St. Cloud, MN - Real Estate Blog

Are you looking for where you can find newer construction and new construction homes around St Cloud MN that are in foreclosure?  Below is a list of some of the local developments that have the most current foreclosed properties and more yet to come:

Foley: Lange Estates

Rice: Field of Dreams

Rice: Fox Meadows

Sartell: Tiffany Meadows (Patio Homes)

Sartell: Madison Crossing

St Cloud (St Augusta): Emerald Ponds

St Cloud: The Fairways

St Cloud: Waters Edge Donovan Lake

St Joseph: Liberty Pointe

St Joseph: Graceview Estates

Post your questions and concerns here in regards to homes that are available to purchase in these developments or ones that have recently sold.

Happy New Year,

Jason Tangen - Real Estate Broker Associate with Edina Realty of St Cloud

www.StCloudEdina.com/Foreclosures.html - Get a list of the current foreclosed properties on the St Cloud MLS

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

Posted by Jason Tangen at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

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The most recent search of foreclosed properties both active and pending sale on the St Cloud MLS resulted in over 310 such properties.  This is not the greatest of news for people who are thinking of listing their homes for sale in the new year.  As a home seller, your competition was almost always other home sellers.  Now, with the amount of foreclosed properties and their varying conditions, a home sellers biggest challenge is to take a buyer away from the bank.

I have sold 3 of these foreclosed properties recently.  While it is great for the buyer (they are undoubtedly getting great deals), it doesn't keep the chain going for traditional sellers.  In a normal real estate transaction chain, a first time home buyer purchases a home from a seller who in turn purchases a bigger home from a seller, etc.  With this new foreclosure inventory, more first time home buyers are opting to purchase a foreclosure and immediately stop the sales chain.

Advice in 2008 for sellers and buyers:

For Sellers:  If you need to sell, by all means sell.  Be sure to have your real estate agent do their homework to ensure that you can compete with today's market conditions.  Forget your assessed value and what your last refinance appraisal amounts were and really listen to what your real estate professional is telling you.  The data they compile from the St Cloud MLS could be the difference in selling your home and staying in your home.  It is now much more important than recent years to have a truly accurate competitive market analysis done on your home to reflect what the market is willing to pay.

For Buyers:  Buy!  It's as simple as that.  Get set up on an automated search by your real estate professional that will send you homes that are of interest to you immediately.  Some of the great deals that I am seeing on the St Cloud MLS are only hanging around for a week or so.  If you are thinking about purchasing, get pre-approved and wait for the right home to come along.  Rates are still very favorable and the deals are better than I have seen in the last 4+ years.  Lastly, don't be afraid to jump.  I have had several buyers recently who are kicking themselves for not taking action on the house they wanted.  If you know a home is a great deal and you love it - buy it.

Jason Tangen - Real Estate Broker Associate with Edina Realty of St Cloud

www.StCloudEdina.com - Home of the e-Market Analysis (Free Home Value Estimator)

jasontangen.edinarealty.com - Search the St Cloud MLS

Posted by Jason Tangen at 07:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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I know of several people (including myself) who tend to put themselves in a little hole around Christmas with regards to their finances.  I know that we could all go out and buy one of the thousands of books related to budgeting and financing and just follow their simple rules.  

But why? 

Don't get me wrong, most of those books have 2-3 great pieces of advice for how to become more financially independent and responsible.  Some of them probably give similar advice to what I have in my "bill-killing" technique below.  What I would rather have here, in the spirit of the Christmas season, is for us to share our personal style of dealing with our own financial stresses.

I'll start.  This is my "bill-killing" technique:

1) Separate your monthly payments into monthly necessities (heat, water, phone, insurance, TV, Internet, etc.) and long term debt (house, car, student loans, credit cards, etc.).

2) Eliminate any wasteful spending on your monthly necessities. (i.e. - I no longer utilize a house phone because I never used it except to answer calls from telemarketers)

3) Take the money saved from the monthly necessities category and reallocate it for long term debt.

