I don’t live there, but I think it would be way better than a sharp stick to the eye. (My mom says that… sorry if you’re grossed out).
I do, however, spend time in Victoria whenever I get the chance.
My favorite things to do there are camp in the Carver Park Reserve – it’s not crowded, it’s clean, there is a really nice little beach, and a LOT of walking/hiking trails.
I also like camping there because it’s short trip into this adorable town for a civilized lunch, a glass of beer and / or an ice cream cone. I like my camping with a side of delicious food that I don’t have to cook. Haters… save it.
Victoria is located near the Landscape Arboretum and the UMN Apple House so you can get first dibs on the apple crop. Minnesotans are very in tune with apple varieties and that may be because the U breeds apples (is that the right term?) – they experiment and develop new varieties. Love your Honey Crisp? Thank the UMN. Into SweeTango’s … UMN.
Anyway – I’ve been out there a lot lately and not minding a bit. Check out what Victoria has to offer. Let me know if you have questions or ideas about another place you’d like to see. 🙂
I decided to do my latest neighborhood tour on Maple Grove, MN. It was like trying to eat an elephant in one bite. Maple Grove isn’t a “neighborhood” – it’s a city of over 60,000 people, so … I’ll call this an overview? Summary? Drive by? Basically, I was a little ambitious about what I thought I could include in one video.
Maple Grove Minnesota
In the video you can see the housing stock that is available – from a planned community surrounding Central Park including everything from apartments to townhouses and larger single family homes. I love the idea of having community space for a neighborhood to gather and enjoy, and this community space was really nice. A lake, a skating ribbon, playground, basketball and tennis courts, a farmers market every week – just so much to appreciate! The neighborhood is really close to 2 major shopping centers as well.
Maple Grove also has very easy access to freeways for commuting – it’s probably about 20-30 minutes to downtown Minneapolis during rush hour and far less when not. So you can get in and out of the city for Twins games or festivals relatively easily.
The other aspects that really appealed to me were access to giant lakes – big enough for motorized boats and water skiing, as well as Elm Creek Park Reserve. Elm Creek Park is part of the Three Rivers Park District – I was a fan of it before because we have found their trails to be really well marked, the camping uncrowded and clean, the parks are easy to access from the Twin Cities… but I had never been to this one. It is so nice! They have skiing and tubing in winter, disc golf, an off leash dog park, camping – in camper cabins if that’s your thing!, an enormous and amazing playground, a manmade swimming area, bike and roller blade paths, picnic areas… If I lived closer I would probably be there every week for one reason or another.
The homes that border the park are older and similar to what you see in many other suburbs of Minneapolis – ramblers or split levels.
Other things that stood out to me are the library – drop dead gorgeous! And HUGE. As well as the community center and all of the things that Maple Grove provides for its residents – from a pool to 2 hockey rinks and senior citizen services. If this is a suburb you’re considering at all – check out their web site and just start to get an idea of all the things that Maple Grove has. If the suburbs are your jam – I would say that Maple Grove should be near the top of the list.
Dr. appointments are held via telemedicine & Zoom calls. My cousin just ordered a CAR online and had it delivered to her house. You may now be buying your groceries online for delivery or curbside pick-up. We also buy just about everything from Amazon, pajamas for my kid, water filters for my fridge, I’ve even ordered a new antennae for my old VW Beetle from Amazon! We read a lot in our family and the libraries are mostly closed with some drive up options, but now we do kindle and download (I know that’s old hat, but it’s a new way for us).
Would you ever consider buying a home online?
This topic likely could have been one of the first that I put on my blog, but sometimes you do something so much that you forget that it’s unusual! Covid is bringing a lot of attention to it right now – a friend sent me a copy of this article in the Wall Street Journal about the fact that buying without seeing a home in person has gone from 3.5% of agents saying that they have done a contract this way to a whopping 31% in April of this year! All I could do was nod my way through it.
