St. Cloud, MN - Real Estate Blog

There are several very good questions that you should ask any real estate professional before you consider hiring them to sell your home.  The responses to these questions will give you loads of insight about the real estate professional you are interviewing, the company they work with, and what they are going to do for you.  In my opinion, there isn't one single question that will give you clarity, but rather the sum of all answers given that provide a good overview of the real estate professional you are interviewing.  You will probably find certain questions here that are more important to you than the others.  If the tally between a couple of agents is close, you might want to review how they scored on those specific questions.  If one real estate agent has scored higher than all of the others, hire them.  It's that easy

Rate each answer given 1-10 with 10 being perfect.

____  1.  How long have you been in the real estate industry?  This question should give you a good idea of how knowledgeable an agent is about the real estate market and if they know how to sell homes.  Generally, inexperienced and inactive agents will wash out of real estate sales within two years.  Conversely, some of the real estate agents who have been around for 15+ years are not keeping up with new sales techniques.  These agents might be unsure how to utilize the technology and tools that are available to them in today's real estate market.

____ 2.  What are the top 3-4 things that separate you from other real estate agents?  This question is pretty easy to analyze by yourself; either you like their answers or you don't.  You might be asking yourself, "What if they don't give me at least three?"  Answer - Don't hire them.

____ 3.  Why have you chosen to work with ________ Realty?  Most real estate professionals have a very profound reason for choosing their specific real estate company, money.  The question for you is,  "What does your real estate company have to offer me?"  Every real estate professional should have several good reasons why their real estate company is better for you than all the others.  You decide if you want what they're selling.

____ 4.  How are you going to market my home?  If the real estate agent you're interviewing is stumbling on this question, Run Forrest RUuuuunnnnn....

____ 5.  How many homes have you sold this year?  If they haven't sold at least 6 in the last calendar year, what's the problem?  If they have sold more than 52, do they have the time to give you the attention you need?

____ 6.  Do you work with other people who can help me sell my home?  It is highly advantageous for your real estate professional to have some professional contacts who can help you stage, update, or repair your home.  You've seen the shows on T.V.  Can your real estate agent do that?

____ 7.  How many homes have sold in this area recently?  You have to make sure that your potential real estate agent knows the market in which they are going to be working.  This should also include list/sold ratios, days on market, and average sales prices for homes.

____ 8.  Can I contact some of your past clients?  This works real well if you use the third and fourth persons on their list.  Reason being - Most real estate agents realize that a potential client might call one or two people they provide.  With that in mind, most all real estate agents will give you their best references on the top.  Once you get down a little ways on their list, you might get a little more candor in the responses to your questions.

____ 9.  How much do you charge?  Chew on this thought for awhile - REAL ESTATE COMMISSIONS ARE NEGOTIABLE.  You might want to start negotiating early to try and get yourself some lower closing costs.  Think about it - the real estate agent you're interviewing is now negotiating their own money.  If they aren't very good at negotiating for themselves, how good are they going to negotiate for you when it's your money at stake?

____ 10.   Can I review your contracts before I sign them?  Give yourself a chance to review the information that you have gathered about the real estate agents you have interviewed.  Don't let a savvy salesperson force you into making a hasty decision.

____ 11.  Go with your gut.  Sometimes it's best to just go with what you believe is true.  If you feel like you have a connection with the real estate professional you are interviewing, you might want to seriously consider hiring them.  Maybe at the expense of experience, knowledge, and sales history...  or maybe not.

TOTAL SCORE: ___________

I look forward to any of your questions, comments, or concerns regarding hiring a real estate professional, please post them here for answers and review.

Jason Tangen

www.stcloudedina.com

www.stcloudedina.com/blog - REAL ANSWERS for REAL ESTATE in St. Cloud, MN

Posted by Jason Tangen at 04:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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We all know that we are currently in a buyer's market.  It's because of this shift in the real estate world that many home sellers are faced with a negotiation process that is much more difficult than we have seen in many years.  I have posted some ideas here to allow you the ability to prepare yourself for the negotiation process as it pertains to real estate.

