One of the things that have changed since we entered the real estate field is the number of single people buying homes, alone or together.  I am thinking of people who are not a “married couple”.  Sometimes, it is a same sex couple, two or more friends, mother and daughter, brother and sister, or boyfriend and girlfriend … young and old, just not covered by the legal protection of a marriage contract.

Everything seems to go great when you are making plans and the home is still a fresh dream.  You never expect to have a problem that cannot be talked over and handled together.

As realtors, we have some concerns.  We have seen where things got very messy and people special to us get hurt. That is why we “nag” about having a legal contract spelling everything out at the very beginning. Who pays for what and how do you divide the upkeep?  It is important to know what would happen if you decide to separate. 

How do you sell and divide the profit or loss?

We are including some of the areas to work out from an attorney’s viewpoint.  Use these as a starting point to discuss and decide before you sign the contract for the new home.

There are four important financial steps that unmarried couples need to take

and they need to take them sooner rather than later.

1.  Prepare and sign a Will.  Without a will your “next of kin” will inherit everything

    and your domestic partner will get nothing. 

2.  Title your house as “Joint Tenants”.  A joint tenancy creates a right of survivorship

     in the remaining partner.  This means that even without a Will the house will

     go to the surviving partner.

3.  Have a Domestic Partnership Agreement.  Such an agreement should deal with how

     assets will be purchased, owned, maintained and disposed of.  Agree now while everyone

     is agreeable!

4.  Be prepared for sickness.  Have a Healthcare Declaration and Power of Attorney giving 

     your partner the authority and power to make healthcare decisions.  Without it, we are  

     back to your “next of kin” making the decisions and possibly excluding your partner from

     even seeing you while you are sick.

For more information and assistance with domestic partnership issues please feel free to contact:

Jim Reichert

James A. Reichert, LLC

612-677-8332

jim@jareichertlaw.com

Here is another great article on this topic from The New York Times: 

Come Buy With Me and Be My Love

Many years ago, I wrote a children’s coloring book. The moral of my story was that your house, like your clothes, must fit you personally. When you’re 6, your Dad’s ski pants and snow boots are not such a great fit. Likewise, a house boat in Minnesota, where we get snows for the spring basketball tournaments, may not be the best option. The home that fit you when you were single, may not be suitable for your family of 5. A family home for an empty nester may be just too much work. There are many crossroads in our lives where we find that our house does not fit our lives. Sometimes our home is not the home that we want or like, but we love the neighborhood. What to do?

Unfortunately, the current economy doesn’t make questions of moving clear cut decisions. We don’t have a fool proof test that tells you when to move or remodel your existing home, but we will try to give you some of our thoughts.

I tend to think of homes as reusable shells. Sometimes that shell needs to expand or change, which brings up a lot of questions. If you bought when the market was a seller’s market, it may not be feasible financially to move to a better fit. If your house is the right size and location you may be able to renew your shell by redesigning or remodeling, to better suit your updated needs.

If moving is your answer, we can meet with you and give you a free competitive market analysis that will tell you what the market shows as a listing price for your property both as is and with any additional potential changes. We also coordinate automated searches that give you listings of homes that meet your physical needs, are situated in the areas you love, and are in locations with schools, jobs, church, or anything else that plays an important role in your life.

Next, let us show you homes that meet your physical needs. We find it helpful to be in homes during private showings so you can explore the home and your feelings, with time to relax and think about the process.

After considering all the options, you can make your decision to move or improve.

Remember, your changes may not always be seen as improvements to a buyer. For instance, a finished upper level bedroom may not be as desirable if there’s no bathroom. Some things are safe to do: an expanded garage, updated master bath, new kitchens, and central air are always safe investments. See the article on Cost vs. Value to see what the improvement may mean to you.

We are including several links for you to explore. It’s important to get a bid for each job, in writing. Be prepared for the unexpected. Plan, plan, plan and then plan. If you can camp out at a cabin or with family or friends, it’s worth it for both your comfort and the contractor’s convenience. I am an interior designer and one of the hazards of living with me is my love of the design process. My family has endured many projects and we don’t look back on them as the most relaxing times in our lives but I loved the challenge and we all loved the finished results!