Buyers do this when they are in the military, moving from overseas, or simply relocating from another state. Obviously at any point a visit is welcome, but if it’s not possible then there are ways to make it work.
I know people start shopping for homes that way – they like to visit the big online portals for listings so that they can see what homes are for sale, see pictures, get information on taxes and prices etc.
I have a good understanding of the difficulty of relocation because of my personal history of moving from state to state for fun or job relocation and also knowing how hard that was without being able to piece together what life looked like – most especially when I moved to Minneapolis from Chicago, which had much higher stakes for us, we had a kid changing schools, no family here, homes to sell and buy…
I started my YouTube channel and have focused a lot on showcasing neighborhoods and homes of every price and type, as well as trying to show a bit about what life is like here in Minnesota.
I thought I would help people like me.
And I *AM*!!
I regularly get calls or emails from people that are moving to Minneapolis for work, school, medical care or just because they want to, and they are coming from every part of the United States and across the world. They may be thinking of renting at first or may also be ready to buy a home here.
So, how do you buy a home from a long way away? Well, it’s definitely not the same as when you’re here in person, and the most important thing is to find an agent that you can trust. Agents always act as your partner in the purchase of a home, but when you are buying from a distance this is far more important. Your agent will be able to give you the information that you need before making a decision. This can be data on sales, rising and taxes, information about what schools are there, to just being able to provide you with video and commentary on what is in the area.
A very important aspect is that you are very open and clear with your agent as to what you prefer and what things are important to you in a home. I’ve had clients that were very specific about wanting 2 acres of property in the south suburbs, to those that prefer a high rise in the heart of downtown and everything in between. For out of town clients I preview all homes for them and take a video tour. In some cases, I’ll look at anything available in their price range that meets their criteria – listings sometimes aren’t enough to decide. More than once I have bought a home that I didn’t even think I wanted to see based on the photos. If nothing else, this gives a very clear picture of the competition and a better idea of what to offer once you’ve narrowed down your choices.
You’ll still need to do all the basic things like get pre-approved for a mortgage (easily accomplished ONLINE!) so you know how much you can afford to buy. But after your preferences and budget are clear I generally try to do the following:
Set up a search on the MLS for you. People generally seem to love Zillow, but I believe that is probably because it’s what is available and people are used to it. It is also notoriously inaccurate. The best thing to do is to have an agent set up a search that meets YOUR criteria. This can be very specific – certain streets, specific layouts (ranch, 2 story, town house…), school districts. This is tailored specifically to YOU.
When you have an idea about neighborhood, I will film a neighborhood tour – this gives you a good sense of what the neighborhood looks like, what the streets look like, what businesses are there, is it very residential or mixed with industrial? Do you want to be able to walk or bike ride? What about public transportation and schools? Any funky smells? I can show these to you and you’ll have a private link on YouTube to look from afar.
When you find the neighborhood that you like and narrow down the homes, we can take this a step further. Agents always present their listings to the best advantage in pictures, but does this always match reality? No. So again – a video tour of the home, inside and out so that ALL aspects of the home and its situation are available for your evaluation – closets, basements, the street, the back yard. This can be on a video link or through Facetime so you can be “present” on the tour.
If the home is acceptable and you decide to move forward video can continue to do its job. The inspector may take video or your agent can attend in your place and video the inspection. This is helpful because you can pause at any time and rewatch as you like – it gives you some time to process what you’re seeing and hearing in the video. Sometimes inspections can feel overwhelming if it’s a first time buyer, but this actually gives you a way to slow it down.
We already do so much of our business on line – we sign contracts and loan docs, transfer money, search for homes, communicate often and easily via text or msg, this is just the last piece. You can likely close remotely assuming that signatures are notarized or witnessed, and you’ll be able to get keys either sent to you or held for pick up when you’re ready.
It’s always best if you can see the home yourself. Then you KNOW. But if you can’t, that doesn’t have to stop you from getting a home for yourself.