1)  Never negotiate out of fear.  Don't be bullied by a potential buyer because the real estate market isn't very strong right now.  Utilize up to date market information to make informed decisions about the offer that is presented to you.

2)  Win-win situation?  I hate the prospect of a true win-win situation.  The best scenario for you is a win-perceived win situation where you are winning and the person you are negotiating with thinks that they are winning.  Make sure the other side of your negotiations get what they need, but maybe not what they want.

3)  Keep an open mind.  Try to think of different ways to package something that will be enticing to the buyer.  Sometimes the craziest ideas stand to make you the most money in the end.

4)  Remove personal judgments and feelings.  This is very tough for home owners because they have lived and loved the property that they are selling.  You may think that your house is much better than the other homes available, but realize that this can only be true for <50% of the people out there.  Once again, rely on your real estate professional to give you sound advice in regards to current market data when making your decisions.

5)  First offer is the best offer.  I hate to say it, but this statement is probably true over 90% of the time.  I'm not saying it's always the case, but do take you first offer very seriously when negotiating the sale of your home.

6)  Buying your house back.  Something to think about when rejecting an offer is that you are basically telling everyone that you would rather keep the property than sell it for a certain price.  In essence, you are buying your house back at the price that the buyer offered.

7)  Negotiate with the decision maker.  Not only do you want to know a little bit about who you are negotiating a deal with, you also want to make sure that you aren't dealing with the wrong person.  If you know that the wife "wears the pants" in the family, you need to negotiate with her.  No offense gentlemen, but this seems to be the case more than not.

8)  The perfect timing.  Please realize that negotiations in real estate transactions can be extremely different depending on timing.  A seller with a house new to the market will be able to negotiate much more strongly than one that has been listed for sale more than 6 months.

9)  Don't just drop the price.  If someone is telling you your house is worth $10,000 less because it needs a new roof, should you just give in to a price drop to sell your home?  Or maybe should you look into replacing the roof and standing firm on price?  The ultimate question you need to ask is what is easier on your pocketbook?  If it only costs $5000 to replace the roof, you should probably offer that to a potential home buyer and stand firm instead of dropping to their price.

10)  Not all negotiations end in selling your home.  Just because you've gotten an offer, doesn't mean that you will end up selling your home.  One of the first rules of real estate revolves around the phrase, "__________ happens."  Please remember to always do what's in your best interests.  Your real estate professional should always be looking out for your best interests, but keep an eye on them.  Sometimes the dollar can be stronger than a person's morals, if you now what I mean.  If a sale is not meant to be, then it's not meant to be no matter what anyone tries to tell you.

There are tons of other thoughts that I could put into this post, but I would be typing all night.  Please post your questions, comments, or concerns in regards to negotiations in real estate here for answers and review.  I'd also love to hear about any good or bad real estate negotiations that you have had in the past.  Allowing others to hear the moral of your story may prevent them from making similar mistakes, give them great ideas, and/or could save them thousands of dollars.  I do ask that you please keep your posts clean and don't use the names of anyone involved.  We aren't here to bad mouth anyone, we are here to learn.

Jason Tangen

www.stcloudedina.com

www.stcloudedina.com/blog - REAL ANSWERS for REAL ESTATE in St. Cloud, MN

Posted by Jason Tangen at 05:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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I thought that it might be helpful for home sellers to know some basic tips on how or what to do in staging your home for sale.  Most of us have seen one of those "Sell My House" type of television shows that take a home and stage it for sale.  Listed below are some of the most basic ideas that every seller needs to know when preparing to sell their home.

1)  Clean up the exterior.  Some of the greatest buys on the market aren't shown because the yard looks too horrible.  If you've had some landscaping ideas, or if your lawn needs edging and a trim, do it!  Your home's curb appeal is what invites a buyer inside and sparks their interest in buying.

