The other day someone asked me about potential legal ramifications of a decision they needed to make. Inside my head, this little voice said, "Wait a minute, do I look like an attorney?"  Then that little voice's evil twin. Ms. Ego, preened a little and was so flattered that they thought I knew SO much. (And that path leads to peril.) Not so fast. I am not an attorney, I don't have a license to practice law, and I was very quick to refer them to legal counsel. And it's true, I do know a lot.......about real estate. But, in selling homes, it is important for agents to remember that they are NOT: Lawyers Accountants Inspectors Police departments Air quality experts Mold experts Etc., etc. So when your agent refers you to an expert for a bona fide answer to a specific question, remember t... 07/22/2011

There is a lot of press and public discussion about the real estate market.  Many folks are delaying a buying decision on hopes that there will be a change in the market that will make it easier and/or more financially beneficial to buy.  We have been promised change by so many in so many areas of our lives that we should know by now that it's probably not going to happen.  Politicians have been promising change for as long as I can remember.  How do you think those promises are coming along?  Most advertising promises that the particular product will change your life, even a stupid vacuum cleaner will change your life.  I don't think so. Now the housing market exists post-crash and that was the correction for an artificial spike in prices.  The housing market and prices are not depress... 07/06/2011

Caring for Aging Parents It's pretty typical for us "Boomers" to be somewhere in the process of caring for our aging parents. Since my husband and I are in the midst of this with our parents (his mom and my folks), I am here to tell you that it can feel like a weird time. Emotions run high on all ends, and your role changes and evolves -- sometimes several times a day. When my husband's mother was recently hospitalized, his sister was trying to address our concerns about his mom still living alone, especially as her health issues were slowly becoming more serious. His mom was very frightened, but it came out as anger and pouting. Be ready to flip back and forth from being "the kid" to becoming "the parent."  My mother-in-law's reaction to anything she didn't like was a very nasty, "Yes,... 06/22/2011

OMG, I Smell DOG in Here! First, full disclosure. I am the proud parent of five "fur kids." I have three dogs and two cats, and I love them. Period. My friends often joke that they want to come back in their next life as one of my dogs. They are also amazed that my house (while often cluttered), never smelled of the animals. So, this is not an anti-dog post. But it IS a testimonial of a recent, eye-opening experience. We recently moved. Filled at 28' trailer with all of our worldly possessions and moved. And guess what? My perfectly house-trained dogs, who have not had an "accident" in the house for YEARS, were so stressed during the process that I woke up to a puddle in the basement every other morning until we left. Ugh. So as much as I cleaned, enzymed, and deoderized, my basement no... 06/14/2011

This year’s Taste of Lakeville is almost here. Mark your calendar for May 12th from 5:00 - 9:00pm at the Beautiful Lakeville Area Arts Center More than 30 of the regions finest restaurants will be on hand to give you free samples of their best food.  And there will be wine and beer tasting galore! Check out all of the food vendors at www.TasteofLakeville.org  Not only do all the proceeds go to help support great causes in our community, but there is a lot of fun to be had with live entertainment and auctions.       Thanks for helping support your community through this wonderful event.         05/07/2011

  There have been a lot of homes sold in Lakeville so far this year. According to Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota, there are 338 homes actively listed for sale in Lakeville today. In the first thirty days of March, sixty-three fortunate home buyers have had offers accepted. That means that the sixty-three best home buying opportunities in Lakeville are no longer available. While some folks were sitting in their apartments waiting for the snow to melt, others were out searching for the best deals, and they found them. For the rest of you, there are still a few remaining opportunities to find a nice place to call your own. Call me to arrange a convenient time for a complimentary home buyers orientation and landlord firing strategy session. It takes about an hour, it's free,... 03/30/2011

The City of Lakeville The City of Lakeville is a suburb 23 miles south of downtown Minneapolis in the U.S. state of Minnesota in Dakota County; the City of Lakeville is located on Interstate Highway 35 with a population of 43,128 people in 2000, the City of Lakeville as its name says, contains several lakes as well as smaller ponds and wetlands within its borders with a branch of the Vermillion river also flows through, the City of Lakeville is governed by a five member City Council and Mayor. View Larger Map The City of Lakeville always proud to host 60 exhibitors in a small but premium art festival, its intention to view and purchase exceptional artwork and encouraging communication with artists, the City of Lakeville art center includes a 300-seat auditorium, multi-purpose art studio... 03/22/2011

