• Minneapolis neighborhoods profiled in new book

    A recent article by Ellen Tomson in Minneapolis’ Pioneer Press describes local historian and author Larry Millett’s research and subsequent book on Minneapolis’ historic neighborhoods. excerpt:

    Larry
    Millett biked the streets of St. Paul and Minneapolis for three summers
    to produce his latest book, (the) AIA Guide to the Twin Cities, the first
    major neighborhood-by-neighborhood handbook of its kind.

    But the foundation of his 665-page book was decades of
    research and writing about the Twin Cities, first as a Pioneer Press
    reporter, columnist and critic, and then as author of Lost Twin Cities, Twin Cities Then and Now, and Strange Days, Dangerous Nights, all which focused on local structures and events.

    "The book is the result of three years of work and, in a sense,
    it’s the work of a lifetime since I’ve worked here all my life," says
    Millett, 59, who grew up in North Minneapolis and has spent much of his
    adult life in St. Paul.

  • Realty Advocates: the under-pricing epidemic

    Brett Weinstein and Hal Feiger sell real estate in the San Francisco Bay Area. Their firm, Realty Advocates, advertises "full real estate services at reduced fees," and they really do approach their jobs as a trade and craft and not just a get-quick scheme – Hal is very active in the development of non-profit affordable housing in the area, and even found the synagogue I grew up with (Rabbi Burt officiated my Bar Mitzvah!), Kehilla, a permanent home in the East Bay. Brett, on the other hand, has worked as a carpenter and general contractor, and knows a lot more about quality construction than most of the agents I interact with. Basically, I’d buy a house from these guys.

    Recently, they added a blog to their site; one recent article caught my eye. Read the complete article at their site:

    You know the practice: suggesting, or going along with a seller’s
    idea, that the best way to obtain the highest price in the sale of a
    house is to deliberately ask a price that is well below what you expect
    it to sell for. A more odious variation: agreeing to list a property at
    a price the seller has told you he would not accept. You figure this is
    pretty safe: everything gets bid up these days. The SF Chronicle
    recently dubbed this the “under-pricing epidemic.”

    Sometimes this practice is blatant, as when the
    agent puts in the confidential remarks section of the MLS: “seller
    reserves the right to reject any and all offers.” Other times, it is
    hidden, as when offer day comes and you, the buyer’s agent, deliver the
    only offer. You are then countered at a price ten of thousands, and
    sometimes, hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the asking price.
    In essence, the buyer is being told to bid against himself.