2)  The first 10 seconds mean everything.  As you are preparing your home for sale, take the time to walk in the front door (where potential buyers will enter from) and take a hard look around.  Take special notes of the smell, color scheme, cleanliness, and overall impression given.  You want your entry to be inviting to a potential buyer.  The more open and clean the better the impression.

3)  Make the kitchen spectacular.  The kitchen is arguably the most important room when preparing your home for sale.  Besides sleeping, we tend to spend the majority of our time in the kitchen.  First rule of thumb - make your kitchen as BIG in appearance as possible.  You should only have a maximum of two items on your counter tops (neither should be a microwave or toaster).  You must maximize your counter top square footage and also cabinetry if possible.  Second - dress up your table.  This is especially true if you are using some cheesy little card table to get by.  A nice table cloth and some tasteful table settings can make all the difference.  Above all your kitchen needs to be spotless from top to bottom.  Think of it as a Marine Corps white glove inspection.  Clean the inside and out of all appliances, sinks, counter tops, cupboards, and anything contained inside.  You might even go so far as to organize all of your groceries inside the fridge and cabinetry.

4)  Put those scrubbing bubbles to work in the bathroom.  There is nothing worse than touring a house that has a dirty bathroom.  Everyone, and I mean everyone, gets a little queezy when the bathroom either stinks, is grimey, or is in need of some repair.  Redo the caulk around the shower, tub, and toilet.  Clean out the grout if you have tile.  Scrub the toilet both inside and out.  Also, clean all of any plumbing fixtures that are present.  If anything looks subpar, think about replacing it.  Faucets are fairly inexpensive in the grand scheme of things.

5)  Maximize the spaces.  Try to not have over sized furniture in a small room.  Some sectional couches are better served in storage while the selling process is taking place.  Sure they are cozy, but they do your living room a huge disservice.  Also, if you have some tough traffic areas where walking through is kind of tough, try moving around your furniture to maximize the space.  Maybe you need to remove a chair, loveseat, or (he's going to say it) that huge T.V. set up that you have to free up a room's true potential. 

6)  Remove the clutter.  In selling real estate, I am constantly telling everyone to remove the clutter throughout their home.  The best way to look at it is like this - You're going to move, right?  Then start packing now.  Get some boxes and go from room to room.  If there is something there that isn't a necessity, pack it up.  Go to your bookshelves and remove 1/2 of everything on them.  Go through your entire house and you will be suprised how much "stuff" you can pack in advance.

7)  De-personalize your home.  You have a beautiful family and have created a beautiful home together.  Now that you have decided that you are going to sell your home it's time to start moving out.  You don't want potential buyers envisioning your family in the family room watching T.V.;  You want them to envision their family eating popcorn and watching their favorite movie in their new house.  I recommend that all pictures of the family be taken down and replaced with something else (or maybe no picture is needed there at all).

8)  Clean, Clean, CLEAN.  Once again I will use the concept of a Marine Corps white glove inspection.  Clean every place in the home like it has never been cleaned before.  For some of you that are thinking about selling your homes, this won't be too much of a problem.  For others, well let's just say you need a little help.  Make the beds every morning.  You never know when you might get a showing.  Do the dishes as needed.  I'm not saying to do the dishes when the sink gets full, more like clean them as you use them.  Make sure your vents, window sills, walls, artwork... actually how about if we put it this way - make sure everything in your home is simply beyond clean.

9)  If it's broken, FIX IT!  If there is anything in the house that is in need of repair, now is the time to put those handyman skills of yours to work.  Everything from the loose cabinet handle to the leaky faucet needs to be addressed.  I know that you have been putting off these little projects for quite some time and they aren't a necessity to have finished.  Just remember that potential buyers will find these little defects and judge how you maintain a home by them.

