Crystal Brummer | Lake Calhoun | Uptown 's Blog

Buying a Home in Hopkins......What to look out for!!

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:42:56 -0700

Several cities in the twin cities metro area have found a way to make some additional income from the state of the economy recently. It's called Vacant Building Registration Fees. Each city has the power to input and enforce the rules on vacant buildings in their city.

These fees can run anywhere from $500 to $6.746. Yes, that is over six thousand dollars. That is the fee that the city of Minneapolis charges for a vacant building in their city. It used to be $1,000 but when more foreclosures started to come up vacant, they decided to increase the fee over 600%. (I would really like to know how they justify this)

Hopkins also charges a Vacant Building Registration Fee of $500 for the first year. It can change by how long the property is vacant for. There are two exceptions: if it is a rental property and the owner has a valid rental license and can show proof of an effort to rent the property and also if the home is for sale and you have proof of that.

If the home had been vacant for some time before it was up for sale, the fee may still apply. Be sure to check with the city if you a buying a foreclosed home or one you think may have been vacant at all because if the seller does not pay for this before you purchase the home, it could become your responsibility.

You can read more about it on their website at http://www.hopkinsmn.com/home/vacant/index.php

Something to be Grateful for.....

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 12:46:46 -0800

Remodeled 4 bedroom 3 bath Home Edina

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 11:37:17 -0800

Beautifully Remodeled home in Edina. This home has 4 bedrooms and 3 baths with a 2 car attached garage. There is new carpeting, tile, and re-finished hardwood floors. There are also new kitchen cabinets, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.

Brummer Realty is here

Thu, 23 Dec 2010 15:45:28 -0800

Brummer Realty has officially been opened!

SOLD....10115 Englewood Dr

Thu, 23 Dec 2010 15:40:20 -0800

Feels Like Home

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 17:40:17 -0700

Wonderful 3 bedroom 2 bath home in Money Magazines BEST PLACE TO LIVE! Remodeled with new cabinets, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors, new carpeting, and neutral paint. This home has a nice deck overlooking a fenced back yard. Just a short drive to Eden Prarie mall and 1/2 block to Homeward Hills Park with many activities including....baseball, soccer fields, tennis courts, sand volleyball, basketball court, off leash dog area, ice skating rink with warming house, bbq grills and picnic tables, and a swing/playground set.

Owner/Broker

SOLD.....9520 23rd Ave N Plymouth 55441 Remodeled Home $125,000!!!

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:35:10 -0700

Remodeled home in Plymouth for $125,000. Yes I did say REMODELED HOME in PLYMOUTH FOR $125,000.

Home has a new roof, gutters, concrete patios, blacktop driveway, outside and inside has been painted, new carpet, tile, updated appliances, new water heater.

This home is MOVE IN READY and a MUST SEE!!! Schedule a showing while the Home Buyer Tax Credit is still available.

Contract for Deed terms available. Please contact me for details.

Great Plymouth House for Rent

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:34:50 -0700

Great 2 bedroom 1 bath home for rent in Plymouth. 1 block from Medicine Lake. New carpet, paint, tile. Attached garage.

Are Banks ILLEGALLY Selling Foreclosures??

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:47:38 -0700

I was recently in a situation where I was helping a buyer purchase a foreclosed home. We found the house, wrote up the contract, both parties signed it and it was binding. The listing agent was doing a horrible job and actually ended up getting fired from the bank selling the home. The bank then hired a new listing agent and I got into contact with him right away and let him know we had a contract on the home and forwarded him all of the documents.

This was on a Thursday. The listing agent (and the bank) completely ignored the fact that we had a binding contract on this house and put it back on the market that Friday. Over the weekend they got a total of 10 more offers from prospective buyers who wanted to purchase the home and the listing agent was trying to manipulate me into getting my client to cancel their purchase agreement.

After hearing this, I got on the phone with my client and told them we need to hire an attorney. I called my real Estate attorney, Greg Soule. I told Greg what the bank was trying to do to my client. He said "they can't do that". I said "I know". Within 24 hours of Greg contacting them the listing agent was calling me to say that they would honor my clients contract.

In the end we did force the bank to live up to their responsibilities and sell the house to my client. Overall, it was not a great real estate experience for the buyers or myself. My client and I both felt like we were being bullied and the bank thought they could do what ever they wanted regardless of our state laws here in Minnesota.

Minneapolis Real Estate Company's Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:04:34 -0800

Twin West Chamber of Commerce welcomes Exit Lakes Realty's Real Estate Grand Opening today at the Minnetonka location. It was a great celebration with lots of fun, food, and most importantly great people! Thank you Twin West and the community for the warm welcome as we settle into our new location on 394 & 169 in Minnetonka

Minneapolis & Hennepin County Real Estate Market Report....October 2008

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:32:45 -0800

Minneapolis & Hennepin County Real Estate & Forclosure Report from the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors Monthly Skinny!