You just need to find an agent that is used to working remotely and is willing to put in the time to show you what you need to know to feel comfortable with your decision. I personally find this to be a really satisfying client to serve – it gives me a new perspective on my city and I get to welcome new residents to a place I love.
Are you in this situation? I’d love to help you out. Contact me or leave a comment with questions!
Equity is your ownership stake in the house. If your home is worth $300,000 and it’s paid off, you have have 100% equity in the home or equity of $300,000. Most people do NOT have 100% equity in their home, they may have put a 20% (or if it’s an FHA loan 3.5%) down payment and then owe the balance (80% or 96.5%). But that isn’t the end of the story. Beyond whatever your original down payment is, you can build “equity” in a home by doing what you can to improve the value of the home as well.
Most homes will increase in value over time and that means that beyond paying down principal, equity will increase as the home’s value increases because the value increase is YOURS and nothing to do with any debt to a mortgage company.
To use a very simplistic example: If a home’s value increases at 3% per year and the home was valued at $100,000 when it was purchased, the following year it would be valued at $103,000. You owe less on your loan because you’ve been paying down the principal AND if you were to sell your home would it likely get $3k more than it would the year before, and that money is yours.
Here are some ways to increase the equity in your home:
Pay more than you need to on your mortgage.
This is a great option if you don’t have debts that carry a higher interest rate than your mortgage (pay off the highest interest rate debt first), if your home appreciates faster than your 401K or if you aren’t tight on money month to month.
Talk to your lender to make sure that extra payments will go specifically toward principal and then consider either adding additional money to your payment or trying to make at least one extra payment per year.
Here is an example of interest savings and reduction in the life of the loan by making an extra payment, or simply paying a little more each month from Bankrate.com
Here’s an example of how prepaying saves money and time: Kaylyn takes out a $120,000 mortgage at a 4.5 percent interest rate. The monthly mortgage principal and interest total $608.02. Here’s what happens when Kaylyn makes extra mortgage payments:
People often only think in terms of a 30 year loan on a home, but you can finance a home for 15 years at a lower interest rate and pay off your home in half the time. Even better, those aren’t your only 2 choices – you can ask for any term that you like and that will make the rates work for you. Not every lender will have that flexibility, but the ones I work with have been offering off term loans as well.
One thing to consider with this option is that you will have a higher payment that you are obligated to make. You’ll be committed. In the first scenario that I mentioned where you pay a little more every month it’s voluntary and you can set it up to do so automatically so you don’t have to make that decision every month, but you can also stop it if your financial situation changes.
Renovate the interior.
Simple things like fresh paint and new light fixtures can go a long way to improving the value of your home and your equity in it. You don’t have to make it look like an HGTV star lives there – simply having relatively modern fixtures and a home that looks clean and well cared for goes a long way.
If you do choose to do a more extensive update, kitchens and baths are where you’ll see the biggest return. This assumes that you choose a style that is not super trendy or likely to appeal to only a small subset of buyers. Keep things relatively classic and as high quality as you can afford.
Add curb appeal.
Many buyers make their decisions within seconds of seeing a house. You may not be a gardener, but taking care of the exterior of the home goes a long way. No chipped or faded paint. Flowers in pots or well maintained beds. Make your entryway look inviting by having a fresh paint job on the door & quality fixtures. Keep trees and bushes pruned back away from the house and the lawn well cared for and not overgrown. It’s weird that free or inexpensive things like trimming trees and planting flowers can have an impact, but value is also about perception. Square footage is one thing, but condition is another.
Any deferred maintenance on the exterior makes alarm bells ring loudly to buyers and appraisers.
Why does equity even matter?
Well, it doesn’t, unless it does to you. One reason it could matter is if you’ve purchased a home with less than 20% down and want to get out from under PMI. If you are able to increase the value of your home over time or with improvements, you can have the property reappraised and potentially get rid of PMI. If you had an FHA loan you would be required to refinance, but the same theory applies. And, hey! If you had an easy time making your mortgage while paying PMI, pretend you still have it and throw that $100/month at your mortgage principal instead.