10)  Paint it and replace it.  Some of the greatest fixes that you can do to maximize the amount of money that you receive when your house sells are also the least expensive.  A fresh coat of paint can do wonders to the look and feel of a home.  Sure it takes a little time and you have to be patient and do your corners correctly, but it give you great benefits.  Things to consider when picking out your paint colors:  Lighter colors tend to brighten up a room and give it a larger feel.  Bold colors can be very pleasing to your eye, but will they please the potential buyer?  If your color palet is challenged (and you know who you are), seek help from a professional.  As for the replace it part of this paragraph, your house will shine with new carpets.  If your carpets aren't that old and are in decent shape you can just have them shampooed.  If they are torn or tattered, get them replaced.  You will recoup the cost of flooring in your main living spaces 99% of the time.

Do you have some questions, comments, or concerns about what I have proposed to you here?  Post them here for answers and review.  Selling real estate can be a much less stressful proposition if you have taken the time to make sure that your home is ready to be sold.

Jason Tangen

www.stcloudedina.com

www.stcloudedina.com/blog - REAL ANSWERS for REAL ESTATE in St. Cloud, MN

Posted by Jason Tangen at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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I'm often asked what the true monthly cost is in owning a home.  I love this question because it brings up several great points about the benefits of home ownership.  Obviously you have to make monthly payments into your motgage company, so you aren't getting to live in a home for free.  Therefore the question becomes how is it more beneficial to make mortgage payments vs. making rent payments? 

It is true that purchasing a home will cost you more money out of pocket every month than making rent payments.  Once you calculate in your principle and interest payment to the bank, property taxes, insurance, and potential mortgage insurance you will find out that there is indeed a big chunk of money making up your monthly motgage payment.  But there is the investment side of home ownership that makes it truly worth a persons time and money.  There are tax deductions for property taxes, insurance and mortgage insurance payments.  There is the principle reduction on your original loan (just like putting money in a really big piggy bank).  There is also the fact that over time a home will appreciate in value.  We haven't seen really any sort of appreciation in the St. Cloud and surrounding areas over the past few years, but historically you can almost guarantee a 2-3% appreciation rate every year.  Note that we are in much better shape than some real estate markets that have seen actual decreases in property values of 10-20% or more in the last few years.

So how does it all work out?  I have attached below a sample of a recent effective monthly payment spreadsheet.  I put this together for one of my buyers on a home roughly $200k in price.  The actual monthly payment, with 0% down, was just over $1650/mo with principle, interest, property taxes, homeowner's insurance, and mortgage insurance.  After all the tax breaks, priciple reduction, and appreciation (calculated at 2%) were removed from the equation, the effective payment is really only $620/mo!  Granted you won't notice this effective monthly payment while you are living in the home.  Your pocketbook will only feel the actual monthly payment.  It's at a time of sale, when you get to recoup the amount that you have stored in you "piggy bank" as your equity, that you will reap the rewards.  Go ahead and use this spreadsheet if you'd like to see what an effective monthly payment might be for you as you make a real estate purchase.  Post any questions, comments, or concerns as to the use of this spreadsheet below.

Download file

PLEASE NOTE - You have to make the actual payment every month.  Do not use this file to create a reason for over-extending yourself with a bad mortgage.  Every home at every price can be used as an investment.  Start with a home that fits into your monthly budget and from there you can work your way up to your dream house.  Also note that not all people are meant for home ownership.  If you are planning to move again within the next few years, it may be difficult to gain enough equity to sell at a monetary gain.  Please contact a professional before deciding it's time to buy a home.  In most all situations it's FREE to work with a buyers agent in Minnesota so what do you have to lose?

 Jason Tangen

www.stcloudedina.com

www.stcloudedina.com/blog - REAL ANSWERS for REAL ESTATE in St. Cloud, MN.

Posted by Jason Tangen at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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An unexpected larger drop in the Fed's rate should have positive impact on the real estate market in St. Cloud as well as around Minnesota.  I was expecting a 1/4 percent drop in the Fed's rate, but the 1/2 percent drop was definitely much larger than anticipated. 