4) Organize your long term debt in order of the balances owed.  It seems that most financial planners say to organize your long term debt by the interest rates on each account.  I personally don't prefer this method because I like to see my results more rapidly.

5) Take your new list of long term debt and put it on your fridge (i.e. - 1)-house  2)-student loans  3)-credit card #1  4)-credit card #2  5)-car payment...etc).

6) Utilize the money you have saved from weening out your monthly necessities to pay off the long term debt with the lowest balance first.  I also recommend using tax returns for this purpose if you receive them on a yearly basis.  Note, if you are receiving big tax returns every year, talk to your financial planner and get that to stop.  Pay yourself first, not the government.

7) Step #7 is my favorite because you get a raise.  Once your first loan is paid off, keep 10% of that monthly payment for yourself and reallocate the other 90% (plus the original money saved from your monthly necessities) to payoff the next loan.  For example - No phone at the house saved me $20/mo.  My first bill to kill is my car because I only have $2000 left on the balance.  My car payment is $260/mo.  Once the car payment is gone, I get $26/mo to myself for extra spending and $254/mo moves forward to pay off my next loan.

8) Cross off each loan on the fridge as you pay them off so that you can visibly see your results.

9) Repeat steps again until you are financially stable once again.

I would love to hear any else who has a system for their finances that works for them.  I know that while this system works wonders for me, it isn't for everyone.  What you are currently using to get yourself out of debt might work better for someone out there.  Please share.

 Merry Christmas,

Jason Tangen, GRI - Real Estate Broker Associate with Edina Realty St Cloud MN

www.StCloudEdina.com - Search the MLS in St Cloud MN

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

Posted by Jason Tangen at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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I would like to thank Scott Anderson with Statewide Home Inspections of St Cloud MN for his outstanding customer service, loyalty, and knowledge.

I have done business with Scott for many years now and he consistently gives real estate consumers a wonderful and detailed home inspection at a fair price.  Not only will Scott go over the home to look for problems, he also will give great advice on everything from general home maintenance to naming trusted local businesses for different tasks around the home.

Recently, I asked Scott if he still had on file an old home inspection for a potential home seller.  This seller had purchased the home with a different agent and wanted to be able to offer to buyers the previous home inspection that was performed.  Indeed Scott had the home inspection and we were able to offer it to potential buyers as they viewed the home.  This came in very handy and my seller was happy to receive an offer within a month of listing the home for sale.

Another great attribute of Scott Anderson at Statewide Home Inspections is his willingness to come back to a property if the new home owners have a question.  I've heard of him coming back to a property for anything from re-testing gas lines for leaks around a stove to checking for proper installation by the new owner of outlets on a wall.  Now that's service.

If you'd like to know more about Scott Anderson and Statewide Property Inspections of St Cloud, MN - visit his website www.StatewidePropertyInspections.com.

Jason Tangen, GRI - Real Estate Broker Associate with Edina Realty of St Cloud MN

www.StCloudEdina.com - Home of the e-Market Analysis (Free Home Value Estimator)

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

Posted by Jason Tangen at 06:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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I'm posting this entry a little in the dark because I do not currently have a Home Ownership Accelerator account, nor have I had any clients utilize this service.  Nevertheless, this new home loan (not really a loan) product is extremely intriguing.

The Home Ownership Accelerator (HOA) is basically an account that you set up against your home vs. using a tradition mortgage.  The reason for using a HOA is that as you deposit your paychecks into the account and it automatically pays off the principle balance of your mortgage first.  This keeps the amount of interest that you owe at the end of the month significantly lower because your principle balance has decreased in advance.  Over the month, as you need money for bills, etc., you pull money against the home.

This philosophy is undeniably great.  A person with a $200,000 home loan could feasibly pay it off in under 15 years and save over $100,000 in interest payments.  But there is another side of this that some people have to seriously consider.

Living paycheck to paycheck is not really an option with a HOA.  Also, for those of you who are not the most fiscally responsible people, and you know who you are, having free reign on the equity that your home is creating can be very tempting.  It would become very easy to justify a huge plasma TV or new car purchase with the savings you have created.

