Irish Eyes will be Smiling in Minnesota on St. Patrick’s Day!

03-11-12

Teri Eckholm, REALTOR® Anoka&Washington Counties Acreage & Lakeshore Homes

view my blog

Mobile: (651) 336-7073

St Patrick's Day Events St. Paul Minneapolis

March 17th an official holiday is a semi-official holiday in Minnesota! Growing up as a Irish-woman in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area made St. Patrick's Day a fun event. (Okay...I'm only a quarter Irish but on St. Pat's day, whose counting?) From time to time our family attended the parade on the east side of the river in downtown St Paul. One time we even jumped into the parade and strolled down the street under the “Flaherty”banner.

There were meals of home cooked corned beef and cabbage, though I much prefer a Shamrock Shake. We didn’t dance, but sang the “When Irish Eyes are Smiling” almost throughout the month of March. It was my Prussian grandmother's favorite song after all! It is always fun to celebrate our heritage.

With the unofficial holiday falling on a Saturday this year, the parades are certain to draw a crowd. There are two different Irish Associations with an array of St. Pat's events in the Twin Cities. The St. Patrick’s Association in St. Paul has a worst Irish Tenor Contest and annually crowns a Miss Shamrock and cast of Blarney Brothers to accompany the Shamrock princesses to events. This association puts senior citizens at the heart of their events with visits to area nursing homes and senior centers during March. And of course, there is a parade. The St. Paul St. Patrick's Day parade runs along Fifth Street starting at noon.

Not to be outdone, the St. Patrick’s Day Association of Minneapolis has a full array of contests and events to mark this special day. In addition to the 6:30 evening parade down Nicollet Mall, there is a Ms. Blarney and Wee Leprechan Contest. Yep, the cutest Irish lad or lass wins a Wii. How’s that for a fun homonym tie-in?

Can't make it to the parades? Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day online with some fun and interesting Irish websites:

May you have all the happiness
and luck that life can hold—

And at the end of all your rainbows

may you find a pot of gold.

Traditional Irish Toast

9 Comments

Homes For Sale in Rosevlle, MN

03-06-12

Mark Westpfahl - Twin Cities MN REALTOR®

view my blog
Office: (651) 489-7498

Mobile: (651) 208-9848

Roseville homes for sale

See the list of homes for sale in Roseville, MN at www.Realty.tc/roseville_homes_for_sale.html

or www.MarkWestpfahl.com

click on any Roseville home for sale to schedule a showing or call
Mark Westpfahl
mark@realty.tc 651.208.9848
REALTOR®
HARMONY HOMES Realty

Click here for The City of Roseville's site
Visit Roseville MN www.visitroseville.com
Roseville Minnesota News

Click here to see Roseville, MN bank owned listings
Click here to see Roseville, MN short sale listings

Planning to sell your Roseville MN home?
See what the competition looks like.
Call or email for market analysis of your Roseville home.

Homes in Roseville are still selling. To find out how we market your home, click, call or email.

Are you searching for a Roseville area home?
Call or email when you need more information or a showing of any twin cities house on the market.

For many people, it's a great time to find a home to own in Roseville, MN.
Call Mark Westpfahl at 651.208.9848 for more information about any twin cities home on the market.

Why choose HARMONY HOMES Realty?
We're a local twin cities real estate company with offices in St. Paul and Roseville.

We offer:

•Great photography

•Excellent online marketing

•Easy cancellation policy

•The best web syndication of your home

•Property webpage for your home

•Help for FSBOs

•Virtual tour

•Great rates

•Low or no broker administration fees

•We serve the entire Twin Cities area

Get full service for a fair rate.
We also offer flat fee options for FSBOs to get on the MLS with a virtual tour

0 Comments

First Time Homebuyer’s Real Estate Word for Today is Truth-In-Housing

03-04-12

Teri Eckholm, REALTOR® Anoka&Washington Counties Acreage & Lakeshore Homes

view my blog

Mobile: (651) 336-7073

First Time Homebuyer Word Truth in Housing

First Time homebuyer Truth in Housing Blackboard by Teri Eckholm REALTOR

In a past episode of Cash Cab, an Emmy award winning television game show, a taxi full of contestants with stumped by the acronym, FSBO. As a REALTOR® in the Minneapolis/St. Paul north and east metro, I was a bit surprised “For Sale By Owner” eluded them. That is until I remembered the times a glazed look came over my buyer’s eyes when I mentioned escrow and earnest money. These real estate terms are easily be confused with other real estate financial terms like down payment or cash to close. It became apparent to me that a buyer’s confusion is very understandable; after all homebuyers do not buy houses everyday.