How does this affect you in buying or selling a home?  As a buyer you will now be able to qualify for a larger amount of money and purchase a potentially better home than before.  As a seller you can expect an increase in activity on your homes as buyers that have been waiting will now be thinking about moving forward with their home purchase. 

This reduction in interest rates will also help the shaky real estate maket by alleviating some of the hikes that were expected in existing ARM option mortgages.  With the high number of mortgages that are already in default, this drop in interest rates will slow down the addition of new foreclosures to an already flooded market.

If you have an existing ARM loan, or some hybrid interest only style mortgage, now is probably the time to refinance.  Many of the loan officers and brokers were willing to put people into mortgages that were not in the homeowners best interests in recent years.  Double check and make sure that you are in some sort of fixed rate mortgage while the interest rates are down.  It may cost you a little money now, but the savings will be very beneficial to you in the future.

Unsure where to go to refinance your loan or get financing for a home purchase?  Give me a call at (320) 492-2667 or post your questions, comments and concerns here for answers and review.

Jason Tangen

www.stcloudedina.com

www.stcloudedin.com/blog - REAL ANSWERS for REAL ESTATE in St. Cloud, MN

Posted by Jason Tangen at 09:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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There is always something going on in St Cloud, MN and the surrounding areas.  I am going to use this post to give people some of the county and city websites that I use on a daily basis.  If you know of another site that will be beneficial to home owners in Central Minnesota please post it here for review.

Stearns County, Minnesota - http://www.co.stearns.mn.us/

Sherbeurne County, Minnesota - http://www.co.sherburne.mn.us/

Benton County, Minnesota - http://www.co.benton.mn.us/

Morrison County, Minnesota - http://www.co.morrison.mn.us/

Mille Lacs County, Minnesota - http://www.co.mille-lacs.mn.us/

City of St. Cloud, MN - http://ci.stcloud.mn.us/

City of Sartell, MN - http://www.sartellmn.com/

City of Sauk Rapids, MN - http://ci.sauk-rapids.mn.us/

City of Waite Park, MN - http://www.waitepark.org/

City of Cold Spring, MN - http://www.coldspring.govoffice.com/

City of St. Joseph, MN - http://www.cityofstjoseph.com/

City of Avon, MN - http://www.cityofavonmn.com/

City of Albany, MN - http://www.ci.albany.mn.us/

City of Foley, MN - http://www.ci.foley.mn.us/

City of Rice, MN - http://www.cityofrice.com/

City of Becker, MN - http://www.ci.becker.mn.us/

City of Clearwater, MN - http://www.clearwatercity.com/

City of Rockville, MN - http://www.rockvillecity.org/

City of Richmond, MN - http://www.ci.richmond.mn.us/

Jason Tangen

www.stcloudedina.com

www.stcloudedina.com/blog - REAL ANSWERS for REAL ESTATE in St. Cloud, MN

Posted by Jason Tangen at 09:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Attached is a copy of the Tangen Report for Real Estate sales and statistics in North St Cloud, South St Cloud, East St Cloud, West St Cloud, Sartell, Sauk Rapids, and Waite Park Minnesota.  Please note that this file is intended for personal knowledge.  If you are planning on using any of the information contained herein, please acknowledge its author, Jason Tangen, properly.

Download file

Jason Tangen

www.stcloudedina.com

www.stcloudedin.com/blog - REAL ANSWERS for REAL ESTATE in St. Cloud, MN

Posted by Jason Tangen at 11:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Attached is a copy of the Tangen Report for Real Estate sales and statistics in North St Cloud, South St Cloud, East St Cloud, West St Cloud, Sartell, Sauk Rapids, and Waite Park Minnesota.  Please note that this file is intended for personal knowledge.  If you are planning on using any of the information contained herein, please acknowledge its author, Jason Tangen, properly.