This would be my personal checklist for anyone who is thinking that a HOA is the right product for them:

1) You must have at least 15-20% equity in your home.  I don't recommend this product (nor do I think it's available) to anyone who is "equity challenged" in their home.

2) You must have at least a 5-10% surplus of income at the end of each month.  Similar to a credit card, not making a full monthly payment can really put you in a hole.

3) You must be able to recognize the difference between an asset and a liability.  For those of you who knew the difference off the top of your head, great.  For those of you who did not, I recommend reading "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki to get you started in the right direction.  The reason for this item in my checklist is to remove many frivolous spenders before they get themselves into trouble.

4) You must be capable of maintaining a budget and monitoring your results.

5) You would like to save money.

I would love to hear some response to this post from people who are currently utilizing a HOA and/or lenders who have this product available to their clients.  This is a learning process for me as I do not have any direct relationship with someone who is currently utilizing a HOA.  More specifically, lenders - I might be interested in refinancing my personal property to a HOA if it's the right product for me.  I am interested in learning more about HOA's and how they might benefit my personal and my clients' situations.

Jason Tangen - Real Estate Broker Associate with Edina Realty of St Cloud

www.StCloudEdina.com - Search the St Cloud MLS

Posted by Jason Tangen at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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I am anxiously awaiting the turn of the year so that I can start compiling my year end numbers of homes sales on the St Cloud MLS.  Below are my predictions (we'll see how accurate my guesstimates end up being):

I predict that sales will be down from 2006 approximately 14% for the total number of homes sold.

I predict that average and median home prices will be approximately 1.5% lower than 2006 with some areas actually showing slight increases due to the price range of homes that were sold.

I predict that the time on market it takes to sell a home actually went down - further proof that the homes at great prices are still moving fairly fast.

Big prediction - 2008 will continue to be a sluggish year in real estate sales in the St Cloud area.  It will continue to be a buyer's market with plenty of inventory to chose from.  The biggest addition of homes for sale will come from bank foreclosed properties.

Jason Tangen - Real Estate Broker Associate with Edina Realty St Cloud

jasontangen.edinarealty.com - Search Open Houses in Central MN

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

Posted by Jason Tangen at 09:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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I feel the need to at least give my two cents on the issue of Bush's legislation to freeze the rates on some adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs).  This legislation is meant to aid the people who could potentially face foreclosure due to the expiration of their original interest rates on ARM loans.

In some areas of the nation (i.e. California, Nevada, Florida and others), I can see where this policy will definitely help.  There are many people in these areas that couldn't afford to purchase a home due to the increasing home prices.  The only option for them was to try one of these riskier loan products and hope for continued appreciation. 

This is not necessarily the case in Central Minnesota.  Although there are some people in the St Cloud area who have chosen to go with one of these riskier ARM loans (Note - not all ARM products are bad - find a good lender that will get you in the right loan product for you), the majority chose a less risky loan or went with the traditional 30 year fixed rate mortgage.  I believe that freezing the interest rates around St Cloud MN will only lengthen the time it takes for our market to fully correct.

Instead of this legislation, I think we should let this downturn run its course.  If we freeze interest rates and delay this problem into 2009 or even 2010, many home owners might see their home values dip even further than they necessary.  I think that one year of a market flooded with foreclosed properties is in the majority of the St Cloud area's best interest over 2+ years of sales stagnation and falling prices.

I know that this is not the best alternative for many of you who might be currently facing a foreclosure process.  I'm sorry that your situation has turned south and things are not working as originally planned.  Whether it be purchasing advice from a poorly informed lender, real estate professional, or just bad judgment on your part, the problem needs to be fixed.  The sooner the better.  Call a local real estate professional that you trust so they can try to help you out of your current situation if it is fixable.  If you have just plain given up, please don't trash the home as you leave.  That affects everyone in the neighborhood and community more than the bank.

