Real Estate Blog in St Cloud, MN

Tangen Report - Central Minnesota Real Estate Sales 4th Quarter 2008

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 10:27:03 -0600

Originally posted at www.StCloudEdina.com/blog on January 28th, 2009:

A couple of big things should stand out to home owners as we bid adieu to 2008.

1) Median and average home prices did drop about 12% in the St Cloud area for 2008.

2) Homes are still selling at a pretty good rate. In some areas, we saw good increases in units sold.

Click on the file below to see the overall real estate sales statistics for St Cloud, Waite Park, Sartell, and Sauk Rapids 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 - e-PRO, GRI - Broker Associate with Edina Realty in St Cloud) properly.

Download file

If you would like to view previous Tangen reports, visit http://stcloudedina.com/blog/the_tangen_report/.

If you would like me to break down the statistics for your specific neighborhood or area in Central MN, please post your request here for everyone to see and use in the future.

Jason Tangen - GRI, e-PRO - Real estate broker associate with Edina Realty in St Cloud Minnesota

www.StCloudEdina.com - Try the e-Market Analysis free home value estimator.

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

St Cloud MLS Tops 400 Foreclosed Listings

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 10:24:59 -0600

Originally posted at http://StCloudEdina.com/blog on 01/26/2009:

Whew. I noticed late tonight that the total number of active and pending foreclosed properties on the St Cloud MLS. That is a huge increase from roughly 200 that we had at the start of 2008.

This surplus of foreclosed properties is making for some phenomenal buys! For example: I had one buyer just pick up a 6 BR, 4 BA two story home in Sartell's "The Wilds" development for just over $180K. Crazy.

So go ahead and take a look. With interest rates floating around the 5.5% range, this might be the perfect time to buy. I can't guarantee that we are at the bottom yet, but I do know that this influx of foreclosed properties should stabilize and start to deteriorate as the year progresses. Therefore, the last of the great flood of bank owned properties should be hitting us this year.

Happy house hunting.

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

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

http://JasonTangen.EdinaRealty.com - Try the e-Market Analysis free home value estimator.

If your home isn't appreciating, can your mortgage?

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 10:20:17 -0600

A big thank you to Mark Timpane at Edina Realty Mortgage for putting this to print:

Thinking about refinancing into another conventional? There might be another option for you. Fast forward three to five years from now. The real estate market correction will be behind us and you decide that now is the time to move onto a newer home. But what if rates are at 6.5 % or more and your home is valued at or a little higher than you bought it. Is there an option that can make you home more attractive? If you refinanced today with an FHA loan at 5.0% for example, when you go to sell, your buyer would be able to assume your mortgage (only $500) and take advantage of today's lower rates. The general rule is that for every 1% decline in interest rates a buyer gets 10% more purchasing power. So the cost of assuming a $172,500 home has the same monthly payment as buying a $150,000 home at future interest rates. So you have now positioned your home against homes with fewer amenities, and other $165,000 homes cannot compete on a costs basis.

Need to refinance-call me today

Mark Timpane

Edina Realty Mortgage

320.240.6157

www.markthemortgageguy.com

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

http://StCloudEdina.com - Get a free list of the bank owned properties on the St Cloud MLS

http://JasonTangen.EdinaRealty.com - Find out what you home might be worth if sold.

Central Minnesota Commission Going Up in Tough Times

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 10:18:17 -0600

Originally posted at www.StCloudEdina.com/blog on January 9th, 2009:

I am wrapping up some of the initial numbers for the real estate sales from the St Cloud MLS and one stat jumped out at me recently. It looks like the average payout that home sellers are willing to give to an agent who finds them a buyer (Compensation to Buyer's Broker) has gone up quite substantially in the past few years.

According to the St Cloud MLS, commissions paid to a Buyer's Broker for a real estate transaction have gone up 15% in the last 4 years.

What does that mean? People are more willing to pay a premium in order to get their homes sold.