Dick & Gleni Sprague
Coldwell Banker Burnet
Dick: (612) 827-9473
Gleni: (612) 827-9474
Gleni Cell: (612) 227-6565
www.SpragueHomes.com

India has always fascinated me as a mystical and mysterious land of intrigue, romance, and vivid colors mixed in with abject poverty (and now our computer help desks!). The disparity between the magnificent beauty and the incredible poverty has always interested me but I felt helpless to do anything about it until recently.

Through our church, we have been introduced to Tribal Mission which is an indigenous organization operating in the state of Tamil Nadu.  Tribal Mission operates the Bethany Medical Center , a 60 bed hospital which provides low cost care to communities in the area. They also operate the Bethany School of Nursing which provides a two-year training program for local women in basic nursing.  Another program is the Bethany School/Hostel which provides room, board, and education for students from the surrounding tribal areas who otherwise would not be able to obtain an education. The Mission also provides training such as computer and tailoring skills, to help enable tribal adults to become more self-sufficient.

Bethany Medical Center is staffed by a group of doctors who receive about 30% of the operating income from the services they provide and rely on donations to continue.  Unfortunately, these donations are not enough and they need our help to continue and grow.   Two of the members of our congregation went to India and met with the Bethany Medical Center to discuss our involvement. We decided to partner with them to build a Mother-Child facility.  This will be a unit that will provide free services for the poor in the community but will also be modern enough to attract women from the growing middle class in a nearby village, enabling the unit to become close to self sufficiency.

Our commitment is for an 8 bed unit. We are now working to provide the needed medical equipment and have about half of the needed building funds and a portable lab but we need your help. My immediate goal is to provide a couple of the baby bassinets. Our dollars go further in India and we are planning on about $500 a bassinet. By providing modern, up to date obstetrics and new baby care, this facility could easily become the hospital of choice for patients even from the nearby larger cities.

I am so excited to bring this to you. We encourage you to watch our video about the villages, its people, the hospital and doctors, and the school. Enjoy the beauty of the people and the existing medical facilities.  Next year, come back and see the advances we have made for the Mother- Child unit.

Remember, this may be your future doctor, teacher, or computer tech- let’s help her or him with a healthy start in life. All your gifts can be sent to Hope Church at 72 Portland Ave S., Richfield, MN and please put “India Mother-Child Unit” on memo. Many small amounts of money will grow into a modern, self-sufficient medical facility.

Warm thanks for all your help and prayers.

Dick & Gleni Sprague

Dear Clients,

I have had many questions on Flood Insurance so I thought I would pass this information.

The only items covered in the basement (below ground level) are the utilities and appliances.  Excluded are personal property, carpet, and drywall (sheet rock).  Basically, if your basement is finished, the flood policy will not pay to have it finished.  Your home policy does not cover it either.  Per the flood policy, rapid water run-off (i.e. snow melt) is covered. 

I have attached a standard flood policy and a flood brochure which is simple to read and more comprehensive for review.  If you have questions, or would like a flood quote, please contact me.

Below is a snapshot of flood insurance quotes for a home in Minneapolis which is typically not in a flood zone.  Premiums will vary depending on the food zone.

Thanks,

Jay

Jay Petersen Agency, Inc.

6519 Nicollet Ave. S., Suite 2-A

Richfield, MN 55423

Bus.  612-869-2745

Fax.  612-869-2742

jay@jaypetersenagency.com

www.insurancebrokersmn.com

Society today gives us up to date information on wars, weather events, political crisis’, natural disasters, and everything else. Thanks to the NY Times and BBC apps on my I-Phone, I can learn what is happening in the US and remote regions of the world. Our neighbors are not just the families on the block; they live around the world. Ignorance is bliss but getting this global perspective adds to my anxiety about my responsibilities to others.

I am writing this the week before Christmas and this time of the year brings a recycling bin of requests for money.  Some send us “gifts” of calendars, labels, or coins.  Most of these charities have taken our names from checks from past gifts but some have just found us through purchased mailing lists. Most of these charities are valid and worthy charities and I believe in their goals and causes but resent being sent junk mail that I have to shred.

