Annie And Bob Pacieznik

If you're not from the area...the new 312 Highway that everyone is talking about is really going to be the new Hwy 212....why a temporary name....I'm sure some genius has it all figured out.

Either way....being near a 212 off/on ramp will be vital to selling your rental as commuter friendly. - Tue May 13 2008, 07:16

If you're looking for biking/walking trails, then you will LOVE the Twin Cities. The biking trails in metro area ROCK!!!...check out the City of Minneapolis website to learn more about the Minneapolis area. Also, the SW LRT trail extends out west (see the Three Rivers District website).. Some cities like Golden Valley and my home town of Edina don't have as extensive of a trail system as Minneapolis does...but...if you're in the right spot in those cities it's easy enough to join up with the Minneapolis and SW Light Rail Trail systems....We love biking/running/walking in the Twin Cities...it's awesome...take a look at our website to see a couple of videos of some of our rides/walks through the trail system. - Tue May 13 2008, 07:09

Tif, if you're not familiar with the Twin Cities you might want to know that a 20 minute drive really limits you to within the 494-694 loop....with a few exceptions to the north and minus a few areas to the west. What does that mean? That means you're missing out on some outer ring suburbs...like Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Apple Valley, Woodbury...etc...If you're willing to push the drive out to a 30 minute drive you'll include a ton more homes that have great school systems and will most likely offer more home for your buck.

I suppose the same can be said for your neck of the woods in Pittsburgh. It kind of depends on how far you want to drive...and how important other factors are, like age of homes, age of communities, style of homes, school districts...

Congratulations on the new job...and good luck with the move - Mon Apr 21 2008, 13:20

Myron...I'm sorry but you need some tough love...I'm sure you want honesty, and here it is...

THE #1 way to market your home is PRICE IT RIGHT. Commission just doesn't matter if you're not priced right...think about it...what agent (who has a fiduciary duty to their client) is going to tell their buyer to buy a home that they know isn't priced correctly just because they're getting a bit more in commission. I think you're realizing that this just isn't going to get you a buyer.

2nd of all...you say you have a lake home...remember...just because a home has access to a lake, like deeded access or it backs up to a channel that's connected to the lake...it doesn't mean buyers will pay more for that home....when a buyer thinks of a lake home they're dreaming of..."their own beach...a sweeping view of the lake...seeing sunsets/sunrises across the lake from their home..." If your home doesn't have these features, you just can't compare to a home that does...

Sorry to be so tough...but you sound like you're tired of trying to sell the home and want to get it done. Good luck and hope our answer helped. - Mon Apr 21 2008, 07:48

Great question...before I look it up on the mls, my gut says no chance...no way 1 acre with water AND in top 5 school district for under $500K... Just for fun, let me look....(I'm back)...I did a top 10 district search...oops, I just noticed Mpls suburb criteria, I did a couple St Paul suburbs...I get 31 homes fitting the search criteria but WITHOUT the wood/water restriction....with water....I see 4...2 of which are pending...and the pending one is on a pond.

I think I kind of get what you're looking for...a reasonably sized home (2500-3000 sq ft)...in a beautiful setting....woods and water....with good schools. I think for you to get more results and still find a home that feels like what you're visualizing do the following....decide what's most important....can you live with a 2 car garage (more listings then fit the criteria)....is a 1/2 acre wooded ok?....what kind of water are you looking for...is it lake front, is it a pond, is it a non-recreational lake....it seems like PRICE & SCHOOLS are the 2 criteria you don't and shouldn't have flexibility with...the others make a big difference...

Ok, enough...it's time to call it a night...good luck with the search.. - Sun Apr 13 2008, 22:14