It kind of goes against the ordinary flow of business during a recession. Most people flock to the Walmarts, McDonald's and other quality (but cheap) businesses during tough times. In real estate, they flock to who does the job best.

It makes sense. If selling real estate is tougher than ever, you would want to use the real estate agent who is the best. If that means spending an extra percent or two, so be it. It is better than making payments on a home you no longer want and getting less for your home when it does finally sell.

Look for my year end "Tangen Report" to be posted here in the next week. For those of you who don't know, the "Tangen Report" is a quarterly breakdown of the real estate activity in St Cloud, Sauk Rapids, Sartell, and Waite Park in Central Minnesota.

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

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

http://JasonTangen.EdinaRealty - Search homes for sale in St Cloud MN

Real Estate Business - Jason Tangen's Year End Review

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 11:12:42 -0600

Originally posted at http://stcloudedina.com/blog on 12/27/08:

I am a little anxious to get started on the final tally of numbers for the St Cloud MLS in 2008. In the meantime, I am finishing up some of my own personal numbers and one stuck out as a glaring "heads-up" to any potential seller in the St Cloud MLS.

There were 13 listings last year that I lost out on to other agents or chose to not list. Most of them were because of price. My starting price was too low for what each seller needed to get in order to sell. I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but the market is going down for those of you who hadn't heard. My early estimations are that we will be down nearly 8% from last year in both median and average sales prices on the St Cloud MLS. I cannot sell your house for the same price it was worth in 2005. I'm sorry, but it just won't happen.

Out of those 13 listings, NONE HAVE SOLD! Ouch. While this is a perfect "I told you so moment," I feel truly bad for every single one of those families. Some really needed to sell their homes. I also hate losing listings (for whatever the reason), so that frustrates me too. Even if homes don't sell, they are great generators of potential buyers.

While I would like this stat to change in the new year, I cannot control the market. What I can pledge is to continue being honest with potential home sellers so that they are aware of what they need to do in order to sell their homes. That with a little pinch of a market turn will make 2009 a banner year for my real estate business.

Jason Tangen - GRI, e-PRO - 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://StCloudEdina.com/blog - REAL ANSWERS for REAL ESTATE in St Cloud MN

Business Testimonial for Batteries Plus in St Cloud MN

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 11:09:41 -0600

Originally posted at www.StCloudEdina.com/blog on December 19th, 2008:

I wanted to give a quick "Thank you" to Brian Musech of Batteries Plus in St Cloud MN. Just before going on vacation I had the joy of owning a laptop that gave me about 15 minutes of run time before the battery died. As I like to use my laptop as a movie viewer for the kids when we fly, I needed to get a new laptop battery quickly.

I went to Batteries Plus in St Cloud and met with one of their sales consultants. They not only knew exactly what I needed, but they also had it in stock so that I could get my new battery immediately and be on my way.

If you are in need of a battery - any kind of battery - give the folks at Batteries Plus a quick visit. With their great customer service and knowledge of the product they sell, I am sure that you will be as impressed with them as I was.

Thanks again to Dolora and Brian Musech with Batteries Plus and keep up the great work.

Jason Tangen - GRI, e-PRO - Real estate broker associate with Edina Realty in St Cloud MN

http://JasonTangen.EdinaRealty.com - Find open houses in Waite Park MN

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

Back to the basics - make your home smell nice for buyers.

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 11:06:10 -0600

Originally posted at www.StCloudEdina.com/blog on December 16th, 2008:

I showed a home to a potential buyer yesterday and was quickly reminded that some people need to go back to school when it comes to selling their homes.

As I unlocked the door and we slowly walked in to the house, it hit me. I looked over at my clients and quickly realized that they had noticed it as well. "I'm not sure what that is, but it can probably be cleaned out." I stated.

After walking through what is undoubtedly a beautiful home (if it was cleaned up), my buyers looked at me and said "It just didn't feel like their home."

"What would we need to fix with this to make it the right home?" I questioned, knowing full well that this was exactly the home they have been searching 4 months to find.