Some people want to be debt free, and home mortgages are typically the largest debts we carry. Ridding yourself of a house payment as soon as possible as well as reducing interest payments is a good thing if this is your goal.
Or maybe you use your home as a form of savings account in addition to whatever else you’re doing and plan to sell it when you retire and use the proceeds to buy your beach bungalow or cabin. Or you have kids that will be going to college and you want to be able to use some of the equity in your home to pay for it.
Whatever your goals are, these are a few ways to help you get there.
HGTV makes it look really easy and smart to buy a fixer but before you do, think about the following things:
Give the location and the price a really hard look. This is where your agent will come in and help you make a clear-eyed decision based on actual data to see if what looks like a good purchase actually IS a good purchase.
You’ll want to have a clear sense of what other homes in the neighborhood have gone for and what the homes offered. How updated are they? How far would this home have to go? Is it cosmetic changes or do you need to shore up the foundation? And even if the foundation is the problem – is it priced where this would make sense to invest in it?
Look for instant or inexpensive ways to create equity. Is the worst thing about the house the flocked wallpaper and shag carpet? If it’s mostly surfaces that need refinishing, and you’re good with a paint brush and can pull up old carpet, your cost for the return will be really low. A fresh coat of paint goes a really long way. One thing that I have considered in the past is what would make the most impact – floors & walls are enormous parts of the home and resurfacing those pieces can really make a big impact on value. MOST people can’t seem to look past bad decorating. If you can – BONUS!
If there are projects that will require professional help – make sure that they are projects that will bring you good return on the cost of having to hire out. Going back to surfaces – having wood floors refinished is a good return. In Minneapolis we have to have our homes inspected for energy efficiency and paying for insulation will increase the price that the home commands, in addition to paying dividends in reduced energy costs. And there are a lot of incentives provided by the city and energy companies in the form of rebates and low interest loans to help home owners achieve the highest efficiency possible. If you live in Minneapolis you know you want low bills and a snug home.
Lastly – evaluate your ability to live in or with chaos. It can be hard at times if you’re living in a construction site. Even if you’re not and you’re trying to manage the project from outside of it, make sure that you can handle set backs, messes, etc. It always looks so much worse before it gets better.
If you’re curious about a way to do this while having someone else help pay – check out my video on house hacking. 🙂
Comments or questions? I’d love to hear from you. If there is a video that you’d be interested in seeing or a topic that you’re curious about, let me know.
What’s that, you say?? If you want to buy a home and you want to have someone else pay all or part of your mortgage, this may be the strategy you’re looking for.
House hacking is when you buy a duplex or multi-family home, live in one of the units and rent the others out.
This is a great idea if you are handy and willing to put some sweat equity into a house as well because you can fix up one side and then the move and do the other. Refinance, or simply live there and if you now have an updated rental, you may be able to raise rent and attract a long term tenant.
I especially like this for people that have low down payments – because you are living in the multi-family (up to 4 units) you can qualify for an FHA 3.5% down loan at a higher rate and the lender will take your rent into account as part of your income.
Loan limits on a single family home are $331,760 in MN, and up to $736,450 for a fourplex.
Check out the Bigger Pockets podcast for more real estate investment info. 🙂
I wanted to talk a bit about how to navigate buying or selling a home now that we have to contend with corona virus. It’s an uncertain time and we all want to remain safe, and fortunately people have been buying and selling properties at a distance for a long time and we are equipped to adjust our business to minimize close contact and reduce the possibility of contracting it for ourselves and others.
Some recommended steps:
If you are selling your home – you can list it in a ‘withheld” status. This limits marketing to only agents within a broker’s offices, NOT the general public. My broker has 800 agents, and any buyers that they represent would then be able to match their clients with your home. So, it’s not AS many people, but they are qualified people.
