Janice Roosevelt gives the history of St. Valentinus, the patron saint of Valentine's Day. 

What a fascinating story. 

Be sure to thank Janice for the work she put into this post.   I now have some dinner conversation, for sure.

Happy St. Valentine's Day to you all!

I would never have thought about showing someone from out of town what the whole neighborhood looks like.  But, Fred did.

You should let him know that even without a tripod he did a pretty good job. 

Fred is getting pretty good at this blogging thing.  And, you might want to check out his other posts, too.

Several years ago, someone from the Albertville, Minnesota area called and told me that they had enlisted the assistance of one of the advertisers on television to get foreclosure assistance. (I cringed, sorry.)

Well, $4,000 later, money they could not afford to spend or they would have made the payments on their home, they were facing a sheriff's sale. We might have been able to save the home from foreclosure with a short sale.  But, that money was long gone. 

I cannot say that the people advertising on television that they could assist homeowners were con artists.  But, I will say that other than cashing the check, they did very little to assist the homeowners who were desperate to keep their kids in this school district and to continue in their community and church. 

When you or someone you knows trusts the advertisers to deliver, do you have complete confidence that even though they don't operate in your state or, even if they do, do they have your best interests at heart? Or, do you think they might want even more money?

Desperation takes many forms.  And not wanting to contact someone in your community who might know you is very understandable when you financial future is at stake. Let’s talk a lot of sleepless nights worrying about how you can make the best of a really bad situation. 

If you can take a step to contact someone who knows your community, that takes some intestinal fortitude.  Those of us who work in your community have a far greater stake in your well-being and doing the right thing than someone out of state who cares little, if at all, about your property or you! I know that if I do the right thing by you, you will refer your relatives and friends. Being in this community means a lot to me. And, I want my friends, colleagues and relatives to know they can trust me to do the right thing. I work at it every day.

When you have a problem, right from the start, get the best advice you can whether from legal counsel, an accountant or a trusted realtor. I'm here if you just need an ear. And, I have many trusted advisors to refer you to, should you need them.

The St. Michael-Albertville Rotary Club is hosting its second annual art auction and wine tasting at the new St. Michael City Hall on February 16, 2012.

The auction preview wine tasting and an hors d'oeurves service will begin at 5:30 pm, and the auction begins at 7. 

The event is billed as Appreciate Art, Appreciate Rotary, and the admission is $10.  Net proceeds willsupport the Building It Together Campaign, on ongoing fundraising benefit for our local civic center, library and senior center. 

For more information, contact Sandy Greninger at 763-416-7912 or email sgreninger@ci.st-michael.mn.us.

This is a great event, and, if you haven't attended before, be sure to bring a credit card.  The art is amazing.  The wine and hors d'oeurves are fantastic. 

See you there!

The Washington Times is reporting what could be some good news finally in the foreclosure area.  

"State and federal officials on Thursday announced a settlement of $26 billion with five of the nation’s banks over flawed and fraudulent foreclosure practices that affected several million homeowners and became commonplace after the housing boom turned to bust in recent years. It is the largest government-industry settlement in more than a decade."

What does this mean for Minnesotans?   You can go to the Attorney General's website and get all the information you need. 

There will be up to $77 million in direct payments to Minnesota borrowers as follows:

• Borrowers who were foreclosed on between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2011 will be eligible for cash refunds estimated to be around $2,000 if they lost their home as a result of financial hardship and while either trying to save it through a modification or whether there were errors in the foreclosure process. The federal government has estimated Minnesota’s portion of this part of the settlement to be valued at about $33.9 million. The exact payment to Minnesota borrowers will depend upon the number of eligible borrowers who file claims.
• Borrowers of the five banks may file a claim for monetary relief if they were harmed by the banks’ practices. Minnesota’s portion of this part of the settlement is valued at about $43.4 million.

There is also some refinancing benefits to this settlement.  

It aims to help troubled borrowers by requiring the banks to reduce the amount borrowers owe on their mortgages, lowering their interest rates and paying restitution to homeowners who suffered mortgage-related abuses. It will force lenders to revamp how they interact with struggling mortgage holders and bar them from trying to foreclose on borrowers while simultaneously negotiating mortgage modifications.