One of my very favorite books is The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub. It is a fantasy/horror about Jack, a young boy who goes on a quest to retrieve a magical talisman that will save his dying mother, and at the same time he will save his mother's "twinner" who is also the dying queen in a parallel universe.[Brief pause while you wrap your mind around this pretext....]Anyway, it is a classic good vs. evil, truth and power shall set you free, "stand up to the test" kind of novel (except for the parts about werewolves, flipping between universes, and men who can fly). Jack has to stand up to evil men, bad werewolves (there are good ones and bad ones), and phantoms in medieval armor.No dragons, but I think you get my drift.Last week, I felt like I came up against one of those bad... 03/15/2011

February 2 marked the beginning of the Minnesota house hunting season, and it looks like buyers have responded well in Lakeville.  According to Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota, there are 113 homes for sale in Lakeville priced at or below $200,000.  Since February 2, there have been twenty-two accepted offers on homes in that price range.  That's about one in five homes no longer available to buyers who have not yet started house hunting. There are still a lot of homes on the market, and some of them are almost as nice as the ones you missed.  If you have any interest in firing your landlord this year, now is the time to take action.  Call me today for a free and fun house hunting strategy session. It will help prepare you for the challenges of house hunting in today's mar... 02/26/2011

Lakeville MN real estate market update for first time home buyers, home sellers, and relocation to Lakeville MN. The information is in for Lakeville MN December home and property sales. New listings were down 3% and closed sales were up 85%. That number is surprising when looking at the overall health of the real estate market. Home owners priced their homes correctly and we had buyers that were willing to part with their money. There are some great deals out their right now as affordability hasn't been better. Median home sales price was up 8% while average sales price was down 5%. Home owners received 88% of their original asking price which was down 4%. Average days on market was down 17% to 143 days. Homes are moving. Single family inventory was at 274 units or up 14% and town home... 02/02/2011

'Tis the season..... Super Bowl is upon us, and you can almost hear the screeching of rusty hinges as millions of open house signs creak-k-k-k open. Once again, the national passtime shifts from football to that all time favorite: open houses.If you are a serious buyer, there are things NOT to say when you visit an open house. Remember, first and foremost, the agent at the open house WORKS FOR THE SELLER.  Remarks that give away your negotiating power will be noted, and might sink your chances of later buying that home on your terms. So, smile or scowl, or do whatever you do when you are playing poker, because these are high stakes if you end up wanting to buy this house. What Not to Say "This is it! I just found my next house! We can stop looking!" "We don't have an agent. Can we work ... 01/30/2011

Buyers tend to look at homes from a lifestyle perspective: How big is the yard? Is the house close to the school? Are the bedrooms big enough? All of these are valid considerations. Besides being an agent, I have a background in construction and remodeling, which helps me a lot. (Yes, it's true, demo is always the most fun!) But it leads me to look at a home a little differently, keeping an eye on items that might carry a big price tag to remedy. Your inspector will review these, as well. But screening them at the showing can save time and money before you start scheduling inspections. First, Keep ScoreIt's normal to visit several houses in one day, and the details will begin to blend. I like to score on a scale of 1 to 10. It makes for an easy review when you begin narrowing down to fa... 01/15/2011

A year sounds pretty far into the future. But think back to last year at this time. Doesn't it feel like just yesterday? Our lives are moving so fast, and the best things come to those who prepare. Let's say you want to sell your house in about a year. The kids will be gone (or the baby will be here). You've had enough of the winters (or summers). Whatever the reason, there are things to start now to have a smooth sale, and get the best price, for your home: Take stock of your home and its condition. It's easy to get comfortable with the little things that don't work: the door that sticks, the window that fogs up. If you just don't see the forest for the trees, have a friend to help you look at your home through "new eyes." Then make a list of basic repairs and fix them. Do you have an ... 01/13/2011

