About Saint Cloud's North Saint Cloud

Open House Sunday 6/12 11:00-12:30

Address: 1932 27th St. SE, St. Cloud $134,900 List # 4035660

Great Views & Location!Beautiful 3 Bedroom 3 bath walkout rambler townhome is move-in ready with very nice features. Private deck & patio, oak 6 panel doors, vaulted ceiling and tile floors. View deer from the south facing deck. Finance through Liberty and they wave the Orig.Fee on this home.

Directions: Hwy 10 to Minnesota Blvd.(301) to 20th Ave.SE then south to home on corner of 20th Ave. & 27th St.SE.

Open House Sunday 6/12 1:00-2:30

Address: 955 4 1/2 Ave. N., Sauk Rapids $134,900 List#4027336

A Place For Your Garden, Pets, Kids... This lovingly updated and maintained rambler is close to schools and parks & convenient to Hwy 15 and 10, with 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths on main floor, a large fenced yard and double garage. Ideal for the gardener, day care operator, or dog owner.

Directions: Hwy 15 to 18th St.N. to 4th Ave.-R. to 9 1/2 St.-R. to home on corner of 9 1/2 & 4 1/2.

Open House Sunday 6/12 3:00-4:30

Address: 451 28th Ave. N., St. Cloud $49,900 List# 4042691

Move in & Quit Renting!This completely updated one story home is done inside and out and ready for you. One bedroom with a full bath and kitchen and living-room on a full city lot. Private & cozy. Come see how low your payment would be if you owned this home instead of renting!

Directions: 33rd Ave. or 25th Ave. N. to 5th St. N. to 28th Ave. Home on corner of 5th and 28th.

OPEN SUNDAY NOVEMBER 21 FROM 12:00-1:00PM.

819 N. 7TH AVENUE, ST. CLOUD, MN

Welcome to this completely updated 2 Bedroom 2 Bath Home in the desirable Hospital Neighborhood, only a block from Hester Park on the Mississippi River. The interior has been restored and updated and features refinished maple floors, a spacious country kitchen w/nook and formal dining with a south facing bay window, main floor laundry, and enclosed front porch. The roof is new as of last year and the vinyl siding and windows are in like new condition. The tree shaded lot is quite large and private with room for play and pets, and guests! Large double detached garage is half studio, but can be converted back, upon request. This move in ready home is available for only $99,500!

Located on the bus route and walking distance to hospital, downtown and Cathedral High School. A wonderful combination of convenient location and a character filled neighborhood with tree lined streets and an eclectic blend of architectural styles.Come see this beautiful home and take advantage of the still Low interest rates, while you still can!

'Tis the season to be well informed when paying it forward

With the Holidays just around the corner, charitable organizations know that now is the time to capture some of the extra goodwill. Many of us who have given will be contacted and asked to donate to different causes to help fund their efforts. While I am happy to help there is one thing that I do look for in a group before I pay it forward - the percentage of my donation that actually goes directly to the cause.

We have a few groups that we give to with some regularity, but we also get calls to help out others. The first thing to ask when you get one of these calls is what percentage goes to the actual group. The other night we got a call to help out the local police and firemen. So after they got through their spiel, I asked what amount actually went into the coffers for these brave men and women, the answer was a less than stellar 27%. (So if I donate $100 only $27 would go to help?) Needless to say I will be putting my money somewhere else where the percentage is more reasonable.

Now do not get me wrong, 100% going to the cause is almost impossible, you have to pay the employees for the foundation, you may need an office and you have overhead costs, but in my estimation anything less than 70% when you have hired a call center to fund-raise for you is not a good return for your contributors/donors. If the amount going directly to program expenses is less than 30% I consider it an unacceptable ratio.

I have found a very nice website that is incredibly helpful for researching charities, Charity Navigator. I was very pleased to learn from Charity Navigator that 88.8% of the money raised for the Children's Miracle Network (Creating real miracles by raising funds for children's hospitals) goes directly to Program Expenses while only 6.7% goes to the Administration. 'Tis the season to give, share and pay it forward.

Toys for Tots

Throughout the months of November and December The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program collects new unwrapped toys for needy children in the local community where the campaign was conducted. This wonderful program has been helping make Christmas a lot brighter for children.

If you are interested in helping out Toys for Tots all you need to do is request a drop off box for your business or organization and then let everyone know to drop off toys prior to the pick up date when the toys will then be sorted and then wrapped to be given out to children. You can volunteer further by contacting The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.

I know it might seem a little early to be thinking about the Christmas season, it is not even Halloween yet, but this is kind of the point of this post. If you think and plan ahead you can accomplish more in the long run, this is what Liz and I do with the Toys for Tots donations. Throughout the months prior to the donation boxes being set up in our area and we look for toys, books and stuffed animals to donate. Just the other day we picked up several Tigger and Pooh bear (one of Liz's favorites) stuffed animals to donate this year. It is a simple way to help without taking a bite out of the budget all at once.

For more information about the Toys for Tots Program, check out their Toys For Tots FAQ page. If you are in the Saint Cloud Minnesota area and would like to donate toys to the Toys for Tots program we will have a drop box at RE/MAX Realty Source 405 N. 33rd Ave Saint Cloud.

Just think through volunteering and donating to Toys for Tots you will be helping our Marines help Santa!

Open House in North St. Cloud on Saturday

North St. Cloud, St. Cloud Minnesota $109,900 - We invite everyone to visit our open house at 929 N 9th Avenue on December 12 from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM. Wonderful opportunity to buy a home at a giveaway price. This 3 bedroom 2 bath home has amazing features for this price. Stop in, you will be glad you did! Click on the link below for additional info.

Property information