Welcome!

Looking for an agent you can trust and who will put your needs ahead of theirs?  I’ve always done that – and always will.  Here’s what one client said:

Wow! What an incredibly intelligent caring and understanding real estate agent! I was very impressed with every aspect of Bob’s work ethic. To find an agent nowadays that is really looking out for you and finds a solution that works best for you is priceless! I would recommend Bob Gilbert in a heart beat if you are looking for someone to take care of your real estate needs.     Marta H, Prior Lake

If that sounds like the type of agent you’re looking for, I’d be happy to help you buy or sell your home.  I work with everything from luxury homes. lakeshore and golf homes, to first time buyer homes throughout the Twin Cities area.  Each and every client is a priority to me!  And just in case you haven’t heard already, now is an amazing time to sell your home! We have more buyers than homes for sale!  Prices are starting to recover, interest rates are still near record lows, and buyers are motivated to buy.  I’d be happy to do a no obligation market analysis on your home if you’re wondering what price it might bring.

Searching for a home?  Click on ‘Home Search’ above for one of the easiest home search tools available.  You can find what you’re looking for with only one click in many cases.  Best of all, the data is real-time so it’s always current.

If you have any questions or if I can help in any way, please contact me either through the “Contact Me” link above, or if you’d prefer just call me at 612-239-3238.  I look forward to working with you and helping you achieve your real estate goals!

Bob G

Barclays: Home Prices to Rise 10% This Year | Realtor Magazine

This may very well be true!  We’re seeing homes sell at prices that still amaze me.  Homes are listed and selling for far more, in many cases, than I would have thought.

Barclays: Home Prices to Rise 10% This Year | Realtor Magazine.

First Impressions: Your Front Entrance

Reblogged from minnrealtors:

First impressions are made at the front door. Before buyers see the staged home, smell the cookies baking, or hear the pleasant music, they drive up and see the front entrance. The color of your front door and how orderly your garden is says more than you may think. Potential buyers drive by, and your home entrance may encourage them to stop and schedule a showing or to keep going by.

Read more… 264 more words

But do you know what the various colors suggest - red vs blue for instance? Is one better than the other?

Is your house trying to kill you? – MSN Real Estate

Is your house trying to kill you? – MSN Real Estate.

How to Get More For Your House (Not)

So, you’re thinking of selling your home.  Maybe you could sell it yourself and save the commission – but no, that would be too much hassle.  So then you decide to interview a few real estate agents so you can pick the best one for the job.  If you are one of the few people who don’t already have a neighbor, friend, or relative who is an agent…you call around and make appointments for 2 or 3 agents to come by and try to convince you that they’re the best you could possibly get.

Agent A is well dressed, obviously well trained, presents you with tons of information on them and their company along with a comprehensive, detailed Competitive Market Analysis, or CMA (some people call it a Comparative Market Analysis, either one works).  Based on their research, they recommend that you list your home for $350,000 and tell you that it should sell in a reasonable period of time at that price.

Agent B comes along next.  Maybe he (or she) is well dressed and obviously well trained…but then again maybe not.  He doesn’t have all the information that Agent A brought along for you.  He doesn’t present you with a CMA at all, but he glances around the home and because of his vast experience in your area, he knows that he can get you $410,000 for your home.  No doubt about it.  He’ll even give you a discount on the commission.  Just sign right here on the dotted line.

So do you want to get $350,000 or $410,000???  Sadly, most people will go with the $410,000 from Agent B.  After all, it’s their home.  They know it’s worth a lot of money because they fixed it up, they painted, they improved it.  Plus, Agent B promised a lower commission!  How could it possibly get any better than this???

Then weeks go by with little interest.  There hasn’t been a single ad or open house.  Agent B stops by and says it looks like you’d better lower your price because of the low activity.  By now, the house has become stale on the market.  So the price has to drop again – and again.  It might even finally drop below the market value just to generate any buyer interest at all.

Unfortunately this scenario happens time and time again.  So here’s what you, Mr. Seller, need to know:

A REAL ESTATE AGENT CANNOT SET THE SELLING PRICE OF A HOME.  Nope.  No way.  No how.  Not ever.  They just can’t do it.  THE MARKET SETS THE SELLING PRICE.  No agent can guarantee to get you a certain price for your home.  An agent can recommend a listing (asking) price but you should be the one to determine the final listing price.  The market will then determine what it will actually sell for.  It’s only worth what a buyer is willing to pay – not what an agent promised you he could get for it.

So when it comes time to choose your agent, please don’t fall for the promise of a higher price (or lower commission, since you usually get what you pay for).  Make your choice based on the agent’s (and their company) qualifications, how well they relate to you, and how hard they’re willing to work for you.

Until next time, happy home selling/buying.  And as usual, if you have any real estate questions, I’d be happy to answer them for you.

Where’s the (Italian) Beef???

There’s little doubt that the real estate market is picking up – and that’s putting it mildly!  New home construction in the Minneapolis area is reported to be up 80%.  Existing homes are selling like hotcakes (and no, I have no idea why hotcakes are used as an example), often with multiple offers.  There’s a lot of pent up buyer demand out there and not enough houses for sale to go around.  But enough of that real estate talk.  Today’s subject is restaurants – specifically, Italian restaurants in the Minneapolis area.  And the question is: where are they???