I thought a glossary of real estate terms might be helpful to the First Time Homebuyer. Over the past year and throughout 2012, I will present and explain terms often used by REALTORS® in a series of posts for the first time homebuyer.. This way a first time homebuyer can skip buying that big “how to buy a house” book or attending a non-required First Time Homebuyer Class and have a quick resource at your fingertips. I am continuing the series with Today’s Real Estate Term:

Truth-In-Housing Inspection A truth-in-housing inspection is a pre-listing, point-of-sale inspection required by a local municipality. The inspector will perform an inspection of the home and note hazardous and sub-par features of the home. In Minnesota, there is no Truth-In-Housing inspection requirement to sell your home at the state or county level. There are however a number of communities in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro require a pre-inspection report. These inspections have many names including: Truth-in-Sale of Housing Disclosure, Time-of Sale, Time-of-Sale Code Compliance, Dwelling Maintenance and Occupancy Code Compliance, Housing Code Compliance Inspection or Housing Maintenance Code Inspection. Some of these inspections are done by inspectors that are city employees while other communities have licensed private home inspectors to perform the inspection of the home. But in many cases, it will be the homeowner’s responsibility to select a private inspector to perform the inspection prior to listing the home for sale.

Note: There are a few counties that do have point of sale requirements for septic systems. Always check with your city and/or county regarding whether or not they have point-of sale or truth-in-housing inspection requirements as cities do update and change requirements from time to time.

The Twin Cities communities that currently require a home inspection are:Private Inspectors (Selected by Homeowner)

City Inspectors

Truth-in-Housing versus Buyer’s Home Inspection.

First Time Buyers can and should have a potential home inspected prior to buying it. An offer or purchase agreement can be written with an inspection contingency, allowing the buyer time to hire and review the home with an inspector. This contingency can be written into the contract to purchase whether the city requires a truth-in-housing inspection or not. It may seem a bit redundant to re-inspect a home that has a point of sale inspection. However, the benefits of walking through the home with an inspector as he points out specific concerns of the structure far out weigh the monetary cost for the first time homebuyer.

Additional Terms in the Real Estate Glossary:

2 Comments

First Time Home Buyer Statistical Snapshot of Maplewood MN Home Sales

02-25-12

Teri Eckholm, REALTOR® Anoka&Washington Counties Acreage & Lakeshore Homes

view my blog

Mobile: (651) 336-7073

First Time Homebuyer Real Estate Maplewood MN

first time homebuyer snapshot of Maplewood by Teri Eckholm REALTOR

Maplewood Minnesota has many affordable opportunities for the first time homebuyer. A first home could be a single family 1950’s bungalow or rambler or a newer townhome. Affordable homes are located in the north section of the city near Maplewood Mall or farther south near the 3M complex.Whether a foreclosed home or a traditional seller with the home priced to sell, first time buyers have many options right now in Maplewood.

In the eastern Ramsey County community of Maplewood, MN real estate sales statistics were similar to many other communities in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro. New Listings were down, closed sales up and average price sold down from the similar time period in 2010. New listings were down nearly 15% from 801 in 2010 to 684 in 2011, while closed sales were up by nearly 8%. The average sales priced dropped by a whopping 14% to $146,957, down from $170,959 in 2010. Homes are bringing in an average price per square foot of $82 which is similar to other communities in the northeast Minneapolis/St. Paul area but still down a bit from $95/sq ft that homes in Maplewood were getting on average in 2010. Like most other north and east metro suburbs, sellers are getting around 90% of their asking price; but at 88.8% this average is a bit less than in other areas. The average time on the market to sell a home rose quite a bit from 140 days on the market in 2010 to 164 in 2011. Again the DOM statistic is comparable to other surrounding neighborhoods. While these changes look alarming, it is really just a correction as the foreclosures and other lender mediated homes continue to work their way out of the Maplewood real estate market. It is an important step in toward the market becoming balanced.