I grew up in a faith-based family where giving was done mainly through one’s church.  World needs were brought to us via news from missionaries.  Local problems were taken care of by local people loading food and money into the car and delivering them to families in need. We trusted our church staff to deal wisely with our dollars.  Our family built our house with extra space to accommodate people who needed a home…fear or doubt weren’t issues. Charity was just something that was done. It was a trusting, simple era.

It is not that easy today.  Now we need to spend time on analyzing how and where to give.  My family and Augsburg College instilled a sense of responsibility but not always a guideline to making choices. This is an ongoing study for me.

I spent years as a social worker in the settlement house field under the supervision of Archie Goldman.  His advice was always to get out on the street to find the needs, work with the people in developing programs, and then help them find resources to support those programs long-term.  The charities cannot be too top-heavy, or spend most of their funding on marketing themselves.  These guidelines are still important to me, not only for local charity, but worldwide causes as well.

Now that times have changed for the world, our giving dollars have been reduced while the needs have become greater. This economy has meant limited funds for most of us.  There are more and more people who need our help.  We have been exposed to greed and corruption and so we do not blindly trust. This is the dilemma – who and what to support? 

I would love to hear your thoughts, feelings and observations on this issue.  How do you decide who to give to and what causes are worthy to you?

Dick & Gleni Sprague
Coldwell Banker Burnet, Minneapolis Parkway

Dick   (612) 827-9473
Gleni  (612) 227-6565
Fax#   (612) 827-0255

GSprague@cbburnet.com
http://sprague-homes.com

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In many ways, Southwest Minneapolis is a town with in a city. We have our own favorite shopping nodes, restaurants, the lakes and Minnehaha creek, plus many parks and trails. Coffee houses are our neighborhood pubs.  Walking around the neighborhood, you know that “dogs rule”. 

We also want to share a little about our history.  Years ago, the city of Minneapolis basically stopped at Minnehaha Creek. Beyond the creek, this area was country! In the 1880′s, a number of German immigrants settled here and started truck farms, raising vegetable crops for both the local and Chicago markets.  The Bachman family owned land from 58th to 62nd Sts and from Lyndale Avenue to Colfax Avenue. Bachman’s farm included all the land that is now 58th Street down to the Crosstown. The Wagner and Cornelius families owned farm land near 60th and Penn.  Those farms flourished through the 1920′s.  

Kenny Neighborhood’s borders are from Lyndale to Logan, and 54^th street to the Crosstown.  We have easy access to the freeway system and to the city bus.  Shopping is a breeze with our shops located 54^th and Lyndale, and 54^th and Penn Avenue. Southdale, Southtown, and downtown are easy to get to for serious shopping. 

Click here to view a detailed map of Kenny Neighborhood

Our area was once known as the “Garden Area” and we are fortunate to still have so many wonderful garden centers surrounding us. The Kenny Garden Club established the gardens at 54^th and Lyndale and 56^th and Lyndale.  Kenny School has an incredible garden that was the developed by an ambitious teacher with a green thumb and is maintained by students and parents.

Kenny neighborhood was built around the elementary and middle schools and park. This site grew to become the center of the community.  The homes in this area were built for returning WWII GI’s in the early 1950’s.  A neighbor of ours had a picture of cows coming down the hill and grazing where our home now stands. 

We are no longer country but a small ‘town’ of neighbors who love equally the location, their neighbors, the schools and parks,  being able to bike or walk for coffee and groceries, and our secret gem, Grass Lake.  It is a hidden migratory lake that is a peaceful place to enjoy wildlife and feel like you still in the country.

Our housing stock is made up of mainly 1 ½ story homes with a few two story homes among them.  The area from 60^th to Crosstown was a development that was ahead of it’s time with ramblers that have attached garages. We were the trailblazers for this style of home in Minneapolis.  Our homes still retain good value and are popular because of location, quality, and prices. 

Call us to explore living in Southwest Minneapolis- we welcome an opportunity to share of love of our community!

Dick & Gleni Sprague
Coldwell Banker Burnet, Minneapolis Parkway

Dick   (612) 827-9473
Gleni  (612) 227-6565
Fax#   (612) 827-0255

GSprague@cbburnet.com
http://sprague-homes.com

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