Inside 416 31st Ave. N., The Site Of So Much Misery In The Eco Village

Photo By Jeff Skrenes

Everything that can go wrong with 416 31st. Ave. N. in recent years has, indeed, gone wrong. You name it; everything from crack cocaine to poison ivy.

In a recent post, click here, I wrote about how the MLS even had the WRONG PICTURE when this house was finally listed...

Today I tagged along with some friends--serious buyers--and checked the place out. For one thing, I wanted to see how a $150,000 house just magically materialized in the Eco Village amid all the houses which go for, like, $17,500 to $18,500. Were SPACE ALIENS involved? Was the house brought there from Future North Minneapolis?

We were surprised to find 416 31st Ave. N. was relatively clean inside, and there was no evidence of squatters. We expected to find a much different situation. What we discovered was a bit encouraging, because we could tell neighbors like "Patty Cake" and "the Polish Lady" not to worry.

As always, I learned something about real estate. I learned some crap called "indoor/outdoor carpet" costs very little and most renters don't know the difference, so that's what slumlords like to use. I learned it's possible to convert a big dining room into another bedroom by sheet rocking the entry arch. Oh, sure, the result looks stupid...but who cares if you can add another bedroom and get more money from Section 8?

But here's a little mystery in the house. Check out these words in the photo taken by Jeff Skrenes. Look closely. The words are in raised white letters. We weren't sure how it was done, but I'm speculating it was written in nail polish...then painted over.

These eerie ghost letters in the wall say: "Lady Magic a.k.a. Magic Feet"

See, kids, this is what happens when you do drugs.

A few hours after seeing this house, while visiting "Patty Cake," she told me horrifying stories about the pit bulls once raised at the house, a situation which dragged on for years until the police raided the house for drugs and shot a bunch of the pit bulls. This was about five years ago, she said.

"Did you see any pools of blood in the basement?" she asked me.

I had to admit...I wasn't really looking.