Minneapolis Star Tribune Home Section
July 2005
--reprint rights available two weeks after publication
By Jason Amundsen
Special to the Star Tribune
With median home sale prices in the Twin Cities at a quarter of a
million dollars and rising, more people are finding that the only
homes they can afford are in neighborhoods that are a little
rougher around the edges.
Yet a surprising number of home buyers don't do any research
into crime before signing on the dotted line. You don't want to
prematurely rule out what might be a livable and affordable area
just because it has a vaguely unsavory reputation. Nor do you
want to find out after moving in that a convicted sex offender lives
across the street.
So how do you figure out how much or what type of criminal
activity actually occurs in a neighborhood? Talk to the police and
to the neighbors, experts say.
"If you're on a budget, you need to do some critical thinking. It's
one thing to have the statistics, but
it's another to analyze the information and see how the data will
really affect one's experience in an area," said Sandy Loescher
of Sandy Green Realty, who moved from south Minneapolis to the
Near North neighborhood four years ago.
Unfortunately, that sort of information will not come from your
Realtor. There are definitive rules regarding agent and broker
behavior when discussing crime with clients. For example, real
estate agents are prohibited, under state and Federal fair
housinglaws, from 'Block Busting,' an illegal practice where an
agent suggests someone move out because a different ethnic
group is or may move in. Likewise, agents are prohibited from
the practice of steering.
"An agent or broker cannot suggest that a customer live or not
live in an area. That decision must be left with the homebuyer,"
said Bill Gerst, Vice President of Public Affairs for the Minneapolis
Area Association of Realtors.
That can often put agents in a difficult position when the topic of
crime comes up. All they can legally do is point clients to where to
get information. Pat Cirelli, a Realtor with ReMax Results in Apple
Valley, described herself as "the resource for the resource."
"My job is to disclose anything that would affect the use and
enjoyment of a property," Cirelli said. "Clients need to know
about, for example, school closings, road construction, and crime.
Generally I encourage people to contact the local law
enforcement agency for information."
City police departments can provide "call for service" reports,
which show what types of activity are being reported in the area,
such as burglaries, heart attacks, damage to property and so on.
"We'd pull 'call for services' in that area and discuss it," said Molly
Anderson, Crime Prevention Specialist with the Edina Police
Department. The City of Edina updates crime statistics quarterly
on its web site. Anderson noted people tend to be most
interested in burglaries, robberies, and thefts from cars.
"At the minimum," Anderson said, "people need to know about
predatory sexual offenders," especially if they have children. The
Minnesota Department of Corrections has a web site that lists the
addresses, by block, of convicted sexual offenders. Those
looking at renting should check out their building in addition to
the neighborhood. Officer Jennifer Ruby with the Eagan Police
Department suggest a list of questions tenants should ask
prospective landlords: How does management vet prospective
tenants? Do they run background checks? Are they concerned
about being good neighbors? "People need to ask rental
companies what their standards are and if they work with the
police to deal with crime," Ruby said.
Police officers emphasized that "call for service" reports, the data
distributed by the police, can be misleading to laypersons.
Numerous calls for service are not always indicative of crime. The
fire department and ambulance service may go to a certain
address, like a nursing home, frequently for medical
emergencies. Or if there is narcotics activity listed numerous
times at an address it may mean someone from inside is
reporting narcotics outside. It's important to sit down with the local
law enforcement agency to best interpret the data.
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Frequently it's the little things, the loud parties,music, and
disturbances that hamper one's quality oflife. Eagan for one has
made strong efforts at targeting repeated nuisance violators. In
2001 the Eagan City Council passed a nuisance repeat call
ordinance. If police respond to calls complaining of loud noises,
barking dogs, parties or drug activity, they issue a warning
violation to the occupant or owner. Those notices are tracked
and ifit happens again within 365 days, the Chief of Police sends
a letter. One more strike and the violator is sent an invoice for
$250.00.
After evaluating the crime statistics, ask residents what
day-to-day life is like in the community. "Talk to a few neighbors
and see how they like the area," said Kim Kiley, Blaine Police
Department's
Crime Prevention Specialist. If you do decide to move into a
higher-crime neighborhood, there are other things you can do
after you get there. As someone who has lived in inner-city
neighborhoods for thirty-one years, this is Sandy Loescher's
advice. "There are basic things people can do, like notbuying
drugs from street vendors and not living withdangerous people,"
she said. "Don't do stupid things like drink too much alcohol and
keep you car locked inside your garage. It's mostly just common
sense."
Loescher doesn't live too far from Al Bertke who purchased a
home in North Minneapolis two years ago with his wife Darlene.
Bertke warmly describes his experience on the North Side. They
have a porchparty with neighbors at least once a month, with
40-50 people showing up at various neighbors' houses.
"Within a month of moving here I knew more people than living
eleven years in South Minneapolis," Bertke said. He admits to
some problems, but it's mainly from rental property. "I'm a Life
Coach. My wife and I could live anywhere and we chose to live
here. People ask, 'Why do you live in the ghetto?' I don'tlive in
the ghetto. Far from it."
Jason Amundsen is at jason@twowordy.com
