Victory over Winter ("VOW") Day

Vanquishing Winter (Again)

There is something inherently sobering about the realization that Mother Nature is trying to kill you.

--Garrison Keillor

If you're under 30 years old -- make that under 60 -- you likely have no clue what "VE" or "VJ" Day stand for ("Victory over Europe" and "Victory over Japan," respectively).

Instead, how about celebrating a perennial holiday that every Minnesotan can relate to: Victory over Winter ("VOW") Day.

Sure, winter may have inflicted casualties before retreating in earnest (the ice dam over the dining room ceiling; your waistline).

And to be sure, not everyone made it (for example, the 25 year-old forced air furnace that konked out).

But if you're in Minnesota in March -- and have spent the last six months or so here -- there's a palpable sense not just of renewal and Spring fever -- but triumph.

Winter truly is a deadly adversary, and it's finally been vanquished.

For now . . . .

(And no, the date can't be put on a calendar -- you just know when it's arrived.)

The Trouble with Tuck Under's

Tougher Sell in (MN) Winter?

The problem with tuck under garages is what's "over" the "under": I've now shown three homes in the last two weeks where one of my (Buyer) clients' main objections was that the bedroom floors directly above the garage were cold.

Of course, the other problem with tuck under garages is that they tend to be single stall.

Usually, single stall, tuck under garages go with a couple other things as well: older (but solid!) construction; one hall bath (i.e., no private master bath); and smaller, dated Kitchens.

"Please Leave Shoes On??"

The Realtor term for the foregoing is "functionally obsolete" (it still works, but it's dated).

On the plus side, the neighborhoods where these kinds of homes predominate are typically closer in -- and can be a very good value.

P.S.: Maybe Sellers of homes with tuck under garages should reconsider asking prospective Buyers to take their shoes off: I doubt the cold floors would have been so noticeable if my clients and I hadn't been walking around in our stocking feet!