RECENT BLOG POSTS
A friend wanted to buy a new car, and he had no money.  His credit wasn't very good, but he convinced me that he would pay me back if I loaned him enough to buy the car.  I took a chance on him and he got the car, new and nice, actually nicer and newer than mine. For about the first year, he made...
02/11/2012
There are plenty of folks who are choosing to buy their first homes right now in Dakota County, especially in Apple Valley and the five cities on its borders.  Interest rates and prices have converged to the optimal level, and the indications are that this may be as good as it gets. There are a l...
02/10/2012
Today's economic data indicates that the economy is improving, and it's no surprise that housing will probably move in tandem.  With job data showing substantial sustained improvement, fewer people are unemployed and an increasing number of job holders are feeling more secure in their employment....
02/03/2012
Gloria Todor makes a few good points in explaining why it's important to take each home buying step in the right order.  Along with her explanation, I'd like to mention a couple more reasons to not "Put the cart before the horse."  Potential home buyers can be the most productive for themselves i...
02/03/2012
If you planned to get a jump on the rest of the early season house hunters, you're about out of time.  The Official Minnesota House Hunting Season begins at sunrise tomorrow.  I know that a lot of folks call it Groundhog Day, but that's just a code phrase for House Hunting Day.  With a large perc...
02/01/2012
There's a lot of discussion in America about the definition of marriage and who should have the right to marry whom.  There are alternative suggestions like making all marriages legal partnerships, and perhaps allowing the word marriage to exist only in churches which could set their own criteria...
02/01/2012
The Sun Is Setting Later and Renters Are Starting To Get Restless If you regularly escape from your day boss and drive home to be overseen by your night boss (AKA Mr. Landlord), you've probably noticed that you don't need your headlights unless it's raining or snowing.  That means you have a litt...
01/27/2012
Your Minnesota Real Estate Agent May Not Be YOUR AGENT Most home buyers have never bought a home before, and many others have not bought a home in a fair number of years.  There are a few elements in the buying process that can make a huge difference in the degree of success in your buying experi...
01/23/2012
2012 Minnesota Precinct Caucuses February 7, 7:00PM Minnesota's biennial political circus will officially begin in a few weeks with the precinct caucuses.  Although I approach Minnesota politics with cynicism and mostly as a spectator sport with predictable outcome, my attendance at precinct cauc...
01/18/2012
If you want a dry martini, it takes about one part dry vermouth and eleven parts vodka or gin.  Stir or shake depending on your beliefs, and drown two olives.  Eleven to one is what makes the martini dry. So you don't want to make a martini?  You want to buy a home?  Eleven to one is also what ho...
01/12/2012
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Mike Carlier

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