"I just don't like it." one of my buyers stated, "I cannot live in a home where my very first impression is 'WHAT'S THAT STENCH'"

Understanding of their thought process, I told them we should wait on this one. I would call the listing agent and see if we couldn't get the home thoroughly cleaned and maybe come back for a second look. My buyers agreed and we left.

Moral of the story. If you are selling your home, make sure that you have all of your bases covered before allowing tours. In this case, the home was not cleaned properly before allowing us to walk through. The real problem was from leftovers that had obviously been left to rot on the stove for the past few days.

I always tell my sellers that buyers have sized up your home within 15 seconds of being in the front door. They have decided that they like the location, the price and amenities are good, and now all the home can do is un-sell itself.

Smell is one way for a home to un-sell itself. Cleanliness, bad floor plans, unfixed maintenance problems, and being outdated are just a few of the other ways. I like to use this example when I discuss the topic of smell in a home:

I was a competitive swimmer in high school (and a fairly decent one). I actually still have a varsity record at Monticello High School (over 15 years removed now). Anyway, because of all that time spent in a pool, I am a little bit soggy and I love the smell of chlorine. It reminds me of good times as a youth. Consequently, when I walk into a home and they have been scrubbing with bleach it is appealing to me.

I don't recommend the bleach smell as a home owner trying to sell. Most people aren't as fond of bleach as I am. Instead, I recommed the baked goods smell. There are candles that smell just like cinnamon rolls, cookies, or whatever if you don't have the time to make some goodies yourself. These are the smells that seem to make most buyers think of good thoughts.

Remember, you only have about 15 seconds after they enter your home to make a good impression. Make them count.

Jason Tangen - GRI e-PRO - Real estate broker associate with Edina Realty St Cloud

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

http://StCloudEdina.com - Search Real Estate For Sale in Sartell MN

Weather gets bad, business gets good.

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 11:02:12 -0600

Originally posted at http://stcloudedina.com on 12/15/08:

It is always a little bit of fun to start digging yourself out (the first couple of times) each year in Minnesota after a healthy snowfall. Yesterday's storm did not disappoint. While today's biting cold temps could be done without, yesterday was great.

Between joking with the neighbors, shoveling out the driveway with my family, and helping to push out a pizza delivery kid who got stuck in the cul-de-sac; we had an all around great day. It also helped that the Minnesota Vikings blew out the Arizona Cardinals.

The funny thing about inclimate weather is that it always makes the phone ring for my real estate business. At first, I could never figure out why I would always get so many calls with real estate related questions when it snows heavy or if there were bad storms in the summer. Yesterday, after repeatedly questioning potential buyers, I figured out exactly why.

It turns out, if there isn't anything better to do, people like to search real estate online (duh Jason - it sure took a genius to figure that out). Knowing that I have the only website in St Cloud that is ranked within immediate vieweing range (top 4 or better) on Google, Yahoo, and MSN's Live Search search results for "real estate st cloud mn" makes it only stand to reason why I would get more work calls on inclimate days.

I guess with that in mind, "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...."

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

http://StCloudEdina.com - Get a free list of the bank owned properties for sale in St Cloud, MN

http://JasonTangen.EdinaRealty.com - Open house search in St Cloud, MN

The New Regional Library in St Cloud, MN

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 10:57:59 -0600

Originally posted at http://stcloudedina.com/blog on 11/08/08:

While it wouldn't have been my first choice of things to do with a whole lot of money, I have to admit that the new St Cloud Regional Library is a very impressive structure that accents the landscape of downtown St Cloud quite nicely.

I had the chance to do a tour and utilize one of their meeting spaces (free for non-profit organizations) with a group from the Chamber of Commerce the other day. While I started out very skeptical of this expensive structure, once I got inside I was really quite impressed. Hopefully it gets used like the citizens of St Cloud think it will be for many years to come.

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

Planning on selling your home? Over 80% of buyers are finding their homes on-line. Use the real estate agent that is the best in Central MN for real estate advertising on the web.

http://JasonTangen.EdinaRealty.com - Try the e-Market Analysis (free home value estimator).

