Archive for the 'North Minneapolis' Category
NoMi Home Tour…What makes it tick like it does?
July 17th, 2010 Categories: Minneapolis Home Buyers and Sellers, My Listings, North Minneapolis, Real Estate News, That Flippin' House, Twin Cities Home Buyers, Twin City Sellers
Unbelievable to some, the area (click here for a map) of North Minneapolis is a vibrant, solid and happy piece of real estate that many consider scary and decayed.
Wake up, my Twin Cities people!
Most every week, I end up defending this distinct area. I grew up in the City of Detroit (really!) and, believe me, this is like Beverly Hills, compared to the Detroit area. In fact, where I grew up, my house has been bulldozed, along with a 2 square mile stretch that I called home to me and my friends and neighbors. (Pheasants now inhabit the area. Yuck.)
Each individual neighborhood in North has its own committees that work as hard as can be to boost the homes and businesses that lay among their turf. Granted, there are shootings and robberies in North that take us back a few steps, but for for the most part, these hard-working, good citizens have a lot to be proud of.
Today, Sunday, July 18th, the NoMi Home Tour will be happening for those potential buyers who would like to live in a great city and have access to downtown only within minutes…seriously, just a couple of minutes! The homes are vintage mission style bungalows that speak to quality, charm and good neighbor issues.
Please join us Realtors who have invested in our clients the opportunity to view and purchase some of the most unique and cared-for homes in the Twin Cities.
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That Little Gray House With The Black Shutters…With a Big Past!
June 11th, 2009 Categories: North Minneapolis, Real Estate News, That Flippin' House, Twin Cities Home Buyers, Twin Cities Real Estate Economy, Twin City Sellers
Don’t get me wrong, I like nothing more than to tell a “feel good” story without a past. Unfortunately, life doesn’t always swing that way.
Lucky for a few, my client, Jennifer, aka, Flipper Girl, makes dreams come true. Now, I’m not a Pollyanna-type blog writer and, trust me, Jennifer isn’t the Pollyanna type either, but she is all over making dreams come true.
This week, I had a reporter from the Star Trib call me for some info about a house that Jennifer rehabbed. Turns out, it was the very first house that was given up by the Greater Minneapolis Housing Corporation. That’s no easy feat. I had a few discussions with the powers-that-be over there. I had to send pics of the other homes that Miss Jennifer had rehabbed to make sure the they would accept her work on the FIRST EVER TJ WACONIA property to be turned over to the public.
They said, “OK”. That’s a BIG DEAL!
Here’s the story of the woman who purchased it from Jennifer that was written by the Star Trib in yesterday’s paper…
Program helps heal wounds of North Side housing fraud
The house sits on a quiet street across from a fire station. The gray stucco looks freshly painted and the front windows are framed by black shutters. Inside, hardwood floors gleam in the morning sun as Jackline Mukiibi, 25, shows off her home, the first home owned by anyone in her family.
Daughter Ava, 3, is away at day care, but her photos sit atop a shelf. Over by the stereo is evidence of a fledgling modeling career, a Target ad featuring the toddler.
It doesn’t look like a house with a notorious past, but it is. Mukiibi’s tidy home was part of the TJ Waconia real estate scam that washed through the North Side. Over a three-year period, developers Jonathan Helgason and Thomas Balko of TJ Waconia bought and resold houses for inflated prices to straw-buyer investors, triggering a foreclosure crisis that left many homeless and many homes abandoned. In April, Helgason and Balko were sentenced to eight and seven years in federal prison, respectively, for their crimes.
Mukiibi represents an effort to reclaim that part of the city, one house at a time. Hers is believed to be the first of the 141 homes from the scam to be sold.
Working through City of Lakes Community Land Trust and taking savvy advantage of several other programs that encourage home ownership, Mukiibi cobbled together a mortgage loan and down payment and moved from her tiny apartment in February.
Mukiibi paid $703 a month for her apartment. Now she lives in a three-bedroom, two-bath house with a finished basement, family room and a fenced yard for $728 per month.
