Sold in Burnsville! Lesson Learned: Closings Can Move
October 9, 2009
Back in August I posted about this home in Burnsville that a client was purchasing using the First Time Homebuyers credit as a driving force in buying their first home – First Time Buyer Credit
The property did close this week after a number of fits and starts with the seller (the bank owner) and the 2 title companies. This home had a closing scheduled for 3 different days that didn’t happen -
- The original closing was scheduled for September 30th at 4pm but the seller (bank) demanded that they have funds in hand by the end of business day since it was the end of the month. Since that wasn’t realistic with a 4pm closing we had to move it
- It wasn’t going to happen then anyway because when we tried to move it to October 2nd the sellers title company couldn’t get the deed package done in time
- Finally, we had everything from the sellers side and picked a closing of Wednesday October 7th at 8am. Then the buyers title company had their computer systems crash late on the 6th and couldn’t print all of the closing documents. We signed what we could at 8am but the buyer had to come back later in the day to finalize the signing and claim the keys
Lesson Learned – be patient when setting your closing and realize that there are things that happen out of the control of your Realtor that can cause the best laid dates to change.
That said, even with all of these changes my buyer was extremely happy to take possession of their first home and has already gotten started on making it their own.
Burnsville’s Performing Arts Center – Beauty & Controversy
September 30, 2009
The $20 Million Burnsville Performing Arts Center opened in January 2009 as an anchor to central Burnsville’s business district. It was envisioned as a central showcase for arts and business development in the “Heart of the City”. Along the way, there has been a backlash from some citizens about the cost and process used to approve and run the Center.
The Building
The facility itself is located at 12600 Nicollet Avenue and includes 2 theatres, a 1,014 seat main stage (the Proscenium Theater) and a smaller, more intimate 150 seat venue (the Black Box). There is also an Art Gallery which is open Thursday & Friday afternoons from 1-5pm and Saturday from 10am-2pm. Finally, the building also has rehearsal, meeting & reception spaces.
The Arts Center partnered this year with Burnsville School District 191 to open the Envision Academy of the Arts magnet school for grades 9-12. The first year attracted 65 students (capacity 150).
The Grounds
The scene outside the building is very nice. There is an outdoor performance area, lots of flowers, water features and the building lights up in different colors at night.
The Controversy
The building was back in the news this week as they city council approved more funding to improve the facility – More Funds Sought For Burnsville PAC
There was a definite lack of performances scheduled early on and the center was losing more money than expected early on (warning – salty & negative language) – PAC to Lose $825k?
Moving Forward
Despite the acrimony, the Burnsville Performing Arts Center is a beautiful space and is starting to get a much fuller list of upcoming performances across a wide spectrum of interests – Event Calendar
For a complete album of the 25 pictures I took at the PAC visit my Facebook album – Bill’s Fan Page Photo Album
Dakota County Taxes – County & Cities Holding Tight
September 11, 2009
The current economy and drop in property values is causing many local government entities to make some difficult budgeting decisions. As property values decline the amount of property taxes goes down as well unless county and city commissioners raise rates to make up for this shortfall. This is forcing some difficult decisions for many.
That said, Dakota County and many of the counties cities are making the decision not to raise rates for the 2010 budget year. Especially since the state government reduced county and city governmental aid to address its own budget issues. Luckily, Dakota County and most of its cities aren’t as dependant on state government aid as some are.
Dakota County is setting it’s taxing levy at the same amount as in 2009 and is addressing a budget gap through eliminating vacant positions. Dakota County Holds Levy Steady
The move sets the county up for a tight year financially, with the board trying to erase a projected $9 million budget gap by cutting spending
The cities of Burnsville and Rosemount also made the decision to go with no increases for the coming year. Burnsville Won’t Increase Taxes Rosemount has been reducing debt in recent years which helped it reduce taxes in 2010 and possibly 2011 – Rosemount Taxes to go Down
Mendota Heights did buck the trend and has approved a preliminary levy increase of 1.66 percent for the coming year – Mendota Heights Approves Steady Spending
Farmers’ Market Locations in Dakota County
September 2, 2009
The Saint Paul Farmers’ Market operates 8 different satellite locations in Dakota County. The Farmers Market is enjoying a resurgence in popularity as consumers are searching for healthier eating alternatives and a chance to buy & support local growers.