3rd Quarter Tangen Report for Home Sales in Central MN

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 10:52:17 -0600

Originally posted at http://StCloudEdina.com/blog on 11/01/08:

We have seen the end of a crazy period of time both in the real estate market and in the stock market. It is truly amazing how things can change so fast. Click on the file below to see the overall real estate sales statistics for St Cloud, Waite Park, Sartell, and Sauk Rapids 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 - e-PRO, GRI - Broker Associate with Edina Realty in St Cloud) properly.

Download file

The one big item of concern that I touch base on is the fact that real estate values (both median and average) showed approximately a 7% decline from the 3rd quarter of 2007. Something to think about if you are preparing to sell your home.

If you would like to view previous Tangen reports, visit http://stcloudedina.com/blog/the_tangen_report/.

If you would like me to break down the statistics for your specific neighborhood or area in Central MN, please post your request here for everyone to see and use in the future.

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

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

Looking to sell? Use the real estate agent who is the best on the web for advertising real estate.

Big Blue Light Special Aisle Six

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 10:48:58 -0600

Originally posted at http://StCloudEdina.com/blog on 10/16/2008:

I have to give Coldwell Banker Burnet a little credit for trying anything to spark sales. Their 10 day sales event has gotten a ton of publicity and gotten people in the twin cities looking at real estate again.

My personal thoughts on this promotion, what an ingenious way to basically trick your sellers into a price reduction.

Most all real estate agents know that once you drop the price on a home it is nearly impossible to get that money back. Think about it: if you saw a home listed for $180,000 two days ago and it is listed for $190,000 today what will you offer them? $190K? I thought so:)

In the grand scheme of things, the price reductions are more than likely a necessity in order to get a lot of homes sold that are currently listed. I congratulate Coldwell Banker on trying new things to get people into the market, but what's next? A "blue light special?"

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

www.StCloudEdina.com - See all the bank owned properties listed on the St Cloud MLS

http://JasonTangen.EdinaRealty.com - Search open houses in Sartell MN and all of Central MN

What percentage of homes sold are foreclosures?

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:26:00 -0500

Originally posted at http://StCloudEdina.com/blog on 10/14/2008:

I was asked to see what percentage of first time home buyers are purchasing bank owned homes with the recent flood of foreclosures on the market. I was unsure at first, as first time home buyers can come in any price point. But I did pull together this little statistic in regards to foreclosed properties on the St Cloud MLS:

50.4% of all homes sold on the St Cloud MLS under $150,000 were bank owned (Data from St Cloud MLS for the time period of 01/01/2008-10/13/2008).

That means for all of you in Central Minnesota that are trying to sell your home within this price range, over 1/2 of your potential buyers are buying a foreclosed home instead.

In contrast, only 19.0% of all homes sold on the St Cloud MLS over $150,000 were bank owned.

That means if you are looking to purchase a home in the $150,000+ price range, you might be doing yourself a disservice by looking at only foreclosed homes.

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

http://StCloudEdina.com - Search Real Estate in Sartell Minnesota and surrounding areas.

http://JasonTangen.EdinaRealty.com - Find Open Houses in Sauk Rapids MN and surrounding areas.

Looking to Buy with $0 Down? Rural Financing Might be an Option

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:23:11 -0500

Originally posted at www.stcloudedina.com/blog on 10/08/2008:

For those of you who waited too long and now don't have a home and still don't have the down payment saved, here's some hope.

If you are looking to purchase a home with $0 down, check out this website:

http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do?NavKey=home@1

This is a link to the United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development. The great thing about this website is that it allows you to punch in any address and find out if it qualifies for 0% down Rural Development loans.

Check with your lender to see if a Rural Development loan is something that you want to look into more seriously. If you are unsure of which lenders are reliable and trustworthy in these crazy times, give me an e-mail at mailto:jason@stcloudedina.com.