I'd love any of your takes on this issue.  This is just my opinion and thoughts on the issue.  Please post your thoughts or questions here for answers and review.

Jason Tangen, GRI - Real Estate Broker Associate with Edina Realty St Cloud

www.StCloudEdina.com - Search the St Cloud MLS

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

Posted by Jason Tangen at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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I was directed the other day to Hotpads.com from another real estate informational website and was very impressed with Hotpad.com's features.  There is an easy search that will organize real estate properties that are listed for sale by their potential mortgage payments.  For example - if you are willing to spend $900 a month to rent a property, this search feature will show you what homes you can afford to purchase within that same price range.  Check it out and tell me what you think.

Jason Tangen, GRI - Real Estate Broker Associate with Edina Realty St Cloud

www.StCloudEdina.com - Home of the e-MARKET ANALYSIS (Free Home Value Estimator)

jasontangen.edinarealty.com - Search the St Cloud MLS

Posted by Jason Tangen at 04:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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I feel a little sheepish giving this testimonial (because my wife works at Executive Express), but I have to thank them for the wonderful service that we experienced when traveling to and from the Minneapolis Airport with Executive Express of St Cloud.

Recently, my family took a little vacation to San Diego to visit my wife's family.  Why we came back, I'm not real sure.  It's cold here.

Executive Express (for those of you who do not know) is an airport shuttle, event charter, and delivery service based in St Cloud, MN.  Not only did we save on the gas and potential airport parking expenses, we also had wonderful drivers who were willing to help us with our bags.  This comes in very handy when you are traveling with an infant and a small child.  As a side note - kids get to ride for FREE during the holidays!  If you would like to learn more about Executive Express in St Cloud and how they can assist you in your travels, visit their website below:

www.ExecutiveExpress.biz - Executive Express "Providing Transportation Relaxation"

Jason Tangen, GRI - Real Estate Broker Associate with Edina Realty St Cloud MN

www.StCloudEdina.com - Search Homes for Sale in the St Cloud MN Area

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

Posted by Jason Tangen at 10:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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In reading a couple of real estate blogs here recently, I've seen some statistics thrown at me that were slightly alarming.  Also, I'm not sure that they are quite accurate.

In one post a gentleman claims that 70% of the real estate transactions in his area are dual agent situations where the potential buyer calls the listing agent and buys the real estate through them.  I'll have to do a little further research, but I would wager that the St Cloud MN area is closer to 30% of homes sold have the same listing and selling agent (dual agency).

For my own business practices, I will not be a dual agent in a real estate transaction unless my sellers give me written permission to do so.  The reason for this is that I can not have a true fiduciary responsibility to both the seller and the buyer in the same real estate transaction.  I expect more of myself and offer more to my clients than just being a "go-between".

Question: How can you work for the sellers best interests and the buyers best interests at the same time?  I realize that some transactions are smooth full price offers that close in under a month, but that is not the norm.  Most of the time, real estate transactions vary from slightly friendly counter offers between buyer and seller to truly heated arguments.  This is the way it should be.  As a real estate professional, one of your fiduciary duties is to get your clients the best deal possible.  This will more than likely aggravate an opposing home owner or buyer on more than one occasion.

Here is the scenario of why I will not perform a dual agent transaction without first having my sellers written approval:

A seller has a home listed for $200,000.  They need to sell and say, "Jason, get us an offer for $170,000 and we will sell this home today."

I have a buyer for that same home who says "Jason, do you think that they will take $185,000 for their home?" 

What should I do?

If I tell the buyer to write the offer for $185,000 and see what happens, I have just cost them $15,000.  If I tell them the seller might be willing to take less, then I am taking money out of my sellers pocket.  How can I feasible work in both of these real estate consumers best interests?

I'd love to hear your take on this issue.  How would you like to be represented as a buyer or seller?  I'd also like to hear some real estate agents takes on how they view dual agency.

Jason Tangen - Real Estate Broker Associate with Edina Realty St Cloud

www.StCloudEdina.com - Search the St Cloud MN MLS

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

Posted by Jason Tangen at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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