Please check the Attorney General's website. 

More from the Washington Times article: 

"Officials said the settlement — details of which can be seen on www.NationalMortgageSettlement.com — probably would be filed in a federal court within a matter of weeks and would require the consent of a judge. Once it is approved, banks would begin to deposit money into a trust account, and those funds would be distributed to qualified homeowners by the government. In all, 49 states have signed onto the agreement, with Oklahoma the lone holdout, federal officials said."

So be sure to check out the website above as well for more information. 

Meanwhile, Lori Swanson, Attorney General for Minnesota, stated in an interview tonight that homeowners should be contacting their lenders NOW.

I sincerely hope that this will be able to keep more St. Michael and Albertville Minnesota homeowners in their homes!

For sellers doing short sales in St. Michael, Minnesota and elsewhere, one of the first things we discuss in a listing presentation is what have they done so far.  Meaning, have they contacted the lender(s), have they met with an accountant and/or attorney for advice? 

Our focus is to assist with the listing and sale of a property.  We cannot and do not answer questions about payments, tax implications or credit issues. 

We understand what we can do, and that is what we do.  We are not licensed or educated to provide advice about anything but real estate and we are really good at that.

So, if you need short sale assistance in St. Michael Minnesota, give us a call, we would be pleased to discuss your options with you. 

Help is only a phone call away here in St. Michael!

How long would you blog if you got no response or comments on Active Rain? 

A month, two months, three months?  Would you then give up? 

I have a new hero here.  Al Raymondi.

Al went months and months and months with maybe three or four comments.  Al started posting in June of 2008 and started getting consistent comments (more than 1 or 2 per blog) in February 2011. 

Now that is determination, my friends.  Real solid determination.

He would post regularly with little to no response.  But, he shouldered on.  And, he is now ranked pretty high in Florida and has a great following, with many comments on each post.  I am betting he wishes he could spread those out a bit for more points.  But, don't worry, my friend is doing fine.....now.

If you get a chance, go check out his localism posts and market reports.  He is great at both. 

And, we know he is consistent and can be relied on for information on the Ormond area....

What was your favorite Super Bowl commercial?  Mine was the Chrysler Half-Time Commercial with Clint Eastwood.   

My reasons are simple.  It was well done.  It provided a commentary on America keeping jobs here at home.  And, it told a success story that most Americans are proud of.

Back when the auto manufacturers were up against the wall, 75 % of Americans were against the “bailout”. 

That’s a pretty big number.  But, this program saved  around 1 million jobs.  Households that were able to stay in their homes and put food on the table. 

You might not agree with me and some of the economists.  And, I am not saying that this should be done again.  Chrysler already received a bailout some thirty years ago.  But that aside, it did help strengthen the economy.  And, I say hooray for that!

I have been using Chrome since last fall.  Now, I can't log into ActiveRain with it.  I uninstalled and reinstalled it three times today....zip, zilch, nada.

Then I installed Safari.   Nope.  The only only I can get on the Rain with is IE.   Oh, I have a headache from bouncing my head against my desk. 

I am about to throw something at my computer.  I WANT MY CHROME back.

You can't talk to Google.  So, I am at my wits' end.  No wise-cracking, Dick. 

Does anyone have a solution for me. 

I really want it back.  It ran so smoothly and so fast compared to IE. 

Oh, Koda  Chrome...... Please don't take my Koda   Chrome   Away.

Well, I finally broke down.  There is the SuperBowl today, and I will not be subjected to any of it.  

So, I baked and organized recipes for a while.  Then, I remembered I hadn't commented yet. 

And, there was the invitation...from Pinterest. 

This is not good.  I am already following sixty people for some reason, and in the hour I have been on, someone started following me.  Scary.

It is fascinating, and I can see how one could become addicted.  Oh, please. 

Among ActiveRain, Twitter, FB and Pinterest, how will I ever get any WORK done.  Oh, and I forgot all about the new website, too. 

Maybe it was better when it was just television that was a distraction.  Now, I have the whole internet and thousands of blogs to read. 

Better get started.

Later......