With all the foreclosures on the market, it can be risky at times not knowing whether a property has code compliance on it, has a VBR or even if it is condemned and ready to be demolished.  Below are some easy instructions on how to check on a property’s status in the City of Minneapolis.  Note:  It does not give you info on Assessments or on rental licenses status/availability, but it is a quick way to see if you are going into any issues.

1. Go to:  http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us.
2. Scroll down to the right hand side and click on property information.
3. Choose property look-up service.
4. Enter the address you are interested in.
5. As a test, put in 3227 Girard Ave N (you can put in a partial address like:  3227 Gir).
6. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and look for “active parcel flags” (in the case of 3227 Girard-you will see that the property is condemned requiring code compliance and also has a VBR on it.)
7. If you click on Truth in Housing, this will show you if one has been done (by law one must have been completed PRIOR to property being put on the market for sale).
8. If the property is condemned, the Truth in Housing will become invalid and you will see a comment that says:  “condemned requires code compliance”.
9. If you do not see the link to Active Parcel Flag, this means the property is not condemned and does not a a Vacant Building Registration (or VBR).

Lastly, as part of our inspection period, we have started having our title company (for a nominal fee) run an assessment search to see what could potentially extra costs incured by the buyer at closing.  Lots of checks and rechecks to try and smooth out the process of buying foreclosed homes in Minneapolis.

In Feburary 2008, the University of Minnesota bought the former Plymouth-Penn shopping center at 2100 Plymouth Ave N, in North Minneapolis.  The U of M plans to begin construction and rehab on the property soon, turning it into the UROC, the Urban Research and Outreach/Engagement Center; which is currently located on campus at 110 Morrill Hall.  The center is proposed to open in late 2009.

The center was started several years ago as Minneapolis Mayor, R.T. Rybak encouraged the university to help solve the complex problems in North Minneapolis.  The goal was to create partnership aimed at building a stronger and healthier neighborhood that would tie together community and university expertise and resources and leverage these with city and county services and resources.

Once open, the UROC building will provide space for outreach and research programs centering around early childhood education, health disparities in relationship to income, 4-H, family development, and youth leadership to name a few.  Multiple private and federal grants will help establish programs that will benefit the residents of North Minneapolis.