Download file

Jason Tangen

www.stcloudedina.com

www.stcloudedina.com/blog - REAL ANSWERS for REAL ESTATE in St. Cloud, MN

Posted by Jason Tangen at 11:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Attached is a copy of the Tangen Report for Real Estate sales and statistics in North St Cloud, South St Cloud, East St Cloud, West St Cloud, Sartell, Sauk Rapids, and Waite Park Minnesota.  Please note that this file is intended for personal knowledge.  If you are planning on using any of the information contained herein, please acknowledge its author, Jason Tangen, properly.

Download file

Jason Tangen

www.stcloudedina.com

www.stcloudedina.com/blog - REAL ANSWERS for REAL ESTATE in St Cloud, MN

Posted by Jason Tangen at 11:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Attached is a copy of the Tangen Report for Real Estate sales and statistics in North St Cloud, South St Cloud, East St Cloud, West St Cloud, Sartell, Sauk Rapids, and Waite Park Minnesota.  Please note that this file is intended for personal knowledge.  If you are planning on using any of the information contained herein, please acknowledge its author, Jason Tangen, properly.

Download file

Jason Tangen

www.stcloudedina.com

www.stcloudedina.com/blog - REAL ANSWERS for REAL ESTATE in St. Cloud, MN

Posted by Jason Tangen at 11:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Attached is a copy of the Tangen Report for Real Estate sales and statistics in North St Cloud, South St Cloud, East St Cloud, West St Cloud, Sartell, Sauk Rapids, and Waite Park Minnesota.  Please note that this file is intended for personal knowledge.  If you are planning on using any of the information contained herein, please acknowledge its author, Jason Tangen, properly.

Download file

Jason Tangen

www.stcloudedina.com

www.stcloudedina.com - REAL ANSWERS for REAL ESTATE in St. Cloud Minnesota

Posted by Jason Tangen at 11:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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One thing that Minnesota always seems to offer (besides a chilly winter) is great school districts.  I am pleased to say that the St. Cloud public and private schools, as well as the surrounding schools of Rocori, Sartell, Sauk Rapids-Rice, Foley, and Becker tend to beat even Minnesota's phenomenal testing averages.  I recommend that anyone who is looking to move into Central Minnesota take some time to check out some of the local school's testing results and school's websites.  This becomes even more of a neccessity if you have school age kids or are planning to have children sometime in the near future.  Below is a list of some of the local school district's websites that will be of interest to you as a potential home buyer.  I've also included some websites that compare all of the local school districts to one another.  If you cannot find the information that you are looking for on any of these sites, give Jason Tangen a call at (320) 492-2667 or e-mail me at jason@stcloudedina.com.

Great Schools - http://www.greatschools.net/

Minnesota School Ranking - http://www.psk12.com/rating/USindexphp/STATE_MN.html

School Digger - http://www.schooldigger.com/go/MN/schoolrank.aspx

St. Cloud Apollo High School - http://stcloud.k12.mn.us/~apollo/

St. Cloud Tech High School - http://stcloud.k12.mn.us/~tech/

Cathedral High School (Private School)- http://www.chsj23.org/

St. John's Prep (Boarding & Private School) - http://www.sjprep.net/about_us/home.php

Rocori High School - http://rocori.k12.mn.us/

Foley High School - http://foley.k12.mn.us/

Sauk Rapids-Rice - http://www.isd47.org/schools/saukrapids-ricehighschool/index.php

Sartell-St. Stephen - http://www.sartell.k12.mn.us/

Becker - http://www.becker.k12.mn.us/education/district/district.php?sectionid=1

Minnesota School District Maps - http://www.mnplan.state.mn.us/maps/SchoolDistricts/

This is just a brief list of some of the Central Minnesota Schools.  If you are in need of more information, please post your questions, comments, or concerns here for answers and review.  Also, if you have found a website that you feel should be added to this list of local school, please submit it for review.

