St. Cloud, MN - Real Estate Blog

I write this post due to an unfortunate situation revolving around a couple of potential new home buyers.  I was speaking with these potential clients about buying a property in Sartell, MN.  We decided to schedule a showing for them at a foreclosed property that was being offered at a phenomenal price in the Sartell area.  To make sure the numbers concerning the loan were accurate, these home buyers wanted to wait until the right property came along before starting the pre-approval process.  As it turned out, we went to the property that was the perfect fit for them.  We decided it would be best if they hustled bank to their bank to get pre-approved.  Unfortunately, while waiting for the pre-approval to come back from a local bank, a different offer was presented to purchase the home.  Long story short; the bank accepted the other offer with a pre-approval letter as we couldn't deliver our pre-approval letter in time.

The biggest benefit when it comes to being pre-approved is that home buyers know exactly what they can and cannot afford.  This can save everyone a ton of time and remove the potential disappointment of looking at homes outside a buyer's price range.  Another reason for being pre-approved for a loan purchase prior to looking at homes is because the good deals in real estate always sell fast.  I know that in the current real estate market a home receiving more than one offer seems kind of rare, but I have been in five multiple offer situations in the last two months.  If a home is priced below market value, there are plenty of buyers waiting to snatch it up.  Potential home buyers need to be able to act fast if they want that great deal.

If you are unsure where to go to get pre-approved for your next home purchase, below are a few of the good loan officers around St Cloud, MN.

Bill Pennings - Wells Fargo Home Mortgage

Mark Timpane - Edina Realty Mortgage

Sharon Schumacher - US Bank

Aaron Reznechek - Wells Fargo Home Mortgage

There are many other outstanding loan officers in the St Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce and around St Cloud in general.  The above four loan officers are ones that I have utilized used most recently.  All of the loan officers contained in this post do a phenomenal job of making sure that their clients get the right loan package for their home buying needs.  If you have questions, comments, or concerns about making your home purchase in the St Cloud area, post them here for answers and review.

Jason Tangen, GRI

Real Estate Broker Associate with Edina Realty in St Cloud, MN

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

Posted by Jason Tangen at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

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It seemed like there was no way we could see mortgage rates stay this low for this long.  Early this year I was expecting to see mortgage rates hover around 7.0% this winter and raise even higher next spring.  Instead, it seems that the various economic factors that come into play as banks figure out their lending rates are as uneasy as the real estate market in general.  All of the doubt and negativity that has flooded the real estate market by the recent sub-prime lending practices and the extreme deflation of markets like California, Nevada, and Florida (to name a few) has found its way across the country.  Everyone feels like the real estate market is in the tank because this is what we keep hearing. 

I propose that we look at the St Cloud, MN real estate market and the surrounding areas of Sartell, Sauk Rapids, Waite Park, and St Joseph to get a feel of what we should be doing in Central MN.  Interest rates are currently just over 6.0% (I've seen 5.95% on a couple of national stat sheets) and Bernanke, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, is expected to lower the Fed's rate again on Halloween.  The average and median home prices in the St Cloud area are only down approximately 1-2% as compared to 2006.  There are a literally 140+ foreclosed properties on the St Cloud MLS as well as hundreds of other distressed sales allowing for some phenomenal deals.  So why should a buyer want to purchase a home in the St Cloud, MN area now?

Simple breakdown:

   Great interest rates allow buyers to qualify for more home with less money.

   More deals and some true steals available to potential buyers.

   Overall, home prices are fairly stable in the St Cloud area.

Have you heard this phrase?  "When everyone else is walking, you should run."  I'm giving a big hint that todays real estate market is the perfect time to fight the system and buy up the houses that are being sold at great discounts.  I just sold a home to one of my buyers for $125K, minus closing costs to be paid by the bank, that appraised for $153K without the improvements that can be done to the inside of the home!  My buyer is looking at $30K in instant equity for just buying this home.  I personally purchased a third property earlier this year for just over $180K that is valued at almost $220K.  These deals are everywhere with the amount of foreclosures that are currently available.  If you haven't made your home purchase yet and would like to get set up to view the foreclosures currently for sale on the St Cloud (or Minneapolis) MLS systems, visit www.StCloudEdina.com/Foreclosures.html.  If you are still a little nervous about making your home purchase, please post your questions, comments and concerns below for answers and review.

Jason Tangen, GRI

http://jasontangen.edinarealty.com/AgentHome/Homepage.aspx

http://www.StCloudEdina.com

Posted by Jason Tangen at 09:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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I would like to give a big thank you to Ted Mikle at Insty-Prints in St Cloud.  Ted and the staff at Insty-Prints have been printing my "Tangen Report" for over two years now and always do a wonderful job.  I am pleased to say that Insty Prints has been able to print off the 1100 copies I need for the St Cloud Chamber of Commerce's "Chamber Pack" in a very timely fashion time after time.  If you are in need of some packing materials or printing, I highly recommend Ted Mikle and his staff at Insty-Prints of St Cloud.  Come see their new location behind the Short Stop.

