Andy Lindberg's Twin Cities Real Estate

09/09/2024

For you metro area folks, this is our big annual event at my Parish. This is its 40th year, come join us!

12/02/2023

Riding across the Lowry Bridge (1958)

Photo from the Star Tribune

02/18/2023

07/31/2018

04/24/2018

A warning about Real Estate email scams, Real Estate transactions are a lucrative target.

Here From Someone Who Lived It:

“After 6 years of deliberation we made the decision to sell our home in Madison, WI and movie closer to our family in Minneapolis. After renting for one year we found a home to purchase. We were fortunate that the proceeds from the sale of our home in Madison would be enough to purchase the smaller home in Minneapolis without a mortgage. The closing was scheduled for September 30, 2016. All the email contacts were made with the title company and the $205,700 purchase price was wired to the title company per email instructions. The title company notified us they received the funds and the closing was set to take place as scheduled. At the closing, after all the documents were reviewed and signed, we and the sellers were waiting for the closing officer to return with the sellers check and then transfer the house keys to us. After 20 minutes the closing officer returned and asked if we had wired the funds. When I said yes she returned to check one more time. After a time she returned and said the title company did not receive the wire. After a number of frantic phone calls we realized the wire instructions we received via email were not actually sent by the title company and the $205,700 we wired was now gone!
I got the FBI and local police involved in the fraud that same evening. As of this date, 4/2018, we have not recover any of the wired funds. Here are some things I have learned from this experience that may help others in the sale/purchase of real estate:
1. Real-estate businesses receive 10 times more spam with malicious links or attachments than organizations in healthcare and sciences, according to Google's analysis of spam targeting G Suite users in the first quarter of 2017.
2. This type of email fraud has become common enough that in March, 2016 the FTC, (Federal Trade Commission) and NRA (National Realtors Assoc) issued a warning about the threats to settlement funds. Stated in the warning the FTC said, "email is not a secure way to send financial information, and your real estate professional or title company should know that."
3. Many title companies, after sending wiring instructions by email, are protecting their clients by having the clients verify said instructions with a follow up phone call or fax. (NOT EMAIL) Some title companies are using encrypted email that only be opened with a password.
This is a very easy scam to stop. Point #3 above is critical. When you or your client receive ANY wire instructions through email always call, DO NOT EMAIL, the intended recipient of the funds and verify if the information you received was in fact what they sent!
In our case, someone had placed themselves between my email and the title company's email and intercepted the emails that were sent. At that point the middle-man "cut and pasted" what they wanted to say, then either sent the email on or returned it to the sender, making it appear as though it was received by the intended recipient.”

12/01/2017

Baby it's cold out there....

If you can spare a few hours in December to tackle some home maintenance, you'll save yourself a load of potential trouble—and repair costs—down the road.

03/04/2016

If you're like me, we need all the help we can get in color selection. Here's some help.

Home owners say they like color in their homes but they definitely have some hesitations in using it to decorate their spaces, according to a new survey by Better Homes and Gardens of nearly 400 home owners.

03/04/2016

This is an annual report that I look forward to, good information especially if you're planning to sell in the near term, put your money where it will do the most good.

Home buyers seem to appreciate upgraded kitchens and bathrooms, and a new roof the most.

03/04/2016

When I first started in Real Estate 28 years ago the local office was essential to the transfer of information, today not so much.

When Amy Smythe-Harris begins working with a new client, she always asks whether it’s all right if they never meet in person. She does make it a point to meet her first-time buyers, but Smythe-Harris estimates that 80 percent of her transactions are completed without a single face-to-face meeting.

01/02/2016

An article from earlier in the year but it's good to remember to check locally too for programs that may be of help to you, they're all over the place.
http://www.realtor.com/news/fannie-mae-first-time-home-buyer-closing-costs-help/

Fannie Mae Offers First-Time Buyers Help With Closing Costs

01/02/2016

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01/02/2016

The latest remodeling report is available, click on the link in the article, good information.
http://www.realtor.org/news-releases/2015/12/homeowners-reap-remodeling-benefits-whether-selling-or-staying-say-realtors

Homeowners often make improvements, both big and small, to their homes that can help yield positive results and garner top dollar from buyers.