Friday, May 4, 2007

Letter to the Editor of the Star Tribune

Just in case they don't publish it, I'll rant it out here too. So THERE, Strib!

Re: Foreclosures take a toll on North Minneapolis

Dear Editor:

When was the last time that the Star Tribune published some good news about North Minneapolis? Honestly, the doom and gloom is becoming tiresome. Furthermore, it's discouraging to those of us who live and work on the Northside, and are making a difference.

I feel sorry for good people who lose their homes to foreclosure. At the same, I am perplexed by the overwhelmingly negative and one-sided presentation of the situation. Specifically, why is no one talking about the fact that stabilizing (or decreasing) home prices make homeownership more accessible? When was the last time you could buy a four-bedroom home for under $100,000? Now they are readily available, all over North Minneapolis, and in some parts of the South side as well.

This is a buyer's market, and I sincerely hope (and believe) that savvy individuals will take advantage of the low prices and abundant supply. Many of the foreclosures in this city, as the article noted, are the result of careless landlords' speculative investments. Now is the time in which families can take those homes back and give them the care they deserve. This is how we build community, and it IS happening in North Minneapolis.




9 comments:

Honduras Sprout said...

f'in right! You go. I read the same article and thought many the same thought.

Anonymous said...

Exactly!! I bought my first home three years ago--I keep wondering how much better deal I would have gotten if I'd bought it AFTER all the prices dropped!

Anonymous said...

That article really irritated me too! I am so sick of hearing about how bad the north side is.

Hedy De Vine said...

I walked into one of those foreclosed homes yesterday. It had been vacant for at least six months and had clearly not been taken care of for at least as long. We walked in and the stench of mold was so strong we had to leave.

Foreclosures are not only devastating to families, they are devastating to the homes involved.

Brandi said...

I don't even bother reading anything about North Minneapolis whenever I read the Strib. I find the nice Northside stories are all in the Spokesman or Northside News.

m said...

Nice letter - I hope it gets published!

Ranty said...

Thanks for all the comments, you guys! This is an issue about which I feel very strongly.

I think I'm going to make a new post to address this issue in greater detail, since I'll probably overload the comments feature if I try to say everything I want to say here.

nimbleboy said...

guy by the name of John Penny stopped by the place this evening...

Brandi said...

Wait, so is the post forthcoming soon?