For additional details on home sales in Maplewood MN at the end of 2011, Click HERE.

0 Comments

Buying St. Paul Foreclosures

02-16-12

Casey J. Anderson

view my blog
Office: (651) 245-1820

Want To Buy A St. Paul Foreclosure?

So you want to buy one of the foreclosures in St. Paul? Whether you own house currently or are a MN first time home buyer, you should learn the basics before going out to buy. While there are many great values in Saint Paul foreclosures you will want to be prepared for how to negotiate your offer.

City of St. Paul Information

As both the capitol of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County living in the city of Saint Paul is filled with things to do. Popular attractions such as the Xcel Energy Center and the Science Museum of Minnesota make St. Paul a popular destination for both its residents as well as those living in surrounding suburbs. Employment opportunities abound in St. Paul with major employers such as Ecolab, Lawson Software, Gander Mountain, and nearby 3M. St. Paul housing can be especially affordable for first time home buyers through the Ramsey County's First Home program. Residents enjoy popular regional events such as the Minnesota State Fair and the St. Paul Winter Carnival. If you thinking of buying or selling a home in St. Paul please send me and email or give me a call as I'd love to help you accomplish your goal.

Foreclosures are Bank-Owned

A St. Paul foreclosure can be a great value because the bank owns it and is paying for all of the upkeep and property taxes. As opposed to a short sale transaction, the selling bank has a big motivation to get the listing off of their books. At the same time, banks who are involved in selling a foreclosure want to get the highest value they can out of the property. In the lower price ranges it has turned into a sellers market meaning that many foreclosures sell for well above the listing price! Knowing what to offer for the foreclosure is critical in terms of being successful with your purchase.

Factors in Foreclosures

There are 2 major factors to consider what you will want to make as an offer to purchase. The first is how long the property has been on the market and the second thing is to analyze the overall condition of the home. Saint Paul foreclosures that have just been listed are likely to sell for near the listing price, while a bank that has a home that has been on the market a long time may be willing to negotiate for deep discounts. Also, a home that is in poor condition may not be able to be financed so the bank may have to reduce the price far enough to attract cash buyers. I can help you work through these factors as we search for foreclosures.

Financing and Foreclosures

If you will need a mortgage loan to buy the foreclosure there are some critcal things to know. First, the listing must be in acceptable condition to the lender in order to qualify for most loan programs. Foreclosure listings that are in poor condition will either require special financing such as FHA 203k or a cash offer. The selling banks will also usually limit the amount seller paid closing costs towards your home loan. In most cases the selling bank limits the contribution to 3 per cent of the selling price, or 2 per cent if you are an investor. Finally a selling bank will never look at your offer if it includes a financing contingency and if you don't provide a preapproval letter along with the offer.

Get Preapproved Today

The first step in the process of buying a home is to get prequalified for financing. This simply means that you talk with a local lender who will review your credit, income, etc. In doing so they can tell you what types of Minnesota first time buyer programs you might be qualified for. This first step can usually be done right over the telephone and most lenders will even do this with you when you are off from work.

If you are looking for St. Paul foreclosures please send me an email or give me a call. There are many great St. Paul foreclosure values out there but knowing which one takes some time and expertise. I would very much like to help you in your search for the ideal house!

Casey Anderson
Sales Executive, Licensed Realtor in Minnesota
IBR Realty
caseyanderson@ibrrealty.com
Cell 651-245-1820
Woodbury, MN 55125
With a focus on Woodbury real estate and surrounding communities

0 Comments

« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 151 152 Next »

All Neighbors in Ramsey County, MN

Top Neighbors: The magic behind the mirrors

Photos of Ramsey County, MN (view all)

About Ramsey County, MN

Irish Eyes will be Smiling in Minnesota on St. Patrick’s Day!

St Patrick's Day Events St. Paul Minneapolis

Homes For Sale in Rosevlle, MN

Roseville homes for sale