Information for buyers and sellers
Vendor Recommendations
Lifestyles recommends the following vendors:
Financing – AJ Kozlak .
Home Inspections – Structure Tech.
Closing – Cindy Lefaive at LANDTITLE.
Lifestyle goals
If you are buying or selling a home you are likely making a lifestyle choice. What is really important to you – good schools, access to public transportation, living near, or on a lake, biking trails, running trails, boating and fishing, parks, living downtown or close to downtown? What location best suits your lifestyle? Look in the Lifestyles section for information to help you find the right location.
Financial goals
Whether you are buying or selling a home there are many factors that affect the financial goals of your real estate transaction – things like closing costs, mortgage insurance, interest rates, market trends, housing inventory, etc. Buyers want to stay on budget, negotiate the best possible price and avoid surprises at closing; sellers want to get the best possible price and also avoid any surprises at closing. Look in the Real Estate section for information that will help buyers and sellers reach their financial goals.
If there is information you would like to see that is not available here – please let us know – contact LIFESTYLES.
Lifestyles
Schools
High Schools
The quality of schools in a neighborhood is often high on the priority list of home buyers. See Niche.com for the latest ranking of public high schools in Minnesota.
All Schools
If you are looking for a more comprehensive list of schools – public, private, charter, pre-school, elementary, middle and high school – try one of these links:
www.localschooldirectory.com.
www.greatschools.org.
Twin Cities Area Lakes – Water Recreation Access
As you would expect in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, recreation on or near water is a favorite pastime for many in all seasons – whether it is swimming, boating, sailing, fishing, canoeing, picnicking or just hanging out at the beach. There are 1390 lakes located in the Twin Cities metro area!
Check out Minnesota’s DNR web page on Twin Cities Area Water Recreation Access.
Parks and Recreation
Twin Cities – 7 County Region
Each of the 7 counties in the Twin Cities area provide a website with information about their parks. Check out the links below for the county your are interested in.
Hennepin County Parks.
Ramsey County Parks.
Anoka County Parks.
Carver County Parks.
Washington County Parks.
Dakota County Parks.
Scott County Parks.
Minneapolis and St. Paul
Both Minneapolis and St. Paul have extensive park systems. In fact, Minneapolis was recently awarded top honors on a national park rating system – see
Best Park System in the USA.
See the following links for information about the parks in Minneapolis and St. Paul:
Minneapolis Parks.
St Paul Parks.
Sports
The Twin Cities area is well known for it many miles of public trails used for biking, running and walking. Did you also know the north metro – Blaine – has the world’s largest amateur sports and meeting facility? Soccer, hockey, golf, football, baseball, skating, biking, lacrosse, rugby, broomball and more are offered at the National Sports Center.
The Twin Cities was ranked #1 overall best biking city in the US by Bicycling Magazine.
Real Estate
The Closing
Check out this video for a general overview of the closing process.
Looking for more detailed information about closing? The Minnesota Attorney General provides more details and some helpful hints that could save you money.
Understanding PMI
What is PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) and how does it work?
The Minnesota Attorney General provides the following info on PMI – Private Mortgage Insurance.
Housing Trends
The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors (MAAR) provides monthly housing trend information relevant for the Twin Cities region – see their Monthly Indicators page.