I know of excellent, authentic, non-chain Italian restaurants in St. Louis (my favorite) and Chicago.  I even know of very, very good local places to get genuine Italian beef sandwiches, Chicago dogs, etc (Chris and Rob’s at 3101 E 42nd St – check ‘em out at www.chrisandrobs.com or better yet, stop by).  But the question that remains is, where are the great dine-in, full service Italian restaurants in the area?

I’m looking for a place that looks like it’s been there since the days of prohibition, dimly lit, with autographed pictures on the walls of all the celebrities who have visited.  It must be operated by a real Italian family who has had the restaurant for a very long time.  It must have genuine Italian food, not the Americanized versions.  And they must, must, must have great cannoli for dessert, even if it isn’t on the menu.  Is that asking for too much??

Admittedly I haven’t personally visited each and every Italian restaurant in the area.  If I did I wouldn’t be able to scoot up close enough to my keyboard to type (the dreaded midriff bulge).  So help me out.  There must be something like I’m craving somewhere in the greater Minneapolis area.  Where, oh, where are you, my newest and most favorite Italian eatery???  I know you’re out there so show yourself!

As usual, have a terrific house buying/selling day!  Send me your referrals for business and also your recommendations for a restaurant!

Horrible Real Estate Pictures

Today’s subject is one of my favorites:  horrible real estate photos.  Here’s a good one:

Something is crooked here!

Don’t you wish that your agent could take great pictures like this?  It’s unbelievable to me that an agent who is hoping to sell a home and get paid a fairly big chunk of change would try to cut corners and publish pictures like this but an awful lot of them do.  It’s even more amazing that a homeowner would hire them in the first place!

Here’s another great one:

What’s this supposed to be?

Sure, it costs $$$ to pay a professional real estate photographer but in the overall grand scheme of things it really isn’t all that much – somewhere between $100 and $200.  These days the internet is the first place most people see a home for sale.  Why wouldn’t you want that first impression to be the best it could be?

Here’s one more shining example for you:

Isn’t this special???

If your home is currently listed and your agent has published pictures like this, I’d recommend that you insist that they hire a professional photographer and take new pictures.  And it shouldn’t be just any pro photographer – it should be one who has lots of experience with real estate photography.  It isn’t all that hard to find a good one.

So that’s it for today.  I’m off to try to list a house or two.  And by the way, I DO pay for professional photos!!  Have a terrific house buying (or selling) day!

Answer Your (Business) Email!!!

OK, while it might appear based on the subject of today’s post that I’m a bit frustrated….you’re right!  So today is venting day for me!  Please don’t take this too seriously, but it will make me feel a bit better!  And it does apply to anyone in any kind of business so it just might be good to get the word out.

In my business as a REALTOR, I spend a fair amount of my time communicating via email with business associates.  It seems, however, that many of them don’t have the time or the courtesy to reply!  Therefore I have determined that it’s time to provide them with the following business email etiquette information:

Business eMail Etiquette

Notice that one of the bullet points is to RESPOND PROMPTLY!  Grrrrrrrrr.  While you might think that just because you don’t personally know the person who sent you the email that you can simply delete it, better think again.  People tend not to forget those who don’t bother responding.  That very person whom you didn’t think was worthy of a response to their email might just be the person you need something from one day.  Think they’ll forget that you didn’t deem them worthy of a reply to their email?  I know I won’t.  I put you on a list.  And I check it twice.  (OK, so I’m just kidding about the list, but I will more than likely remember you!).

There now, I feel better.  So just remember, it really doesn’t take all that long to reply to someone who sends you a legitimate business email (not talking about spam – that stuff seriously needs to be deleted).  You just might be glad you did one of these days.  In any case, you’ll be more respected for it by your fellow business associates.

New Condos Coming to St. Louis Park!

So a few days ago I was riding around St. Louis Park to see what was for sale.  Lo and behold, I saw a condo displayed on my phone’s version of the Multiple Listing Service.  According to the map, I was sitting right beside the condo – but…there was no condo!  Then coincidentally, the very next day, a friend of mine got a call from the developer of the soon to be built condo complex.  We ended up meeting with him that same day to get the skinny on the new project.

The city hall for the city of St. Louis Park, in Minnesota. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Turns out that an existing building is going to be torn down and replaced with six, possibly seven, brand new condo buildings with each having six units (and no, it isn’t city hall (left) that’s being torn down!).  Every unit will be a corner unit.  To top things off (play on words), each building will have a rooftop deck!  The plan currently is for half of it to be available to any owner in the building and the other half would be privately owned by one owner in the building.

From the plans, it looks like the units will be amazing.  And the location is one of the best around.  It’s within walking distance of movies, restaurants, shops of all kinds, grocery stores, and even a Target store.

Unfortunately I can’t tell you a lot more about the project here since it could be considered as a form of advertising and I’m not the listing agent.  But I’d be more than happy to fill you in and to work for you as your buyer’s agent.  It doesn’t cost you anything for me to represent you.  All you have to do is call, email, or use the contact me button above.  I’m expecting these to go fast so don’t wait too long!   You can reserve your unit right now with only a $1,000 refundable deposit.

Rocker restores historic Kittery, Maine home | SeacoastOnline.com

Two of my favorite things in one article:  music and houses.  Read on to learn about Daryl Hall’s  (of Hall & Oates) work restoring houses.

Rocker restores historic Kittery, Maine home | SeacoastOnline.com.