Halloween Safety Tips for Homeowners!

Halloween Safety Tips!  

 Make your house Trick-Or-Treater Friendly!

Halloween is an exciting holiday for kids of all ages. It is FUN to dress up, get together with friends, and go door-to-door in search of the best treats in the neighborhood.

Whether you are in a development full of little ghosts, goblins, superheroes and princesses or you only have a few costumed visitors, you’ll want to be sure your yard and front steps are safe and welcoming. Plan ahead to prevent unfortunate accidents that could ruin a festive evening.

Here are a few pointers to keep your home a safe place for trick-or-treaters on October 31st!

Keep Pets in Check. Dogs, cats, and other furry family members can be agitated when oddly dressed strangers approach the front door. Make sure your pet is in a safe and comfortable place away from costumed visitors.
Keep Walkway and Steps Clean and Clear. Pack away the toys, rakes and other yard tools, hoses and rake the leaves. Make sure the path to your front door is free of potential hazards like electrical cords and pumpkins.too.
Keep it Lit!. Spooky is fun but if it is too dark, it could be dangerous. Make sure the path to your candy bowl is well-lit. 


I hope your family has a frightfully fun-filled, but very safe Halloween with no tricks but many, many treats!

Looking to Buy or Sell a Home?  If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me, Teri Eckholm of Boardman Realty, a call or visit my website for a FREE Home Buyer Success Guide or FREE Home Value Report. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.

Copyright 2014 www.terieckholm.com

Buying a Home in October in the Halloween Capital of the World!

It is almost time for one of my favorite holidays, Halloween, and it is not just because I live in Anoka County, Minnesota either.  Anoka, Minnesota is the  "Halloween Capital of the World" which puts tricks and treats on the minds of many young people (and those young at heart) in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes". 

Minnesotans are often referred to as "Minnesota Nice" and when a home closing is closed to a holiday it does put the buyers and sellers in festive moods. Halloween is no exception. As an Anoka County REALTOR®, I have witnessed many a late October closing with "interesting" and topical questions asked by the new buyer of the home seller to a new home buyer. 

In Minnesota it is traditional for all parties to sit down in the same room for the closing transaction. After all the signing is done, the title company representatives  leave the room to make copies of the documents and to prepare the checks from the final settlement. During this time,  home sellers take a few minutes to share some idiosyncrasies of the home and pass over the keys, Often these are expected concerns like how to change the code for the electronic garage door opener, has the sprinkling system been blown out for the season or where the water shut off is located.

In late October the questions are often a bit more "festive". New homeowners buying into  neighborhoods big and small often want to know how many kids are in the neighborhood  which quickly translates to how many bags of candy will be needed.

A few years ago I attended a closing for a home in Anoka, County. The seller lived on a dead end street with only a handful of neighbors as is quite normal in this area filled with acreage homes. The seller made share the wants of young neighbor girl who had recently lost a front tooth (or two). She had stopped over with a request for "Reethe's Pee-thes" as her preferred Halloween Candy. 

Have a festive, fun and safe HALLOWEEN!

Copyright 2013 www.terieckholm.com

It's No Trick--Here's a Halloween Real Estate Treat!

Real estate closings can be fun this time of year and not just because there is a big bowl of candy on the closing table. In Minnesota, when a home is sold by a traditional seller to a new home buyer, all parties sit down in the same room during closings as all the paperwork is done at the same time. After all the signing is done, the closers leave the room to make copies of the documents and to prepare the checks from the final settlement. During this time, sellers often pass over the keys and explain some idiosyncrasies of the home, Often these expected concerns like how to change the code for the electronic door opener or where the water shut off is located. Buyers will question what day the trash is picked up and what the schools are like.

But just before Halloween, the questions and necessary information traded between the seller and the new homeowner become a little more festive. New homeowners from neighborhoods big and small often want to know how many kids are in the neighborhood and consequently, how many bags of candy will be needed. One time an Anoka County seller in a very small neighborhood noted that the 6 year old next store had already come over and let it be known that she prefers Reese's Pieces. Since the little girl was missing a front tooth, the seller made sure to add the necessary lisp for effect. It is good to share a light-hearted moment after all the stress of buying/selling is complete!

Have a festive, fun and safe HALLOWEEN!

Copyright 2011www.terieckholm.com

Haunted House in Forest Lake, MN? Or Just a Nightmare on Jason Street?

As a REALTOR® I know a Minnesota does not have to disclose paranormal activity when selling their home but this is one haunted house I wanted to share with everyone in the north and east Twin Cities metro.

Paranormal activity runs rampant at this house just north of the lake, but this haunting is only once a year and is all in good fun!


Last Halloween, I had the chance to visit this fantastic (and FREE) haunted house in Washington County just off of North Shore Trail. Chris Costello has set up his home on Jason St., in Forest Lake, MN for the past few years with monsters and creatures that are more treat than trick on Halloween.

I took several photos of the festivities that were part fundraiser for the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle campaign but mostly just fun! Everyone’s all time monster movie favorites were there including zombies, mummies and Frankenstein!


Some were stationary displays and more than a few were very dynamic….you never know which characters were going to jump out at you until they do! But all in all it was a very PG and family friendly event.

Hopefully weather will permit and all the festivities will be a go again this Halloween. It is said that the display grows bigger each year!


So if you have already picked up your pumpkin at Lendt’s in Wyoming and Nightmare at Pinehaven Farms is a bit too frightening, maybe a drive over to Jason Street will be perfect activity for your family.

If you want to learn more about Chris’ annual event watch the first installment of the documentary originally produced for LATV Cable Channel 10 below




Ia.

Copyright 2010 Teri Eckholm 

The Frugal File—Halloween Horror: Old Candy Alert!

Thrifty times call for drastic measures. I myself have been known to pinch pennies with the best of them so that our family could splurge on other things. But there is being frugal and being down right cheap. Trick-or Treaters beware…

Last March, my job as a REALTOR had me showing several homes to buying clients throughout Blaine, East Bethel, Andover, Ham Lake and even a few in as far south as Fridley and north to St. Francis. I can no longer pinpoint where this home was located but I will never forget what we saw stored in the closet under the stairs. A clear 38 gallon tote full of 10-20 bags of snack sized chocolate bars. All the favorites were there…Reese’s, Snickers, Hershey’s, you get the picture. It was clearly labeled “Halloween candy for 2008”. Keep in mind this is March now. After my client pointed it out it and I took a minute to process it...Yuck! Some poor kids are going to get a not so tasty surprise on Halloween because that is going to be very old chocolate!
If you want to be thrifty and pre-buy something for next year’s trick-or-treaters at the half price sales on November 1st, stick to the non-edible treats. Pencils, Play-doh and small toys are usually available. Now if you like to give small gifts at Thanksgiving, by all means get the candy that is 50% off and wrapped in fall colors. I like to buy these and put an assortment into small gift bags for teachers and other service professionals as a Thanksgiving thank you. The chocolate is fresh and will taste good for several more weeks. I will even stock up on Hershey Kisses Kisses for making peanut blossom cookies that we have at Christmas. But saving chocolate under the stairs for a year and distributing to the neighborhood kids is not recommended as a way to save money. In fact it’s kind of gross.

Have a Very Safe and Happy Halloween!

If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.
Copyright 2008 terieckholm.com