Insty Prints of St Cloud, MN

353 37th Ave N.

St Cloud, MN 56303

(320) 253-7445

www.insty-prints.com

Jason Tangen, GRI

Edina Realty St Cloud, MN

JasonTangen.EdinaRealty.com

Posted by Jason Tangen at 08:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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One of the issues that people selling their homes take too lightly is correctly pricing their home to sell.  Inevitably, there are two issues that come up at a listing appointment.  1) What's my home worth?  2) How much do you charge to list my home?  For this post I plan on focusing on the first issue presented.  If you want more information on the second issue, post your comments below.  When a real estate professional is giving you their numbers relating to the market value of your home, take some time to seriously consider what they are presenting to you.  I know that it can be tough, but try to separate what you know and just listen to what they are saying.  The correct pricing of you home is even more magnified when the market gets a little tighter.  I'm going to give you a couple of examples of homes that I have dealt with and let you decide which scenario you would rather have for your transaction.

Example #1 - I inherited a listing from another colleague who moved out of the area.  I'm not really sure how they came to their original price, but when I first met the clients I informed them that they were over $10K over priced in their current asking price.  Due to their selling motivation, they finally budged and came down to my price.  An offer arrived shortly thereafter that was about $4K less than their new asking price.  They opted to not take the offer because they were still reeling from the change as compared to the original price and felt like they were getting robbed.  I hate to say it, but they are now priced $5K less than that offer was when they received it in the Spring.  Moral of the story... price your home correctly and take every offer seriously.  If you don't take the offer presented to you, it means that you would rather stay in the house than sell it for that price.  Is that you intention, to stay at your current place?

Example #2 - I had some real savvy home owners that were in a development with three other properties for listed for sale.  The other properties were the exact same as my client's home.  They wanted to ensure that they sold within their given time frame and decided to stay $5K under the lowest priced home no matter what happened.  We listed the property and shortly thereafter two of the properties dropped to our price.  My sellers proceeded to lower their price again to stay true to their original game plan.  Sure enough one of the other properties followed suit.  The second price reduction to get us to our target price was the one that put us over the top and we received an offer three days later.  Moral of the story...  the best priced home always sells first.

Can you guess the outcome of this scenario?  Two identical homes are listed to sell with the only difference being that one home is priced $5K less than the other home.  Which one sells first?  Utilize your real estate professional's expertise about the current market conditions to create a price that will sell your home.  This is the same in St Cloud, MN as it is in Joe, Montana.  This post is for anyone that is considering listing their home for sale.  If you have any questions, comments or concerns please post them below.

Jason Tangen

www.StCloudEdina.com

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

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

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I'd like to say thank you to Bill Champa of Champa Photography Studio for his outstanding work on my new work picture and the family pictures we had taken this week.  My kids were a little difficult, but Bill did a wonderful job of making sure that my wife and I got the picture that captures our family perfectly.  If you are in need of a professional photographer for a wedding, senior photos, or just a beautiful family portrait I highly recommend Bill Champa.

 Jason Tangen, GRI

jasontangen.edinarealty.com

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

Posted by Jason Tangen at 12:21 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 12:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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I'd like to say thank you to Melinda Tamm (formerly Brockopp) owner and operator of Ms. Melinda's Dance Studio in Waite Park.  Melinda was my oldest daughter's dance instructor and did a wonderful job of teaching Abigail the joy of dance.  Laura and I look forward to taking some classes with Melinda as well (my wife loves to dance).  If you are interested in learning more about what Ms. Melinda's is all about, visit their website below.

http://msmelindas.com/ - Ms. Melinda's - Where Dreams Begin with a Dance

Jason Tangen, GRI

www.StCloudEdina.com

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

Posted by Jason Tangen at 01:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Download file

This file is for marketing of Blog to Yahoo's site feed feature.

Posted by Jason Tangen at 01:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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The home refinancing market has slowed drastically of recent, but some people are still feeling the need to pull money out of their home for other uses.  Your home is one of the greatest piggy banks that you will ever own, do you really want to break into it?  Good advice- Only pull equity out of your home if you are going to invest it in something that will make you more money than having it just sit where it's at.  These are some of the examples that I will give people as good reasons to pull out their home equity:  1) To do home improvements that add value.  2) To buy another home.  3) To invest in the stock market or some other investment with better returns.  **Only if you are certain about returns and knowledgeable about what you are doing.  4) To start a business. 

I know that there are plenty of other good reasons to pull your home equity, but for most situations, if it doesn't fit into one of the four categories above you might want to reconsider.  If you are questioning whether or not to refinance and pull money out of your home, post your situation here for review.