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

http://JasonTangen.EdinaRealty.com - With the new foreclosed property search feature you can see all foreclosed properties listed for sale on both the St Cloud and Minneapolis MLS systems.

http://StCloudEdina.com - If you want ultimate in Internet advertising for your home, use the REALTOR that knows how to utilize the Internet to sell homes.

Home Services of America: The Pac-Man of Real Estate

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:21:00 -0500

Originally posted at http://StCloudEdina.com/blog on 10/06/2008:

So much is said about the real estate market and how it is in the tank. I thought it would be nice if everyone got to see Edina Realty's (and their parent company Home Services of America, Inc.) plan during this downturn in the real estate market.

http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2008/10/06/story1.html?b=1223265600%5e1710589

It is nice to be a part of a company that is growing and strong when so many real estate companies around us are having such problems. We are the "Pac-Man" of the real estate industry; gobbling up the competition.

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

http://StCloudEdina.com - Search homes for sale in St Cloud MN and surrounding areas.

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

Sales Starting to Slow as Winter Approaches... Bank Owned Properties Still Coming

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:18:28 -0500

Originally posted at www.StCloudEdina.com/blog on 10/05/2008:

I've noticed a slight increase in the number of active and foreclosed properties that are available on the St Cloud MLS. For the majority of the year, we have had approximately 330 foreclosed listings that are either active to purchase or are pending a sale. We now have just over 370 such listings on the St Cloud MLS.

Obviously this creates some problems. We need to continue to buy out the foreclosed properties at a pace that keeps up with the rate at which they are becoming available.

Now we get to see what our fearless leaders in Congress have actually accomplished with their new bailout bill.

Jason Tangen - GRI, e-Pro - Real Estate Broker Associate

Edina Realty in St Cloud MN

mailto:jason@stcloudedina.com

3rd Quarter 2008 - Preliminary Real Estate Sales Stats for Central MN

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:16:23 -0500

Originally posted at http://StCloudEdina.com/blog on 10/01/2008:

Well, we are entering the fourth quarter of what has been a truly crazy year for both the real estate community and the financial community as a whole. Here are some of the preliminary numbers that have come off the St Cloud MLS:

2007 3rd Quarter in St Cloud, Waite Park, Sartell, Sauk Rapids, and St Joseph

290 - Single Family Homes Sold
$184,696 - Average Sales Price
95% - Original Listing Price to Selling Price Ratio
7.6% - Percentage of Total Homes Sold Due to Foreclosure

2008 3rd Quarter in St Cloud, Waite Park, Sartell, Sauk Rapids, and St Joseph

278 - Single Family Homes Sold
$164,988 - Average Sales Price
93% - Original Listing Price to Selling Price Ratio
26.3% - Percentage of Total Homes Sold Due to Foreclosure

While sales numbers are strong, we are definitely seeing a decrease in average sales price that is reflecting the increase in the number of foreclosed units sold. While it is good to be getting rid of the foreclosures that are available, they do create an unwanted strain for everyone else that is trying to sell their home.

Look for the full Tangen Report to come out in just a few weeks. Look over previous issues of the Tangen Report at http://StCloudEdina.com/blog.

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

http://JasonTangen.EdinaRealty.com - Search All Homes for Sale on the St Cloud MLS

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

New Feature for Foreclosed Listings on St Cloud MLS

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:13:46 -0500

Originally Posted at http://StCloudEdina.com/blog on 09/26/2008:

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

Proud to Add e-Pro Designation

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:28:08 -0500

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.

Spencer Buerkle - Running for Benton County Commissioner in District 4

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:26:02 -0500

Originally posted at www.StCloudEdina.com/blog on September 15th, 2008:

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

I Finally Joined Facebook.com

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:23:31 -0500

Originally posted at www.StCloudEdina.com/blog on September 12th, 2008:

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

Just Sent My Oldest Child to School in Sauk Rapids...