As a withheld listing you would not be able to hold open houses (general public), but when you want to avoid contact with people, open houses aren’t recommended. Consider having a virtual open house if you want one, with the use of a 360 camera you can allow buyers to navigate on their own virtually, and it can exist for viewing longer than the hours of an open would.
Virtual showings… if you don’t want to see every property in person, your agent can video the property and see if there are odors, defects that aren’t evident in the photos, a view of the neighborhood, etc. It cuts down on seeing quite as many properties in person.
I ask sellers to leave ALL doors open, ALL lights on to minimize the surfaces that would have to be touched in the home.
I bring Lysol wipes to all showings – and I wipe down the key box, kets, door handle, light switches, railings, etc so that surfaces are clean.
Continuing with sanitation – hand sanitizer on the way IN to a house and hand sanitizer on the way OUT of the house.
Screen buyers with health and travel questions.
Use a virtual broker like Keller Mortgage… they do great work and they save you money! no loan origination fee, low rate, $1000 credit at closing for loans over $150K
About the “market” – the one you sell in is also likely the one that you will buy in. If your home loses a little on price, the house you are buying likely will as well.
Finally – people stay in their homes for 7-10 years on average. Home prices trend UP over TIME, the daily market conditions are only relevant if you’re buying and selling daily!
You don’t have to be present for MOST things – even closings can often be done remotely. We use e-signatures on documents regularly – it’s a standard way of doing business already.
Thinking about buying or selling and have questions? Let me know your thoughts!
If you’ve never bought a home before you might think the best way to go about this is to drive around or check whatever app you use until you see a house you like, and then call the agent on the sign so you can go take a look.
Groovy – I guarantee they will ask you if you have signed an exclusive buyer representation agreement or not. I feel like making a flow chart here, but I’m going to stick to words…
If you HAVE signed with an agent – GREAT –call them and let them know you want to see the property. Do NOT call the listing agent. You are having your agent do the job that you have hired them to do! You are NOT bothering them.
Your agent wants to see what you see and see it not only through YOUR eyes, but also through their own. They are there as your advocates and will be looking for anything that may impact your use and enjoyment of the home. In fact, an agent is a “fiduciary” – which means that they are obligated to act in YOUR best interests! Even if it conflicts with their OWN best interests. For example – if the agent were looking for a similar property to the one that you wanted and knew that the property would suit you and that you would buy it – they would be OBLIGATED to make sure you knew about that property even though they may then not be able to purchase it themselves. You want someone like this on your side.
If you have NOT signed with an agent of your own and are walking into that house unrepresented with the listing agent you should be aware of a couple of things – 1.) that agent owes a fiduciary duty to the SELLER of the home – NOT YOU. You’re like a fly that just walked into the spider’s web. 2.) Anything that you say to that agent can and will be shared with the seller!
So if you are walking around the property and you’re beside yourself with joy because this is exactly what you’re looking for! And your budget is 10X as high as this house is priced! Isn’t that great?!? Well, now the seller knows how badly you want it AND that they probably don’t need to give any ground on the price.
But wait! There’s more! If you’re cool with all of that (and there are reasons why you might be) and you go ahead and sign with that agent for the purposes of purchasing that home you need to know a couple more things – one… that agent will “take both sides” of the commission, meaning they get the commission for both being the agent of the seller AND the agent of the buyer.
In addition to this, let’s go back to fiduciary duty … if an agent is bound to only actions that would benefit their client and they are in the middle of a transaction, representing both, they are between a rock and a hard place when it comes time for one of the key functions of an agent – NEGOTIATING and ADVISING. They can give you information about prices and time on market and other stats, but anything that they advise you cannot adversely affect the seller. Tough spot and maybe not where you want to be as a buyer – particularly if it is your first home purchase.
