Lynn Frantzen’s Blog

Learn About Buying a Short Sale or Foreclosure … What is a Short Sale vs. Bank Owned. How the process works and what to expect as a buyer. I will actually show you examples of how much a typical buyer can expect to save buying a short sale or Foreclosure. What the time-line is for both seller and buyer. Foreclosures are generally winterized and have no duty to disclose.

When a Property has an Association… Condo Docs, Warrantable vs. Non-Warrantable, Representation… Buying your first home is exciting, and if you are considering a home with an assocation please read on. Assocation’s vary greatly from one to another. Did you know you have a 10 day right to review the condo docs and association rules and regs. If you are not comfortable with what you read you can cancel and have your earnest money returned. Associations have to provide their financials and answer some simple questions… any current lawsuits, major improvements planned. You have the right to know. After attending this class you will have a better understanding of what makes association living unique.

Register Today for a First Time Home Buyer’s Class.

Held June 19th at 7:00. Located at the Byerly’s in St. Louis Park

I’ve just sold a Town-Home property at 16989 78th Place N in Maple Grove. Come and visit my site to see other properties in that area. If you are interested in looking for or selling your home, please Contact Me.

Check out this new Single-family property that I just posted on my Web site. It is at 2360 13th Ave. East in North St. Paul. This Single-family property has 3 bedrooms and 1 baths. Updated 2-story on fenced double lot. Classic style with modern convience. Main floor laundry, maint free siding, central air, updated bathroom. New roof in 2001. Excellent location with park across the street.

Today I opened my swimming pool for the season, the kids were all here for Mother’s Day and that meant cheap help. When I installed my pool I looked into if there would be a value on the appraisal for the pool - the answer is a little. Here is the logic, in Minnesota we can only enjoy our pool about a third of the year - there for the pool adds a third of the cost to the value. A nice inground pool runs about $30K and only adds about $10K in value to the home at resale.

That being said I have been working with two individual clients both wanting a home with a swimming pool. Seller’s the one thing I can not stress enough is that if you want any value for your pool it must be open and running at the time of the showing. A closed, covered, dirty pool does not interest a buyer. Next make sure you have at least a year’s average utility bills for the buyer to see when considering the cost factor. An estimate of chemical costs is also helpful.

www.lynnfrantzen.com

I am amazed at how unpredictable the current market is. In the past month I have been involved in 3 multiple offers with 3 different clients and price points. One was my listing, this was fun! The second was a foreclosure home in South Minneapolis, my buyer did not get her offer accepted. The third was this weekend on a large home with pool in Maple Grove, my buyer did get this one. I really believe it just shows that if the home is presented well and priced right the market is still strong. However I must mention these homes were all within the City or first ring suburb.  I have a couple of listings at unbelievable prices that are in Ramsey and North St. Paul and these homes are not seeing this type of activity.
Minneapolis Realtor

Huge price reduction - $204,900! On May 04, 2008 at 13:00 PM, you are invited to an Open House at 4155 Portland Ave. S in Minneapolis. If you are looking for a Single-family property in this area, don’t miss this rare opportunity to visit this magnificent property. For a preview of this Single-family property, check out my site at http://www.lynnfrantzen.com/ . Please do not hesitate to Contact Me if you have any questions or wish to schedule a private showing.

Minneapolis Realtor

On May 04, 2008 at 13:00 PM, you are invited to an Open House at 4350 Parklawn in Edina. If you are looking for a Condo property in this area, don’t miss this rare opportunity to visit this magnificent property. For a preview of this Condo property, check out at www.willowgreenscondos.com . Please do not hesitate to Contact Me if you have any questions or wish to schedule a private showing. Prices range from $179-300K for 2 and 3 bedroom condos with upscale finishes.

www.lynnfrantzen.com

Everyday I meet and work with real people who are struggling financially due to the current economic times. These are not for the most part people who really understand all the economic talk in the news, they just understand the current status of their checkbook. My family even falls into this group. My husband lost his job last July when his boss retired, the new owner did not keep him. My daughter has a waitress job and they have cut her hours as less patrons are visiting the restaurant during the weeknights. My son is convinced that the local jobs he has access to are only hiring college students for the summer and not high school students. As I am the main source of income for my family I find myself working some crazy long hours just trying to keep up. I believe we are a very average family in these trying times. I have several short sale listings right now and reading the hardship letters that come with each of these files really lets me know how lucky we are, we still have our home and each other. When working with these clients I really stress that I am representing them and not the banks, however we need to work with the banks to facilitate the sale. I believe we are all just hanging on and hoping that the economy recovers quickly.

www.lynnfrantzen.com

OK - I usually do not write an ad for my listings but this house is fantastic. Located in Ramsey on over an acre with over 4000 square feet finished. Another 1500 square feet in the walk-out lower level just waiting for carpet to be totally finished. Brick front, modified 2-story, owner’s suite with every upgrade possible. Sherrif’s sale is next month, seller’s say sell! Check out my website for additional photos and a virtual tour at 9140 167th Ave. NW

www.lynnfrantzen.com

About a year ago I had a client ask me to text him as soon as I heard if there was a counter. I did not know how to text message. Since then my children have taught me well, I even had to get an unlimited text messaging plan for the myself and the family. Yesterday while in class I actually texted a couple of clients as talking on the phone was not polite during a class. Now today at the office meeting they had a class on how to text and what all the lingo means. I may never learn all the lingo but at least I can respond to clients and other agents in English! One of my children had a harsh lesson in abusing this privilege - I had my first $600. phone bill compliments of this child. He was surfing the net on his phone and discovered the sports sites which charge by the second. Not everything is unlimited.  www.lynnfrantzen.com