St. Cloud, MN - Real Estate Blog

As we went through the spring market and into the early summer months, we have had enough sales to cover the amount of foreclosed properties that were coming onto the St Cloud MLS.  We have averaged 325 active and pending foreclosures on the St Cloud MLS since January of this year.  Yesterday, when I pulled the foreclosure search for a potential client, I noticed that the total had crept up to 350+.

This excess of foreclosed properties is not a good thing for our market.  I think the best thing that could happen is that we sell them off at a fairly quick rate.  I know that it isn't great news for people who are trying to sell their homes, but we need to get the vacant properties moved so that our home builders can start on new properties in the future.  We have a lot of people sitting idle in Central MN just waiting for this housing lull to pass so that they can resume work.

If you are on the fence about buying a property, I highly suggest talking to a real estate professional about what is going on with the market. 

1)  I can think of several great potential purchases for a new homeowner that would probably net somewhere between $30-100K in equity to their future owner. 

2)The interest rates are rising slowly and if inflation keeps moving upward with the gas prices, home loan rates will follow suit and go even higher.  

3)Lastly, if you do not have the money set aside to make a home purchase, your chance to get a home with 0% down could be gone by the end of the summer.  The last (non-VA or rural development) 0% down home purchase program is under great scrutiny from both the President and the department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). 

Those are three reasons that now may be the best time to purchase for quite some time.  Talk to your professional and I'm sure they will give you several more reasons.

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

www.StCloudEdina.com - Get a free list of foreclosed properties in Central Minnesota

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

Posted by Jason Tangen at 06:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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I was just talking with another one of the real estate agents in the office who is selling a lot of foreclosures in the St Cloud area and one topic became glaringly clear to us.  A lot of people who are purchasing foreclosed properties are not fully anticipating how much it will cost to repair the home.

While not all foreclosed properties in the St Cloud area are completely trashed, most are.  Especially when you look in the <$100,000 market.  These homes generally need much more than just paint and carpet (and paint and carpet can sometimes run $5000 on their own).

With this in mind, if you have been pre-approved for a loan to purchase a home that needs some work, take the time to accurately calculate the true cost to make living there comfortable.  Get bids from contractors if necessary to give you a better picture of all of the expenses involved.  Does the home need carpet? paint? doors & windows?  Do you have some liquid cash to fix potential problems?  The answers to these questions will really dictate the answer to your buying decision.

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

http://jasontangen.edinarealty.com - Search for open houses in St Joseph, MN

Posted by Jason Tangen at 05:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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With the way that the laws are currently written for real estate, I propose this thought for people to digest.

The only person who is truly hurt by a foreclosed property is the neighbor.

I don't want to sound mean or insensitive to the home owner who has just been thrown out of their homestead, but I don't think they have it the worst.  With the current laws, the only damage to a person who has had a foreclosure in their past is a lower FICO score (credit score that can be cured in a very short period of time) and a little bit of public embarrassment.  That's it.

As for the bank's losses, they have insurance to cover them to a certain extent in most foreclosure situations.  Oops, I just found another person affected by foreclosures.  The insurance companies that cover the bank's losses.

What we are left with is the neighbors who are faced with a depressed home in their neighborhood bringing down the local values.  Most of these homes are stripped of anything of value (appliances, A/C, sometimes plumbing fixtures, lights, etc.) and left in a condition that only a mother could love.  I've walked into properties that are available because of foreclosure and been amazed at how filthy a home can become in just a year or so.  Brand new homes that appear to have 30 years worth of wear and tear.

Something to think about, what are your thoughts on this topic?

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)

Posted by Jason Tangen at 01:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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I have done a little research into the "foreclosure websites" that are offering foreclosed properties for sale around the St Cloud MN area.  I have discovered that most of the national websites are willing to let people receive the address and pictures of a home for a "nominal" fee.  The prices ranged from $9.95/week, $38.90/month, and $99/year for the top 10 foreclosure websites.

If you would like to pay one of these companies for the information they provide, that is up to you.  But I can say that I offer the exact same listings + automated e-mails of new foreclosed property listings and price changes to existing foreclosure listings free of charge.  Visit my sign up page for foreclosed properties on the St Cloud MLS for more information.

If you have discovered some other websites that are willing to give free information about foreclosed properties in Central Minnesota, please post them here for everyone to utilize.

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

www.StCloudEdina.com - Search Homes For Sale on the St Cloud MLS

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

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

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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 was a little surprised when someone requested the foreclosed properties on the St Cloud MLS today.  Not surprised because they wanted to see the foreclosed properties, surprised because I was sending them 213 homes that are some sort of bank foreclosure or short sale.  If you want more information about foreclosed listings in the immediate St Cloud or Minnesota area, view some of my other posts pertaining to this subject.  If you would personally like to see a list of the foreclosed properties on the St Cloud MLS, visit http://www.StCloudEdina.com/Foreclosures.html.  For foreclosures listed on the Minneapolis MLS or other Minnesota MLS systems, please e-mail me at jason@stcloudedina.com.

Jason Tangen, GRI

www.StCloudEdina.com - Search Homes for Sale on the St Cloud MLS

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

Posted by Jason Tangen at 05:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Minnesota ended up ranking 30th in the nation pertaining to the change in the number of foreclosed properties on the market in the 3rd quarter '07 vs. 3rd quarter '06.  This is definitely a statistic where it is better to be on the lower side of the averages.  Topping the list was Nevada (1 foreclosure filing for every 61 households), California (1 filing per 88 households), and Florida (1 filing per 95 households)*.

In Minnesota, we saw a 19.8% increase in the number properties that have filed for foreclosure in the 3rd quarter 2007 as compared 2nd quarter 2007.  That breaks down to 1 foreclosure filing for every 562 households.  These aren't great numbers, but they are definitely much better than some of the other areas where we have consistently been hearing about their horrid real estate markets.  Throughout the industry, we expect some foreclosures to happen for various reasons`1.  Bad things can happen to just about anyone putting them into foreclosure.  For the industry as a whole, we would like to see these numbers closer to 1 foreclosed filing for every 1500-2000 households.  Having these figures would mean that the banks are willing to take some risks in their lending practices, but not too much where it raises concern.

Thanks to some changes in the St Cloud MLS, I will soon be able to track these numbers locally to see how they compare to the national averages.  Currently there are 42 foreclosed properties in the St Cloud, Sartell, Sauk Rapids, and Waite Park area listed on the St Cloud MLS.  That accounts for just over 28% of the total number of foreclosed properties listed for sale on the St Cloud MLS.

If you'd like to get a FREE list of the more than 140 foreclosed properties listed on the St Cloud MLS, visit www.StCloudEdina.com/Foreclosures.html.

Jason Tangen, GRI - Real Estate Broker Associate

Edina Realty St Cloud

www.StCloudEdina.com

*Data obtained from RealtyTrac online

Posted by Jason Tangen at 09:40 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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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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