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:20:36 -0500

Originally posted at www.StCloudEdina.com on September 4th, 2008:

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

Chamber Connection Gavel Change in St Cloud

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:18:06 -0500

Originally posted at www.StCloudEdina.com/blog on August 22nd, 2008

I made it to the St Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce's annual Gavel Changing Ceremony for the Friday morning Chamber Connection meeting this morning and boy did I giggle. If you have never made it to a Friday morning Chamber Connection meeting, not only do I recommend them, but you just cannot miss the yearly events like the Gavel Change and the Chamber Connection Birthday.

This year as we said goodbye to the outgoing Chair of the St Cloud Chamber Connection Kris Nelson of Custom Accents, we were asked to ponder what a fitting replacement might look like... Low and behold we got a great idea as Krystal Nielson (a.k.a. John Malikowski of Blooming Creations) showed up to strut her/his stuff. It was all orchestrated with Todd Fritz of Sprint (previous Chair of St Cloud Chamber Connection) and Roger Schleper of Premier Real Estate (New Chair of St Cloud Chamber Connection) asking all the wrong questions to make us giggle even harder. What a great way to finish up a week!

If you are curious, the new vice-chair of the St Cloud Area Chamber Connection meetings is Pam McIntosh of Rasmussen College. She will take over the duties as the Chair of the Chamber Connection in one year from now.

If you would like to know more about the Friday morning Chamber Connection Meetings or any other of the St Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce's events, I recommend visiting their website at http://StCloudAreaChamber.com.

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

www.StCloudEdina.com - Search real estate in St Cloud, MN

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

Five Mistakes that Lower your Credit Score from Mark the Mortgage Guy

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 08:51:32 -0500

Originally posted at www.StCloudEdina.com/blog:

This article was written for me by Mark Timpane of Edina Realty Mortgage in St Cloud MN. If you have any questions or concerns about this post, feel free to add them here and I will get Mark to reply. If you would like to speak with Mark on a one on one basis, you can reach him at (320) 240-6157 or also at http://MarkTheMortgageGuy.com.

I have had several of your clients that I have recommended to work with a professional to help fix their credit. It's surprising how many consumers make the same credit scoring mistakes over and over again. In an effort to educate your clients on credit and credit scoring, I've compiled 5 common credit scoring mistakes into a list that defines each mistake and explains why they are bad and how to avoid them:

Credit Mistake #1: Closing Credit Cards Accounts

This is probably THE biggest credit mistake that consumers make. What you may find surprising is that closing credit card accounts can hurt your credit score almost as badly as missing a payment.

Not only is this the number one on the top five credit scoring mistakes, it's also number one on the list of credit myths.

Ironically, most consumers make this mistake based on poor advice from a mortgage lender as a strategy for improving their credit scores. A word of advice people, when you're dealing with something as sensitive as your credit and credit scores, make sure you do your homework before trusting some of these so called 'industry experts' before following through with their advice.

There are two important reasons why you should not close credit card accounts:

1. Eventually, the accounts will fall off of your credit reports - The information in your credit reports are subject to certain rules in regards to how long it can remain in the report. In most cases, credit information will remain in your credit reports for seven years from the account's DLA or date of last activity.

When an account is open, the DLA will continue to update each month and the open account will never reach that seven-year mark.

If you close the account, the DLA will stop updating and the clock will start ticking. Eventually the account will be completely removed from your credit reports.

Why would this be a bad thing?

It's simple - you never want to get rid of old, positive information in your credit reports. This information actually helps your credit scores.

Credit scores want to see this positive account information. They want to see your long, perfect history of making your payments on time because this information significantly helps your credit scores.

This information significantly helps your credit scores so why would you ever want that history to disappear? You wouldn't! Here's an analogy for you: let's say you made straight A's in high school. What if the record of that perfect scholastic accomplishment were permanently deleted seven years after you graduated? Would you ever want that history deleted? Of course you wouldn't. The same is true for the credit reporting environment.

So, what should you do with old credit cards that you don't use any longer?

What you don't want to do is to let the account become inactive. When this happens, the credit card companies aren't generating any revenue for your account.

Eventually they'll close the unused account because you're more of a liability than an asset. You can prevent this from happening by using the card every few months for low dollar purchases like dinner or a tank of gas.