For specific, localized information contact me

4232 Queen Ave Minneapolis Home for Sale Completely Remodeled!!

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:59:41 -0700

Welcome Home to 4232 Queen Ave. This lovely remodeled two story home has many features including a two car garage, new roof, re-finished hardwood floors, new linoleum flooring and new carpet. The kitchen has new stainless steel appliances. You can stay warm this winter with the great fireplace in the living room. This beautuiful home is move in ready with all the appliances included.

This home is proudly marketed by Minneapolis Real Estate Specialist Crystal Brummer and is priced to sell quickly for 139,900.

For more information and to see a Virtual Tour CLICK HERE

3128 Hennepin Ave S #101 Minneapolis MN 55408 2 bedroom Uptown Condo

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:10:04 -0700

Beautifully remodeled 2 bedroom condo in the heart of Uptown just 1 block to Calhoun Square. Contemoprary building exterior with Hardwood floors, Cherry Cabinets, Stainless Steel Appliances, Granite Countertops, Washer/Dryer, and Garage. Building has been very well maintained by small association only 1 of 5 units. Just a few blocks to Lake Calhoun.

Click Here for More Info and a Virtual Tour!

Minneapolis & Hennepin County Home Market Report - July 2008

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:51:24 -0700

Check out this great informational video on the Twin Cities Real Estate market. Something you need to know if you are thinking about buying or selling a home. If you have comments or questions, please let me know...I would love to hear what you think of this!

Uptown & Minneapolis......Best Buy Condo Report

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:44:05 -0700

Looking to buy or sell a condo in Uptown or Minneapolis?? Here are some stats and numbers you may want to consider into making your decision about the approach you will take.

Right now in Minneapolis there are 979 condos for sale. Over the last 30 days 81 condos have sold. Which means, there is currently about 12 condos for every one buyer in the marketplace.

In Uptown there are 260 condos for sale and over the last month 24 condos have sold. That means there are 10.8 condos in Uptown for every one buyer in the marketplace and Uptown is one of the best Minneapolis neighborhoods to be selling your condo right now.

In Downtown there are 484 condos availible for sale right now and 44 have sold in the last month. In Downtown there are 11 condos availible for every one buyer.

This leaves Uptown the best area in Minneapolis to be selling your condo and Downtown coming in just a short distance behind.

The best two neighborhoods to buy in right now are the Phillips Area with 14.5 condos for every one buyer and the Powderhorn Area with 19 condos availible for every buyer. The low buyer activity in these two areas means more room to negotiate with sellers to ensure you a great price when buying.

July 2008 Minneapolis Home Prices....How to Price Your Home for Todays Market

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:36:45 -0700

July 2008 Video Guide on pricing your Minneapolis home to sell. Interested in knowing why the price of your home or listing is so important? or maybe you have your home up for sale or listed in Minneapolis or St Louis Park right now and it has not sold. This may be the last piece of the puzzle you need to get the home sold.

This short 19 minute video gives you a complete break-down on the top things you need to know when pricing your home and finding the right buyer. This is a great informational video to watch, before you meet with a realtor, if you are selling your own home, or if you are a realtor to show to your clients.

I do have a copy if you are selling your home in Minneapolis or St Louis Park I'd be happy to lend it to you. If you are a realtor just click on the picture and it will bring you to a link to get your own copy. The company is local and is located in Edina.

Happy Selling!

Real Estate Training Day in The Magic Words DoJo

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:41:33 -0700

We were excited and exhausted after our wonderful one day Magic Words Workshop in the By Referral Only Magic Words Do Jo. It was a wonderful experience learning only 10 of the many dialogues with the NLP and embedded commands.

Learning with only 10 of the top Realtors and lenders across the country included,

Crystal Brummer, Minneapolis MN Real Estate, Katrina Madewell, Tampa FL Real Estate & Mortgage, Jim Rowland, Redlands CA Real Estate, Karla Early, Modesto CA Real Estate, Sandy & Wendy Collins, San Diego CA Real Estate, Kirsten Jaeb, Half Moon Bay CA Real Estate, Barbara Farner, Dallas TX Real Estate, Jim Urban, Denver CO Real Estate, Tom Drake, Whittier CA Real Estate

Hennepin County Forclosures...A Scam??

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:29:17 -0700

Are the forclosure homes in Hennepin County being given away? With so many of them available, you would think lenders would want to do almost that, just to get rid of some of the inventory they have. And in some cases, some of them may have you thinking just that. However, there may be a peice of the puzzle you do not know.

Now, lenders are using a new tactic to generate massive amounts of interest in their properties. They have been pricing their homes anywhere between $25,000- $200,000 below current market value just to generate un-suspecting buyers to make offers on their properties. Meanwhile, they are not accepting full priced offers and keeping the properties on the market in hopes of generating offers over and above the asking price and create a multiple offer situation.

This means buyers are bidding on homes and having to wait weeks, and in many cases months for lenders to even decide if they are willing to accept the offers. This has been putting extra stress and anxiety on buyers who are hoping to get a good deal.

