This weeks Historic Home in St Paul is 353 Summit Avenue.

Built in 1882 for William Dean, the home "only" cost $15,000 to build. Mr. Dean was a partner for the local wholesale hardware firm, Nicols, Dean, and Gregg, and also sat on the Great Northern Railroad board of directors. Little is known about the architect. A photo exists of the home taken in 1895. Designed as a Queen Anne Victorian, it is a great example of half-timbering.

Around 1900, the home was altered beyond recognition of its original Queen Anne style. Below is a photo of what the home had looked like up until 2005.

As you can see, it looks nothing like the beautiful Queen Anne of 1882. The front gable and chimneys are the only remaining pieces visual to the eye that haven't changed. In 2005, a very expensive renovation was begun, with the owners wanting to bring back the facade of the original home. After a complete inside/outside renovation of the main house, and an exterior renovation of the carriage house, the home recently sold for $1.7 Million with Edina Realty, and photos of the home are still available via a virtual tour. The home has over 7000 square feet, 6 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, and for one simple word, is stunning.

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If you would like to learn more about Minnesota architecture, visit my blog dedicated soley to Historic Homes and buildings of Minnesota.

Now I know some of us are Rebulicans and others are Democrats, but I came across this video from Uncle Jay. If you don't know Uncle Jay, he makes fun of politcs in general and posts videos so kids can understand what is going on. The one below is one of my favorites:

Well, we all knew it was inevitable. As Buyer's Agency becomes more mainstream, our liability to the transaction increases and we begin to take on an even more important role to our clients. Maybe those of us who have acted as Buyer's Agents have been taking the role for granted by not truly comprehending how heavily our clients rely on us for correct information. Of course we could do all the due diligence in the world, but it will never save us from a crafy lawyer looking to sue.

While some of you have no doubt read about the California case where a buyer is suing the Buyer's Agent for misrepresenting the true value of the property (amound other things like deceptive practices), you should know that this is not the only case going against a buyer's agent. I have reported in the past about another Montana case where dual agency was involved and the buyers won, and I am sure there are more out there we don't know about.

Yesterday I was reading around in the outer blog world and a consumer brought up a good point on Teresa Boardman's blog. The comment was how today we are seeing consumers living in a false world of safety:

"The ever-increasing levels of consumer protection has created a generation of consumers that think that they are not in the slightest responsible for becoming educated."

I cannot agree more. Everyday I hear people commenting on how so-and-so didn't do this, or so-and-so didn't disclose that. The next sentences hold words like, "lawsuit" or "government intervention". I shake my head and think how sad it is that our society no longer takes responsibility for its actions. Now a days, there always has to be someone else to blame. In real estate, I am seeing this more and more.

Take for instance a recent lawsuit (Login Required) out of North Carolina. The MLS incorrectly stated that a home purchased by a buyer was on sewer, when in fact it was on a septic system. As most of us know, the words "Information Deemed Reliable but Not Guaranteed" are on the bottom of most sheets. But when the Buyer's Agent printed out the MLS sheet with his information on the form, those legal words did not appear. So when the buyers front lawn turned into a raw sewage mess, they naturally turned to the buyer's agent for answers.

Now, it is hard to believe someone doesn't know the difference from sewer to septic. What's even more amazing is that the home inspector commented on his report that the sewer system was in working order. But mistakes do happen, that's why they are called mistakes. However, in today's society, instead of just moving on, everyone has to sue. These buyers claimed "negligent misrepresentation", but I highly doubt the brokerage intended on misleading the new home owner. While the Jury found in favor of the buyers, the Appeals court reversed their decision and found in favor of the brokerage.

The scary part about all of this, is that we, the salesperson, are always guilty before innocent. We are the wolf and the consumer is the sheep. Juries automatically sympathize with the consumer because they feel the consumer has no responsibility to educate themselves. We are the "experts" and are thus infallible. So when we do make a mistake, we pay with for it, literally.

Everything we do in good faith, including Dotting our I's and Crossing our T's, may not save us when it comes to an unhappy client. With the lack of responsibility for ones actions, as seen throughout our society, we all need to be aware of the ramifications that we could face for omitting a detail, incorrect statements, or price opinions on a property. Sadly, this is the direction our industry is heading, and the only thing we can do as real estate agents, is to strive to work each transaction with the most honesty and integrity that we can muster. In no way do I think we should let the threat of a lawsuit scare us into so much detail and disclosure that we need to let future buyers know that little Johnny set fire to the living room rug ten years before, but it is important to realize that buyers and sellers have no problem suing, even when the fault lies with themselves.

What do you think?

Yesterday I sat down to read the paper, something I have not been able to do for well over a week. I never expected to get emotional right off the bat, and when I say emotional, I mean the exact opposite of crying.

When I came across an article about the Minneapolis City Council and their recent resolution regarding local foreclosures, I actually had to walk away from the paper before I crumpled it up and threw it into the trash. Since it was buried on page six of the Pioneer Press, many have most likely missed it.

The non-binding resolution passed by the Minneapolis City Council is calling for lenders to stop foreclosures for the next three months. Apparently the city council thinks that the "pressure" they are putting on local lenders by passing resolutions like this will make banks stop causing families to lose their homes. The only problem with their thinking is that banks make loans, and the common motto told to buyers upon signing a mortgage is if "you don't pay, you don't stay". Further, the last time I checked, families lose their homes because they break the agreement they signed with the lender and stop paying their mortgage, not because lenders are throwing darts at a dart board to see who they can foreclose on next.