When the bill comes in, just pay it in full. If you do this, it will ensure that the account will never be closed and you'll always get credit for your good payment history.

2. You could cause a spike in your revolving utilization and tank your scores - The percentage of your available credit in comparison to the debt you owe is a very important factor in calculating your credit scores.

This is often called "revolving utilization," or your debt-to-limit ratio.

For example, if you have an open credit card with a $1,000 credit limit and a $500 balance then you are using 50% of your available credit. This means that you are 50% utilized on this particular credit card.

Now lets add a second credit card to the mix.

Let's say you have another open, but unused credit card account with a $1,000 limit and a $0 balance. This would put your total revolving utilization at 25% because you have $2,000 in available credit limits and $500 in total balances.

If you divide your total balances by your total credit limits, you'll get your total aggregate revolving utilization: $500 divided by $2000 equals .25 or 25%.

So how will closing unused credit cards hurt your credit score? When you close an account, the amount of available credit decreases, which could result in a higher revolving utilization and lower your score.

Let's use the example from above and close the second unused credit card account. When you close the account, you remove it from any utilization calculation and now you're stuck with one open credit card account with a $1,000 limit and a $500 balance.

This caused your utilization to go from 25% to 50%.

Remember, you divide the total balance by the total available limit so $500 divided by $1,000 is .50 or 50%. As this percentage increases, your credit score decreases.

When you're talking about several unused credit cards with high limits, you can just imagine what closing credit card accounts could do. I've seen consumers go from a 10% utilization to almost 100% utilization because they closed all of their credit card accounts except the one they were currently using.

Big mistake.

Credit Mistake #2: Missing Payments

It doesn't take a credit scoring expert to tell you that missing payments is a bad thing. The only reason I made missing payments second to Closing Credit Card Accounts is because this one is a no brainer.

It shouldn't take a credit expert to tell you that missing payments is bad. Common sense should tell you that missing payments is bad. Credit scores are designed to predict how likely you are to miss payments In the future.

This means that they look at your credit history to view how you've managed all of your credit obligations.

Missed payments is the most powerful predictor of future late payments. The FICO score evaluates previous late payments in three different layers:

How Severe - How severe is the late payment? It doesn't take a statistician to tell you that a 30-day late isn't as bad as a 90-day late. The more severe the late payment, the more damaging it is going to be to your credit scores.

Consumers who have missed payments by a few weeks and then bring their accounts current score much better than consumers that have gone 90+ days past due. In fact, a 90-day past due is the threshold that will wreak havoc on your scores.

If you are unable to avoid a late payment, the next best option is to get those accounts current as quickly as you can.

How Recent - How long ago did the late payment occur?

If you've read some of my previous articles on credit scoring, you'll know that the last 24 months of your credit history are critical because the FICO score places more emphasis on your recent credit patterns.

This means that a late payment 6 months ago is going to carry much more weight than a late payment from 4 years ago. To recover from late payments it's important that you get current and stay current.

How Frequent - How often have the late payments occurred? Consumers that miss payments frequently are penalized much more severely than those that have missed a payment here or there in their past.

If you have a tendency to make late payments your credit scores will reflect your bad habits. Make your payments on time and you'll never have to worry about losing points in this category.

Credit Mistake #3: Settling Accounts

One of the most common mistakes consumers make is assuming that 'settling' with a lender is a great way to save a little cash.

Unfortunately, they don't realize what that a 'settled' indicator in their credit reports is actually derogatory.

"Settling" is a term used in the consumer credit industry that means accepting less than the amount you owe on an account. For example, if you owe a credit card company $5,000 but you can't pay them the full amount then they will likely make you a deal for less than that full amount. They have "settled" for less than the full amount, which is likely much less than you contractually owe them.

This may seem like a good idea because you save quite a bit of money but as far as the credit scoring models are concerned, this is just as negative as other severe late payments.

