There is just much too much.  Too much bad information. Too many choices to weed through. We find ourselves in the information age where you are just a keyboard away from getting any information you want, about anything. As usual, our  powerful technology that changes our lives creates unintended consequences we haven’t planned for. In this case, not only can I find fascinating information at the touch of my keyboard, but there is just as much non-relevant non-helpful, and even really harmful information out there that I may very well mistake for REAL information! If I’m not familiar with a

This update for the Twin Cities real estate market is  from the Minneapolis Association of Realtors. The data is for the 16 county metro area, and for all price ranges and all property types (single family, condominiums, town homes, new construction and existing homes). Monthly Indicators As expected, the Federal Reserve did not change their target range for the federal funds rate at their June meeting. Although the economy is still shuffling ahead with low unemployment and solid retail sales, uncertainty remains regarding trade tensions, slowed manufacturing and job growth, weak business investments and a flattening yield curve. New Listings

I love watching the statistics of the real estate  market. What’s happening in Minneapolis may be very different than what’s happening in Plymouth or in Woodbury. It’s also fascinating to watch what’s happening at different price points. What one buyer experiences in the market with houses priced $200,000-$250,000 may be very different than a buyer looking in the range of $400,000 to $450,000. The number of homes available and the demand may be very different. The price point, the city, the school district, the style of home, are all reflected differently in the market statistics.  We’ve put together the Real

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? A cute apartment in a senior housing community with a pool? A fancy newly built one level townhome? A trendy hip condominium downtown? Once you know the kind of lifestyle you want, you’ll be able to determine if it makes sense to own or rent.  If you want to own your next home, financing will need to be part of your planning.  When you start your financial planning, I hope you’ll take into consideration all of your options. The more information you have, the better choices you’ll make. The Financial Tool Isn’t

When you’re thinking about moving out of a home you’ve lived in for 40 or 50 years it can sure be overwhelming! In particular when you look around at the 40 or 50 years of stuff that would need to be dealt with. As a real estate agent who specializes in working with seniors, one of the hot topics of conversation is indeed about the stuff! Often times my clients think having an estate sale seems like the perfect solution. Unfortunately, it’s often not the perfect solution for many of my clients. Estate sale companies often charge set-up fees in

I’ve started a project to declutter and downsize. My basement is filled with rows and rows of bankers boxes of business records me and my handyman husband are required to keep for business. Each of us has 7 years worth of boxes. Our collection of documents has grown to quite a collection of bankers boxes that require way too much room. If the IRS is going to require me to keep all of these documents, I should be able to charge the IRS a storage fee. Who can I talk to about that? The basement in my home is the

One Reason to Call a Real Estate Agent EARLY.  If you’re in a home today, or you’re trying to make real estate decisions one of your first things to do might be to call a real estate agent in early. This is not a sales pitch, I’ve got strong logic about why this makes sense. Usually what I hear from people is “Lisa I can’t possibly have you over to my home, because I have to clean it first. I have 40 years worth of buckets in my home I have to get rid of first.” What I would tell

There’s been a lot of hub-bub in the news about the new tax law. Until now I’ve just glazed over when I heard it talked about because I didn’t understand what it meant for me, my clients, or for our local real estate market. Until now!    Capital Gains First, the tax law does not make any changes to capital gains. There will continue to be an exclusion for single people up to $250,000 and for married couples up to $500,000 as long as they’ve lived in the home for the last 2 out of 5 years, haven’t used the home for

When I meet with clients the goal is to always strategize how we prepare the home for the market that honors the homeowners goals. It’s a mistake to lose out on what is the perfect next home for you because you think you can’t list your home in the winter. The timing of your move should be determined, in large part, on where you are moving to, and when your new place is ready. Go ahead, list your home in the winter if it makes sense for you. Here are 5 very good reasons to list your home in the

In case you’re wondering who we are and what we do, this is a clip of an introduction at a recent seminar.  Thank you so much for being here today! In this next hour this works much better if it’s more of a conversation than a presentation. I know you have burning questions about real estate. I’ve prepared some things that I think will be helpful for you to know and learn about. I also want to make sure that if you have questions we get them answered. Ask them as you think of them. I’ll address your questions as

Does Your Real Estate Agent Get a Referral Fee for Referring You? I thought it would be interesting to have a conversation with you about referrals and referral fees for real estate agents. It is The Change AGEnts Group’s policy to NOT receive referral fees for any business that we refer our clients to. It’s very common for our homeowners who have a house on the market to make use of services to help them sell their home. These may include a handyman, a senior move manager, a painter, a carpenter, a house inspector and even pet sitters. When my

Interviewing a real estate agent can be about as fun as going to the dentist. Many of us don’t interview potential candidates on a regular basis. Use these interview questions when you’re getting ready to interview a real estate agent to work with you in the sale of your home. General Impressions Was the agent on time and prepared for your meeting? Is the agent someone you would be comfortable working with? Do you LIKE him/her? Education/Background How effective are you at getting homes sold? How long have you worked in real estate? Are you full-time? During what hours are

Many people don’t know that after a Medical Assistance recipient dies, the State may attempt to recoup from the decedent’s estate whatever benefits it paid for that individual’s care. Moreover, the State will almost certainly make another claim for those benefits upon the death of the surviving spouse, regardless of whether or not that surviving spouse ever received Medical Assistance benefits himself or herself. This process is called “estate recovery,” and is an area where states are becoming increasingly aggressive in their recovery efforts. For many people, setting up a “life estate” scenario is the most simple and appropriate alternative

What are some of the things you can expect to happen when you call a real estate agent to your home? Typically, you would call a real estate agent to do a complimentary consultation to help you develop an idea about how to manage the logistics of your move, and to complete a Comparable Market Analysis (CMA). This gives you an idea of the list price and the closing costs associated with selling your home so you have an idea about what that big fat check will be after you sell your home. Our Two Step Process The way The