For lenders, this tactic has been proven to work, but more often has proven that buyers will not wait months just to see if they can purchase the home and will move on to another home.

Happy House Hunting!!

Sell Your Home - Feng Shui

Tue, 20 May 2008 14:24:42 -0700

Sell Your Home - Feng Shui

Do you know why your home is not selling?? Do you know what it is that attracts buyers to "other homes" v.s. yours?? An easy way for you to understand why this is is if you picture when a storm hits. It gets very windy and things get blown around or even blown down and all kinds of chaos happens. You can see all of the effects of the wind, however, you can not actually see the wind itself.

Feng Shui means wind and water. It's the ancient Chinese art of placement and has been around for over 4,000 years. To help you better understand, let me ask you this. Have you ever walked into a home or office and just felt better? or, have you ever walked into a home or office and felt worse? This is the "wind effect" of Feng Shui. The good news is there is a method to help you get your home to a more balanced feel.

Contact me for a free analysis to Get Your Home Sold with Feng Shui at crystalbrummer@exitlakes.com

You can also go to www.Feng-Shui-Vibes.com for more great info on Feng Shui

Minneapolis Real Estate Market....Are Values Going Up??

Thu, 08 May 2008 13:35:39 -0700

Minneapolis Real Estate Market....Are Values Going Up?

Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors have been tracking the activity in the Minneapolis area Real Estate Market. What they found was remarkable. Home prices in the last 2 months have been increasing!! From February 2008 to April 2008 home prices increased upwards of 4.5%

A tremendous improvement from this same time last year.

For a FREE MarketWatch Report of the home prices in your neighborhood call

888.674.9409, ext 13

Vegas Red Rock Rescue

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:55:03 -0700

Las Vegas woman rescued from Red Rock Canyon on Sunday April 13th 2008.

We were at Red Rock Canyon when a woman was being quite adventurous and decided to take her own path through Red Rock Canyon. She was on her way down a rock and realized it was too steep to go any further. When she turned around to go back up, she realized it was too steep to get back up, too. The woman decided to go down the rock and fell 25 feet and at one point falling on her neck. Luckily she landed on a ledge before she would have fallen an additional 50 feet to the ground. Some of the spectators had a cell phone and we called 911. They sent out a Hellicopter Rescue Team and the Las Vegas Fire Department to save her. She came out of it with only a broken ankle and some scrapes.....seeing this makes you think twice about what is important in life!

St Louis Park Mortgage Meltdown... And How to Survive

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 10:04:46 -0800

Well, there is no question about it, our local mortgage market in St. Louis Park is changing. The lenders are changing many guidelines of consumers who fit their profile. Some buyers are being required to have money down or a higher credit score to buy a home.

Some people think it is a bad thing....I think somewhere along the line, someone else will come up with a great solution to help more people. So, it may have a positive impact on the St Louis Park real estate market. We are definitely in interesting times and I'm curious to see what will come of all of the changes!

So, it's a wonderful idea to consult with your mortgage professional before you even start looking at homes. For a list of Pre-Approved Mortgage Consultants email me.

New Construction in St. Louis Park - Where is it?

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:41:51 -0800

If you are looking for a New Construction home or condo in St. Louis Park, I know just where to find all of the information you need. You may have you noticed all of the Parade of Homes signs up in the neighborhood. The Parade of Homes is going on until March 16th so there is still time to get out there and find your New Construction Dream Home.

For a FREE St Louis Park Parade of Homes Guidebook email me and I'll get one out to you right away.

Looking out for you,

Crystal

St Louis Park Rent to Own Opportunity | HOT DEAL | 55416 55426

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 12:28:42 -0800

Have you lost your home or are losing your home to foreclosure? We don't care why but if you still have a steady job and can afford to put a few thousand dollars down to secure a phenomenal rent-to-own property in St Louis Park you NEED to call me ASAP before they are gone. Upon your request I'll send you a list of properties that match what you are looking for and get you into a great deal on rent-to-own today. Bad credit okay! Recent foreclosure on your record is okay! My service is FREE to you!

Call or email me today at:
CrystalBrummer@ExitLakesRealty.com
Direct: 952.697.5813

Warm regards,
Crystal Brummer
Rent-to-Own Specialist/Realtor
EXIT Lakes Realty
CrystalBrummer@ExitLakesRealty.com
952.697.5813

What's Important about a St Louis Park Real Estate Blog?

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:57:16 -0800

I was chatting with some of the twin cities best Realtors and Lenders this morning and we were talking about what a great real estate blog consists of.

Here's what it ended up being.....Providing Value! It's that simple. My purpose in creating this St Louis Park Real Estate Blog is for you to be able to get straightforward information on what is happening directly in our local St. Louis Park Real Estate Market.

And, of course value is only recieved when it is recognized so if you find something of value on The St. Louis Park Real Estate Blog, please let me know and pass it along to someone else you think may recieve value from it.

If you have a specific question about real estate or just a question about St Louis Park email me.

Looking Out For You,

Crystal