Much has been written about the responsibilities of Realtors in working with clients to set the right price for their home.  It's a vital part of the sale process, particularly in this market.  All of the skills and expertise that Realtors possess come to bear on this responsibility - knowledge of the local and regional markets, neighborhood trends, technology for performing accurate comparative market analyses, etc.  Yet sometimes, I fear the increasingly sophisticated tools of our trade pull us more and more to view our clients' homes as commodities rather than palaces of repose for the many memories that our clients have created and will create.

Understanding a home's "story" and finding creative ways to convey it to consumers can make a home more valuable in any market, particularly in today's competitive market for sellers.  I'm going to include in this blog the stories of some of the unique homes that have caught my fancy in my market, the Lowcountry of South Carolina, and elsewhere.

The first is a home in Canby, Minnesota that tells my story. 

Olaf Hoel was born in Tonset, Norway in 1841.  The eighth of 10 children, he immigrated to this country where on July 16, 1876, he was ordained a minister at Washington Prairie near Decorah, Iowa.  In August of that year, Olaf moved to Canby, Minnesota where he became the Pastor for the St. Stephens Congregation of Canby.  Reverend Hoel was my great-grandfather.

On August 19, 1876, Olaf married Mary Lund of Canby.  They brought 8 children into the world, the youngest of whom was Omer, my grandfather.  It was in Canby that Reverend and Mary Hoel have left a legacy that my family cherishes today.  Mary's father built a home and sold it to Olaf in 1903.  It was "one of the best resident properties in Canby and has, without a doubt, the finest surroundings."  The "49 day wonder" Victorian home was built by John Lund in 1891 and eventually enlivened with decorative balconies, a turret and gingerbread trim.  The home remained in my family for the next half century and when finally sold went somewhat into disrepair.

But in 1976, the town of Canby recognized the potential and looked "into the possibility of starting a Canby Museum" with the Lund-Hoel House.  The town purchased the home and over the years to follow was able to retrieve from my family members many of the items and furnishings that were in the home at the turn of the century, including my great grandfather's Bible and his daughter Nella Hoel's "prized Everett upright piano."  Eventually, the home looked as it had when Olaf's family first resided there.

The "Lund-Hoel House" now is a museum on the National Register of Historic Homes.   You can pay it a visit online at www.canbymuseums.org.  More about the home in later entries.