Born in Uganda, Mukiibi came to the United States with her parents when she was 2 years old. “I dreamed of owning a house when I was a little girl,” she said. But she got pregnant at 21, which seemed to limit her ability to buy in the near future. Mukiibi works for a nonprofit and goes to school full time at Metropolitan State University, where she is earning a degree in ethnic studies.
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Additional $8,000 to Buyers in the 55411 Zip! No Kidding!
April 17th, 2009 Categories: My Listings, North Minneapolis, Twin Cities Home Buyers
Here is an open letter to the “powers that be” in Minneapolis that Rony Davis wants to share with everyone:
Great News !
I am so excited…I want to shout!
Neighborhood Housing Services of Minneapolis is absolutely thrilled to tell you that the Pohlad Family Giving Foundation has provided 1 Million Dollars in home buyer assistance funding to NHS of Minneapolis, designated specifically for the Minneapolis 55411 Zip Code. This area includes the Jordan, Hawthorne, Willard Hay and Near North Neighborhoods of Minneapolis.
The down payment, closing cost funds are available up to $8,000 @ 0%. These loans will be deferred (meaning no monthly payment) and forgivable after 7 years of continued ownership and residency.
These funds have no income restrictions and are not restricted to first time home buyers, although first time buyers must complete Home Buyer Training and buyers must intend to occupy the home. Further, this program may be used in conjunction with other home buyer assistance programs. How great is that!
Eligible homes include single family, duplexes, town homes and condominiums in the 55411 zip code of Minneapolis.
We are very excited about this wonderful opportunity and we appreciate the Pohlad Family Giving Foundation for their generous commitment to the stabilization efforts in our community and their confidence in NHS.
For more information, call NHS of Minneapolis at 612-521-3581 weekdays and/or check out the flyer, attached.
Please forward this notice to others who may benefit from this exciting news.
V. J. (Rony) Davis
Executive Director
Neighborhood Housing Services of Minneapolis, Inc.
1501 Dupont Avenue N.
Minneapolis, MN 55411
612.521-3581
Check out this listing at www.JeanieHoholik.com and http://www.twincityrealestatechat.com/2009/03/20/2755-russell-avenue-north-sneak-peak/ . You have access to Minneapolis Advantage funds. If you’re a first time home buyer, another $8,000 credit and, now, $8,000 from the Pohlad Foundation! Plus that, interest rates are at an all time low.
Seriously, what are you waiting for?
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2755 Russell Avenue North Sneak Peek!
March 20th, 2009 Categories: Minneapolis Home Buyers and Sellers, North Minneapolis, Real Estate News, That Flippin' House
In the dining room, the hardwood floors are the original birch. Wow!
This is the same home that I showed you a couple of months ago that was totally trashed. Everything has been completely restored to its natural beauty and new updates are in the kitchen and bath…as usual!
This has to be Jennifer’s best flip, yet. We will be putting it on the market next week. If you would like to see this property, please give me a call to schedule an appointment!
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Silly Property Repair #5 - Can You Say, “Mitre Box”?
March 20th, 2009 Categories: Minneapolis Home Buyers and Sellers, North Minneapolis, Real Estate News, Silly Property Repairs, That Flippin' House
Touring through the rehab candidates in North Minneapolis is always an adventure. My clients and I find so many interesting treasures. Many of them are beautiful old windows, light fixtures and built-ins.
Jennifer, the famous North Minneapolis flipper, and I toured a home and found it to have been partially finished. It was clear that the previous owners had bought it to rehab, but ran out of money and/or patience. It’s not easy to do a good rehab on a home. It takes stamina, guts and money.
These pictures are of the hack job they did on the moldings throughout the home. All that work!
We didn’t buy the home. It went into multiple offers before we even got a chance to give feedback to the listing agent. Multiple offers are typical, as of late.
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There’s Money Out There, Buyers! Here’s One Way to Buy an Affordable Home!
March 1st, 2009 Categories: Minneapolis Home Buyers and Sellers, North Minneapolis, Real Estate News, That Flippin' House
My client, Jennifer the Flipper, just closed on a very special home in North Minneapolis this past week. This was 3306 James Avenue North, the first home to be had that was once owned by the infamous TJ Waconia thugs.
