Guide
First-Time Home Buyer in Minnesota: The 2026 Playbook
How first-time buyers in Minnesota go from renting to closing: Start Up down payment loans, buyer agreements, seller disclosures, closing costs and homestead.
Written by Janet · West Central Minnesota specific
Guides
Fourteen long-form guides on the questions Janet answers most, written for this region rather than for the country in general. Each has a table of contents, reading time, a FAQ and a print button.
How the guides are written
Each guide opens with the answer, then explains how Janet actually handles it on her transactions, with links to the town and lake pages it applies to. Where a guide states a number, the source is linked. None of them are syndicated; the syndicated articles on the old site were removed rather than moved.
7 guides
For buyers
Guide
Buying a Lake Home in Minnesota: What to Check Before You Fall in Love
Lake classes, shoreland setbacks, septic and well checks, dock rules, invasive species, flood insurance and taxes to verify before buying a Minnesota lake home.
Guide
Buying a Cabin or Seasonal Home in West Central Minnesota
Buying a Minnesota cabin? What changes: seasonal tax class, winter road access, winterizing, well and septic, second-home financing and the questions to ask.
Guide
VA and USDA Loans in Rural Minnesota: Who Qualifies and How to Use Them
VA loans are for eligible veterans and service members; USDA loans are for moderate-income buyers in rural areas. Fees, income limits, well and septic rules.
Guide
Building New in West Central Minnesota: Lots, Builders, Costs, Timelines
Building a home around Alexandria: choosing a buildable lot, vetting a licensed builder, county permits, septic and well, the 10-year warranty and costs.
Guide
Relocating to Alexandria, Minnesota: The Complete Guide
Jobs, lakes, schools, climate, commutes and cost of living for anyone moving to Alexandria, MN, with sourced numbers on employers, home prices and taxes.
Guide
Closing Costs in Minnesota: What Buyers and Sellers Pay
Minnesota closing costs for buyers and sellers: the 0.33% deed tax, 0.23% mortgage registry tax, title, recording fees and tax prorations, with real numbers.
5 guides
For sellers
Guide
How to Price Your Home in a West Central Minnesota Market
How a listing price is really set in West Central Minnesota: why assessor values and online estimates miss, how comparables get adjusted.
Guide
Preparing Your Home to Sell: Janet's Staging and Prep Checklist
Prepare your Minnesota home to sell with Janet’s remodeling help, local connections, custom décor and staging, and 8K drone photos where the home suits them.
Guide
Selling a Lake Home: Timing, Docks, and What Buyers Ask
When to list a Minnesota lake home, the septic, well, permit and dock paperwork to have ready, how frontage is priced, and what every lake buyer will ask you.
Guide
Selling Land and Building Lots in Minnesota
How to sell acreage, farmland and building lots in Minnesota: what buyers verify, Green Acres payback, wetlands, splits and plats, deed tax and disclosures.
Guide
Downsizing in West Central Minnesota: Selling the Family Home and What Comes Next
Downsizing in West Central Minnesota: when to sell, sorting a lifetime of belongings, capital gains and property tax rules.
2 guides
For everyone
Guide
Buying or Selling a Home in a Minnesota Winter
What changes when you buy or sell in West Central Minnesota from November to March: fewer listings, serious buyers, frozen-ground septic rules, snow duties.
Guide
How to Choose a Real Estate Agent in Minnesota: 12 Questions to Ask
Twelve questions to ask before you hire a real estate agent anywhere in Minnesota: license types, full-time work, dual agency and the written buyer agreement.
Shorter, more current pieces are on the blog.
Next step
If a guide raises a question it does not answer, that is exactly the kind of call Janet likes. Call or text (320) 219-2488, or send the question through the form.
Ready when you are
Have a question a guide did not answer?
That is exactly the kind of call Janet likes. No pressure, no obligation.