Now, don't think the council came up with the idea themselves. The group, ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), pushed for the vote and is thinking about getting the Saint Paul City Council to pass a similar resolution:

"the 25 largest subprime mortgage lenders agree to a three-month suspension of foreclosures of owner occupied properties in the city" and further asks lenders "to make every effort during suspension period to help customers avoid foreclosure and remain in their homes".

They also want those facing foreclosure to get their rates reset or modified to allow them to afford the loan. The council further said,

"Tough times require real solutions, not rhetoric...I hope everybody feels good about hitting banks over the head with a stick, because that's what we're doing".

I have a question, why should we feel good about giving it to the banks? You know, I would really like to borrow their stick and hit them over the heads with it and ask, "What are you thinking?". The Minneapolis City Council should not be wasting their time coming up with useless resolutions like this one. The "symbolic" gesture won't do any real good, but the time wasted cannot be given back to topics that might actually help local homeowners, like, hmmm....lowering property taxes.

The fact is, when buyers sign the note on their new house, they make an agreement with the lender, stating they will make monthly payments and pay back the loan. It is their responsibility as home owners to make sure they understand what they are signing. I have sympathy for those facing foreclosure because my family almost went through it. But I was raised to take responsibility for your actions, even for those that stink, and the thought of the government coming in and bailing out people facing foreclosure, or worse, forcing lenders to fore go foreclosures, is a little scary to me.

When did it become public policy to bail out anyone that makes a bad decision?

During the boom, business was booming for builders. It seemed I would wake up in the morning, drive to the office, and see a new development going up on the way. I wondered, "Geez, where are all these buyers coming from". After a while, I started to figure it out.

Here is a story that beings during the boom:

One weekend, a few years back, I had a buyer who wanted new construction. They had heard about a new neighborhood going up and wanted me to take them by for a look. Needless to say they loved the neighborhood.

Being the dutiful Buyer's Agent, I started asking questions to the sales agent and was a little disturbed by what I heard. She told me they only had a few lots left so my buyers should act quickly. I commented how the neighborhood had just gone active two week prior and asked how they could be so low on lots. She informed me that 27 of the 30 lots had been bought by one investor from south Florida. He was building homes on every lot and then would sell them upon completion. Flipping them for profit. I turned to my clients and advised them they might want to reconsider the location because there was no telling what would happen to the neighborhood since a investor had bought almost the entire thing.

Hate to say it, but they did not take my advice. They put a home under contract and moved in six months later. They called me a year later, wanting to sell their home because they no longer wanted to raise their kids in the neighborhood. When I asked why, they said that the investor had not been able to sell most of the homes he built and was instead renting them out on the cheap. To them, the area was no longer safe because the entire neighborhood was renters. (Not to bash renters, but many just do not care for a home like a home owner would.) I had to tell them they were more than welcome to sell, but that the market had crashed and they would have to sell for less then they owed. It was not a pretty sight.

But my point of the story is that too many builders sold to "investors". (I have a hard time calling them that because a true investor holds for the long term. Short time investors should really be called "speculators" because they are speculating the making of money in a quick amount of time.) When the builders sold to investors, it artificially increased the need for housing. So builders kept building, and I kept seeing new neighborhood after new neighborhood going up.

Now builders are finding themselves in the position where they need to unload lots of inventory. The speculators are gone, and so are the buyers. In order to keep themselves out of financial trouble, they are turning to events like the upcoming New Home Auction in Minneapolis. Many could have kept themselves out of this type of situation if they just would have had the courage to pull back on the reigns. But sadly, the need to profit out weighed the need to look into the future and see that the roller coaster ride was going to come to an end sooner or later.

If would be interesting to know the balance sheet for builders, the boom years profit, versus the losses when the bottom fell out. I really wonder if they made any money over the long term. If you have any interesting statistics, I would love to hear them!

This video was just too funny, and I have to share it with you. If God had one comment he could make about you, what do you think it would be?

What if God Had a MySpace

This hilarious video answers the age-old question, "What if God had a MySpace account?"

To continue with my series on Historic Architecture in Minneapolis and St Paul, some of the most beautiful examples of fine craftsmanship can be found in Italianate homes.

Italianate

Built between 1840 - 1885

The Italianate style is reported to have begun in England as part of the Picturesque movement. Over the years, Italian Villas, as some call them, went from farmhouse informal to formal grandeur. Obviously, as the name infers, Italian architecture from ancient Rome led a helping hand to the popularization of key architectural details.

There are many details in the design of Italianate that make it easily identifiable. One of the easiest is the heavy, large brackets that hang under the eaves. They are usually ornate and arranged singly or in pairs. Every home was built with at least two stories, and the style is predominately found in the Midwest and some in the Northeast.

Another obvious feature is the square copula that sits atop the home. The roofs are usually low pitched. Unfortunately, copulas tend to be neglected and they begin to leak, so most Italianate homes no longer sport this eye catching feature. The cupola shown below is the only remaining one in Stillwater, which has numerous examples of the style.

The decline of the style began with the panic of 1873, and once consumer confidence returned, new styles like the Queen Anne Victorian were becoming popular.

I have put together a slide show of historic homes in Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Stillwater, Red Wing, and Lansing, Iowa, that are prime examples of Italianate architecture. Two details you will see throughout are the arched windows and the window hoods above each window.

View the first post in this series on Second Empire architectural design.

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If you would like to learn more about Minnesota architecture and styles, visit my blog about Historic Homes of Minnesota .

 

8 comments • Jennifer Kirby, the Luxury Agent • January 12 2008 03:29PM