Jennifer did a beautiful job on this home and it received a purchase agreement on just it’s second showing to a potential buyer.
Now, that’s awesome, Jennifer!
Here are some pictures of the inside and a link to previous posts and to Johnny Northside’s blog who also has taken the time to write about this great home.
The cool part about this sale was that it is going to be owner occupied, not left in the hands of another slum lord only to trash up the Folwell Neighborhood. This owner got some great incentives and grant money to be used as a down payment. Here’s the skinny:
Folwell Neighborhood Grant Funding: $4,000
City of Lakes Community Land Trust Funding: $21,000
Hennepin County Affordable Housing Incentive Fund: $30,000
Folks, that’s a whopping $55,000 in grants and funding!
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In North Minneapolis, This Guy Tried to Stop Us.
January 30th, 2009 Categories: Cool Girls, North Minneapolis, Real Estate News, That Flippin' House
Jennifer, my client who rehabs homes in North Minneapolis, and I found a great house that we just knew would be a great rehab project. As we left the property, we came upon this cute little guy with knives in each fist ready to fend us off. (You’ll need to click on this picture a couple of times to get the full effect.)
Well, it worked! We almost missed him. We only saw him as we were leaving. We put an offer in on this diamond in the rough, but we were outbid, leaving us to search for other great properties.
Here’s a picture of Jennifer checking the little guy out. I don’t know what character this is, but I’m sure somebody out there does.
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Jordan Neighborhood…The Best Is Yet To Come! Here Comes 2755 Russell Avenue North!
January 20th, 2009 Categories: North Minneapolis, Real Estate News, That Flippin' House
It took a lot of hard work to get this absolutely beautiful home to be Jennifer’s (Flipper Girl) property. We’ve been dinking around with this property for quite some time now. The details are not pretty.
But…we got it! Woo hoo!
You’ve seen the before pics. You will now see some of the fun stuff that her crew found behind the cupboards today. I will just say that this home will be her best rehab so far. She’s got an awesome crew and the know-how to get the job done. She has a reputation in the City of Minneapolis of being one of the best in the business and I am proud to be her Realtor.
Above is just one of many pieces of memorabilia that were found at this wonderful property. More to come!
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Move Over, Folwell (and a Few Other Neighborhoods in North Minneapolis), Hawthorne’s Got a New Plan!
January 11th, 2009 Categories: Minneapolis Home Buyers and Sellers, Mortgage Stuff, North Minneapolis, Real Estate News, Twin Cities Home Buyers
How many times do we hear of blighted neighborhoods trying to revitalize themselves only to fall back into the “we tried this and it didn’t work” mentality?
We may hear it again from some naysayers, but this time there is a VERY ATTRACTIVE incentive program that should raise a few eyebrows! The Hawthorne Neighborhood in North Minneapolis has just voted on the creation of a new program to assist home buyers with a purchase of a home in Hawthorne. It’s called the “Hawthorne Advantage”.
Here are the details without going into too much detail:
- You must live in the home after purchase (owner-occupied).
- 3% of the purchase price of the home will be granted to you and subtracted off the price of the home on the HUD-1 statement at the closing.
- An extra $1,000 will be granted to you if you purchase a previously foreclosed property.
What’s the downside? You will have to pay back the loan if you do not stay in the home for a minimum of five years to begin to “pay back” the loan up to ten years. After the ten years, the lien is removed and the loan is 100% forgiven. The idea is that you will want to stay and commit to the betterment of this community.
This program is brand spankin’ new, so it is not up on the Hawthorne website yet. Now is the time to start buying those diamonds in the rough in Hawthorne. Interest rates are at record lows, you can use grant money from the City of Minneapolis and, now, the Hawthorne Neighborhood’s Hawthorne Advantage.
Take advantage of it!
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A Silly Property Repair in North Minneapolis - A New Use for a Pie Tin
January 1st, 2009 Categories: Minneapolis Home Buyers and Sellers, North Minneapolis, Real Estate News
Let’s see…maybe the homeowner didn’t want to get water on the socket so as not to electrocute himself or to short out the circuit. This pie pan is between the socket and the junction box. I just can’t figure out Read the rest of this entry »
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