In MN, we are legally obligated to explain what agency relationships mean at the first “substantive contact” with a potential client. No dual agency can occur unless both parties agree to it, and in MN, dual agency means MORE than just the same AGENT representing both the buyer and the seller. This is a twist worth understanding when you are deciding whether or not to agree to double agency in MN – here is applies to any agent working for the same broker. So while I may represent you, I cannot show you a home listed by an agent in my office (my BROKER – not the company) unless we’ve agreed to dual agency. It’s like dual agency lite. Your agent will still work on your behalf, but they aren’t in that middle space between the seller and yourself and they do not get “both sides” of the commission even though dual agency technically still applies.
While agreeing to dual agency may not be right for every occasion it can be right for some. And in the current market in Minneapolis not having access to every home on the market in your price range can be a large detriment to your search. If you’re not comfortable with it and your agent has a listing of their own that is PERFECT for you – you can ask to be referred to a different agent.
Now for sellers… This has happened to me personally when I sold a house in another state, my agent had an open house, an unrepresented buyer came through and wanted the home, and our agent signed that buyer. If we hadn’t agreed to dual agency we would not have sold our home to that person and we were READY to go. So while in the end, we didn’t get too much help with the negotiating, we had already had the benefit of understanding what the market would support for our house and we could negotiate fairly comfortably, but it’s up to each seller to make that decision.
If you currently rent and you’re on the fence about whether or not to buy I’m going to lay out some pros and cons for your consideration…
Financial reasons…
You’re not spending your money to make your landlord rich. Every payment you make takes you one step closer to actually OWNING your home.
Rents in Minneapolis are averaging $1850 for a 2 bedroom apartment. If you can afford to pay $1850/mo for space in an apartment building and you have good credit, you could afford a home with a price close to about $300K – even with an FHA loan (3.5% down instead of 20%) and including mortgage insurance, homeowners insurance and property taxes. (According to NerdWallet.com mortgage calculator). The average price in Minneapolis is about $280K!
If the house appreciates (increases) in value – that increase is YOURS. This is more than theory, it’s actual equity in your home. This means that if you refinance or need to rid yourself of mortgage insurance ($100+/month if you didn’t put 20% down) because now you DO have 20% equity – you can have the house reappraised and get out from under that monthly bill. Any money that is going in your pocket instead of someone else’s is a WIN.
In addition to that, if you live in your house 8 years and the value increases by $50,000 while you live there – that money is YOUR money. Not a landlord’s!
There are tax breaks to incentivize home ownership. Mortgage interest (and at first that is most of your payment) is typically deductible on your income tax! YAY!
Rents go up… but your house payment will stay the same. Having that stability can be a very reassuring thing when other things are uncertain.
Non-financial reasons…
It’s your home – want pink walls and green carpet? No one will say you can’t do that. You can choose to live in an environment that speaks to YOU.
Privacy… tired of listening to your neighbors walking on your ceiling? Sick of dealing with someone parking over the line in the lot? Next apartment have a dog that barks constantly? If you have your own place, you don’t have to deal with that.
I’m going to add a sense of community here. Something I love about owning a home is being invested in my neighborhood. Knowing my neighbors. Enjoying local businesses. Having my kid have long term friends nearby.
Reasons to continue to rent!
If you need, or like to, move often – owning might not be your thing. It’s more difficult to sell a home than to break a lease.
You’ll be responsible for maintenance and repairs – if it’s a single family home that likely means lawn mowing and possibly shoveling. If something breaks – you have to find someone to fix it. I recommend learning to do as much of this yourself as possible – it feels good to be able to take care of your own home.
If you have a lot of debt – you may wish to take the time to pay that down before jumping into home ownership. Having less debt when you apply for a loan is a positive and can pay off in the long term.
Do you have questions about the home buying process? Let me know. I like helping people out.
It’s February and here in MN, patience is starting to wear thin as we look out the window at snow that shows little sign of leaving and the sled hills and skating rinks may be starting to lose their charm.