I also found this financial calculator to help figure out what type of refinancing package is better for your situation.  It takes into consideration the time you expect to live at the property, your current loan, and the differences in refinancing the whole loan amount or just taking out a second mortgage for the money needed.  If you are going to pull the equity out of your home, you will want to do it in the cheapest method possible.  Follow this link to the calculator:

http://www.mtgprofessor.com/mpcalculators/RefinanceToRaiseCash/refiToRaiseCash1.asp

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding real estate in and around St Cloud, MN. please post them here for answers and review.

Jason Tangen, GRI

http://jasontangen.edinarealty.com

www.StCloudEdina.com/Blog - REAL ANSWERS for REAL ESTATE in St Cloud, MN

Posted by Jason Tangen at 09:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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This is a comparison of the residential properties that have been sold on the St Cloud MLS and the real estate offices that work in the St Cloud Market.  The number behind each office represents the number of homes listed by that specific office that sold during the 3rd quarter (7/1/07-9/30/07).

Edina Realty St. Cloud- 82

Prudential Pladson Realty - 74

Coldwell Banker Burnet - 67

Premier Real Estate Services - 47

Re-Max Realty Source - 38

Century 21 New Horizons - 30

Showcase Properties - 29

Home-2-Home Realty - 24

Edina Realty of Monticello - 24

Century 21 First Realty - 22

USA 4% - 19

Executive Realty Of St Cloud - 18

Coldwell Banker Herges - 17   *Coldwell Banker Herges Realty was purchased by Edina Realty St Cloud in the 3rd Qtr '07.

Castle Realty - 14

Riverside Realty of Little Falls - 14

Lind Realty-Showcase Properties - 11

Re-Max Today's Properties - 11

Multiple Offices with 10 or less.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about any of the information contained above, feel free to post them below for answers and review.  If you'd like some more detailed information about the real estate market surrounding St Cloud, MN., post your requests below.

Jason Tangen, GRI

www.StCloudEdina.com

www.StCloudEdina.com/Blog - REAL ANSWERS for REAL ESTATE in St. Cloud, MN

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

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I would like to thank Art Buhs for inviting me to the monthly Central Minnesota Builders Association (CMBA) meeting at Trobec's Event Center on Oct. 10th.  The CMBA meets monthly in this fashion to go over general housekeeping items and to network with one another.  I was thoroughly impressed with turnout of over 200 people.  The event was hosted by Liberty Savings Bank of St. Cloud, MN and Mark Bragelman of Liberty Savings Bank brought Glen Sonmor (Fighting Saints, Gophers, WHA and Northstars fame) out to regale us with stories of hockey in days past.  It might have been a bit much for some people, but if you are a hockey aficionado like myself, it was great to hear stories someone who has been around great hockey players and minds for 60 years.

Thanks again to Art Buhs of Art Buhs Construction - Where everything they build is a work of Art.

You can see Art's homes on-line at http://www.artbuhsconstruction.com/ or see his current model home in The Villages of Creekside in Sauk Rapids, MN.

Jason Tangen

www.stcloudedina.com

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

Posted by Jason Tangen at 09:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Posted by Jason Tangen at 09:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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I thought that I would add this to the St. Cloud, Minnesota - Edina Realty Blog as a way of saying "Thank You" to the St Cloud, MN businesses that I utilize when helping my clients in their home purchases and sales.  If you have utilized a local business somewhere near St Cloud, MN and would like to say thank you for their great service, feel free to post them here.

My first big "Thank You" goes to Aaron Reznechek of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.  I have used Aaron for a couple of my own personal home purchases in St Cloud and Sauk Rapids, as well as for helping some of my clients get into their homes all over the Central MN area.  Aaron has never faltered under the pressure of short time frames for closing a deal.  In one situation, I wrote an offer on a place on Tuesday and closed the deal on Friday.  That was three business days to get everything pulled together for the mortgage package!  Thank you to Aaron Reznechek for closing every deal on time and working well under pressure.

Jason Tangen

www.stcloudedina.com

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

Posted by Jason Tangen at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Hello all bargain hunters out there.  Just a little note to remind you that the banks do not want to pay the heating bills all winter on a house that has been given back to them through the foreclosure process.  I fully expect this winter to see at least one great buy per week come onto the market and an additional two to three current foreclosures/week drop into a price range that you would probably like to know about.  Be sure to get signed up to receive the foreclosed properties that are listed for sale on the St. Cloud MLS by visiting www.stcloudedina.com/Foreclosures.html.  By signing up, you will receive daily notification of new foreclosures as they as available on the St. Cloud MLS.  You will also receive notice of foreclosed properties that have had a reduction in price on the St. Cloud MLS.  Best of all, it's FREE.

Jason Tangen

www.stcloudedina.com

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

Posted by Jason Tangen at 03:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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