Photos By Jenny The FlipperA recent article in the Star Tribune discussed the rather worrisome "absentee owner" trend in North Minneapolis, as incredibly affordable properties are snapped up by whoever has cash and credit in this tough market. Houses that were once valued at $180,000 are now going for, like, $17,500.
However, I don't worry about "absentee" owners very much, for two reasons...
First, city officials and neighborhood councils are going after individuals like Mahmood Khan and others who have revealed themselves to be slumlords. In fact, the Hawthorne Neighborhood recently put a slumlord's bloody, severed head on a pole and then, (breaking news!) fed the rest of the corpse to somebody's Vietnamese pot-bellied pig.
You can't make up stuff like this. Well, OK, you can.
Our struggle right now is to deal with the empty houses, by seeing them sold or--in a lot of very unfortunate cases--demolished. But once "who gets the houses" is resolved, the next battle shaping up will be "utopians versus slumlords" to determine the character of our neighborhood for, one suspects, many decades. That battle is already starting.
The SECOND reason I don't worry about absentee property owners: some of these absentee owners are wonderful, neighborhood-minded folks who have found a way to profitably flip houses yet also improve our neighborhood by putting property owners into refurbished, high- quality homes.
These photos are of 2755 Russell Ave. N. To buy this house, and meet the increasingly-famous "Jenny the Flipper," contact realtor Jeannie Hoholik, who was actually the first to feature this story on her blog, click here.
7 comments:
Hey JNS...Thanks for posting the pics of 2755 Russell Ave N. The transformation of this property from a house to a home was great fun! Now that it's ready for a new owner, I'm on to the next...
DO TELL!!!!
No, seriously, what's your next one? Do you have "before" pictures you could send me?
Well, if that's an example of flipping on the Northside, flip away. Great job!
Just want to remind your readers that this home is in the 55411 zip code and the Pohlad Foundation Funding of $8,000 is available toward the purchase of this home. If you're a first time home buyer, that's another $8,000!
Nice work!!!
I'm all for getting trashed houses ready for wonderful new families in our hood but can we please stop stripping northside bungalows of all their nice details? That farm sink, those original amber birch cabinets... GONE! And replaced with white Menards cheapys. The 2x2 tile in the bathroom. Yes its nice, yes its new, but 2x2 in a small bungalow bath makes it feel even smaller. I know its hard to believe but there are old home junkies who actually buy a home because of the original character of the house! Next time Jennifer removes these beauties please get a hold of me. My big old original sink has seen better days and sure could use a new one. Do you know how much those things cost to buy new?!
this old house aka old house addict said:
agree with Wendy, my ya ya sister.
If it sells, good for JTF. Next time, I'm available to help you save the home's character -- FREE OF CHARGE.
If that won't work -- contact me so that I can remove those fixtures and get them to others who can re-use them.
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