You can't see much in the dark, and winter months make it hard for home buyers to do much touring on weekdays.  By the time you have left work, it's almost dark.  That means house hunting probably is best done on weekends.  Just a couple weeks ago, days began to get longer.  There is now almost enough time for a quick home showing or two before it's too dark to see the outside of a home. If you're thinking of buying this spring, do yourself a favor and start looking now.  Interest rates could creep up, and other buyers will also start creeping up to compete for the finest available home listings.  The time to buy is before the competition shows up with a competing offer.  Don't wait until you have more competition for the good ones.  It's not a matter of months, but weeks before you may... 01/07/2011

Do you know a returning veteran? Lakeville is one of the best places to live in Minnesota, and is a Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Community. Complete details at the City of Lakeville website. The Lakeville Beyond the Yellow Ribbon campaign is aimed at helping returning veterans re-integrate into life at home, in a community that honors and supports them. The mission is to bring vets ALL THE WAY HOME by: Honoring local veterans and their families Building partnerships to assist veterans and their families Providing resources and awareness of veterans' issues Building support for organizations and programs to honor veterans ....lots more....click here   Barbara CharltonRES RealtyLakeville Homes for Salewww.BarbaraCharlton.comPhone: 612-414-6721 11/25/2010

Lakeville home and property sales information for first time home buyers, home sellers, and relocation to the Lakeville MN area. It was a good month for Lakeville home and property sales. Some different numbers compared to it's border cities but here we go. New listings were  unchanged? That doesn't happen very often. Closed sales were down 35%. Remember this time last year we had the first time home buyers tax credit and the credit for home sellers so this isn't surprising. Average days on market were unchanged. Home sellers are realistic on what their homes are going to sell for and pricing them correctly on day one of the listing. It is taking a little of 4 months to sell but we are headed in the right direction. Single family inventory was up 12% and town house and condo inventory ... 11/13/2010

There are a lot of homes on the market, and there are a lot of homes that were listed and failed to sell. Many homeowners have listed their Lakeville homes for months with nothing to show for the effort but an expired listing contract and a pile of buyer agent business cards. Lots of showings and no action, sound familiar? When you sell real estate, you need all the help and information you can get to gain advantage over other sellers. You're not only competing with your neighbors who want to sell their homes, you're also competing with foreclosures and short sales. Selling a home is not easy, but it's not impossible either. If you have tried to sell your home and it failed to sell, you probably need our help. We are well-equipped to conduct a thorough and straight-forward analysis of y... 10/01/2010

Real Estate Market Update for August 2010 for first time home buyers, home sellers, and relocation to Lakeville MN. New listings were down for the month around 4% with closed sales down 29%. The average days on market was down 41% to 96 days compared to 164 for last year this time. Homes are moving quickly that don't need work and are priced correctly on the first day of the listing. Single family inventory was up 16% and townhouse and condo inventory was up 7%. Start you Lakeville home search here. Updated lists as listings become active. 09/19/2010

I have exciting news but I need your help. I have been selected as one of the Top 10 Finalists in the National Kirkland's Designer Search. The winning Five Designers will be chosen by America's Vote. Your time to log onto their site and vote would be greatly appreciated. Log onto www.mykirklands.com. After you click "vote for me" you must click "cast my ballot" then enter your email address. You'll get an email immediatley to confirm your vote. Thank you for your time and your consideration! Voting ends Aug, 17th.   08/03/2010

Information for first time home buyers, home sellers, and relocation for Lakeville MN.   What a change from the previous month for Lakeville. Where have all the buyers gone? New listings were down almost 7% with closed sales down 28%. Median sales price was up 6% and that is related to fewer homes being on the market. Average sales price is up for the month 8.5% with the percent of original sales price received at closing was unchanged. Average days on market is 97 days. That is a good sign but also inventory is down. Many home owners are upside down on their mortgages so they have a tough decision to make, short sale, foreclosure, or stay put and try to make ends meet. Single family inventory was down 3.6% and town house and condo inventory down almost 1%. Lakeville, MN     June     Ju... 07/22/2010