Our Team

President/Owner

Julie Jeffrey Schwartz

Julie has almost 40 years of experience in the real estate industry, over 35 of those years as an appraiser serving public- and private-sector clients. Since 1991 she has been president and owner of Lake State Realty Services, Inc.

Julie has been the project manager for multi-parcel projects for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the Metropolitan Council, the General Services Administration, and other federal, state, and local units of government. These projects include right-of-way easements, other easements, rental analysis, corridor planning services, and expansion services. Julie has extensive expert witness testimony background, offering testimony for arbitrations, mediations, depositions, Commissioner’s Hearings, District Court, Federal Court, and Congress. Julie has wide geographic competency spanning the upper midwest. She is licensed in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio. 

Julie is one of few Neutral Appraisers in the State of Minnesota. She is routinely requested to perform or is appointed as a neutral appraiser by judges, litigating parties or parties with opposing interests, and her valuations have held up to the highest-level of scrutiny, on a wide range of property types and complexities. Neutral valuation assignments have included several real estate portfolios consisting of dozens of parcels for highly contentious matters, including complex and high-profile parcels of land or buildings. Judges have referred Julie to other judges or litigating parties routinely, due to the high-satisfaction level of resulting neutral valuation assignments. Another testament to the high public trust offered Julie, is the fact that three counties (Ramsey, Washington, and Anoka) use her services as a condemnation commissioner, appointed by judges and as sometimes agreed to by opposing parties.  

She performs review appraisal services on specialized projects for all units of government including federal, state, and local units. She has a high-level security clearance for work with the Federal Government, including the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, FPS (Federal Protection Services), US Marshall Service, and other security agencies. She regularly inspects federal-owned property throughout the Midwest for the purpose of consulting and planning, determination of fair annual rental rates for specialized buildings such as courthouses, federal buildings and border stations, site selection, and expansion requirements for security purposes.

Realtor and Certified General Appraiser

Alexander Schwartz

Alexander (Alex) Schwartz graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science double major in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior; and Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development. He has always had an analytical mind and an interest in all things numbers.

Throughout his youth and teenage years, he has always assisted in one way, shape, or form with Lake State Realty. Whether it be going on inspection appointments or gluing photos (old school!) to reports or various administrative tasks. Alex always had an interest in real estate and real property appraisal and found it a great opportunity to work for Lake State Realty right out of University. Alex got his real estate sales license in June of 2015 and a Trainee Real Property Appraiser license in February of 2016. He was licensed as a Certified General Appraiser in summer of 2024. Alex has worked on appraisals for retail, industrial, office, medical office, apartment buildings, vacant land, eminent domain strip takings, as well as residential properties. As a real estate agent, he also has experience selling commercial office, retail, multifamily, vacant land, and residential properties.

Appraiser Trainee

Katie Huspek

Katie Huspek has worked for Lake State Realty since 2004. At that time she was helping with general administration and took an interest in our appraisal work. In 2008 she started to take appraisal classes to become licensed as an appraiser trainee. In 2009, she officially became licensed as an appraiser trainee.

Katie has experience working on appraisals of many different property types including residential, multi-family, agricultural, retail, office, parking lots and ramps, manufacturing, warehouses, and vacant land. Additionally, she has worked on appraisals relating to construction defects, special assessment benefit analysis, neutral appraisals, right-of-way appraisals, easements, and special use appraisals.

In her spare time, Katie enjoys tending to chickens, spending time with family, and going hunting.

Administrative Assistant

Liliana Schwartz

Liliana (Lili) Schwartz is planning to graduate from St. Cloud State University in fall of 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in Real Estate Studies. Since the age of thirteen, she has been working with Lake State Reality, helping anywhere from office organization, accounting, accompanying on inspections, and property management. This is where she hones in on her understanding of the real estate industry’s inner workings. Armed with a degree in Real Estate, Lili brings a fresh perspective and a passion for transforming spaces into thriving communities.