I thought I’d make some suggestions for some indoor activities that kids (of various ages) will enjoy if you’re visiting, or even if you live here, and you’re looking for an idea (or five).
Mill City Museum
Photo Credit to MNHS.org
This is a fun way to learn about the city’s history and why this city ended up parked on the side of the Mississippi River.
The museum sits right downtown on the river front and lives in what was once the worlds largest flour mill. There are hands on activities for kids in the water lab and the baking lab, and the Flour Tower exhibit shouldn’t be missed. I was really surprised by the things I learned!
Mill City Museum : 704 S 2nd St, Minneapolis, MN 55401.
It is open every day except Monday. Hours are 10am-5pm with the exception of Sunday when it's 12-5.https://www.mnhs.org/millcity
Kids under 4 get in free and under 18 is $6. There are discounts for veterans, college students and seniors off the regular adult price of $12.
If you go on a nice day – go outside and walk along the river front. The lock and dam on the river is right in front of the museum, and that’s an interesting thing to see. And then head south past the Guthrie Theater & Gold Medal Park and hit Izzy’s Ice Cream shop! Give your mouth a treat after feeding your brain.
Izzy’s 1100 Second Street South, Minneapolis, MN 55415.
It has a decent menu (even breakfast!) and a full bar. And they have theater there nearly every night as well.
But if you’re just coming to knock down some pins (and/or some pints?), it’s a fun place to be and on the less expensive side! $4.50/person per game, $2 shoe rental. No reservations for bowling or food.
It’s open from 8am – 2am every day and the crowd is varied.
We actually spent Thanksgiving there a couple of years ago as a fun alternative when we weren’t traveling and didn’t have family in town.
Edinborough Park
photo credit to EdinaMN.gov
Tag line “Where it’s sunny and 70 degrees all year long!”. Yes.
Edinborough Park is an indoor playground and it is an AWESOME way to drain your kid of some of their energy on a cold winter day when you just. can’t. deal. anymore.
7700 York Avenue South Edina, MN 55435 Phone: 952-833-9540
So much climbing. So much running. So many other kids!
There is a free play area called The Great Hall that has balls and tricycles and just space to RUN.
We’ve had birthday parties here, and there is a HEATED pool that you can pay as you go or get a pass to if you or your kid like to swim recreationally in the winter.
There is a little cafe & coffee kiosk called The Peak Cafe near the front desk and they have pizza, hot dogs, PBJ and other kid accepted foods as well as sodas, milk, juice boxes. I mean, it’s like it was designed by a kid.
I LOVE this neighborhood theater! It’s amazing – like stepping into a 1950’s neighborhood theater. The decor is still mid-mod. The prices are RIGHT. Films are $2- 2.50 unless you’re having a big night out – evening films for adults are $3. The movies are sometimes classics that you get to see on the big screen again, or recent movies from the major theaters, not quite new releases, but not old!
They also do film festivals and special events at the theater. It’s really a great place.
Besides the inexpensive price and the sweet decor – the Riverview has a strict “No butter flavored oil” policy – they put REAL BUTTER on their popcorn and it’s heaven! People actually stop in to buy popcorn to go!
If you want a meal before or after the film, there are restaurants a couple of blocks away up and down Minnehaha Ave.
Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater
Photo credit to Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater HOTB.org
This one requires a little planning because you can’t just drop in, but this puppet theater often has shows and right now is staging a series of SIX FREE shows at the Midtown Global Market on Lake Street (another fun place to visit!) and some have “make and take” activities for the kids.
This puppet theater is a driving force behind the May Day Celebration and, to me, it’s just a really unique thing that can capture the imagination of children and adults.
Photo credit to HOTB.org
I hope these help you find some things to entertain yourself and your kids in Minneapolis! Spring is coming… 🙂
If you have questions, comments or suggestions I’d love to hear them. Send me an email, leave a comment or tap one of the links below.
