Barker and Hedges Real Estate Blog 
Elk River is the Kindest City in Minnesota
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 at 6:40pm. 60 Views, 0 Comments.
Minnesota Nice. You hear about it all the time, but it's not always apparent. Elk River has brought it back.
After the Elk River City Council declaired February the Month of Kindness, Mayor Stephanie Klinzing challenged residents to commit 1,000 "random acts of kindness." And the Elk River resdients didn't hold back. All month long, residents did kindly deeds, then recorded them either on post cards sent to the city or posted them online at www.loveelkriver.org.
"We are the kindest city in Minnesota," Klinzing declared this week, as she stood beside a wooden thermometer in Rivers Edge Park that registered the city's progress -- 1,300 acts of kindness as of Thursday.
The project was started due to Elk River's size. The city has grown so big, with a population…
Emerald Ash Borer Discovered in Minneapolis
Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 5:16pm. 90 Views, 0 Comments.
The dreaded emerald ash borer has been discovered in Minneapolis. The Minnesota Agriculture Department confirmed the infestation of four trees at Tower Hill Park, not far from known infestations in St. Paul and Falcon Heights. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board will cut down the trees before spring and intensify efforts to find other diseased trees.
This is not an unexpected turn of events. With the discovery of the green beetles last spring in St. Paul and later in Falcon Heights, officials are trying to slow the spread. A widespread and expensive infestation could threaten the state's 940 million ash trees.
Last year, 82 diseased trees were found and removed in the South St. Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul and one tree in Falcon Heights.…
Home Affordable Refinance Program Extended
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 at 7:04pm. 70 Views, 0 Comments.
The Home Affordable Refinance Program was set to expire in June, but the Obama administration announced Monday that borrowers with little or no equity in their homes will have another year to take advantage of the refinancing program.
So far it has reached fewer than 200,000 of the up to 5 million borrowers federal regulators hoped it would help. However, market conditions have not changed significantly since the program was launched last year. So to give lenders more time to implement the plan and to support market stability, the initiative will be extended to June 2011.
The program is aimed at the millions of borrowers whose home values have been diminished by a weak housing market. It also meant for people who owe more than their houses are worth, making…
Rain Garden Workshops
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 at 5:53pm. 98 Views, 0 Comments.
Registration is open for Metro Blooms’ rain garden workshops. The Minneapolis nonprofit organizes two-part rain garden workshops across the metro area.
Professional landscape designers and master gardeners teach attendees the best techniques for planting rain gardens, which are designed to capture and slow rainwater runoff. These low-maintenance gardens contribute to improving water quality in local lakes and waterways by filtering pollutants out of rainwater. Rain gardens can also reduce stream bank erosion and preserve wildlife habitat.
The 2 part workshops cost $10 each. Attendees learn about rain gardens in the first session. When they return for part B, they’re asked to bring a sketch of their property so they can receive help from the landscape…
What $169,900 Buys in Saint Paul's Payne-Phalen Neighborhood
Friday, February 19th, 2010 at 3:38pm. 76 Views, 0 Comments.
Here is MLS # 3881499
This home features beautiful built-in bookcases, gleaming hardwood floords, and a cozy, wood-burning fireplace in the family room.
The updated kitchen is often filled with lots of natural light. The bedrooms are generous and the master bedroom has a walk-in closet a 3/4 bathroom.
This home and it's beautifully landscaped yard could be yours for just $169,900!
Don't forget that time is running out on the first time home buyer $8,000 federal tax credit! The $8,000…
Strange But True: The Igloo and The Ice House
Thursday, February 18th, 2010 at 8:31pm. 104 Views, 0 Comments.
The cabin fever caused by winter's snowy weather and cold temperatures seem to have inspired some creativity. An igloo in Ohio and a house encased in ice in Detroit are drawing national headlines.
First, Jimmy Grey, of Aquilla, Ohio, has been out of work for almost a year. To keep himself busy, he took advantage of the heavy snowfally to build an extreme igloo in his family's yard. The "man cave" has 4 rooms, 6-foot tall ceilings, and an entertainment rooms with a flat-screen TV, cable, and surround sound. He says when he has friends over, cold temperatures mean the beer never gets warm.
Next, two artists who have encased one of Detroit's thousands of abandoned homes in ice, hoping to draw attention to the foreclosure and housing crisis that has battered the…
Twin Cities Real Estate Market Snapshot for January 2010
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 at 9:12pm. 86 Views, 0 Comments.
Even during the traditionally slow winter selling period, the Twin Cities housing market saw home sales prices increase slightly in January 2010 compared to last year. It is the first year-over-year increase in over 3 years. The number of houses sold remained essentially flat compared to January 2009.
"We've safely weathered the worst of the housing market decline, despite continuing worries about future home foreclosures," said George Karvel, a real estate professor at the University of St. Thomas.
The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors reported the January median sale price to be $157,000, a 1.3% increase. That was the first time since July 2006 that the median sales price was higher than previous year, according to the Realtors association. Though…
Minneapolis and Saint Paul CityLiving Program Revived
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 at 8:03am. 105 Views, 0 Comments.
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman have jointly announced that $41 million in new funding has been pumped into the CityLiving Program. CityLiving assists first time homebuyers with purchasing homes in either city.
The CityLiving Program offers below-market interest rates on mortgages in addition to help with down payments and closing-costs. Hmebuyers’ household income cannot exceed $92,290 and the purchase price for a single-family home can’t be greater than $276,870 in order to quality for the funding.
“More people owning homes in Minneapolis and Saint Paul means more prosperity, more civic engagement and more vitality in our Minnesota’s core cities — and that’s good for everyone,” said Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak in a statement.…
Get to NOMI - Valentine's Day Home Tour in Minneapolis
Friday, February 12th, 2010 at 5:42pm. 112 Views, 0 Comments.
Twin Cities house hunters may not know that there is affordable housing as well as plenty of parks, new restaurants and other amenities to be found in north Minneapolis. A group of residents has been working to change that perception by starting a grass-roots neighborhood campaign called Get to NOMI to attract prospective buyers by promoting the area's positive attributes. NOMI stands for North Minneapolis.
Joel Breeggemann, co-founder of Get to NOMI and a home owner in the Webber-Camden neighborhood, says "We want to show people that these neighborhoods are just as desirable as others in Minneapolis and St. Paul."
The group has organized a Valentine's Day, self-guided tour of 20 houses currently on the market in several north Minneapolis neighborhoods. The…
Strange But True: Own a Piece of Minneapolis Skyway
Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 11:55pm. 108 Views, 1 Comments.
An 83-foot piece of the Minneapolis skyway has been taken down from the sky and put up on the market. It could be yours for just $49,500.
This section of skyway was built in the late 1970s and spanned across 5th Street. It connected J.C. Penney and Powers department stores, which closed in the mid-1980s. Powers was leveled in 1993, and instead of taking down the skyway, it just sort-of dead-ended on the other side of the street. When light rail came, the skyway segment needed to go.
Minneapolis architect Ben Awes and his City Desk Studio partners offer in a Craigslist ad an array of possibilities for the 1,380-square-foot structure, all 140 tons of it sitting behind TCF Bank Stadium: office, bridge over a creek, ice rink warming house, etc.
"The one we are…
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