St. Cloud, MN - Real Estate Blog

I have discovered a new and interesting way to send the foreclosed listings available on the St Cloud MLS to my clients.  I have always been able to e-mail them to anyone on a daily basis, but it was difficult to keep sending a master list of all of the properties available at any given time.

Enter the new real estate portal.

Now any of my clients who have signed up to receive the foreclosed properties listed for sale on the St Cloud MLS can also get a specific website that will maintain all of the properties just for them.  It also sets up driving tour directions, allows people to save their favorite foreclosed properties, and it also allows them to see when the foreclosed property they like is having an open house.

While I haven't worked out all the bugs on these new MLS portals yet, I am certain that the majority of people will enjoy their ease of use and information.

Want to know more?  Give me a call at (320) 492-2667 or email me at jason@stcloudedina.com.

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

http://JasonTangen.EdinaRealty.com - Search open houses in Minnesota

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

Posted by Jason Tangen at 07:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Thanks to some changes in the local MLS systems, it is now possible for everyone to search for real estate open houses on-line at most all real estate websites in Minnesota.  With these changes, any agent that adds the new feed will be able to showcase all the open houses around St Cloud, MN in a searchable format.

What does this mean to you as a buyer and seller?

As a buyer, no longer do you have to weed through the paper to find open houses.  You can now go on-line and search by area, amenities, etc.  Results will even include open houses held on odd days of the week and not just on Saturday and Sunday.

As a seller, it is another way to showcase your property.  If your agent isn't willing to do open houses or doesn't update your home on the open house section of the MLS, you had better get them to change their ways.  Are you paying them to sell your home?  How many ways would you like them to try to sell your home?

If you have a favorite site to search homes for sale, you can more than likely go there and search for open houses.  If you are having troubles finding open houses, visit http://StCloudEdina.com and there you can search for open houses in St Cloud MN and surrounding areas.

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

http://JasonTangen.EdinaRealty.com - Search open houses in St Cloud, Sartell, Sauk Rapids, Waite Park, St Joseph, Avon, Albany, Cold Spring, Foley, Clearwater, Clear Lake, and basically all of Central MN

Posted by Jason Tangen at 07:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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I am proud to say that I have completed my e-Pro course from  the National Association of REALTORS.  By learning some new tools, I now have even more at my disposal to ensure that my buyers and sellers receive the ultimate service in their real estate transactions.

My e-Pro designation goes along with my other designations for real estate: licensed real estate broker, Certified Negotiations Specialist, e-Marketing Specialist, and Graduate of the REALTOR Institute (GRI).

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

http://jasontangen.edinarealty.com - Search open houses in St Cloud MN and surrounding areas.

Posted by Jason Tangen at 07:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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I would like to congratulate Spencer Buerkle on his primary victory this past week in his bid to become the County Commissioner for Benton County in District 4.  I know Spencer as he works at Edina Realty with me and wish him nothing but the best in his efforts. 

If you would like to know more about Spencer Buerkle or have questions regarding Benton County, you can visit Spencer's blog at www.SpencerBuerkle.Blogspot.com.

Jason Tangen, GRI - Broker Associate with Edina Realty in St Cloud MN.

www.StCloudEdina.com - Search real estate in St Cloud MN and surrounding areas.

Posted by Jason Tangen at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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I finally did it, started my own "wall" on Facebook.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with social networking websites, like Facebook and MySpace, it is basically a way to stay connected with the people you know (or used to know).

I have been reading everywhere that this is the new way to stay in touch with everyone from friends, family, and clients.  Most every blog about real estate and any real estate professional outside of the central Minnesota area seems to think this is the neatest thing since sliced bread.

We'll see about that.

To date I have some 30 friends.  Most of these are people I went to high school with and haven't seen in 15+ years.  It should be fun to reconnect with some people from the past.

I will keep you posted as to whether or not I like this form of networking in future posts.

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

www.StCloudEdina.com - Search homes for sale in St Cloud, MN and surrounding central MN

Posted by Jason Tangen at 06:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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I have had several buyers in the past month and a half that have come to me after choosing to sit on the fence about a home purchase.  They were a little leery of the real estate market and just didn't want to get burned - which I think is a fair objection.  Buying a home is a major decision and should not be entered lightly.  If you aren't sure whether or not you should buy a home, you should probably just continue to rent for the time being.  You will know when the time is right. 

To make a long story short, all of them had little to no money to put down on a home, but did have stable income.  They were also pre-approved for mortgages to make their first home purchases.  None of them are able to make a home purchase today.

Why?

Things have definitely changed in the lending world.  Lending institutions are realizing that without any money down, people have nothing to lose with foreclosure.

Why am I posting this today? 

Because I feel bad for a lot of good people who would be great homeowners that are no longer able to make purchases.

How do we solve this problem?

Pro-actively.  There are still a couple of $0 down options available for home buyers (Minnesota Housing Finance Agency has down payment assistance programs, VA home loan guarantee, and others).  Also, it is time to start saving some money.  If you aren't sure how to get started with savings, give me a call and I will be glad to direct you to the right people.

Lastly, if you are wanting to make a home purchase, no more than ever you need a quality lender to work on your behalf.  Someone who won't take away your pre-approval and leave you high and dry without a home.  If you have someone you trust, great.  If you don't, ask your real estate professional.  They will probably have several names of people they know and trust.  If you want my list, give me a call at (320) 492-2667 or just look at the Business Testimonials section of this blog.  I have a couple of real good lenders there with full contact information.

Jason Tangen, Broker Associate with Edina Realty in St Cloud MN

http://jasontangen.edinarealty.com - Search for open houses in Minnesota

http://www.StCloudEdina.com - Get a list of the foreclosed properties available on the St Cloud MLS

Posted by Jason Tangen at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Here are the numbers of total residential homes that were sold in each area during last month.

North St Cloud - 28

South St Cloud - 21

East St Cloud - 4

West St Cloud - 6

Sauk Rapids - 10

Sartell - 25

Waite Park - 5

St Joseph - 14

If you would like more data for real estate sales in central Minnesota, give me a call at (320) 492-2667 or post your requests here.  I can pull together just about any real estate related data that you would like from specific office sales to average sales prices and more.

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

http://StCloudEdina.com - Home of the e-Market Analysis (free home value estimator).

http://JasonTangen.EdinaRealty.com - Search real estate in St Cloud MN.

Posted by Jason Tangen at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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I just got done sending my oldest off to her first day of kindergarten today.  She was very exicited to go.  I, on the other hand, was very sad to see her get on the bus like such a big girl.  Mississippi Heights Elementary School in Sauk Rapids MN (more specifically Mrs. Maas) is getting a good kid today.  It seems like only yesterday that she was just barely walking.  What's next?  College?

It is amazing how the time flies by when we look back on things.  I hope that I can always remember this day and how it felt to see my little girl all suited up with her backpack, heading out to learn and do great things.

To Abbie on Her First Day of School:

Have fun, try your hardest, say "Hi" to everyone you meet, and remember that you will always be my little girl.

Jason Tangen

www.StCloudEdina.com

Posted by Jason Tangen at 07:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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