The Market is operated by the St. Paul Growers’ Association, Inc. The association allows only fresh, locally grown produce to be sold–directly from the grower to the consumer. Also available are bakery goods, cheese, poultry, buffalo, venison, beef, pork, lamb, maple syrup, eggs, bagel sandwiches, honey, organic plants and produce, flowers, plants, shrubs and many other items (varies by location).
Here’s where you can find them:
| Inver Grove Heights Thursdays 8055 Barbara Ave June 25 – Oct 15, 09 3:30pm – 6:30pm |
Rosemount Tuesdays 13885 So Robert Trl June 23 – Sept 22, 09 2pm – 6pm |
Lakeville Wednesdays 208th & Holyoke June 17th – Oct. 28th, 09 12pm – 5pm |
South St. Paul Wednesdays 7th Avenue & Marie Ave Central Square Park June 24 – Sept 23, 09 3pm – 6:30pm |
| West St. Paul Fridays Signal Hills Mall June 19 – Oct. 30, 09 8am – 12pm |
Burnsville Thursdays Mary Mother of the Church 3333 Cliff Road May 7 – Oct 29, 2009 12pm – 5pm |
Burnsville Saturdays Diamondhead Senior Center June 20 – Oct 24, 09 7am- 12pm |
Apple Valley Saturdays 7100 W 147th Street June 20th – Oct 24th, 09 8am – 1pm |
There are also a Farmers’ Markets in Farmington (not part of St. Paul’s system):
Farmington Farmers Market – (July-October)
109 Spruce Street
Farmington, MN
Thursdays
3:00-7:00 PM
First Time Home Buyers Credit in Dakota County Going Fast
August 31, 2009
The $8,000 first time home buyers credit is expiring on November 30th, 2009 which is causing a lot of action in the lower end of the home buying market in Dakota County, Minnesota and the rest of the Twin Cities. Buying in the <$200k price range is fast and furious as first time buyers try to get accepted deals in place by the end of September in order to beat the November 30th closing requirement. In addition to first time buyers there are lots of investors buying properties in that price range so multiple bid situations are common, especially on bank-owned properties.
Today, I had an offer accepted on this bank-owned home with a first time buyer. There were 8 offers on the home and the winning offer was above the asking price. This buyer will have a little work to do to get the home in shape for moving in but with a little sweat equity they will have some automatic equity in this home.
Time is winding down for anyone who wants to get an $8,000 tax credit from the government. Please contact me soon to answer any questions you have. Contact Me Form
Here’s the RE/MAX site with more details – First Time Buyers – Now’s The Time
Lake Conference Changes Coming
August 29, 2009
The primary high school athletic conference serving Dakota County schools is about to go through some big changes for the 2010-2011 season. There are currently 12 teams in the Lake Conference but the Minnesota High School League is forcing the Lake to take 4 large high schools (Wayzata, Minnetonka, Hopkins & Edina) and integrate them into current Conference. While Chaska & Chanhassen were already leaving the Conference, forcing the Lake to have 14 teams and forcing the Dakota County schools to compete with the much larger west metro schools is probably going to get them to create their own conference and blow the whole thing up.
John Millea at the Star Tribune has been following this story closely – Four Teams Shift to Lake Conference
Lake Conference officials did not want all four Classic Lake schools placed in their league and there has been speculation that the Lake would splinter if that happened. After Tuesday’s decision, that became more of a possibility.
The most likely outcome will be that the 4 District 196 schools (Eagan, Rosemount, Eastview & Apple Valley), the 2 District 194 schools (Lakeville North & Lakeville South), District 191’s Burnsville High and possibly the 2 Bloomington schools will defect to create a new conference. This would basically have the effect of booting Eden Prairie out of the current configuration to go join the other 4 new schools. The schools have until October 1st to create a new conference so we’ll know something soon.
Many homeowners buy their homes with their children’s high school sports in mind so the changes happening in Minnesota’s premier high school athletic conference do matter.
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