this weeks appointment with your lawn guy.

Buying here in this market.

2011-07-22T18:35:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid, we built forts. We averaged at least a fort every six months depending on whether some deed wielding property owner discovered us. We weren't concerned about title at that point in our lives. We chose a location and then we started building. We relied on the material that made itself available from the closest legitimate build job and reprieve from the mosquitoes. I was a bit more enthusiastic about it than my friends. You can actually carry a full sheet of plywood on your back while riding a ten speed - go easy into the corners.

There is something in my DNA related to real estate. My Grandfather came from a stretch of hardscrabble in Norway to homestead in North Dakota. My other Grandpa farmed in Walnut Grove. You can't shake that in a couple generations. You can't leave that packed in a box in a rented apartment too long.

Buying may make sense in this market if you are planning to own for at least the next six or more years. The mechanics of a wise purchase include decent rates, ample inventory, and a solid local economy. Those three factors exist in the Twin Cities. The grandpa that used to farm in Walnut Grove had it out with the old man, packed his bags, and joined two guys that were starting a bank called Twin City Federal. He rode the street car selling pass book savings accounts. The ride was a nickle. The bank was good to him. He still had an office there when he was 90 years old. He always said that we are insulated here. Milling, Technology, Agriculture, Health Care, a diverse entrepreneurial economy. We never go as low as the rest of the country and we recover faster.

house poetry

2011-07-21T10:17:00.000-07:00

House on the hill with lawn so green

what are your issues unforeseen

You got me with your sweet location

are you worth the yearly amortization

that seems to make the whole thing work

the seller seems like kind of a jerk

his mother lived there all those years

I just don't know if you'll bring me to tears

OK let's just think this through

possession, inspection, arbitration too

third party report in lieu of disclosure

appraisal, work order addendum moreover

let's throw in a few what if's

like that credit report car payment miff

underwriting might spit me out

on account of the questionable credit clout

better get an agent to stand in for me

the listing agent would rather see

the full price paid for that old place

my agent though has pulled out an ace

a sale that happened two doors down

that has the property value 'round

two thirds of what there asking

including repair of the sewer run leaking

The Grotting Group

www.thegrottings.com

Ron Paul’s revolution does not belong to the Baby Boomers.

2008-01-12T19:35:00.000-08:00

Thursday I watched the candidates roll their eyes while Ron Paul hastily tried to covey the solutions to the worlds’ complex issues. Foreign policy. Monetary policy. Immigration. They shifted and shook their heads while Ron Paul tried, in thirty seconds, to explain the complexities and inter connected nature of our problems. It reminded me of high school. He’s the quirky nerd that gets laughed at and picked on. He’s the Bill Gates of politics.

There is a fundamental disconnect between my generation and Paul’s message. We have invested too much of our salvation in Washington. We’re tired and value our security way too much. We look in the mirror and believe Washington is keeping us prosperous and safe. Washington is holding the whole thing together. Our saviors come freshly tanned and coifed and speak of “hope and change” but, not really. We like our nerds at the Fed. Leave the details out. You get a guy like Paul in there talking substance and we get uncomfortable. We want to put our letter jackets on and say a cheer. That’s what the election is about. Like the parent getting caught with the Marlboro Light out on the deck, we just want to grind through this election process. “No honey, the neighbors are just having a fire. Go to sleep.”

The under thirty crowd seem to call a charade a charade. The problem came when an intellectual showed up who really thought about this stuff. The messenger is disheveled yet likable, the message is pure freedom. Abundant opportunity, incredible buying power, and world peace (or as close as you can get to it). We just don’t get it. We stand, shift and smile. Like the candidates, when we get lost, we roll our eyes and smirk like teenagers.

Opportunity is knocking on Ron Paul’s door. In Gates’ case it was IBM. In Ron Paul’s case it’s Gen X, Gen Y, you name it. They get it. Ron Paul’s revolution belongs to them.

Steve Grotting from Independence, MN