The only way to avoid the damage to your credit scores is to arrange a deal with the lender to report the account as 'paid in full' as opposed to 'settled'. If they don't agree then it's in your best interest to figure out how to pay them in full or else be prepared to suffer the damage to your credit for the next 7 years.

It's also important to understand that if the account has already made it to the collection phase, the damage is already severe and settling won't really make a difference. Settling is only an option if the account has already made it to a severe delinquency state.

Credit Mistake #4: High Revolving Utilization on Your Credit Cards

Most consumers believe that making your payments on time is all it takes to have good credit and earn great credit scores.

What they don't realize is that almost a third of your score is determined by how much you owe on your credit card accounts. If you have high balances on your credit card accounts, you're credit scores could be severely impacted by your revolving utilization.

In order to score the most possible points in this category, I advise keeping your revolving utilization at 10% or less.

Don't be fooled when you hear some of these celebrity experts telling you that 50%, 30% or even 25% is best.

While 30% is considerably better than 50%, 10% or less is ideal. The lower the utilization percentage, the better your score will be. (*To read more about revolving utilization and how it's calculated, please read the revolving utilization bullet in Mistake #1.)

Credit Mistake #5: Excessively Applying for Credit

Whenever you apply for credit your application gives the lender permission to access your credit reports. When they pull your credit reports, it automatically posts an inquiry in your credit record. This inquiry is a record of who pulled your credit report and the date it occurred.

Credit scoring models use inquires to determine if and when you shop for credit. Statistics show that consumers who have more inquiries are higher credit risks than those with fewer inquiries.

It is for this reason that the more inquiries you have, the more points you lose in the credit score calculation.

The exact point value of inquiries is a much argued topic and is impossible to give an exact point value because it really depends on all of the other information included in your individual credit file.

The best strategy would be to only apply for credit when you absolutely need to.

This means that you should avoid those in store offers of "10% off" in exchange for applying for a store credit card. This may sound like a great idea but the reality is that while you may save a few bucks on your purchase, those inquiries could end up costing you a lower credit score which could result in higher interest rates on auto or mortgage loans in the future.

There you have it. Now that you know the top 5 credit mistakes, you can avoid making the same mistakes that so many other consumers make.

Mark "The Mortgage Guy" Timpane
110 Division Street Waite Park, MN 56387
320-240-6157 Office
320-240-6148 Fax

Jason Tangen, GRI - Edina Realty St Cloud MN

Broker Associate

http://jasontangen.edinarealty.com - Search real estate in St Cloud and Central MN

Number of Foreclosed Properties on the Rise in Central MN

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:19:23 -0500

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

ActiveRain Real Estate Referral Network

Jason Tangen (Edina Realty) — Thu, 29 May 2008 12:10:49 -0500

I just had some outstanding results from requesting a real estate professional to help a friend of mine that I met while in the Marine Corps.

Norm (my friend) has stayed in the San Diego area and is thinking about starting the home buying process. I told him that I would get him in touch with my contact out in San Diego to help him start getting prepared to buy a home. I had someone in the San Diego area previously that I utilized to keep me up to date on the market conditions and help me whenever one of my in-laws might be thinking of moving. My wife grew up in PB (Pacific Beach) and we still know a lot of people in Southern California that are close friends or relatives. Unfortunately, my contact is no longer in the real estate community and I needed to find someone else to help.

I could have used the relocation network within my company, but I wanted to ensure that my new contact was a tech savvy individual to keep me abreast of whatever situations. Consequently, I used ActiveRain's real estate referral network.

Within 8 hours of posting my request for a real estate agent in the Santee CA area, I had over 30 real estate professionals reply.

WOW!

It is definitely a testimonial to the ability of the ActiveRain community to connect real estate professionals with other real estate professionals in a very short period of time.

It is also a sign of how much more tech savvy the real estate agents from Southern California are compared to the real estate agents in Central Minnesota. I'd bet that there are only a handful of real estate professionals in the St Cloud area that have response times to Internet queries of under 1 day.

Now my dilemma is which agent to choose.

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

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

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