The Hunt
Exploring the Lakes of Minneapolis With $350,000: Could She Afford Three Bedrooms?
Looking to avoid the bustle of downtown, a first-time buyer sized up smaller single-family houses in South Minneapolis. Here’s what she found.
When Rae Bullinger returned to the Minneapolis area three years ago after a spell in Nebraska, she knew she was there to stay.
Ms. Bullinger, 26, loved summer bike rides around the city’s lakes and enjoyed the lively food scene. And she relished being back where she grew up, near her family and close to friends from the University of Minnesota, where she had been a member of the swim team.
But saving to buy her first house was going to be a long process. In 2021, after about a year of living with her parents in the suburbs, Ms. Bullinger rented a two-bedroom, one-bathroom duplex with a former college teammate on the south side of Minneapolis. Her share of the rent was $825 a month, allowing her to continue saving for a down payment from her earnings as a survey research manager for a market research company.
She liked the apartment’s location and hoped to stay in South Minneapolis, where well-kept neighborhoods of single-family homes are interspersed with parkland and walkable retail districts.
“You’re still a part of the city of Minneapolis, but you’re not downtown,” she said. “You’re not in all the hustle and bustle, but you’ve got access to all the lakes, and there’s really cool restaurants.”
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Ms. Bullinger, whose job is fully remote, longed for a separate home office. And she wanted to get a cat, which her landlord wouldn’t allow. So last fall, she started dropping into open houses to get a sense of the market.
At one of them she met Pablo Siqueiros, an agent with the Re/Max Results Greater MSP Homes Team. Ms. Bullinger told him the basics: She wanted a small house, possibly in the Craftsman style that is common in Minneapolis, with enough room to work from home and have overnight guests. With a $350,000 budget, she was open to a place that needed some improvements, but preferred something move-in ready. Proximity to a lake was also a big plus.
“Really, the needs list was pretty small, aside from just something that was going to be functional within her price range and that had some nice character, some personality,” Mr. Siqueiros said.
When Ms. Bullinger began looking last fall, he said, there were plenty of choices within her budget. Interest rates were creeping upward, and places that might have sold immediately with multiple offers a year earlier were lingering on the market.
Among her options:
No. 1
Finished Basement in Thriving Area
This 1,750-square-foot 1950 house, with two bedrooms, one bathroom and a finished basement, was in the thriving southwest neighborhood of Kenny. It was listed for $345,000, affordable for the area but near the top of Ms. Bullinger’s budget. There was a patio in the fenced backyard and a finished attic. The basement was a major draw, but there was no separate dining room and the interior needed updating. The annual taxes were about $5,600.
No. 2
Fixer-Upper Near the Lakes
This 1934 house was very small: 730 square feet house, with two bedrooms and one bathroom. It was in the Page neighborhood, a couple of miles east of Kenny and a short walk from two lakes. Ms. Bullinger loved the Tudor-style exterior, and there was a small concrete patio in the backyard. But the house lacked the dining room and guest bedroom she was hoping for, and it was in serious need of renovation, although with an asking price of $275,000, she would have the money to do it. The annual taxes were about $3,480.
No. 3
Three-Bedroom With Upstairs Space
This 1932 house was a short stroll from the banks of Lake Nokomis, in the Keewaydin neighborhood. It was 1,670 square feet, with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and finished upstairs space. There was a spacious dining area, but the kitchen was dated and the dishwasher was in the basement. Still, the house didn’t need much work overall, and the wood-burning fireplace was a nice touch. The asking price was $343,000, with annual taxes of around $4,900.
Find out what happened next by answering these two questions:
Which Would You Choose?
Finished Basement in Thriving Area
Fixer-Upper Near the Lakes
Three-Bedroom With Upstairs Space
Which Did She Buy?
Finished Basement in Thriving Area
Fixer-Upper Near the Lakes
Three-Bedroom With Upstairs Space