Jason Tangen

www.stcloudedina.com

www.stcloudedina.com/blog - REAL ANSWERS for REAL ESTATE in St. Cloud Minnesota

Posted by Jason Tangen at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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I'm often asked what the single most important thing is when selling a home when I'm out and about.  It's kind of tough to answer because each real estate transaction is different and therefore what is extremely important in selling one home could be a total non-factor in selling a different one.  Below is a list of the four most common answers I will end up using in everyday real estate sales:

1) Location

2) Curb Appeal and Staging

3) Marketing

4) Price

If I had to pick out of these four what I think is the most common reason for a home to not sell within a specified period of time, I would generally pick the price.  Price is the one variable above that can basically trump all of the others.  Anything at the right price will sell.  The nice thing about this list is that most items above are in fact changeable.  If you aren't getting the utmost in internet advertising from your real estate professional, ask for it.  If you haven't already done so, and your real estate agent has not provided a free consultation, you might want to consider getting a staging evaluation from a professional.  The one thing above that you generally cannot fix is the location (short of picking uo the house and moving it onto another lot).

 Jason Tangen

www.stcloudedina.com

Posted by Jason Tangen at 08:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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One of the greatest things about moving to Edina Realty in St. Cloud from Coldwell Banker Herges Realty is the technology advancements that Edina Realty offers its agents and clients.  Just one of the technological hits, in my eyes, is the interactive property search for home buyers.  If you haven't already viewed the Edina Realty search feature for real estate in St. Cloud MN and the whole of Minnesota, I highly recommend giving it a test drive.  The url is http://jasontangen.edinarealty.com/listing/ListingSearch.aspx?Clear=2.  I know that once you try this new property search feature you will be very happy that I am not using my old search system any more.

Another thing to consider as you are looking to make a home purchase is the recent foreclosure market.  If you haven't already signed up to get a list of the current foreclosed properties on the St. Cloud MLS, you can sign up for free at www.stcloudedina.com/Foreclosures.html.

As you are searching the internet, I hope that you are willing to post your real estate related questions, comments, and concerns here for answers and review.  You can keep your post anonymous and everyone will benefit from the questions and answers in the future.

Jason Tangen

www.stcloudedina.com

Posted by Jason Tangen at 09:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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I was truly amazed the other day when I was doing some searching for one of my clients and discovered that there was nearly 150 foreclosed properties or bank short sales available to purchase on the St. Cloud MLS.  If you have been considering making a purchase, it would definitely be in your best interest to review the local foreclosure market before deciding to purchase something.  You can obtain a free list of the foreclosed properties available on the St. Cloud, Minnesota MLS by visiting www.stcloudedina.com/Foreclosures.html.

On the other side of this issue, if you are having problems making payments on your current mortgage, or are expecting to have problems in the near future, please post your concerns and questions here for review.  Or you can always give me a call: Jason Tangen at (320) 492-2667.  I have dealt with several lending institutions for previous clients to get them into better situations when possible.  Whether it be a non-fixed mortgage, a hike in property taxes, or a loss in income, there are some things that might possibly help you out of a potentially harmful situation to your credit and self-esteem.  Two things you must remember immediately when facing foreclosure:  1) Contact your bank or lender early and often and 2) Make sure you are speaking with the correct person preferrably in the "Loss and Mitigation" Dept.  I look forward to any comments, questions, and or concerns regarding this topic that you might have.

Jason Tangen

www.stcloudedina.com

Posted by Jason Tangen at 01:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Attached is a link to my Investment Property Analysis Spreadsheet for evaluating real estate investment purchases.

Download file

If you are thinking about using real estate to create a basis of wealth, this Investment Property Analysis Spreadsheet is definitely for you.  Please post any questions, comments, or concerns that you have in using this spreadsheet. 

Jason Tangen

www.stcloudedina.com

Posted by Jason Tangen at 01:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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